District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that Perrotta Pharmacy Inc., DBA Perrotta’s Super Drug, in Lawrence has agreed to pay $30,000 and enter into a Corrective Action Plan with the government to resolve allegations that Perrotta’s Super Drug failed to keep proper records of controlled substances and maintain effective controls against drug diversion.

According to the settlement, pharmacists and staff at Perrotta’s Super Drug on multiple occasions failed to comply with recordkeeping requirements of the Controlled Substances Act. The violations included failure to maintain complete and accurate inventories of controlled substances, including medications such as oxycodone; failure to record all of the required information pertaining to listed chemical retail sales; and failure to maintain records documenting the training of sales personnel of listed chemical products.

Perrotta’s Super Drug, an independently owned pharmacy, cooperated with the federal investigation and has agreed to implement a corrective action plan to come into compliance with the recordkeeping requirements of the Controlled Substance Act. Perrotta’s Super Drug also agreed to permit federal law enforcement to perform inspections of the pharmacy during the next three years without a warrant. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, made the announcement today. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Weber of Lelling’s Civil Division.

BOSTON – A licensed nurse was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for tampering with oxycodone by stealing pills from a nursing home where she worked and attempting to conceal the theft by replacing the medication with other medications. 

Charlotte Demers, 37, of Providence, R.I., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to four years of probation, with the first six months to be served in home confinement. In June 2017, Demers pleaded guilty to four counts of tampering with a consumer product, specifically oxycodone, a narcotic used for pain relief. Demers enrolled in the Court-run RISE program, which she successfully completed.

Between Sept. 12, 2016, and Oct. 8, 2016, while working as a Licensed Practical Nurse at Countryside Health Care in Milford, Mass., Demers tampered with four blisterpacks of oxycodone that had been prescribed for residents of the nursing facility. She removed the oxycodone pills from the blisterpacks, replaced them with other medications that were used to treat other medical conditions, re-sealed the blistercards and put them back on medication carts at the nursing facility.  

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Jeffrey Ebersole, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office; and Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH, of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of Food and Drugs, Drug Control Program, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.

The Court-run RISE Program (Repair, Invest, Succeed, Emerge) is designed for individuals who have pled guilty and are under pretrial supervision prior to sentencing. These individuals must apply for admission to the program and be accepted into the program by the U.S. District Court. 

BOSTON – A North Attleboro man has been charged in connection with a “lie-and-buy” firearms scheme.

Brian Watkins, 51, was indicted on one count of making a false statement during a firearm purchase. Watkins appeared in federal court in Boston yesterday and was released on conditions.

According to the indictment unsealed yesterday, on March 21, 2018, Watkins represented himself to be the actual purchaser of a firearm – a Glock, Model 23, .40 caliber pistol - from a licensed dealer, when in fact he was purchasing the firearm for another person.

The charge of making false statements during a firearm purchase provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Soivilien of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

BOSTON – A former New England La Cosa Nostra (NELCN) caporegime was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for obstructing a federal investigation into the murder of a Boston nightclub owner in the 1990s.

Robert P. DeLuca, 72, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 66 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In November 2016, DeLuca pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements.

DeLuca was charged with lying to federal prosecutors and agents regarding the investigation into the 1993 disappearance of Stephen DiSarro, who operated The Channel, a South Boston nightclub. DiSarro remained missing until March 2016, when authorities discovered his remains behind a mill in Providence, R.I.  

In 2011, DeLuca had agreed to cooperate with federal authorities after his arrest on racketeering charges. In connection with his cooperation, DeLuca had lied about his knowledge of DiSarro’s disappearance and other LCN-connected murders. As a result, DiSarro’s remains were not recovered until federal authorities received information from another source in March 2016 regarding DiSarro’s burial site. 

In June 2018, Francis P. Salemme, 84, and Paul M. Weadick, 63, were convicted of murdering DiSarro, who, at the time of his death, was a witness to violations of federal law by Salemme and Weadick. DiSarro had been approached by a federal agent and asked to cooperate with federal authorities. At the time, there were several ongoing federal investigations into Salemme and into Salemme’s connection to The Channel. Salemme had expressed his concerns to others that DiSarro might cooperate against him. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled Salemme’s and Weadick’s sentencings for Sept. 13, 2018.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Interim United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch for the District of Rhode Island; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Ann C. Assumpico made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office and the Providence, R.I. Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred M. Wyshak Jr., Chief of Lelling’s Public Corruption Unit, and William J. Ferland, Chief of Dambruch’s Criminal Division, prosecuted the case.

BOSTON - A Douglas man was sentenced in federal court in Worcester on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, for possession of child pornography. 

Bryan Larson, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In November 2017, Larson pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

A search of Larson’s home in June 2015 resulted in the recovery of thousands of images of child pornography on his computer. The images and videos primarily depicted girls aged 4-8 engaged in sexual acts - including oral, anal and vaginal sex - with adult men. Approximately 4,000 of the images contained known victims, and many of those victims submitted impact statements for the Court to consider at sentencing. Larson was previously convicted of three counts of rape of a child in 1995.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Douglas Police Chief Nick Miglionico made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin M. Bell, Deputy Chief of Lelling’s Criminal Division, prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to 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.

BOSTON – A Stoughton man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston to 21 years in prison on kidnapping and drug charges.

Sedrick Oliveira, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 21 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In March 2018, Oliveira pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and oxycodone after being arrested in October 2016. Malik Bangura, 20, of Taunton; Diego Pires, 25, of Brockton; and Yesenia Diaz, 23, of Brockton, were also charged with kidnapping. 

On Oct. 8, 2016, at approximately 10:25 p.m., a 30-year-old man was kidnapped from the driveway of his Quincy home after being struck in the head with a revolver as he got out of his truck, and dragged into a nearby sedan. The victim had two children strapped into their car seats in his truck.

Once the victim was in the sedan, two masked perpetrators, later identified as Pires and Bangura, drove the victim’s truck, with the children inside, to a secluded location where they unloaded approximately 30 pounds of marijuana and $20,000 from the victim’s truck, into the sedan. The victim, who was face-down in the backseat of the sedan at gunpoint, begged for his life and the life of the two children who were still in their car seats in the back of the truck.   

Diaz, Bangura, Pires and Oliveira then drove the sedan with the drugs, cash and the victim, from Quincy to Brockton and called the victim’s wife demanding $100,000. Law enforcement officers spotted the sedan as it drove through Brockton, recognized the vehicle from a drive-by shooting that occurred in August 2016, and began to follow it. After the defendants recognized the police, they attempted to flee, but ultimately abandoned the sedan in a Brockton driveway. The victim escaped, flagged down law enforcement officers, and described to them the secluded location where the truck had been disserted. Law enforcement located the truck with the children inside, who were unharmed. 

Diaz was subsequently found standing by the sedan and arrested for kidnapping. She previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Oliveira was arrested several days later on a federal complaint charging him with federal drug offenses following the sales of fentanyl, cocaine and oxycodone to an individual cooperating with law enforcement. Oliveira, Pires, and Bangura were charged with the kidnapping in April 2017. Bangura pleaded guilty and, on Jan. 24, 2018, was sentenced to 204 months in prison. Pires also pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Aug. 16, 2018, to 210 months in prison.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Brockton Police Chief John Crowley; and Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily O. Cannon of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON - A Salvadoran national was charged Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, in federal court in Boston with failure to register as a sex offender as required under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

Melvin Velasquez, 34, was charged with one count of failure to register as a sex offender.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell ordered him detained pending trial.

According to court records, in 2007, Velasquez was convicted in New York of one count of rape in the third degree and sentenced to eight months in jail. Velasquez was subsequently required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction where he resided or worked. Velasquez, who was determined to be illegally present in the United States, was sentenced on the rape charge, and, upon completion of his sentence in 2008, deported to El Salvador.

Sometime thereafter, Velasquez returned to the United States and assumed a false identity. In May 2018, Velasquez, using his alias, was arrested and charged with various motor vehicle violations. Velasquez’s fingerprints were obtained and found to match the prints in his A-file and from his 2007 New York rape conviction. Law enforcement then queried the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board and determined that Velasquez had not registered, as required by law, in Massachusetts.

The charge of failure to register provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 fine. Velasquez will be subject to deportation proceedings. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; United States Marshal John Gibbons of the District of Massachusetts; and, Rebecca Adducci, Interim Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – 29 individuals have been charged with federal and state drug, firearms, and counterfeiting offenses as part of federal investigations in Brockton and Boston. The cases were brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood Initiative (PSN), which aims to bring together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime.

As part of today’s sweep, 25 defendants were arrested on federal and state charges, two defendants remain at-large, and two others were already in custody. Today’s operation involved over 150 federal, state and local law enforcement agents from all over New England. The arrests are the culmination of two separate federal investigations dubbed Operation Landshark and Operation Nor’Easter.

According to the charging documents, Operation Landshark is an investigation that targeted impact players and repeat offenders in Brockton and Boston, each who have prior convictions for acts of violence, firearm offenses and/or drug trafficking. It is alleged that many of the Operation Landshark targets are in the top 30 criminal offenders responsible for violent acts and firearms in Brockton.

During Operation Nor’Easter, from April 2016 through January 2018, law enforcement made controlled purchases of drugs from targets in Boston.

During the investigations, law enforcement officers bought or seized 15 guns and purchased or seized fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base.

The following defendants were arrested today on federal charges:

1. JC Anderson, a/k/a “Skeeter Weeter,” 46, of Taunton, for distribution of cocaine base;
2. Chad Benjamin, a/k/a “Life,” 40, of South Boston, for distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base;
3. Jarrod Benjamin, a/k/a “J-Rock,” 37, of Brockton, for distribution of cocaine base;
4. Tequan Brown, a/k/a “Purp,” 26, of Brockton, for distribution of fentanyl;
5. Edrick Firmin, a/k/a “Rah,” of Brockton, for distribution of fentanyl;
6. Dylan Fontes, a/k/a “J,” 26, of Brockton, for distribution of fentanyl;
7. Andre Gallette, 57, of Boston, for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition;
8. James Hardy, 52, of Roslindale, for distribution of cocaine base and distribution of fentanyl;
9. Allah Mallory, a/k/a “Parod,” 31, of Brockton, for distribution of cocaine base;
10.  Jorge Monteiro, a/k/a “Jay,” 23, of Brockton, for distribution of fentanyl;
11.  Derek Moore, 46, of Roxbury, for being a felon in possession of a firearm;
12.  Abdul-Karim Muwakkil, a/k/a “Tyrone Jones,” and a/k/a “Ty,” 37, of Dorchester, for conspiracy to distribute and distribution of heroin and fentanyl;
13.  Jeffrey Oliveira, 23, of Brockton, for distribution of fentanyl;
14.  Franklin Perry, 52, of Dorchester, for selling counterfeit notes;
15.  Tavon Robinson, a/k/a “Smooth,” 39, of Boston, for conspiracy to distribute and distribution of heroin and fentanyl;
16.  Tyrone Smith, a/k/a “Ty,” 31, of Brockton, for distribution of cocaine base;
17.  Dante Starks, a/k/a “Tay,” 36, of Mattapan, for distribution of cocaine;
18.  Orlando Waters, 30, of Boston, for distribution of cocaine base;
19.  Gary Jamal Webster, a/k/a “Jamal,” 35, of Boston, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl; and
20.  Rashard Wilson, 36, of Brockton, for distribution of cocaine.

One defendant was charged, but is still at-large:

1. FUGITIVE

            In addition, the following defendants, who are already in state custody, were charged federally:

1.  Sirrocko Landrum, 29, of Boston, for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and
2.  Raul Robles, 29, of Brockton, for distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and for being felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Six additional defendants were charged with state drug and firearms offenses:

1.   Dana Brown, 45, of Brockton;
2.  Jason DaCruz, 34, of Brockton;
3.  Vito Gray, 48, of Boston;
4.  Steven Mendes, 31, of Brockton;
5.  Terrell Walker, 63, of East Falmouth; and
6.  FUGITIVE

The federal charge of drug distribution provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine. If the defendant has a prior conviction for a drug distribution offense or crime of violence, the maximum sentence is 30 years in prison, at least six years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $2 million fine. The federal charge of distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base provides for a minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $5 million fine.  The maximum sentence in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The maximum sentence for selling counterfeit notes is 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; and Brockton Police Chief John Crowley made the announcement today. The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force and Southeastern Massachusetts Gang Task Force.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Plymouth and Essex County Sheriff’s Offices; Massachusetts Department of Corrections; U.S. Parole Commission; U.S. Postal Inspection Services; and the U.S. Secret Service. The state cases are being prosecuted by the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

The details contained in the indictments and complaints are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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

BOSTON – A Plymouth man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to anonymously stalking three women by text message and social media, including one woman he stalked throughout the 14-months that they dated.

Joseph Kukstis, 29, pleaded guilty to three counts of stalking by electronic means. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Nov. 19, 2018. Kukstis was arrested and charged in April 2018 and has been in custody since.

From August 2015 until February 2018, Kukstis targeted a woman he was dating, with an anonymous harassment campaign. Kukstis sent the victim hundreds of degrading text messages, many of which urged her to kill herself, and threatened that her harasser would come to her home. Kukstis also sent private, intimate pictures of the victim to her friends and acquaintances through a “spoofed” Instagram account he created in her name. In addition, Kukstis harassed men who he believed were romantically involved with the woman. Kukstis also attempted to obtain unauthorized access to the victim’s social media accounts. Kukstis also sent himself harassing messages that he then shared with the victim, purportedly as proof to her that he, too, was a victim of the stalking. In January 2018, Kukstis sent an e-mail from an account in his own name to the victim, saying: “it was me the entire time, I hate myself for it.”

In connection with his plea, Kukstis also admitted to cyberstalking four other girlfriends and acquaintances. These included a friend from elementary school who he attempted to drive apart from her then boyfriend. Kukstis also sent the victim anonymous text messages stating that she was fat, worthless, and that she should kill herself.

Kukstis also cyberstalked another woman with whom he was in a romantic relationship. In early 2013, Kukstis texted the victim and her friends from anonymous phone numbers, calling her names and harassing her. He also attempted to access the victim’s email and social media accounts. The victim obtained a civil restraining order against Kukstis in February 2013.

In 2014, Kukstis was in a romantic relationship with another woman who he texted posing as her childhood crush and solicited intimate pictures of her. When she complied, Kukstis (posing as the childhood crush) threatened to tell Kukstis about this “betrayal” if she didn’t confess herself. In November 2014, as a result of these and similar encounters, the victim ended her relationship with Kukstis and obtained a civil restraining against him. Kukstis repeatedly violated the restraining order by contacting and anonymously harassing the victim.

In November 2017, Kukstis began messaging with another woman via Instagram, Snapchat, and text message. Kukstis also began sending the victim anonymous text messages through Pinger, including messages in which he posed as the victim’s ex-boyfriend, against whom she had a civil restraining order. When the victim confronted Kukstis for impersonating her ex-boyfriend, Kukstis responded with text messages stating: “You’re fat this was funny you suck;” “Glad your day is ruined;” and “Kill yourself [Jane Doe C].” Kukstis also sent the victim pictures of a partially clothed acquaintance of one of the other victims.

The charges of stalking provide for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and restitution. Sentences are imposed by a U.S. district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto of Lelling’s Cybercrime Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON - A former New Bedford fishing boat captain pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to interfering with a U.S Coast Guard (USCG) inspection of a fishing boat off the Massachusetts coast.

Thomas D. Simpson, 57, of South Portland, Maine, pleaded guilty today to one count of destruction or removal of property subject to seizure and inspection. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Nov. 28, 2018.

 Simpson was the captain of the Fishing Vessel Bulldog, a New Bedford based commercial fishing vessel and one of several fishing vessels owned by Carlos Rafael. On Sept. 25, 2017, Rafael, often referred to as “The Codfather,” was sentenced in federal court in Boston to 46 months in federal prison on a variety of charges related to the operation of his commercial fishing business.

On May 31, 2014, the Bulldog was engaged in commercial fishing off the cost of Massachusetts when the USCG boarded the vessel to perform a routine inspection of the Bulldog and its fishing equipment. At the time of the boarding, the Bulldog’s net was deployed in the water and the crew was actively fishing. The USCG Boarding Officer encountered Simpson in the Bulldog’s wheelhouse and instructed Simpson to haul in the fishing net for inspection. The fishing net is controlled from the wheelhouse by an electric winch, which Simpson activated, but instead of hauling the fishing net onto the vessel, he let out more of the cable attaching the net to the vessel.  When the USCG Boarding Officer realized that Simpson was letting the net out, he instructed Simpson to stop and to haul the net in. Simpson ignored the order and continued to let out cable until the net became detached from the Bulldog and sank.

The USCG and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hired a salvage company, at a cost of approximately $15,000, to retrieve the net from the ocean floor.  An inspection of the net revealed that it had three distinct and separate layers of netting in violation of commercial fishing regulations. When two or more fishing nets are placed on top of each other, the size of the openings are reduced. The reduced size net openings hinder younger, smaller fish from being able to escape the net. The prohibition on double or triple lining fishing nets is intended to maintain the size and viability of the fishing stock and reduce over fishing.  The use of illegal nets may result in fines and forfeiture of fishing equipment.

Simpson faces a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Richard D. Cox, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Services, Northeast Region; and James Landon, Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office for Law Enforcement, Northeast Enforcement Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A Florida man was arrested today and charged in federal court in Boston with conducting an extensive cyberstalking campaign that targeted his former classmate, a 30-year-old Massachusetts woman.

Byron A. Cardozo, 34, residing in Jacksonville and Boca Raton, Fla., was indicted on one count of cyberstalking and one count of making interstate threats. Cardozo was detained following an initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida and will be transported to Boston at a later date.      

According to the indictment, Cardozo engaged in an 18-month-long multi-faceted cyberstalking and threats campaign targeting the victim. He began in February 2017, shortly after the victim published an essay in an online magazine describing a one-time, traumatic sexual encounter she had with Cardozo (she used pseudonyms in the article) when she was approximately 13-years-old and he was approximately 17-years-old while they attended the same school in Florida.

Cardozo allegedly sent hundreds of online communications, many of which he posted in the “comments” section of the essay, accusing the victim of fabricating her claims about the coercive nature of the 2001 sexual encounter, provided graphic descriptions of his purported consensual sexual encounter with the victim, and described how he continued to masturbate to the victim’s photographs. It is further alleged that Cardozo made threats to injure the victim, and at other times, he also apologized to her for the traumatic sexual experience, asked for forgiveness, expressed his love for her, and made veiled threats to commit suicide “because of you.” Cardozo continued to harass and threaten the victim despite the fact that she had obtained a state court order in April 2017, forbidding him from communicating with her.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office, made the announcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Harman Burkart, Chief of Lelling’s Cyber Crime Unit and Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case. 

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A Florida man was arrested today and charged in U.S. District Court in Boston with conducting an extensive cyberstalking campaign that targeted his former schoolmate, a 30-year-old Massachusetts woman.  The victim’s name is being withheld to protect her privacy.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling of the District of Massachusetts and Special Agent in Charge Harold H. Shaw of the FBI’s Boston Field Office made the announcement. 

Byron A. Cardozo, 34, residing in Jacksonville and Tamarac, Florida, was charged in a recently unsealed indictment with one count of cyberstalking and one count of making interstate threats.  Cardozo was detained following an initial appearance before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt in the Southern District of Florida.    

According to the unsealed indictment, Cardozo is charged with engaging in an 18-month-long multi-faceted cyberstalking and threats campaign targeting the victim.  He launched his campaign in February 2017, shortly after the victim wrote, and had published in an online magazine, an essay describing a one-time, traumatic sexual encounter she had with Cardozo when she was approximately 13 and he was approximately 17 and they attended the same school in Florida.  She used pseudonyms for Cardozo and others in the essay.  He sent hundreds of online communications, many of which he made in the “comments” section to the essay.  In those communications, Cardozo claimed that the victim had fabricated her claims about the coercive nature of the 2001 sexual encounter, provided graphic descriptions of his purported consensual sexual encounter with the victim, and described how he continued to masturbate to the victim’s photographs.  Cardozo also made express and implicit threats to injure the victim.  At other times, he also apologized to her for the traumatic sexual experience in 2001, asked for forgiveness, expressed his love for her, and made veiled threats to commit suicide “because of you.”   Cardozo continued to harass and threaten the victim despite the fact that she had obtained a state court order in April 2017, forbidding him from communication with her.

The FBI is investigating the case.  Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Harman Burkart of the District of Massachusetts are prosecuting the case. 

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON - A Los Angeles man was arrested yesterday and charged in connection with a conspiracy to launder funds derived from Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud schemes.    

Ochenetchouwe Adegor Ederaine Jr., a/k/a Ochenetchouwe Adegor, a/k/a David Tecum, a/k/a Gary Dube, a/k/a Joel Akibo, a/k/a James Oliver, a/k/a Israel Patrick, a/k/a Michael Baker, 29, was indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

According to court documents, around March 2016, Ederaine was a member of an organization that engaged in wire fraud and related criminal activity. Ederaine laundered the proceeds of that fraud by engaging in bank transactions designed to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the fraud proceeds. Ederaine opened numerous bank accounts under false identities and withdrew large sums of money.

Specifically, it is alleged that between March 2016 and November 2017, Ederaine used counterfeit passports and other false identification documents to open approximately 23 bank accounts at different banks in the greater Los Angeles area using six different false identities.   Once Ederaine opened a bank account, that account would receive wire transfers consisting of proceeds of various fraudulent schemes.

In one instance, Ederaine’s co-conspirators gained access to email accounts belonging to a Massachusetts attorney engaged in real estate closings. Subsequent emails sent from co-conspirators to recipients in Massachusetts “spoofed” the attorney’s account, which caused the purchaser in a real estate transaction to transfer $531,981 (intended to be used for payment in connection with a real estate transaction) to the account of a woman who in turn sent $60,000 to an account in the name of “David Tecum,” one of the fraudulent identities used by Ederaine.  Shortly after receiving the funds in the “Tecum” account, Ederaine withdrew approximately $9,000 in cash from the account.       

Ederaine faces a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the funds laundered in the conspiracy.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by the United States Attorney’s Office and the FBI in the Central District of California. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David D’Addio and Amy Harman Burkart of Lelling’s Cybercrime Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Narraganset School District high school math teacher was arrested and charged yesterday in federal court in Boston with receipt and possession of child pornography.

Warren Anderson, 26, of Lowell and Harvard, was charged with one count each of receipt and possession of child pornography. Anderson appeared before Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell yesterday afternoon and was ordered detained pending a probable cause and detention hearing on Monday, August 27th. 

According to court records, law enforcement interviewed Anderson as part of an ongoing investigation into the online trade of child pornography through the use of Kik messenger. Anderson admitted to accessing websites on the dark web to obtain child pornography.

A preliminary on-scene forensic analysis by federal agents revealed the presence of child pornography including a video of an adult male repeatedly sexually assaulting a naked four-year-old girl, and an image of a child between the ages of three-and-five-years old - with visible tears in her eyes - being sexually assaulted by an adult male.

The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison. Both charges also provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, made the announcement today. Assistance was provided by the Harvard and Templeton Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, Lelling’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and a member of the Major Crimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274. 

 The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

BOSTON - A Guatemalan national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to illegally reentering the United States after being deported.  

Julio Cantoral Monterroso, 39, a Guatemalan national previously residing in Great Falls, R.I., pleaded guilty today to one count of illegal reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Nov. 13, 2018.

On May 17, 2018, law enforcement officers in Dedham encountered Monterroso and determined him to be illegally present in the United States. Monterroso was previously deported on Aug. 21, 2002, and again on May 12, 2011.

Monterroso faces a sentence of no greater than two years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Rebecca Adducci, Interim Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A former lieutenant with the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) was indicted today in federal court in Boston in connection with the ongoing investigation of overtime abuse at the Massachusetts State Police. 

Former Lieutenant David Wilson, 57, of Charlton, was indicted on one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds. Wilson was previously charged by a criminal complaint and arrested on June 27, 2018. An arraignment date has not yet been scheduled. 

Wilson was assigned to Troop E of the MSP, which was responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic regulations along the Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate I-90. Wilson served as the Officer-in-Charge of several overtime shifts and is alleged to have received overtime pay for shifts that he either did not work at all or from which he departed early.   

The alleged conduct involves overtime pay for the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program (AIRE). That initiative was intended to reduce accidents, crashes, and injuries on I-90 through an enhanced presence of MSP Troopers who were to target vehicles traveling at excessive speeds. Wilson was required to work the entire duration of the shift – four hours – and truthfully report the date, time and sector of deployment on the citations issued during the shift. As alleged, Wilson concealed the fraud by submitting citations that were issued outside of the overtime shifts, altered citations to create the appearance that the citation was issued during an overtime shift, and/or submitted citations that were never issued and never took place. 

According to court documents, investigators were able to corroborate the alleged conduct through information maintained concerning the usage of MSP cruiser radios, RMV records, and records of when driver history checks were run on ticketed drivers. 

In 2016, Lt. Wilson earned approximately $230,000, claiming to have worked approximately 170 AIRE overtime shifts – equating to about $68,000 in overtime pay. In court documents, it is alleged that Lt. Wilson earned approximately $12,450 in overtime pay for hours that he did not work.

In 2015 and 2016, MSP received annual benefits from the U.S. Department of Transportation in excess of $10,000, which were funded pursuant to numerous federal grants. 

The charge of theft of government funds provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Wilson was charged and arrested along with Trooper Gary Herman, 45, of Chester; and former Trooper Paul Cesan, 50, of Southwick.  On July 2, 2018, former Trooper Gregory Raftery, 47, of Westwood was charged and pleaded guilty.  On July 25, 2018, retired Trooper Daren DeJong, 56, of Uxbridge, was also charged.  On Aug. 17, suspended Trooper Kevin Sweeney, 40, of Braintree, was charged and has agreed to plead guilty.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Douglas Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Chao and Mark Grady of Lelling’s Public Corruption Unit and Neil Gallagher of Lelling’s Economic Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Brighton man was arrested and charged today in federal court in Boston with receipt and possession of child pornography.

Hanford Chiu, 28, was charged with one count each of receipt and possession of child pornography. Chiu appeared before Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell, who ordered him detained pending a probable cause and detention hearing scheduled for Aug. 24, 2018.

According to court records, a search warrant was executed at Chiu’s residence in Brighton and preliminary on-scene forensic analysis of one of several pieces of computer equipment seized pursuant to the warrant revealed thousands of images of child pornography. 

The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison. Both charges also provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, Lelling’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and member of the Major Crimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

BOSTON – A Mexican national was arrested yesterday in connection with drug trafficking activities that resulted in the seizure of approximately four kilograms of suspected heroin.

Miguel Angel Torres Morales, 39, was charged today by criminal complaint with possession with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. 

According to court documents, a cooperating witness arranged to purchase four kilograms of “china white,” referring to fentanyl, from a large-scale narcotics distributor for $55,000 per kilogram. The distributor agreed to deliver the drugs to the cooperating witness using a courier. On Aug. 20, 2018, Torres Morales drove a tractor trailer to the area of the “Park and Ride” parking lot on Granite Avenue in Milton to deliver the drugs. Federal agents stopped the tractor trailer and, in a cabinet behind the driver’s seat, located four brick-packed kilograms of tan powder wrapped in cellophane. A field test of the powder tested positive for heroin.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million. Torres Morales will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren A. Graber of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case. 

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – An MS-13 member was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for racketeering conspiracy.

Modesto Ramirez, a/k/a “Snoopy,” 28, a Honduran national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 97 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Ramirez will also be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence.  In May 2018, Ramirez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy.

After a multi-year investigation, Ramirez was one of dozens of leaders, members, and associates of MS-13 named in a superseding indictment unsealed in January 2016 that targeted MS-13’s criminal activities in Massachusetts. According to court documents, MS-13 members in Massachusetts engaged in a variety of racketeering acts and crimes of violence, including six different murders between October 2014 and January 2016, as well as numerous attempted murders and conspiracies to commit murder.

Ramirez was a member of the Trece Locos Salvatrucha or TLS clique of MS-13. The racketeering evidence against Ramirez included a recording made by a cooperating witness in which Ramirez discussed his intention and willingness to kill a gang rival.

Many other members of the TLS clique were also prosecuted as part of this case. In total, 49 defendants have been convicted as part of this ongoing prosecution. Of the 49 convictions, 40 were the result of guilty pleas like in the case of Ramirez, while nine others were convicted after trial.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon made the announcement today.

BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in a widespread fentanyl trafficking organization.

Bronin Martin Gonzalez Arias, a/k/a Rafael Omar Arias-Rodriguez, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The government asked for a sentence of 57 months in prison. Gonzalez Arias will be subject to deportation proceedings. In April 2018, Gonzalez Arias pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.

On May 30, 2017, more than 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officers executed a federal drug sweep to dismantle a Lawrence-based drug trafficking organization allegedly run by Juan Anibal Patrone. Gonzalez Arias was arrested and charged along with Patrone and approximately 30 co-conspirators.  

Gonzalez Arias was a redistributor for Patrone’s organization. Throughout his time on the street, Gonzalez Arias distributed between 160-280 grams of fentanyl.

When first charged, Gonzalez Arias falsely identified himself as Rafael Omar Arias-Rodriquez and claimed to be a United States citizen in his detention hearing before the Court; in fact, he is Dominican, and in the country illegally.

Patrone pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial on Oct. 29, 2018.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Winkler of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the cases.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – The alleged leader of a Boston-based heroin and fentanyl trafficking organization pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston.

Jose Antonio Lugo-Guerrero, a/k/a Fernando Rivera-Rodriguez, 40, who formerly resided in Mattapan, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin, more than 400 grams of fentanyl, and more than five kilograms of cocaine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Nov. 27, 2018. In February 2017, Lugo-Guerrero was arrested and charged along with 22 co-defendants.  

From mid-2016 through February 2017, federal law enforcement investigated two drug trafficking organizations operating in Taunton and Boston; the former led by Fernando Hernandez, and the latter led by Jose Antonio Lugo-Guerrero. Hernandez’s organization sold heroin and fentanyl to customers who re-distributed a portion of the drugs they obtained. Hernandez obtained drugs from a network of suppliers that included Lugo-Guerrero.

Lugo-Guerrero sold kilograms of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine to customers in Boston, New Bedford, Fall River, and surrounding areas. The evidence, including federal wiretaps in late 2016 and early 2017, further showed that he obtained some of the drugs he sold by robbing other drug dealers. On Nov. 3, 2016, Lugo-Guerrero and five co-defendants traveled to New Bedford panning to rob a drug dealer who had stolen half a kilogram of heroin from Lugo-Guerrero. At Lugo-Guerrero’s direction, one of the co-defendants transported a firearm and provided it to another co-defendant just before the attempted robbery. Based on intercepted communications, law enforcement agents were aware of the planned robbery and stopped and questioned the defendants before it occurred. As a result, Lugo-Guerrero aborted his plan that night and returned to Boston. 

In February 2018, Hernandez was sentenced to 188 months (15½ years) in prison after pleading guilty in November 2017. The court found that Hernandez was responsible for distributing more than a kilogram of heroin over a two-month period in the summer of 2016.

Lugo Guerrero faces a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison and up to life, a minimum of five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $4 million, and will be deported upon completion of his sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Fall River Police Chief Albert F. Dupere; New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro; Taunton Police Chief Edward James Walsh; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte; and Bristol Country District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Heinrich of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A North Dartmouth woman and a Weymouth man were arrested Saturday and charged in connection with drug trafficking activities involving the shipments of multiple kilograms of cocaine sent through the mail.

Cristina Lopez, 43, of North Dartmouth, and John Tavares, 31, of Weymouth, were charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Lopez and Tavares will appear in federal court today at 2:30 p.m.

According to court documents, more than 40 parcels that had been sent via the United States mail from Puerto Rico to various addresses in Massachusetts, including residences in Quincy, North Dartmouth, Weymouth, and New Bedford, were identified as suspicious. The parcels were often sent on the same day from Puerto Rico to two or more different addresses in Massachusetts. It is alleged that when federal agents executed search warrants on two of the parcels, they seized approximately two kilograms of cocaine hidden in sealed coffee cans. Through surveillance, agents allegedly determined that Lopez and Tavares were receiving the majority of the parcels. Agents also determined that Lopez and Tavares had been regularly flying from Massachusetts to Puerto Rico for trips lasting only 30 to 72 hours, and that the parcels suspected of containing cocaine were then typically sent to Massachusetts within one to three days after their return.

Court documents also reflect that Tavares has previously been convicted of various firearms and drug-related offenses.

The charge of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine provides for a sentence of at least five years and no greater than 40 years in prison, four years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Raymond D. Moss, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Boston; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey; Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III; Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson made the announcement today. The Quincy, Weymouth, Braintree, North Dartmouth and Boston Police Departments assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James E. Arnold and Nadine Pellegrini of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the court documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – An MS-13 member was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for racketeering conspiracy involving the murder of a 16-year-old boy in East Boston.  

Edwin Diaz, a/k/a “Demente,” 20, a Salvadoran national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 35 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Diaz will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. In May 2018, Diaz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy.

After a multi-year investigation, Diaz was one of dozens of leaders, members, and associates of MS-13 named in a superseding indictment unsealed in January 2016 that targeted MS-13’s criminal activities in Massachusetts. According to court documents, MS-13 members in Massachusetts engaged in a variety of racketeering acts and crimes of violence, including six different murders between October 2014 and January 2016.  

Diaz was a member of MS-13’s “Westers” clique. On Jan. 10, 2016, Diaz and three other MS-13 members—Edwin Gonzalez, a/k/a “Sangriento,” Jairo Perez, a/k/a “Seco,” and Rigoberto Mejia, a/k/a “Ninja”— murdered a 16-year-old boy in East Boston who they believed was associated with a rival gang. Gonzalez and others used social media to lure the victim to his death by pretending to be a girl who was interested in meeting the victim for a date. Instead, when the victim arrived, Diaz, Perez, and Gonzalez used large knives to stab and hack the victim approximately four dozen times. As they were doing that, Mejia fired multiple gunshots into the victim. The four assailants then left the young boy bleeding to death on the sidewalk.

 As part of the investigation, law enforcement captured Diaz on tape admitting his participation in the murder. Among other things, Diaz bragged about stabbing the victim multiple times and stated that the group was “dicing him [the victim] up, like onions.” Diaz also stated that he would have cut off the victim’s head and left it lying on the street if he had the opportunity.

Diaz is one of 49 defendants who have been convicted as part of this ongoing prosecution, and 16 of those defendants have been held responsible for murder. Of the 49 convictions, 40 come from members who have pleaded guilty, including Perez and Mejia, both of whom are awaiting sentencing. Nine others were convicted after trial – including Gonzalez, who was convicted of racketeering conspiracy involving the January 2016 murder, as well as the separate September 2015 murder of a 15-year-old boy.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; Somerville Police Chief David Fallon; and Wes Adams, State’s Attorney, Anne Arundel County (Maryland), Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office, made the announcement today.

BOSTON – A New England Compounding Center (NECC) employee pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston in connection with working as an unlicensed pharmacy technician at the compounding pharmacy in Framingham.

Scott M. Connolly, 46, of East Greenwich, R.I., pleaded guilty to 10 counts of mail fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Dec. 19, 2018. In December 2014, Connolly was indicted along with 13 others in connection with the 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak originating from NECC. Connolly is cooperating with the government and is expected to testify during the October 2018 trial of the remaining NECC defendants.   

Connolly was a licensed pharmacy technician from September 2007 to January 2009, when he voluntarily surrendered his license in connection with a disciplinary action against him. Under Massachusetts regulations, pharmacy technicians filling drug orders are required to be licensed. Nevertheless, Connolly was hired at NECC and worked as a pharmacy technician from 2010 through October 2012. Connolly was assigned to Clean Room 2 making cardioplegia solutions that are used to stop patients’ hearts during heart surgeries. For more than two years, Connolly produced thousands of cardioplegia solutions that were sent to customers throughout the country. Connolly’s unlicensed status was known to his supervising pharmacists, Barry Cadden, Glenn Chin, and others.

To mask his presence from regulators, Connolly used Cadden’s username and password to log into the computerized pump so that his name would not appear on any paperwork generated when he filled the cardioplegia orders. He also did not perform any of the required validation tests other pharmacy technicians were required to do. Connolly’s employment file falsely listed him as a warehouse employee. 

The NECC criminal case arose from the nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis that was traced back to contaminated vials of preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) manufactured by NECC. The outbreak was the largest public health crisis caused by a pharmaceutical product. 

In March 2017, Cadden was convicted by a federal jury of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead. He was sentenced in June 2017 to 108 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In October 2017, Chin was convicted of the same charges and sentenced in January 2018 to eight years in prison and two years of supervised release.

The charge of mail fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Derek Roy, Resident Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Sean J. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Northeast Field Office; and Raymond Moss, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys George P. Varghese and Amanda P.M. Strachan of Lelling’s Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the court documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A suspended Massachusetts State Police Trooper was charged and agreed to plead guilty today in connection with being paid over $11,000 for overtime hours that he did not work.

Kevin Sweeney, 40, of Braintree, was charged with one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds and one count of wire fraud. Sweeney has agreed to plead guilty; a court date has not yet been scheduled. 

According to court documents, Sweeney was a MSP Trooper assigned to Troop E, which was responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic regulations along the Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate I-90. In 2015, Sweeney earned $249,407, which included approximately $111,808 in overtime pay. In 2016, Sweeney earned $218,512, which included approximately $95,895 in overtime pay. 

Sweeney was allegedly paid for overtime shifts that he either did not work at all or from which he left early. Sweeney concealed his fraud by submitting fraudulent citations designed to create the appearance that he had worked overtime hours that he had not, and falsely claimed in MSP paperwork and payroll entries that he had worked the entirety of his overtime shifts.

For example, on Dec. 14, 2016, Sweeney claimed in MSP payroll submissions and other paperwork to have worked a “D AIRE” overtime shift from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Sweeney allegedly wrote eight motor vehicle citations during the shift and submitted copies of those citations to MSP as evidence that he had worked. Yet, Sweeney’s cruiser radio was not turned on during the overtime shift, he did not run any driver histories during the shift, and Registry of Motor Vehicle records reflect that none of the motorists that Sweeney claims to have cited actually received a citation that day. 

Sweeney has agreed to plead guilty to being paid $11,103 for overtime hours that he did not work. The overtime in question involved the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program (AIRE) and the “X-Team” initiative, which were intended to reduce accidents, crashes, and injuries on I-90 through an enhanced presence of MSP Troopers who were to target vehicles traveling at excessive speeds. 

In 2015 and 2016, MSP received annual benefits from the U.S. Department of Transportation in excess of $10,000, which were funded pursuant to numerous federal grants.

Sweeney is the sixth trooper charged as a result of the ongoing investigation. On June 27, 2018, former Lieutenant David Wilson, 57, of Charlton; Trooper Gary Herman, 45, of Chester; and former Trooper Paul Cesan, 50, of Southwick, were arrested and charged with the same crime. On July 2, 2018, former Trooper Gregory Raftery, 47, of Westwood was charged and pleaded guilty. On July 25, 2018, retired Trooper Daren DeJong, 56, of Uxbridge, was also charged.

The charge of theft of government funds provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Douglas Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Chao and Mark Grady of Lelling’s Public Corruption Unit and Neil Gallagher of Lelling’s Economic Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A former Dartmouth Selectman was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with concealing approximately $2.5 million in cash from the U.S. District Court following his sentencing proceedings in 2015.

John George Jr., 71, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to five months in prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $250,000. In March 2018, George pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice.

In July 2015, George was sentenced to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $688,772 and forfeiture of $1.38 million for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA). George was required to disclose his financial status to the Court, and reported that he only possessed approximately $28,000 in cash. However, in December 2015 and January 2016, federal law enforcement recovered more than $2.5 million in cash, as well as Rolex watches and jewelry that George had concealed in safe deposit boxes in New Bedford and Fairhaven.   

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Douglas Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations; Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and U.S. Marshal John Gibbons for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao of Lelling’s Public Corruption Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON - A Dominican national illegally residing in the United States using false identities pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to passport fraud.

Alejandro Valera, 40, a Dominican national residing in Mattapan, pleaded guilty to knowingly making false statements in applying for a U.S. passport. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Nov. 13, 2018.

On Nov. 10, 2011, Valera, who, according to court records, has a lengthy criminal record, used the name, date of birth and Social Security number of a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico to submit a fraudulent application for a passport. He also falsely stated that he had never used any other names or previously applied for a passport, yet, in 2002, Valera unsuccessfully applied for a passport using the same false identity.

Valera faces a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore Merritt of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A Quincy man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston on drug trafficking and firearm charges.

Jonathan Andrade, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In January 2018, Andrade pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine and cocaine base, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. 

On Sept. 15, 2017, a search warrant was executed at Andrade’s apartment in Quincy. The agents knocked on the door and announced their presence, and with no response from inside, they began forcing the door open. In the meantime, agents positioned outside of the building observed an open window in the apartment, and Andrade throwing a black canvas bag to the sidewalk below. The bag was recovered and found to contain approximately two kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of fentanyl and 250 grams of cocaine base. Once agents entered the apartment, they found Andrade standing near the open window where he was arrested.

A further search of the apartment recovered of a Taurus, Model 709FS, 9mm semi-automatic firearm that was one of 33 firearms reported stolen in December 2012, approximately $20,000, luxury jewelry, and several gold bars. Baggies and a heat sealer were recovered from the kitchen. 

During the search of Andrade’s vehicles – a BMW, Altima, Malibu, and Dodge Van –     investigators discovered two electronic hides within the Altima. The hides contained approximately one kilogram each of cocaine and fentanyl.        

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Cannon of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit.

BOSTON – A Brockton man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for the armed kidnapping of a Quincy man and two children.

Diego Pires, 23, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 201 months in prison and five years of supervised release. In February 2018, Pires pleaded guilty to kidnapping.

In January 2018, co-defendant Malik Bangura, 20, was sentenced to 17 years in prison and two years of supervised release. In March 2018, co-defendant Sedrick Oliveira, 26, of Stoughton, pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 23, 2018. In December 2017, co-defendant Yesenia Diaz, 23, of Brockton, pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 14, 2018. 

On Oct. 8, 2016, at approximately 10:25 p.m., a 30-year-old man was kidnapped from the driveway of his Quincy home after being struck in the head with a revolver as he got out of his truck, and dragged into a nearby sedan. The victim had two children strapped into car seats in his truck, as well as approximately 30 pounds of marijuana, at the time he was assaulted.

Once the victim was in the sedan, two masked perpetrators, later identified as Pires and Bangura, drove the victim’s truck, with the children still inside, to a secluded location where they unloaded the marijuana and $20,000 from the victim’s truck, into the sedan. The victim, who was face-down in the backseat of the sedan at gunpoint, begged for his life and the life of the two children who were still in their car seats in the back of his truck.   

Pires, Bangura, Diaz, and Oliveira then drove the sedan with the drugs, cash and the victim, from Quincy to Brockton and called the victim’s wife demanding $100,000. Law enforcement officers spotted the sedan as it drove through Brockton, recognized the vehicle from a drive-by shooting that occurred in August 2016, and began to follow it. After the defendants recognized the police, they attempted to flee, but ultimately abandoned the sedan in a Brockton driveway. The victim escaped, flagged down law enforcement officers, and described to them the secluded location where the truck had been deserted.  Law enforcement located the truck with the children inside, who were unharmed. 

Diaz was subsequently found standing by the sedan and arrested. Oliveira was arrested in October 2017 in Stoughton; Bangura was arrested in April 2017; and Pires was a fugitive until he was apprehended in October 2017.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Brockton Police Chief John Crowley; and Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily O. Cannon of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – 12 Dominican nationals were indicted today in federal court in Boston with various charges of aggravated identity theft and false representation of a Social Security number. All 12 defendants were previously charged by criminal complaints on July 26, 2018, in a federal document and benefit fraud sweep and are currently in custody.

The following defendants were each indicted on one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number:

Alejandra Eulalia Baez Arias, 40, of Lawrence;

Saddan Rafael Bautista Diaz, 27, of Dorchester;

Robert Crisologo Bobadilla Baez, 43, of Mattapan;

Fernando Cedeno Carpio, 34, residing in Houston, Texas, with legal permanent resident status;

Ramon Lara Martinez, 45, of Hyde Park, was also indicted on one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm;

Viterbo Enrique Minaya Melo, 30, of Lawrence;

Ulises Francisco Mota Carmona, 35, of Lawrence;

Yhoan Alexis Nivar Rodriguez, 29, residing in Mattapan with legal permanent resident status, was also indicted on one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl;

Randy Manuel Percel Arias, 23, of Lawrence;

Jose Mercedes Polanco Guerrero, 47, of Dorchester; and

Carmen Sanchez Garcia De Martinez, 64, a dual Dominican and Venezuelan national residing in Springfield.

Erika Bautista Diaz, 30, was indicted on one count of false representation of a Social Security number.

The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. False representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of being an alien in possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office; Michael Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; Raymond Moss, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service Puerto Rico Violent Offender Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Wichers, Karen Burzycki, Rachel Hemani and Patrick Callahan are prosecuting the cases.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for robbing 10 banks in the greater Boston area.

Paul B. Landrum, dubbed the “Route 128 Bandit,” 38, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In May 2018, Landrum pleaded guilty to 10 counts of bank robbery. In November 2017, Landrum was arrested and charged in federal court and has been in custody since.

Between July 31, 2017, and Oct. 6, 2017, eight banks were robbed in the Greater Boston area. After each robbery, the tellers described the perpetrator as a light-skinned black man, 30-to-45-years-old, wearing a baseball hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeved collarless shirt. Based on the descriptive similarities, law enforcement suspected that the same individual was involved in each robbery. 

Between Oct. 17, 2017, and Oct. 19, 2017, two more banks were robbed in the Greater Boston area. Following these robberies, the tellers described the robber, later determined to be Tamea Chambers, as a black woman, 30-to-35-years-old, wearing a wig. Based on the similar descriptions by the tellers, law enforcement suspected that the same individual was involved in these two robberies.

During their investigation of the latter robberies, law enforcement obtained video footage from a business connected to one of the banks that captured images of the female robber in the company of a light-skinned black male. Upon comparison of this video footage with the video footage of the first eight robberies, law enforcement determined the man to be the Route 128 Bandit.

An investigation into the robber’s get-away vehicle led law enforcement to identify Landrum as the suspect, and on Oct. 24, 2017, Landrum and Chambers were arrested in Boston. Landrum admitted to robbing eight banks individually, and assisting Chambers with the final two robberies.

Chambers pleaded guilty in May 2018 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 17, 2018.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. The Massachusetts State Police and the Boston, Brookline, Medford, Somerville, and Wellesley Police Departments assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – The current and former owners of Giovanni’s Roast Beef & Pizza in Peabody were sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with skimming cash receipts from Giovanni’s and failing to report the cash on their tax returns, thereby avoiding the payment of about $550,000 in taxes. 

William Panousos, 67; his wife, Theodora Panousos, 65; and their son, Konstantinos Panousos, 39, were each sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to three years of probation, with the first 18 months confined to the City of Peabody, and ordered to pay a fine of $150,000. The Judge also ordered join and several restitution of $549,883 to the IRS. In November 2017, the all three defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. William Panousos also pleaded guilty to three counts of aiding and assisting in filing false corporate and individual tax returns; Theodora pleaded guilty to four counts; and Konstantinos pleaded guilty to two counts.

During tax years 2013 through 2015, the Panousos’ skimmed approximately $2.8 million in cash receipts from Giovanni’s and did not deposit them into the business’ bank account or report them to their tax preparer. They diverted about $1.5 million of those cash receipts to their own personal use. They used the rest of the skimmed cash to pay some of the business’ expenses, including a portion of payments to suppliers and a portion of employees’ salaries. In addition, the defendants failed to report those cash expenses on their tax returns. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Lelling’s Economic Crimes Unit prosecuted the case. 

BOSTON – A Lawrence man was arrested yesterday and charged in federal court in Boston with distributing fentanyl. 

Luis Pimentel, 29, was charged with one count of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Pimentel appeared in federal court yesterday and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing.

According to the complaint unsealed yesterday, in May 2018, federal agents identified Pimentel as a fentanyl distributor in the Lawrence area. During the course of this investigation, agents seized over 160 grams of fentanyl from the defendant. 

The charge of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl carries a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew Lelling and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Gardner man was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for illegally possessing ammunition and distributing fentanyl.

Travis Miller, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 80 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In March 2018, Miller pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition and one count of distribution of fentanyl. In November 2017, Miller and another individual, Edwin Labaw, were arrested after being charged in a criminal complaint. 

According to court documents, Miller met with an undercover federal agent on Sept. 19, 2017, in Gardner, and the agent purchased a double-barrel 12-gauge shotgun, a 9mm Kel-Tech Sub 2000 rifle, and 11 rounds of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition in exchange for $1,200. Miller again met with an undercover agent on Sept. 27, 2017, in Fitchburg, and the agent purchased a 7.62x39mm caliber SKS rifle, along with ammunition and magazines, in exchange for $1,800.  Miller engaged in communications with the undercover agent and a cooperating source regarding other firearms, including a sniper rifle and the potential assembly of a fully automatic AR-style rifle.

Subsequently, Miller sent text messages to the undercover agent offering to sell fentanyl patches and OxyContin pills. On Nov. 3, 2017, Miller met with the agent in Worcester and sold him a .38 caliber revolver with an obliterated serial number, .38 caliber ammunition, 39 fentanyl patches, and 65 OxyContin pills. 

According to court documents, Miller has prior felony convictions and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

Labaw pleaded guilty on March 5, 2018, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 29, 2018.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. This case was investigated with assistance from the Worcester, Gardner, and Fitchburg Police Departments, and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Abely of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Dorchester man was arrested yesterday and charged in federal court today with distributing fentanyl.

Snolbert Ramirez-Sandoval, 21, was charged with one count of distribution of fentanyl. He appeared in federal court today and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing.

According to the complaint unsealed yesterday, Ramirez-Sandoval sold fentanyl on July 26, 2018, by directing the buyer to go to an apartment in Roslindale. It is alleged that once there, two young boys (one between 11-and-14-years-old and another between 3-and-6-years-old) led the buyer to the room in which Ramirez-Sandoval had left the fentanyl. The buyer paid the older child for the substance and left. It is further alleged that on Aug. 2, 2018, the buyer returned to the Roslindale apartment to purchase additional fentanyl from Ramirez-Sandoval. Again, the buyer was greeted by the two children, who informed the buyer that Ramirez-Sandoval was not home but would be back shortly. Approximately 30 minutes later, Ramirez-Sandoval and another individual arrived at the apartment and sold the buyer the fentanyl. 

The charge of distribution of fentanyl carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. Ramirez-Sandoval will be subject to deportation proceedings. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, and Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Estes of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with his role in a conspiracy that defrauded victims by pretending to be employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Leonel Alexis Valerio Santana, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 63 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $105,869. In May 2018, Valerio Santana pleaded guilty to two conspiracies: a conspiracy to commit money laundering, and a separate conspiracy to commit wire fraud, to impersonate a federal employee, and to misuse a government seal. In January 2018, Valerio Santana was arrested and charged by criminal complaint along with co-conspirator Frank Gregory Cedeno, 27, of Ocoee, Florida. Cedeno was indicted in March 2018 and has pleaded not guilty.

For approximately two years beginning no later than June 2015, Valerio Santana conspired with others to defraud victims by pretending to be employees of the SEC. In that guise, members of the conspiracy demanded money from victims and directed them to send it to members of the conspiracy, including members in Boston. The conspirators who received the money generally withdrew it from bank accounts quickly, then forwarded much of it to individuals in the Dominican Republic, including to Valerio Santana. In one common version of the scam, victims received e-mails that used official-seeming documentation with the SEC seal to support a false claim that the victim must pay a fee in order to receive a portion of a legal settlement. In another version of the scheme, victims received e-mails and official-seeming documents labeling the victim as a defendant in a civil lawsuit alleging that the victim owed tens of thousands of dollars in supposed disgorgement, penalties and fees. The documents gave the victim a choice of either appearing in court to contest the lawsuit or paying a smaller fee. The e-mails in this scheme came from e-mail addresses designed to look official, addresses including, for example, ussec@nusecc.net and nussec@usa.com.

Valerio Santana was responsible for recruiting people who received money transfers from victims and then forwarded the money to conspirators in the Dominican Republic, including, at times, to Valerio Santana himself. Valerio Santana recruited several of these money couriers, primarily in the Boston area. Over the course of Valerio Santana’s participation in the scheme, the couriers he recruited received $105,869 in victim funds; however, the total solicitations from those victims were even greater, reaching approximately $283,874 in intended loss.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Carl W. Hoecker, Inspector General of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Inspector General; and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Pérez‑Daple of Lelling’s Criminal Division is prosecuting the cases.

The details contained in the court documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced a $4.9 billion settlement with The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (RBS Group) resolving federal civil claims that RBS Group’s subsidiaries in the United States (RBS) misled investors in the underwriting and issuing of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2008. The penalty is the largest imposed by the Justice Department for financial crisis-era misconduct at a single entity under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, which allows the Justice Department to seek civil penalties for violations of criminal statutes. 

“This resolution – the largest of its kind – holds RBS accountable for defrauding the people and institutions that form the backbone of our investing community,” said Andrew E. Lelling, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. “Despite assurances by RBS to its investors, RBS’s deals were backed by mortgage loans with a high risk of default. Our settlement today makes clear that institutions like RBS cannot evade responsibility for the damage caused by their illicit conduct, and it serves as a reminder that the Justice Department, and this Office, will hold those who engage in fraudulent conduct accountable.”

“Many Americans suffered lasting economic harm as a result of the 2008 financial crisis,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio. “This settlement holds RBS accountable for serious misconduct that contributed to that financial crisis, and it sends an important message that the Department of Justice will pursue financial institutions that illicitly harm the American economy and our consumers.”

“The actions of RBS resulted in significant losses to investors, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which purchased the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities backed by defective loans,” said Associate Inspector General Jennifer Byrne of the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General’s (FHFA-OIG). “We are proud to have partnered with the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts on this matter.”

The settlement includes a statement of facts that details – using contemporaneous calls and emails of RBS executives – how RBS routinely made misrepresentations to investors about significant risks it failed to disclose about its RMBS. For example:

• RBS failed to disclose systemic problems with originators’ loan underwriting. RBS’s reviews of loans backing its RMBS (known as “due diligence”) confirmed that loan originators had failed to follow their own underwriting procedures, and that their procedures were ineffective at preventing risky loans from being made. As a result, RBS routinely found that borrowers for the loans in its RMBS did not have the ability to repay and that appraisals for the properties guaranteeing the loans had materially inflated the property values. RBS’s RMBS contained, as its Chief Credit Officer put it, “total f***ing garbage” loans with “random” and “rampant" fraud that was “all disguised to, you know look okay kind of . . . in a data file.” RBS never disclosed that these material risks both existed and increased the likelihood that loans in its RMBS would default. 
• RBS changed due diligence findings without justification. RBS's due diligence practices did not remove fraudulent and high-risk loans from its RMBS. In fact, RBS executives internally discussed how RBS’s due diligence process was “just a bunch of bullsh**.” For example, when RBS’s due diligence vendors graded loans materially defective, RBS frequently directed the vendors to “waive” the defects without justification. One due diligence vendor, which tracked waivers by most major participants in the RMBS industry, concluded that RBS waived material defects 30% more frequently than the industry average. RBS’s waiver of material defects routinely resulted in the securitization of loans with excessive risk. When it engaged in such waivers, RBS never included enhanced “scratch-and-dent” disclosures that would have alerted investors that loans with excessive risks were included in the RMBS.
• RBS provided investors with inaccurate loan data. RBS’s due diligence frequently found that loan data – which RBS passed on to investors, who used the data to analyze the risks associated with its RMBS – were riddled with errors. Many inaccuracies made the loans look less risky than they actually were. RBS, however, did not require originators to correct the data errors. In one deal, where RBS identified over 600 data errors associated with 563 loans (including debt-to-income ratios understated by as much as 2700%), RBS failed to disclose these errors even to the originator; instead, RBS reassured the originator that RBS had not required originators to correct data errors in the past and did not anticipate doing so for that deal.
• RBS failed to disclose due diligence and kick-out caps. To develop and maintain business relations with originators, RBS agreed to limit the number of loans it could review (due diligence caps) and/or limit the number of materially defective loans it could remove from a RMBS (kick-out caps). RBS’s scheme reached its height in two deals issued in October 2007. In both of these RMBS, RBS identified hundreds of underlying loans that carried a particularly high risk of default and would cause losses to the RMBS investors. RBS kept these materially risky loans in the RMBS, without disclosing their inclusion to investors, because RBS had agreed to a kick-out cap limiting the number of defective loans that RBS could exclude from the securities in exchange for receiving a lower price for the loan pool. As a result, over the entirety of its scheme, RBS securitized tens of thousands of loans that it determined or suspected were fraudulent or had material problems without disclosing the nature of the loans to investors. 

Through its scheme, RBS earned hundreds of millions of dollars, while simultaneously ensuring that it received repayment of billions of dollars it had lent to originators to fund the faulty loans underlying the RMBS. RBS used RMBS to push the risk of the loans, and tens of billions of dollars in subsequent losses, onto unsuspecting investors across the world, including non-profits, retirement funds, and federally-insured financial institutions. As losses mounted, and after many mortgage lenders who originated those loans had gone out of business, RBS executives showed little regard for this misconduct and made light of it. 

These are allegations only, which RBS disputes and does not admit, and there has been no trial or adjudication or judicial finding of any issue of fact or law. 

U.S. Attorney Lelling, Acting Associate Attorney General Panuccio and FHFA-OIG Associate Inspector General Byrne made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin D. O’Connell, Brian M. LaMacchia, Elianna J. Nuzum, Steven T. Sharobem, and Sara M. Bloom of Lelling’s Office handled the matter.

The Justice Department announced today a $4.9 billion settlement with The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (RBS) resolving federal civil claims that RBS misled investors in the underwriting and issuing of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2008. The penalty is the largest imposed by the Justice Department for financial crisis-era misconduct at a single entity under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, which authorizes the federal government to seek civil penalties against financial institutions that violate various predicate criminal offenses, including wire and mail fraud.

“Many Americans suffered lasting economic harm as a result of the 2008 financial crisis,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio.  “This settlement holds RBS accountable for serious misconduct that contributed to that financial crisis, and it sends an important message that the Department of Justice will pursue financial institutions that illicitly harm the American economy and our consumers.”

"This resolution – the largest of its kind – holds RBS accountable for defrauding the people and institutions that form the backbone of our investing community,” said Andrew E. Lelling, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. “Despite assurances by RBS to its investors, RBS’s deals were backed by mortgage loans with a high risk of default. Our settlement today makes clear that institutions like RBS cannot evade responsibility for the damage caused by their illicit conduct, and it serves as a reminder that the Justice Department, and this Office, will hold those who engage in fraudulent conduct accountable.”

“The actions of RBS resulted in significant losses to investors, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which purchased the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities backed by defective loans,” said Associate Inspector General Jennifer Byrne of the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General’s (FHFA-OIG). “We are proud to have partnered with the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts on this matter.”

The settlement includes a statement of facts that details – using contemporaneous calls and emails of RBS executives – how RBS routinely made misrepresentations to investors about significant risks it failed to disclose about its RMBS. For example:
 

• RBS failed to disclose systemic problems with originators’ loan underwriting. RBS’s reviews of loans backing its RMBS (known as “due diligence”) confirmed that loan originators had failed to follow their own underwriting procedures, and that their procedures were ineffective at preventing risky loans from being made. As a result, RBS routinely found that borrowers for the loans in its RMBS did not have the ability to repay and that appraisals for the properties guaranteeing the loans had materially inflated the property values. RBS never disclosed that these material risks both existed and increased the likelihood that loans in its RMBS would default. 
• RBS changed due diligence findings without justification. RBS’s due diligence practices did not remove fraudulent and high-risk loans from its RMBS. For example, when RBS’s due diligence vendors graded loans materially defective, RBS frequently directed the vendors to “waive” the defects without justification. One due diligence vendor, which tracked waivers by most major participants in the RMBS industry, concluded that RBS waived material defects 30% more frequently than the industry average. RBS’s waiver of material defects routinely resulted in the securitization of loans with excessive risk. When it engaged in such waivers, RBS never included enhanced “scratch-and-dent” disclosures that would have alerted investors that loans with excessive risks were included in the RMBS.
• RBS provided investors with inaccurate loan data. RBS’s due diligence frequently found that loan data – which RBS passed on to investors, who used the data to analyze the risks associated with its RMBS – were riddled with errors. Many inaccuracies made the loans look less risky than they actually were. RBS, however, did not require originators to correct the data errors. In one deal, where RBS identified over 600 data errors associated with 563 loans (including debt-to-income ratios understated by as much as 2700%), RBS failed to disclose these errors even to the originator; instead, RBS reassured the originator that RBS had not required originators to correct data errors in the past and did not anticipate doing so for that deal.
• RBS failed to disclose due diligence and kick-out caps. To develop and maintain business relations with originators, RBS agreed to limit the number of loans it could review (due diligence caps) and/or limit the number of materially defective loans it could remove from a RMBS (kick-out caps). RBS’s scheme reached its height in two deals issued in October 2007. In both of these RMBS, RBS identified hundreds of underlying loans that carried a particularly high risk of default and would cause losses to the RMBS investors. RBS kept these materially risky loans in the RMBS, without disclosing their inclusion to investors, because RBS had agreed to a kick-out cap limiting the number of defective loans that RBS could exclude from the securities in exchange for receiving a lower price for the loan pool. As a result, over the entirety of its scheme, RBS securitized tens of thousands of loans that it determined or suspected were fraudulent or had material problems without disclosing the nature of the loans to investors. 

Through its scheme, RBS earned hundreds of millions of dollars, while simultaneously ensuring that it received repayment of billions of dollars it had lent to originators to fund the faulty loans underlying the RMBS. RBS used RMBS to push the risk of the loans, and tens of billions of dollars in subsequent losses, onto unsuspecting investors across the world, including non-profits, retirement funds, and federally-insured financial institutions. As losses mounted, and after many mortgage lenders who originated those loans had gone out of business, RBS executives showed little regard for this misconduct and made light of it. 

These are allegations only, which RBS disputes and does not admit, and there has been no trial or adjudication or judicial finding of any issue of fact or law. 

The settlement was the result of a multi-year investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin D. O’Connell, Brian M. LaMacchia, Elianna J. Nuzum, Steven T. Sharobem, and Sara M. Bloom of Lelling’s Office investigated RBS’s conduct in connection with RMBS, with the support of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of the Inspector General.

BOSTON - A Liberian national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for resisting a federal officer at Logan International Airport. The defendant struck deportation officers, injuring one, as the officers attempted to facilitate the defendant’s removal from the United States.

Mohammed Kenneh, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to 27 months in prison and two years of supervised release. In January 2018, Kenneh pleaded guilty to one count of resisting a federal officer.

“The public needs to be aware that this office will aggressively pursue a ‘zero tolerance’ policy in cases involving physical assaults on agents and officers who enforce our Nation’s federal immigration laws,” said United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling. “Working in an increasingly politicized and hostile environment, these men and women are simply doing their jobs.”

“Individuals who think they can get away with assaulting ICE Deportation Officers should think again,” said Rebecca J. Adducci, Interim Field Office Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, Boston. “This case powerfully demonstrates the priority that our justice system places not just on the enforcement of federal immigration law, but on the importance of protecting the dedicated men and women who put their lives on the line every day to enforce those laws.” 

Between 2002 and 2012, Kenneh, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, was served with four restraining orders, issued by three different women. In 2015, Kenneh was convicted of violating a restraining order and sentenced to one year in jail; and in 2008, Kenneh was convicted of breaking and entering and sentenced to probation. His convictions rendered him deportable, and he was ordered removed by an immigration judge in Boston in July 2016.

On Aug. 29, 2017, two deportation officers assigned to accompany Kenneh to Liberia, began the removal process. When the officers attempted to process Kenneh for removal, he was verbally disruptive and physically resisted. The officers then handcuffed Kenneh and escorted him to a van for transport to Logan International Airport.

Upon arrival at the airport, Kenneh refused to exit the van. When one of the officers entered the van to remove Kenneh, he became physically aggressive. Kenneh used his shoulders and head to strike the officer, knocking him to the floor. Kenneh then wrapped his handcuffs around the officer’s wrist and twisted them forcibly. As a result of the physical altercation, the officers aborted the removal proceedings and returned Kenneh to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

USA Lelling and Interim Field Office Director Aducci made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON - A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.

Sandy Saul Pena, 36, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Saul Pena will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In May 2018, Saul Pena pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry of a deported alien.

In December 2016, federal law enforcement in Boston encountered Pena and determined him to be illegally present in the United States. Pena was previously deported in February 2012.  On Dec. 13, 2016, Pena was arrested in Boston and charged with trafficking a Class A controlled substance. He is being held on $200,000 bail awaiting trial in state court on the drug charges.  Pena’s federal sentence will not begin until his state case is resolved.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Rebecca J. Adducci, Interim Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Chicago woman was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for her role in a fraudulent airplane loan scheme.

Latoya Monique James, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to time served (approximately one week) and three years of supervised release, with the first year to be served in home confinement. In March 2017, James pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. James and two co-conspirators, Ryan Miller and Dusten James Miller, were indicted in June 2016.

From March 2013 through March 2016, the Miller brothers engaged in a scheme to defraud banks by obtaining loans purportedly to finance the purchase of recreational airplanes.  Using stolen identities, the brothers posed as both the buyers and the sellers of airplanes; they submitted fraudulent loan applications to the banks and provided the banks with false and fraudulent documents in support of those applications, including false tax returns, bank statements, driver’s licenses, and Social Security cards.

Once the loans were approved, the brothers arranged for the loan documents to be sent either electronically to an email address they created or to a physical address they rented. The Millers signed and notarized the loan documents—either using fake licenses as identification or forged notary stamps. The brothers instructed the banks to wire the funds to bank accounts opened at various banks in the name of fraudulent companies that the brothers had incorporated. Once the funds were wired to those accounts, the brothers quickly withdrew the stolen funds, and used those funds, in part, to rent high-end residences in the United States and Dominican Republic and to purchase expensive vehicles, jewelry and other luxury items.

James was engaged in a relationship with Dusten James Miller throughout much of the relevant period. James participated in the conspiracies to defraud the banks and launder the stolen funds by impersonating an individual whose identity had been stolen, by opening multiple bank accounts into which the stolen funds were wired, and by contacting banks to inquire about financing and/or the loan application process.   

In February 2018, a federal jury convicted the Miller brothers of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft. Ryan Miller was also convicted of one count of bank fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft. In June 2018, Ryan Miller was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Dusten James Miller was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Thomas J. Ullom, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Regional Office, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karin M. Bell and Greg A. Friedholm of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A French national who previously resided in East Boston was charged today in federal court in Boston in connection with kidnapping his three-year-old child in violation of court orders.

Malik Benhamza, 33, was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of international parental kidnapping. Benhamza is currently a fugitive and believed to be in Algiers, Algeria.

As alleged in charging documents, on Feb. 2018, Essex County Family and Probate Court granted Jerusha Hall sole legal custody of her and Benhamza’s three-year-old child, and granted Benhamza visitation rights during specific days and times. The judgement also stated that neither parent could travel outside of Massachusetts with the child without written notice/consent to the other parent. On July 1, 2018, Benhamza did not return the child to Hall following a scheduled visit. Hall contacted law enforcement who traced Benhamza’s cell phone the following day to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Law enforcement reviewed records of flights originating from JFK Airport and discovered that on July 1, 2018, Benhamza departed aboard Royal Air Moroc Flight 201 with the child and disembarked in Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers, Algeria. According to court documents, Hall did not give permission to Benhamza to take the child out of the United States, and has neither seen, nor heard from the child since July 1, 2018.

The charge of international parental kidnapping provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. The Salem Police Department provided assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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BOSTON – Three men were indicted yesterday in federal court in Boston with aggravated identity theft and false representation of a Social Security number.  All three individuals were arrested and charged by criminal complaint on July 26, 2018, in a federal document and benefit fraud sweep.

Jose Lopez Rosado, 54, of Worcester; John Doe, whose true identity remains unknown, but who was residing in Lynn; and James Alfred Pena Guerrero, 30, a Dominican national residing in Dorchester, were each indicted on one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number. All three defendants are currently in custody.

According to court documents, Lopez Rosado escaped from prison in Puerto Rico in 1994 while serving a 40-year sentence for second degree murder.  His true identity was discovered during the federal investigation into document and benefit fraud.  He is currently in state custody on unrelated charges. The indictment alleges that Lopez Rosado falsely represented a number to be the Social Security number assigned to him on an application submitted to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) when the Social Security number was not his. By submitting the Social Security number of another individual on his application, he committed identity theft.

John Doe and Pena Guerrero were charged in separate indictments with falsely representing a number to be the Social Security number assigned to them on applications they submitted to the Massachusetts RMV when the Social Security numbers were not theirs; by doing so, they also committed identity theft.

The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. False representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office; Michael Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; Raymond Moss, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service Puerto Rico Violent Offender Task Force. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki is prosecuting the cases.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Lynnfield woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to filing false tax returns, on which she claimed, among other things, more than a $370,000 mortgage interest deduction, even though the loan was in default and property had gone into foreclosure.

Karyn M. Ingram, 51, pleaded guilty to three counts of filing false tax returns for tax years 2011, 2012 and 2013. Ingram was arrested and charged in January 2018. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for Nov. 29, 2018.

Ingram filed tax returns in which she reported false and inflated Schedule A deductions and in one year, a Schedule C business loss, in order to reduce her overall tax liability. For example, for tax years 2010 and 2011, Ingram filed returns claiming mortgage interest deductions of $45,072 and $371,427, but she had not made any mortgage payments since 2008; in fact, the loan had defaulted, and the property had gone into foreclosure. She also claimed real estate tax deductions in those same tax years, when, in reality, the real estate taxes had been paid by the mortgage lender and not by Ingram. By falsifying the deductions and losses, Ingram fraudulently reduced her tax liability by more than $126,000.

The charge of filing false tax returns provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra S. Bower of Lelling’s Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A former Belmont resident was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with a decade-long Ponzi-style investment scheme in which he defrauded 15 investors of over $6 million. 

John William Cranney, a/k/a Jack Cranney, 77, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $5,587,432. In May 2018, Cranney was convicted following a two-week trial on three counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of mail fraud and three counts of money laundering. Pending reporting to prison on Sept. 21, 2018, Cranney remains released on conditions including travel restricted to El Paso County, Texas.  

From 2001 through 2012, Cranney solicited money from people with whom he had personal and business relationships and represented that he would invest their money in an investment fund or a retirement plan he said he managed. However, instead of investing the money, Cranney spent his victims’ savings and retirement on his own bills and debts to fund his declining health and nutrition products distributorship. To carry out his scheme, Cranney created shell companies that he named specifically to sound like investment funds. He also set up a sham Employee Stock Ownership Plan to convince victims to transfer their IRA and 401k retirement funds to him. Cranney’s scheme ultimately collapsed in early 2012 when he could not obtain new investment money to pay back earlier investors who were demanding the return of their funds.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Carol S. Hamilton, Acting Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also received assistance from the Office of the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the U.S. Trustee’s Office in Boston. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark J. Balthazard and Kriss Basil of Lelling’s Economic Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Cambridge man was arrested and charged today in connection with tweeting a murder-for-hire solicitation to kill ICE agents for $500.

Brandon J. Ziobrowski, 33, of Cambridge, was charged in an indictment unsealed today with one count of use of interstate and foreign commerce to transmit a threat to injure another person. Ziobrowski was arrested this morning in New York and will appear in Boston at a later date.

According to court documents, in 2009 Ziobrowski created a Twitter account registered under the username @Vine_II. Over time, Ziobrowski’s tweets became more violent and threatening.  For instance, it is alleged that he repeatedly tweeted his desire to “slit” Senator John McCain’s throat. Then, beginning around February 2018, Ziobrowski allegedly began posting tweets that promoted violence against law enforcement. For example, a Feb. 24, 2018, tweet read: “Guns should only be legal for shooting the police like the second amendment intended.” 

In March 2018 Ziobrowski allegedly started tweeting threatening messages against federal law enforcement agents that work for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On March 1, 2018, in response to a tweet from the ICE Field Office stating that ICE officers put their “lives on the line to arrest criminal aliens,” Ziobrowski posted a message that read: “Thank you ICE for putting your lives on the line and hopefully dying I guess so there’s less of you?”

On July 2, 2018, Ziobrowski allegedly tweeted: “I am broke but will scrounge and literally give $500 to anyone who kills an ice agent. @me seriously who else can pledge get in on this let’s make this work.”  It is alleged that Ziobrowski’s tweet was designed as a threat to encourage violence and the murder of federal law enforcement agents. At the time of the tweet, Ziobrowski had 448 Twitter followers.

The charge of use of interstate and foreign commerce to transmit a threat to injure another person provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Boston and New York assisted with the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and Brian Perez-Daple of Lelling’s National Security Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – Two Lowell-based physicians have agreed to settle with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to resolve allegations of improper dispensing of controlled substances and improper billing.

Dr. Hung K. Do and his addiction treatment clinic, H.K.D. Treatment Options, have agreed to pay $23,000 to settle claims of improper billing of medical services under the Controlled Substances Act and the False Claims Act. Dr. Vasumathi Brown, a physician employed by H.K.D., has agreed to pay a $12,500 civil penalty for issuing invalid prescriptions for controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act.

It is alleged that, at Dr. Do’s direction, Dr. Brown signed hundreds of blank prescriptions for use by unsupervised non-physician staff while Dr. Brown was on vacation abroad in December 2016. Ultimately, unsupervised non-physician staff issued over 600 prescriptions for controlled substances using the pre-signed blank prescriptions. It is further alleged that Dr. Do subsequently billed Medicare improperly for services related to the prescriptions that non-physician staff provided in Dr. Brown’s absence, and that Dr. Do falsely reported to Medicare that Dr. Brown supervised those services.

“Ensuring the proper handling of prescriptions is a critical part of our ongoing efforts to maintain patient safety and prevent drug diversion,” said United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling. “Our success in fighting the opioid crisis depends on the diligence of prescribers in ensuring that those seeking addiction treatment receive proper medical supervision.”

“In response to the ongoing opioid epidemic DEA’s obligation is to improve public safety and public health,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement and regulatory partners to ensure that rules and regulations that protect against drug diversion and promote responsible dispensing of controlled substances are followed.”

“We entrust physicians and their medical practices to medically care for their patients, honestly bill for services, and ensure that taxpayers’ healthcare dollars are properly spent, ” said Phillip Coyne Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “HHS-OIG will continue to pursue penalties against medical providers who inappropriately bill Medicare and potentially jeopardize patient safety by failing to properly manage their prescribing of controlled substances.”

“This settlement highlights the FBI’s commitment to combating the illegal distribution of opioids by medical professionals,” said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division. “We’re committed to working with our law enforcement partners to make sure dishonest health care professionals who exploit Medicare through fraudulent billing and other schemes will be held accountable.”

U.S. Attorney Lelling, DEA SAC Boyle, HHS-OIG SAC Coyne, and FBI SAC Shaw, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kriss Basil and Doreen Rachal of Lelling’s Office handled the matter.

BOSTON – A Jamaican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for misuse of a Social Security number and aggravated identity theft.

Basil Ledgister, 41, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to 26 months in prison. In May 2018, Ledgister pleaded guilty to one count of misuse of a Social Security number and one count of aggravated identity theft.

In January 2015, Ledgister falsely represented that a Social Security number belonging to another person was his in an application for a license at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Ledgister committed aggravated identity theft by using the Social Security number of another person in committing the crime of false representation of a Social Security number.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General; and Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Richardson of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Springfield man was arrested today and charged in federal court in Springfield with distributing heroin.

Javier Vazquez, 29, was charged with two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin.

According to the indictment that was unsealed today, Vazquez distributed heroin in Hampden County on June 21 and July 10, 2018.  

The charge provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $2 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd E. Newhouse of Lelling’s Springfield Office is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Methuen real estate broker was sentenced today in connection with a sweeping conspiracy to defraud banks and mortgage companies by engaging in sham “short” sales of residential properties in Merrimack Valley.

Greisy Jimenez, 50, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to three years in prison, four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $12,500. The court will determine issues of restitution and forfeiture on Aug. 29, 2018. In January 2018, Jimenez pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Three co-conspirators involved in the scheme have been sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. In June 2018, Jasmin Polanco, 37, a real estate closing attorney, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,224,489 in restitution. In May 2018, Vanessa Ricci, 41, of Methuen, a mortgage loan officer, was sentenced to six months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $963,730. In March 2017, Hyacinth Bellerose, 51, a real estate closing attorney, was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release to be served in home detention.

The charges arose out of a scheme to defraud various banks via bogus short sales of homes in Haverhill, Lawrence and Methuen in which the purported sellers remained in their homes with their debt substantially reduced. A short sale is a sale of real estate for less than the value of any existing mortgage debt on the property. Short sales are an alternative to foreclosure that typically occur only with the consent of the mortgage lender. Generally, the lender absorbs a loss on the loan and releases the borrower from the unpaid balance. By their very nature, short sales are intended to be arms-length transactions in which the buyers and sellers are unrelated, and in which the sellers cede their control of the subject properties in exchange for the short-selling bank’s agreement to release them from their unpaid debt.

The conspiracy began in approximately August 2007 and continued through June 2010, a period that included the height of the financial crisis and its aftermath. Home values in Massachusetts and across the nation declined precipitously, and many homeowners found themselves suddenly “underwater” with homes worth less than the mortgage debt they owed. As part of the scheme, Jimenez, Polanco, Ricci, Bellerose and others submitted materially false and misleading documents to numerous banks in an effort to induce them to permit the short-sales, thereby releasing the purported sellers from their unpaid mortgage debts, while simultaneously inducing the purported buyers’ banks to provide financing for the deals. In fact, the purported sellers simply stayed in their homes, with their debt substantially reduced.

The conspirators falsely led banks to believe that the sales were arms-length transactions between unrelated parties; in fact, the buyers and sellers were frequently related, and the sellers retained control of (and frequently continued to live in) the properties after the sale. The conspirators also submitted phony earnings statements in support of loan applications that were submitted to banks in order to obtain new financing for the purported sales. In addition, the defendants submitted phony “HUD-1 Settlement Statements” to banks that did not accurately reflect the disbursement of funds in the transactions. HUD-1 Settlement Statements are standard forms that are used to document the flow of funds in real estate transactions. They are required for all transactions involving federally related mortgage loans, including all mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, New York Field Office; and Christy Goldsmith Romero, Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen E. Frank, Chief of Lelling’s Economic Crimes Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Miron Bloom and Victor A. Wild, also of the Economic Crimes Unit, prosecuted the cases.