District of Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Johnson B. Ogunlana, age 25, of Edgewood, Maryland, to six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and mail fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and theft of mail by a postal employee.  As part of his sentencing, Ogunlana has been ordered to pay $232,588 in restitution.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Imari R. Niles of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; and Postal Inspector in Charge Greg Torbenson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division.

According to his plea agreement, Ogunlana was a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in Brooklyn, Maryland.  Ogunlana knew that his duties and responsibilities as a letter carrier included handling, sorting, collecting, and delivering letter and parcel mail to postal customers residing and conducting business on his assigned postal delivery routes, and preserving and protecting the security of all mail in his custody.

Between July 25, 2016 and February 5, 2019, Ogunlana, and his co-conspirator Samson A. Oguntuyi, age 29, of Atlanta, Georgia conspired with others to steal bank checks and credit and debit cards from the mail, open fraudulent business banking accounts using the names of victim businesses and the stolen identities of victim postal customers to negotiate the stolen checks by depositing them into the fraudulent bank accounts, and then conduct transactions with stolen payment cards and with money derived from the stolen checks.

As detailed in the plea agreement, Ogunlana intercepted and stole mail pieces containing credit cards addressed to individual victims and sent photos of the stolen mail pieces and credit cards through a messaging application to Oguntuyi and other conspirators.  Oguntuyi then used the victims’ personal identifying information (“PII”) to activate the stolen credit cards and to obtain new credit cards the victims never requested or applied for.  Once the stolen credit cards were activated, members of the conspiracy used the credit cards to make retail purchases. 

Members of the conspiracy also registered fraudulent businesses with state government agencies in similar names as the victim businesses.  Conspiracy members also used the fraudulent businesses to cash stolen checks.  Conspiracy members also used the names and identifying information of postal customer identity theft victims as the agents and/or incorporators of the fraudulent businesses and used stolen payment cards issued to identity theft victims to pay fees to register some of the fraudulent businesses.  Ogunlana stole checks payable to victim businesses, whose mail was serviced out of the USPS facility where Ogunlana worked, by intercepting their mail.  Oguntuyi and Ogunlana then endorsed some of the checks by forging the signatures of identity theft victims and depositing the checks into the fraudulent business bank accounts the conspirators opened in the names of the victim businesses.  The conspirators then withdrew the money from the accounts through cash withdrawals, debit card purchases and cash back transactions at retail merchants, wire transfers, and by writing checks drawn on the accounts.

As detailed in his plea agreement, at least $565,000 in checks was stolen from two victim businesses and at least eight postal customers were victims of identity theft.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their work in the investigation and thanked the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for its assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Davio, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach. For more information about resources available to report fraud, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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Baltimore, Maryland – United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Maddox has been appointed to serve as a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.  He will sit in Baltimore, Maryland.

U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron said, “Matthew’s appointment is a reflection of his tremendous service to the United States Attorney’s Office and I am excited that he will be continuing in public service as a federal judge.  Matthew is a uniquely talented and dedicated public servant, whose intellect and commitment to helping others are no doubt why he was selected for the federal bench.  Matthew joins a distinguished group of Maryland United States Attorney’s Office alumni who have gone on to serve as judges at both the state and federal level.” 

Mr. Maddox has served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland as an Assistant U.S. Attorney since 2015.  In this capacity, Mr. Maddox prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases, including human trafficking, child exploitation, identity theft, financial fraud, bank robbery, and a variety of other federal offenses.  In 2017, Mr. Maddox received an award from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Outstanding Contribution to a Law Enforcement Initiative.  Mr. Maddox has served as the Office’s Identity Theft Coordinator since 2018 and Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Section since 2020.

Mr. Maddox was born and raised in Maryland.  He graduated summa cum laude from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he majored in philosophy and religious studies.  After receiving his B.A. degree, Mr. Maddox was a Fulbright Scholar and taught high school through the Teach for America program.  Mr. Maddox received his J.D. degree from the Yale Law School in 2011.

Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Maddox served as law clerk to the Honorable Gerald Bruce Lee, United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.  From October 2012 to August 2014, Mr. Maddox worked as a litigation associate at the law firm of Holland & Knight in Washington, D.C.  From August 2014 to August 2015, Mr. Maddox served as law clerk to the Honorable André M. Davis, United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – Zaid Rushdan, age 41, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute controlled substance, and to possession of stolen firearms.  

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Charlie Patterson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Washington Field Division; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince Georges’ County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, from at least December 2020 until February 11, 2021, Rushdan conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over one kilogram of phencyclidine (“PCP”) and over 28 grams of crack cocaine.

Specifically, the DEA began investigating Rushdan, a co-conspirator, and others for distributing narcotics in Southern Maryland and the District of Columbia.  Agents determined that Co-Conspirator 1 was transporting drugs and drug proceeds to facilitate Rushdan’s drug trafficking business after seeing Co-Conspirator 1 at Rushdan’s apartment on multiple occasions, leaving and picking up bags at the apartment while traveling to and from drug trafficking locations.

On February 11, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Rushdan’s apartment and seized: over a gallon (4,486 grams) of PCP with a purity of between 7% and 12%; approximately 299 grams of powder cocaine; approximately 31 grams of crack cocaine; plastic baggies containing pills and powders, subsequently identified to include 50 grams of heroin and 81.35 grams of Eutylone; approximately seven pounds of marijuana; seven handguns; two rifles; approximately 652 rounds of ammunition; and $14,485 in cash.

Rushdan admitted that the $14,485 in cash were proceeds of his drug trafficking business and all of the firearms were used, or were intended to be used, to facilitate his drug trafficking.  As detailed in his plea agreement, Rushdan also knew, or had reasonable cause to believe, that four of the firearms were stolen, specifically, a Glock .40 caliber pistol, a Springfield Armory .45 ACP pistol, a Smith and Wesson 9x19mm pistol, and an Auto-Ordnance Corporation .45 ACP pistol.

Rushdan and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Rushdan will be sentenced to at least 121 months, but not more than 151 months, in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for April 7, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. 

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA, the ATF, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Town of Vienna, Virginia Police Department, the Alexandria, Virginia Police Department, the Virginia State Police, the Arlington, Virginia Police Department, the Loudoun County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, and the Fairfax County Police Department for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Kibbe and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam K. Ake, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Jovar Demetrius Jefferson, age 30, of Lanham, Maryland to six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr. of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, on January 24, 2020, Prince George’s County Police (PGPD) Officers observed a black vehicle parked in front of a Riverdale, Maryland residence.  As officers approached the vehicle, one officer detected the odor of marijuana and saw Jefferson sitting in a reclined position with a hand-rolled marijuana cigarette in the center console.  After Jefferson was asked to exit the vehicle, a PGPD officer searched the vehicle and located a .40 caliber semi-automatic privately made firearms, commonly referred to as a “ghost gun,” loaded with ten rounds of ammunition.

Once the officer located the firearm, Jefferson attempted to flee on foot and was later apprehended by other officers in the surrounding area.  Upon further inspection, officers located additional items in Jefferson’s vehicle including approximately 169 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, and several small clear plastic bags.

As stated in his plea agreement, on January 31, 2020, a search warrant was executed at Jefferson’s apartment.  As a result of the executed search warrant, officers located an empty large plastic bag that contained marijuana residue and a firearm magazine containing three .40 caliber rounds of ammunition.

Jefferson admits that he possessed the marijuana seized from his vehicle with the intent to distribute a portion of it and use the remaining portion for personal use.  

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the ATF and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy F. Hagan, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Kevin Lawrence Carter, age 40, of Faulkner Maryland, to five years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to Carter’s plea agreement, on July 30, 2020, law enforcement observed an individual purchase approximately one ounce of methamphetamine from Carter for $700.  The transaction occurred in a Clinton, Maryland parking lot.  After the transaction, law enforcement continued surveillance of Carter as he left the parking lot, stopped to get gas for the car, and headed into Charles County, Maryland. 

A short time later, a Charles County Sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop on Carter’s vehicle in White Plains, Maryland.  During the traffic stop, the deputy asked Carter to step out of the vehicle. As Carter exited the vehicle, the deputy saw a clear gallon freezer bag with a white substance protruding from the driver’s seat where Carter was sitting and noticed a digital scale in the driver’s side door.

Carter was placed under arrest and transported to the Charles County Detention Center.  As a result of a search of Carter’s vehicle, law enforcement seized the digital scale, 388 grams of pure methamphetamine, and $680 remaining from the $700 Carter was paid during the earlier drug transaction.  The remaining $20 had been used when Carter stopped to get gas.  Lab results proved that the substance Carter distributed was 28.04 grams of pure methamphetamine.

In total, Carter possessed with intent to distribute at least 416 grams of 100% pure methamphetamine.                    

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised HSI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel Crespo and Elizabeth Wright, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging Jerry Phillips, age 24, of Temple Hills, Maryland, for the federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft; and Jaleel Phillips, age 24, of Temple Hills, Maryland, for wire fraud, in relation to an alleged scheme to unlawfully obtain COVID-19 relief loans and unemployment benefits.

Jerry and Jaleel Phillips made their initial appearances today at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.; respectively, in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles B. Day.

The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge Quenton Sallows, of the Mid-Atlantic Region, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG); Acting Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, of the Washington Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General; and Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

According to the criminal complaint, IP addresses linked to Jaleel and Jerry Phillips were used to submit fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster loan applications (EIDL), and unemployment insurance claims resulting in $1 million in received funds.

As stated in the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, the Phillips brothers allegedly created fictitious aliases, used the personal identifying information of real people, and used out of business or fake corporate entities to apply for EIDL and PPP loans, and unemployment benefits.

Further, the complaint alleges that the brothers created several financial and email accounts under aliases, including “Kenneth Williams,” “Allen Gator,” and “Jamal Hopkins.”  The aliases were supported by fake Maryland driver’s licenses, social security numbers, and birth dates.  The complaint further alleges that after receiving the fraudulently obtained funds, the defendants used the funds to purchase a 2020 Camaro, furniture, home improvement items and services, and made many other purchases. Significant funds were also transferred between the various financial accounts established in the aliases’ names.  Additionally, the criminal complaint alleges that the defendants used several fraudulent Maryland driver’s licenses to create multiple accounts in popular digital currency exchange platforms.

If convicted, Jerry Phillips and Jaleel Phillips face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud.  Jerry Phillips faces an additional two years in federal prison consecutive to any other sentence imposed for aggravated identity theft.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DOL-OIG, SBA-OIG, IRS-CI, FDIC-OIG, and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry M. Gruber, who is prosecuting the federal case.  He also thanked the Office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch-Public Integrity Division, for its assistance. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – DeAundre Tyrique Keys, a/k/a “Dre,” age 35, of Lexington Park, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of distribution of fentanyl and to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron; and Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans.

According to Keys’ guilty plea, on March 1, 2021, three individuals traveled to St. Mary’s County, Maryland to purchase narcotics from Keys.  One of the individuals met with Keys at Keys’ apartment complex in Lexington Park and purchased fentanyl from Keys, who was on pretrial release for pending charges in St. Mary’s County, and was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the drug transaction. 

As detailed in the plea agreement, after buying fentanyl from Keys, the three individuals returned to Calvert County, where two of the individuals ingested the fentanyl purchased from Keys.  One of the individuals became unresponsive and the other two individuals administered Narcan, attempted CPR, and called 9-1-1.  Before first responders could arrive, the individual who had purchased the fentanyl from Keys discarded the remaining fentanyl in the woods.  Arriving first responders attempted life saving measures, but the victim was pronounced dead.  The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Maryland concluded that the victim’s cause of death was fentanyl and alcohol intoxication.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Keys’ apartment on March 12, 2021.  Keys was the sole occupant of the apartment when officers arrived and was wearing his GPS ankle monitor.  Law enforcement recovered a plastic baggie containing 30.07 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl, acetylfentanyl, heroin, acetaminophen, and 06-Monoacetylmorphine; drug paraphernalia, including a digital scale with fentanyl residue, a cutting agent, and plastic glassine baggies used for narcotics packaging and distribution; a Polymer 9mm handgun with a 30-round magazine containing 21 rounds of 9mm ammunition; one round of 9mm ammunition on the floor; two .40 magazines—one empty and the other containing 13 rounds of 9mm ammunition; an empty 30 round magazine; and $7,080 in cash, which were proceeds of Keys’ drug sales.

The seized firearm is a ghost gun—privately made with parts manufactured outside Maryland, which has no serial number and is not a registered firearm.  The gun was tested by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and was found to be a fully functioning firearm.  Keys knew that he had a previous felony conviction and was prohibited from possessing a firearm and/or ammunition.

Keys and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Keys will be sentenced to between 10 and 12 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte has scheduled sentencing for May 24, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. 

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, and the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked the ATF and the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica C. Collins, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced inmate Todd Holloway, age 36, today to 50 months in federal prison, consecutive to the state sentence he is currently serving, followed by three years of supervised release, for a racketeering conspiracy charge related to his participation in a scheme to smuggle contraband into the Maryland Correctional Institution Jessup (MCIJ), including narcotics, unauthorized flash drives, tobacco, and cell phones into the prison.

Inmate Irving Hernandez, age 27, pleaded guilty to the same charge yesterday.

The sentence and guilty plea were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Secretary Robert L. Green, of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

According to court documents, MCIJ was a medium-security prison in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, that housed approximately 1,100 male inmates, with 262 custody staff or Correctional Officers (COs) and 52 non-custody staff, including case management, medical, and administrative staff.

As detailed in his plea agreement, Holloway conspired with individuals outside the facility who obtained and packaged contraband, including, Suboxone Strips, K2, and tobacco, met with employees, and managed the proceeds of contraband sales for Holloway.  The contraband was brought into MCIJ by exterminator Ricky McNeely in exchange for bribe payments.

For example, at Holloway’s direction, McNeely met with a facilitator co-conspirator on June 10, 2017 to obtain a bribe payment and contraband, which McNeely subsequently brought into MCIJ and provided to Holloway.  The following week, McNeely again met with a facilitator co-conspirator to obtain additional contraband and bribe payment.  On June 19, 2017, McNeely brought Suboxone, K2, and tobacco, into MCIJ.  While McNeely was in the library attempting to plant the contraband, a correctional officer saw McNeely dropping K2.  A subsequent search revealed 215 Suboxone strips, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine base, and K2, all of which was intended to be delivered to Holloway and other co-conspirators. 

According to Hernandez’s plea agreement, he conspired with MCIJ Contract Nurse Joseph Nwancha, who brought contraband, including K2, pills, tobacco, and cell phones into the facility in exchange for bribe payments.  On November 28, 2017, co-defendant Joseph Nwancha was stopped at MCIJ in possession of approximately 230 grams of K2 intended for MCIJ inmates.  A cell phone recovered from Nwancha was subsequently searched and revealed numerous text message conversations between Hernandez and Nwancha discussing bribe payments and smuggling contraband into MCIJ.  For example, on October 28, 2017, Nwancha agreed to bring K2 into MCIJ in exchange for $1,000.  On October 30, 2017, Hernandez, through a co-conspirator, wired Nwancha a $700 bribe via Western Union.  On November 3, 2017, Hernandez sent Nwancha a text message stating that he was going to “start sending a good amount [of contraband] every week.”  Nwancha agreed to bring K2 and tobacco into the facility for Hernandez in exchange for $1,000 per week.

Hernandez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for racketeering conspiracy.  Judge Xinis scheduled sentencing for Irving Hernandez on May 26, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.

In addition to Holloway and Hernandez, 15 other defendants—six outside facilitators, five prison employees, and four inmates—have pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy, including Ricky McNeely and Joseph Nwancha.  Seven defendants are awaiting sentencing and three defendants are pending trial.  

This case arose from the efforts of the Maryland Prison Task Force, coordinated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and comprised of local, state, and federal stakeholders that meet regularly to share information and generate recommendations to reform prison procedures and attack the gang problem that has plagued Maryland in recent years.  The work of the Task Force previously resulted in the federal convictions of more than 78 defendants, including 16 correctional officers, at the Eastern Correctional Institution, and 40 defendants, including 24 correctional officers, at the Baltimore City Detention Center.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for their work in the investigation. The U.S. Attorney expressed appreciation to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, whose staff initiated the MCIJ investigation and have been full partners in this investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean R. Delaney, who is prosecuting this case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Scott Gregory Screen, age 56, of Columbia, Maryland to eight years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; Chief Lisa D. Myers of the Howard County Police Department and Colonel Kevin Anderson of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.

According to his plea agreement, from May 2020 to February 23, 2021, Screen conspired with others to distribute heroin and possess with intent to distribute those drugs in Maryland and elsewhere.

As stated in his plea agreement, on February 8, 2021, law enforcement executed search warrants in multiple locations including Screen’s Columbia, Maryland apartment.  As a result of the search warrants, investigators located multiple bags of narcotics including 900 grams of a fentanyl methamphetamine mixture, 499 grams of a heroin and methamphetamine mixture, $18,000 in cash, and at least eight digital scales.

Investigators later located Screen in Georgia where he was arrested on February 23, 2021.  Prior to his arrest, Screen dropped a vehicle at a car dealership and told the employees that he was preparing to leave the area for a long time.  Additionally, after he heard of the raid on his apartment, Screen contacted the management company of his apartment complex and informed them that he was not returning and that his belongings should be thrown away. 

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the DEA, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Howard County Police Department, and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary B. Stendig, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Ludin Alfredo Ipina-Ipina, age 33, of Chillum, Maryland, today to 66 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute over two kilograms of cocaine. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).

According to his plea agreement, from July 2020 to November 2020, Ipina sold cocaine to co-conspirators on three instances.  Specifically, in July 2020, Ipina sold 21.7 grams of cocaine to a co-conspirator for $1,600; in August 2020, Ipina sold 55.7 grams of cocaine to a co-conspirator for $3,600; and in September 2020, Ipina sold 167.8 grams of cocaine to a co-conspirator for $10,000.

On November 12, 2020, law enforcement executed search warrants at Ipina’s residences.  At his Chillum, Maryland residence, law enforcement recovered approximately 2,406.2 grams of cocaine, digital scales, baggies, and shrink wrap with cocaine residue.  In addition to the cocaine and drug paraphernalia, law enforcement also recovered five-kilogram wrappings with cocaine residue and $118,453 in cash.  At the time of his arrest, law enforcement also recovered $1,021 from Ipina’s person.   In an interview with law enforcement, Ipina admitted that the cocaine recovered by law enforcement was his and claimed that he was holding the two kilograms of cocaine for another individual.  Ipina also informed authorities that he intended to use the $119,474 in recovered cash to purchase 10 kilograms of cocaine from a drug supplier in Texas.

As stated in his plea agreement, Ipina distributed 167.8 grams of cocaine, possessed 2,405.2 grams of cocaine with the intent to distribute, and attempted to purchase 10 kilograms of cocaine with the intent to distribute that cocaine to drug users and distributors.

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA and PGPD for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Rajeev R. Raghavan, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Juawan Davis, age 25, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Secretary Robert Green of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, from 2017 to April 2019, Davis participated in a drug trafficking enterprise (DTO) and self-identified as an “NFL” member.  The term “NFL” stands for Normandy, Franklin, and Loudon, which are three adjacent streets that run through the Edmondson Village in Baltimore.  Members of NFL have social and familial ties to the Edmondson Village neighborhood in southwest Baltimore.  Members of the NFL distributed large quantities of heroin, cocaine base, and fentanyl to drug users and drug redistributors from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.  In furtherance of the enterprise, NFL members shared narcotics supplies and distributed narcotics on a daily basis, including heroin mixed with fentanyl.  Drug customers believed they were purchasing heroin, but in reality, the NFL DTO often altered the heroin with fentanyl or sold fentanyl to customers without any heroin.

As detailed in his plea agreement, intercepted communications identified Davis as a participant in the NFL’s drug trafficking activities.  Specifically, Davis obtained heroin and fentanyl in distribution quantities from other NFL members, which he then sold to customers on a regular basis.  Davis agrees that it was reasonably foreseeable to him that he and other NFL members distributed over one kilogram of heroin during his participation in the DTO. 

Davis also intimidated, threatened, and publicly shammed people who the enterprise thought to be cooperating with law enforcement.  For example, on January 11, 2018, Davis posted a photo of a former NFL drug distributor on social media, in which Davis identified the former distributor as a “rat” or a person who cooperated with law enforcement.  Similarly, on January 31, 2018, Davis posted discovery information from a state prosecution which identified a witness in the case.  Davis made this post to assist an NFL member who was pending trial in that case.  The witness later refused to testify in state court and the case was dismissed against the NFL member.

As stated in his plea agreement, on December 20, 2018, an associate of Davis’ contacted him and asked for a handgun.  Davis agreed to provide this associate with one of his handguns.  Davis then traveled to his Baltimore home and shared a live stream video of himself brandishing a pistol.  Shortly after retrieving the pistol from his home, the law enforcement stopped Davis at a nearby gas station where agents searched his car and recovered 40 grams of a heroin fentanyl mix and a pistol loaded with ammunition.

Davis and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Davis will be sentenced to 13 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for May 23, 2022, at 1:00 p.m.

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

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, DEA, DPSCS, the Montgomery Police Department, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter J. Martinez and John W. Sippel, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile.

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Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Demar A. Brown, age 38, of Paterson, New Jersey and Winston-Salem, North Carolina to 10 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy and for transportation of stolen property, taken during a series of burglaries committed in Maryland and Georgia.  Brown was convicted by a federal jury on September 16, 2021, after a 10-day trial for his role in the series of home burglaries.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department.  

According to the evidence presented at the trial, from November 29, 2017, through January 26, 2018, Brown, and co-defendants Jashon Fields and Kamar Beckles participated in a series of break-ins at residences in Baltimore County, Maryland and Milton, Georgia, in order to steal property, including: cash; foreign currency; safes; jewelry; designer purses, bags, and clothing; personal electronics; collectibles; personal identity documents; and items of sentimental value, such as historical medals, rare coins, and other memorabilia.  The defendants intended to sell the stolen property out-of-state for cash. 

Witnesses at trial testified that the defendants wore masks and gloves during the break-ins and communicated with each other using two-way radios and mobile phones.  One of the conspirators often remained in the getaway car while the other conspirators committed the burglaries.  Brown, Fields, and Beckles rented hotel rooms in Maryland where they would store the proceeds of the burglaries they committed (until the property and proceeds were transported out of state).  Brown and Beckles transported the stolen property outside Maryland, including to two residences to which Brown had access in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

As detailed during the trial, on January 26, 2018, the defendants were arrested near two residences that had recently been burglarized.  Brown was arrested after officers responding to the burglary noticed a dark green Ford Explorer with North Carolina tags traveling slowly down the street.  The vehicle was identical to a suspect vehicle seen in surveillance footage from some of the earlier burglaries.  An officer pulled in behind the vehicle and, after a short vehicle chase, Brown was eventually arrested after trying to flee from the SUV.

Beckles and Fields were arrested in a nearby wooded area, about a half mile from one of the burglarized homes.  At the time of his arrest, Beckles was wearing a distinct jacket with a reflective emblem on the back – identical in appearance to the insignia visible in surveillance footage from some of the earlier burglaries.  Additional responding officers were able to view through the vehicle’s windows a safe matching the description of a safe stolen during the robbery, along with what appeared to be bags of other property stolen that evening and over $2500 in loose change – later determined to have been stolen from a home in Milton, Georgia. 

A search of each defendant resulted in the discovery of hotel key cards, a breakfast ticket from the same hotel as the key cards, as well as $1,000 that one defendant possessed in his sock.

Search warrants executed on the two hotel rooms resulted in the recovery of jewelry stolen from a residence, property from homes burglarized in Milton, Georgia, as well as property from homes burglarized in Baltimore County on December 29, 2017, January 9, 2018, and January 10, 2018.  Law enforcement also recovered a mask, a pair of gloves, a diamond tester, a scale, and a gold testing kit.  In the second room, they located, among other things, Fields’ license, mail in the name of Beckles, and various phones.

On January 27, 2018, after obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement searched the Ford Explorer driven by Brown the previous day.  They discovered, among other things, various tools and clothing for use in connection with burglaries, including a pry bar, a drill and hole saw, a mallet, three chisels, a reciprocating saw, multiple pairs of gloves, black knit hats, a balaclava style mask, two-way radios, and flashlights.

Law enforcement officers searching the vehicle also discovered many of the pieces of property stolen during two burglaries the previous day, as well as notes concerning a pawn shop and a jewelry shop in North Carolina. 

On January 30, 2018, law enforcement obtained search and seizure warrants for Brown’s residences in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  There they located property from three earlier burglaries in Baltimore County—including numerous pieces of fine jewelry.  Additionally, evidence on the nine phones seized from the defendants, the SUV, and the defendants’ hotel rooms showed, among other things, Brown and Beckles photographing many pieces of the jewelry and other items taken during some of the burglaries.

In total, 21 homes were burglarized in connection with the conspiracy, and the victims reported that $850,000 worth of property was stolen.  Only some of that stolen property has been recovered and returned to its owners; for a few victims, most of their property has yet to be recovered. 

Co-defendants Jashon C. Fields, age 37, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Kamar O. Beckles, age 36, of Teaneck, New Jersey were previously sentenced to five years in federal prison and 76 months in federal prison, respectively.

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Christopher M. Rigali, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander today sentenced Matthew Edward Blair, age 48, of Timonium, Maryland, to a year and a day in federal prison, followed by 18 months of supervised release, for payment of illegal remunerations to encourage independent marketers to refer federal health care related business to Blair’s pharmacy.  Judge Hollander also ordered Blair to pay restitution of $3,176,470.83.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid-Atlantic Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

According to his guilty plea, beginning in November 2014 and continuing through May 2015, Blair, the owner and operator of a compounding pharmacy called the Blair Pharmacy, paid illegal remunerations to independent marketers to induce them to refer business to Blair Pharmacy.

Members of the United States military and their families receive health care benefits through TRICARE, a federal health care benefits program.  Like many other health care benefit programs, TRICARE utilizes a pharmacy benefit manager (“PBM”), specifically, Express Scripts (“ESI”) to administer all pharmacy-related benefits for the TRICARE program.  ESI receives, processes and adjudicates all electronically submitted pharmacy benefit claims submitted on behalf of TRICARE beneficiaries in New Jersey. 

Blair submitted applications to several PBMs, including ESI, requesting that Blair Pharmacy be accepted into the PBMs’ networks of participating pharmacies.  ESI approved Blair’s application and Blair was permitted to bill TRICARE and receive payment for TRICARE beneficiary prescriptions. Blair set up a process by which beneficiary prescriptions were electronically submitted directly to his pharmacy.  Blair also set up a process by which prescription and benefit plan data was uploaded electronically through the internet.  The uploaded electronic data was processed by the PBMs instantaneously, providing Blair with immediate information about whether a claim he submitted had been approved for payment by the benefit plan or not.  Blair linked successful claim reimbursements to a bank account in the name of Blair Pharmacy so Blair Pharmacy could receive all monies paid by health care benefit companies into his bank account. 

Blair actively pursued several independent sales marketers to work for him at his pharmacy.  In order to increase prescription referrals to his pharmacy, maximize reimbursement amounts and thereby increase profits, Blair sought these independent marketers to solicit and refer prescriptions to his pharmacy.  Blair entered into independent contractor arrangements with several sales marketers and arranged to pay the independent marketers a percentage of any reimbursement money he received from health care benefit programs, including TRICARE. 

For example, in November 2014, Blair agreed to pay an independent marketer working for Blair as follows “commission will be 50% of gross reimbursement to [Blair Pharmacy] paid bi-weekly.” The agreement required the independent marketer to use Blair Pharmacy exclusively, and to refer all business within his established territory to Blair Pharmacy. Blair induced these referrals to his pharmacy by offering the marketer a 50% percentage payment of any money that Blair received from health care benefit programs, which was the sole compensation to the marketer under the agreement.  The independent marketer was not paid unless Blair was successful in obtaining reimbursement from a health care benefit program for a prescription that the marketer referred to Blair. Only then was the marketer paid a percentage of the successful reimbursement.  Blair knew it was a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute to pay an independent contractor a volume and value-based commission for referrals of federal health care program business to his pharmacy.

Blair provided the independent marketer with pre-printed prescription forms which listed the specific ingredients for Blair’s formulations.  Blair knew the amount of money that he would receive from TRICARE for each gram of each ingredient that he listed in his formulas.  Blair modified the ingredients and amounts of ingredients of his formulations based on the ingredient’s reimbursement value. 

Blair Pharmacy received reimbursement from TRICARE for the individual ingredients in his formulas as follows: $4,348.25 for a one month supply of the ingredients in his vitamin formulation; $8,741.26 for a one month supply of the ingredients in his pain cream; $14,365.39 for a one month supply of the ingredients in his migraine cream; and $17,336.30 for a one month supply of the ingredients in his scar cream.  After receiving payment from TRICARE for the prescriptions the independent marketer directed to Blair Pharmacy, Blair paid 50% of the reimbursement amount to the marketer.

The independent marketer solicited cream prescriptions from numerous doctors, including military surgeons at Walter Reed, with whom he had direct contact. Blair knew that the marketer was in a position to influence which pharmacy the prescriptions were sent to, and that the marketer would send the prescriptions directly back to Blair’s pharmacy.  By paying the marketer 50% of every successfully reimbursed TRICARE claim, Blair incentivized the marketer to refer as many cream prescriptions as possible to Blair’s pharmacy. 

As detailed in the plea agreement, the marketer actively pursued and solicited cream prescriptions for Blair from a military doctor, who had no idea about the amount of money that the creams reimbursed for.  The marketer took advantage of the military doctor’s grueling work schedule, oftentimes waiting, with a stack of Blair’s pre-printed prescription forms in hand, for the doctor outside of the operating room after a long day of back-to-back surgeries.  The marketer directed, sent, and referred all of the pain and scar cream prescriptions directly to Blair’s pharmacy. Neither the doctor, nor the TRICARE beneficiaries for whom the creams were authorized, had an opportunity to choose which pharmacy they wanted to fill the prescription because the prescriptions were submitted directly to Blair. 

Many of the TRICARE beneficiaries were not aware a prescription had been written for them until they received a box from Blair Pharmacy on their doorstep. Some of the TRICARE beneficiaries had no idea of the cost to TRICARE of these creams and vitamins that they received in the mail, or they learned about the high cost of the creams and vitamins only after they reviewed their TRICARE Explanation of Benefits letter a month or two later.  Some of the TRICARE beneficiaries lodged official complaints and made fraud referrals to TRICARE and ESI.  When the military doctor learned of the cost of the creams he had prescribed, he was outraged and immediately stopped authorizing any additional cream prescriptions.  The doctor provided notice of the problem to his management and advised TRICARE patients who made complaints about the creams, to send the creams back to the pharmacy. 

From November 2014 to May 2015, TRICARE reimbursed Blair a total of $6,352,941.66 based upon claims Blair submitted to TRICARE that were tainted by remuneration payments Blair paid to independent sales contractors.  Blair admits that TRICARE would not have approved or reimbursed any claim for compounded ingredients made by Blair Pharmacy, had TRICARE known that Blair had agreed to pay a 1099 independent contractor based on the volume and value-based commission of prescription referrals to Blair Pharmacy. 

In addition to the restitution Blair will pay for the financial loss caused to TRICARE, Blair has agreed to be excluded from the TRICARE health benefit program as an Authorized Provider for a term of 25 years.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, and the IRS-CI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Duey and Paul Riley, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Christopher Kenneth Guy, age 30, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge Troy Springer, of the Washington Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG); Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Greg L. Torbenson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Chief Gregory Der of the Howard County Police Department.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES ACT) was enacted on March 27, 2020, to assist individuals experiencing financial distress as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Among other things, the CARES Act established the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program (FPUC), which provided federal funds to state agencies responsible for the administration of unemployment benefits. The FPUC funds were provided to supplement regular unemployment compensation payments to qualified applicants. 

According to his plea agreement, from May 26, 2020, to August 5, 2020, Guy and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent applications, using the personal information of identity theft victims, claiming unemployment benefits to which they were not entitled.  The applications were submitted through the internet to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) and other state workforce agencies.  Based on the fraudulent applications, OSEC and other workforce agencies disbursed benefits, including FPUC funds, through debit cards issued in the names of the identity theft victims.  The debit cards were mailed to addresses in Maryland and elsewhere, that were accessible to Guy and other conspirators.  Guy and his co-conspirators used the debit cards to withdraw money and to conduct retail transactions.

For example, between July 27 and August 5, 2020, Guy conducted fraudulent transactions using debit cards in the names of at least seven identity theft victims and funded with unemployment compensation, including FPUC funds.  On August 5, 2020, Guy used a debit card issued in the name of an identity theft victim to purchase a laptop computer for $2,225.99, from a retail electronics store in Elkridge, Maryland.  Howard County Police officers, who had been called for a possible fraudulent purchase, approached Guy in the parking lot.  Upon questioning by the officers, Guy falsely stated that he had lost the receipt and that he made the purchase using a card he produced bearing no name.  When officers advised that the number on the card did not match that listed on the receipt reprinted by the store, Guy falsely claimed that he must have lost the card he used to purchase the laptop.  Guy was then arrested by officers, who located the card used to purchase the laptop in Guy’s pocket.

A search of Guy’s vehicle by Howard County Police Department officers recovered $1,500 in cash, four debit cards issued in names other than Guy’s, multiple electronic devices, and a room key from a hotel in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  A search warrant was obtained for Guy’s hotel room and officers recovered 13 additional debit cards issued in various names, additional electronic devices, receipts from retail purchases, and $11,619 in cash.  DOL-OIG agents obtained surveillance images that showed Guy using the debit cards funded with fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits at ATMs within a mile of the hotel where he was staying.  Twelve of the debit cards that were used in these transactions were recovered from Guy or his hotel room on August 5, 2020. 

A forensic examination of the electronic devices seized from Guy and his hotel room revealed internet searches and browsing history relating to unemployment benefits; notes containing the mailing addresses where the fraudulent debit cards were delivered by mail; and a listing of the last four digits of each of the 18 debit cards recovered on August 5, 2020, each with a monetary balance listed next to it.

Agents with DOL-OIG also learned that the 18 debit cards seized from Guy or his hotel room were issued as a result of 16 fraudulent applications for unemployment benefits submitted in the names of identity theft victims.  The 16 fraudulent claims resulted in the disbursement of more than $176,970 in unemployment and FPUC funds, which losses were reasonably foreseeable to Guy.  The 16 fraudulent claims were associated with 30 Internet Protocol addresses that are connected to thousands of other unemployment claims filed with OESC and the state workforce agencies in Maryland, Arizona, Massachusetts, California, Nevada, and many other states, resulting in the disbursement of approximately $11,084,141.

Guy faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and a mandatory sentence of two years in federal prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for aggravated identity theft.  U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher has scheduled sentencing for Guy on May 11, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Department of Labor-OIG, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Howard County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. Maddox and Sean R. Delaney, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Joshua Lankford, a/k/a “20-20”, a/k/a “Light Bright”, a/k/a “Yellow”, age 33, of Manchester, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to kidnapping in relation to a sex trafficking conspiracy.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Chief Michael McDermott of the Federalsburg Police Department; and Colonel Melissa Zebley of the Delaware State Police Department.

“This case is a prime example of the horrendous realities surrounding human trafficking and why our office works fiercely to combat it,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Lankford took advantage of an at-risk woman’s drug addiction and her desire to be reunited with her son to lure her into a dehumanizing sex trafficking trap. He then intended to kill her to undermine the federal prosecution of his crimes at trial. Our office remains dedicated to the prosecution of sex traffickers, and most importantly, to the protection of sex trafficking survivors within our cases.”

“Sex trafficking is a horrific crime that deprives some of the most vulnerable people in our society of their freedom and dignity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s the Civil Rights Division. “This defendant preyed on a vulnerable young woman and cruelly exploited her for his profit. The Civil Rights Division will continue its vigorous enforcement of our human trafficking laws to hold perpetrators accountable and to seek justice for their victims.”

“Joshua Lankford’s crimes are nothing short of horrific; he kidnapped and victimized a vulnerable woman then plotted to kill her in order to save himself,” said Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore. “Fortunately, he will now face the consequences of his actions. HSI Baltimore is proud to have partnered with the Maryland State Police, the Delaware State Police and the Federalsburg Police Department to bring Lankford to justice. HSI remains committed to investigating human trafficking organizations as they prey upon the most vulnerable populations in our communities.”

According to his guilty plea, from Oct. 25, 2018, to Oct. 30, 2018, Lankford led and organized a conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and to commit kidnapping.  The evidence indicated that Lankford recruited the victim, a young adult woman, to engage in prostitution under fraudulent pretenses.  Lanford knew that the victim was addicted to heroin and withheld drugs from her when she did make enough money for him engaging in commercial sex.  When the victim attempted to escape, Lankford and his three co-defendants drove the victim to a rural road on Maryland’s Eastern Shore where they beat, whipped, and choked her with a belt, and then drove her to a hotel in Delaware to engage in prostitution.  All of Lankford’s co-defendants have already pleaded guilty for their participation in this crime. 

Lankford was arrested two days later and informed officers that he deleted the contents of his cell phone in anticipation of his apprehension.  While incarcerated, Lankford told a co-conspirator that he intended to kill the victim to prevent her from testifying against them at trial.

Lankford and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Lankford will be sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for April 29, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. 

Report suspected instances of human trafficking and sex trafficking to HSI's tip line at 866-DHS-2ICE (1-866-347-2423) or by completing its online tip form.  Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke commended the HSI Baltimore and Philadelphia offices, the Maryland State Police Department, the Federalsburg Police Department, and the Delaware State Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary W. Setzer and Leah Branch of the Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Prosecution unit, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/human-trafficking and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Tremayne Murphy, age 40, of Harford County, Maryland to six years in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Harford County State’s Attorney Albert J. Peisinger, Jr.; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; Sheriff Jeff Gahler of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office; and the Harford County Narcotics Task Force comprised of members of the Harford County Sheriff's Office, Aberdeen Police Department, Bel Air Police Department, and Havre de Grace Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, as a result of the Harford County Narcotics Task Force investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) distributing powder and crack cocaine, Murphy, Reginald Leon Bolden, age 37, of Harford County, Maryland; and Joel Hammond, age 35, of Essex, Maryland were identified as DTO members.  During the investigation of this case, law enforcement observed numerous instances of drug-related activities.

For example, on February 24, 2020, investigators surveilled Bolden and Murphy as they traveled to Wilmington, Delaware to meet with a cocaine supplier.  After completing a drug transaction for nine ounces of cocaine, Bolden and Murphy returned to Harford County to distribute the cocaine.  Two days later, Murphy was seen traveling back to Wilmington, Delaware, to return the cocaine to the original supplier, as customers complained about the quality of the cocaine. 

After meeting with the source, detectives followed Murphy back to Harford County where Murphy was observed conducting a hand-to-hand drug transaction.

As stated in his plea agreement, on March 15, 2020, Bolden’s communications regarding the purchase of three ounces of crack cocaine from co-defendant Hammond were intercepted.  Bolden had arranged the transaction through a co-conspirator, who transported money to Hammond and received a small backpack from Hammond, which investigators believed contained the cocaine.

A co-conspirator, Murphy, and Bolden then determined when Murphy could retrieve the cocaine.  After the conversation, investigators observed the co-conspirator exit his residence with the same small backpack of suspected cocaine and briefly enter a vehicle operated by Murphy.  Once the conspirator quickly exited Murphy’s vehicle without the backpack, Murphy subsequently traveled to Bolden’s residence.

After a brief period of time, Bolden was seen exiting Hammond’s residence and proceeded to return to Harford County.  As Bolden returned to Harford County, members of the Harford County Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant on his vehicle where law enforcement seized 16 grams of powder cocaine, 41 grams of crack cocaine, and $660 in cash.  

As a member of the DTO, Murphy agreed that it is reasonably foreseeable that the amount of crack cocaine sold was at least 112 grams but less than 196 grams.

Co-defendants Joel Hammond and Reginald Bolden were sentenced to six years and nine years in federal prison for their roles in the conspiracy; respectively.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA, the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Harford County Narcotics Task Force, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Romano, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Jason Edmonds, age 43, of North East, Maryland, with conspiracy and bribery.  Co-defendant John Conigliaro, age 60, of Kingsville, Maryland was separately charged with conspiracy in an Information filed on February 1, 2022.

The Indictment against Edmonds was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General; and Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.

As stated in the Indictment, Edmonds was employed by the Army as a Research Biologist at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Chemical Biological Center (CB Center) located at the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG).  The CCDC CB Center was the nation’s principal research and development center for non-medical chemical and biological weapons defense.  The CB Center developed technology in the areas of detection, protection, and decontamination.

According to the seven-count Indictment, from 2012 to 2019, Edmonds accepted cash and other financial benefits from John Conigliaro, the owner and CEO of EISCO, Inc. in exchange for favorable action on CB Center contracts.  For example, the Indictment alleges that in July 2013, Edmonds directed a $300,000 CB Center project to EISCO.  The Indictment alleges that, three months later, in October 2013, Conigliaro gave Edmonds $40,000 in cash so that Edmonds could purchase two rental real estate properties.  Once Edmonds purchased the rental properties, the Indictment alleges that Conigliaro paid for thousands of dollars of renovations to the rental properties.  The Indictment alleges that Edmonds executed a “Promissory Note,” in which Edmonds wrote that he repaid Conigliaro a portion of the funds that Conigliaro had given him with CB Center projects.

Additionally, the Indictment alleges that from 2016 to 2018, Edmonds directed four CB Center projects to EISCO.  Over that same time period, Conigliaro allegedly paid for more than $30,000 in renovations to Edmonds’ personal residence. 

Conigliaro is scheduled to appear for an initial appearance and arraignment on February 24, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman.

If convicted, Edmonds and Conigliaro face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy, and Edmonds faces fifteen years in federal prison for bribery.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, and the Army Criminal Investigation Division for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Harry Gruber, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – John Cooley, age 20, of Nottingham, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.   

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Baltimore City Sheriff John W. Anderson, and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, from October 2020 to March 2021, Cooley was engaged in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving the trafficking of large amounts of fentanyl and other controlled substances.  Cooley and his co-conspirators operated out of a stash house in Pikesville, Maryland.  There, Cooley and his co-conspirators would process fentanyl and other controlled substances, mix it with cutting agents and package the drugs for re-sale.

As stated in his plea agreement, on March 1, 2021, law enforcement saw Cooley exit the Pikesville, Maryland stash house with a co-conspirator.  At the time, Cooley was carrying a bag containing narcotics.  Cooley and his co-conspirator then entered a vehicle and drove away.  Law enforcement followed the vehicle to a drug store parking lot where Cooley and his co-conspirator were about to conduct a drug transaction. 

Subsequently, law enforcement conducted a search of the vehicle and Cooley’s person.  As a result of the search, officers recovered 20 separate plastic bags, each containing 50 gel fentanyl capsules.  In total, Cooley possessed 569 grams of fentanyl. 

Cooley and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Cooley will be sentenced to five years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for March 24, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. 

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

This case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA, the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore City Sherriff’s Office, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason D. Medinger, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Kevin Miller, age 48, of Bel Air, Maryland, to 28 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy and for wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to defraud a Maryland company of more than $2 million.  Chief Judge Bredar also ordered Miller to pay restitution in the amount of $2,799,729.  

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to his plea agreement and other court documents, Miller was employed as the Director of Planning, Logistics, and Control at Company A, located in Linthicum, Maryland.  Miller conspired with Mean Peach, Eam Peng Chou, Chonnathason Has, Thi Van Ho, and separately with David Dempsey, in schemes to defraud Company A, which was engaged in the business of manufacturing personal products, such as hair care, hair dye and lotions, of at least $2.4 million. 

As detailed in his plea agreement, Miller was responsible for determining the timing and volume requirements for materials used in the manufacturing operations at Company A, and had the authority to approve payments of invoices submitted by vendors and service providers without obtaining approval from anyone else at Company A.

In the first scheme, which took place between 2013 and 2015, Miller and Dempsey agreed to a kickback scheme in which Dempsey submitted fraudulent invoices from Company B, a company that he owned, to Company A for items that his company never actually provided.  Miller then approved the payment of those invoices.  Once Dempsey received payment from Company A, he wrote a check to Miller, drawn on the Company B account, for a portion of the amount of the false invoices.  In all, Dempsey paid kickbacks to Miller totaling $321,660.

The second fraud scheme took place between approximately September 2015, and December 2018.  In 2015, Company A assigned Miller the task of arranging for vendors to dispose of various waste products that were stored at the Company’s two warehouse locations in Maryland.  Miller, Ho, Peach, Has, and Chou, agreed to created and use shell companies in various names, with business addresses that were mailboxes at commercial mail facilities, to submit fraudulent invoices to Company A for waste disposal and other work that was never performed by those entities.  Miller approved the fraudulent invoices and submitted them to Company A’s accounting department for payment.  Company A then issued checks which the conspirators would transmit and cause to be transmitted from Maryland to Pennsylvania.  Peach, Chou, and Has would cash the checks at facilities in Philadelphia and the proceeds would be divided up among the conspirators.   

As a result of the conspiracies and schemes to defraud, Miller and his co-conspirators caused Company A to issue approximately $2.4 million in checks for goods and services that it never received.

David Dempsey, age 55, of Bel Air, Maryland, was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Chonnathason Has, a/k/a Bora Has, age 54, Mean Peach, age 65, and Eam Peng Chou, age 56, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were sentenced to three years in federal prison, two years in federal prison, and a year and a day in federal prison, respectively, for conspiracy, wire fraud, and for interstate transportation of stolen property.  Has was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,478,069.16.  Peach and Chou were each also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,645,494.  Thi Ho, age 51, of Bear, Delaware, who also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of $2,478,069.16.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O. Gavin, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Scott Eli Harris, age 51, of Aubrey, Texas pleaded guilty today to threats transmitted by interstate communication, related to a threatening message sent to a Maryland medical doctor, who publicly advocated for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

“Threats and intimidation should not be tolerated,” said United States Attorney Erek L. Barron.  “This office and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate and prosecute such conduct.”

“During the pandemic, we have seen a disturbing increase in threats of violence targeting doctors and public health advocates,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “Public health officials and doctors deserve our respect for their tireless efforts during the ongoing pandemic, and individuals who seek to use threats of violence to intimidate and silence them will be held accountable.”

“These threats are taken very seriously and the response to them is an example of the FBI’s dedication to keeping our community safe,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “No one should live in fear for doing their job. Posting a threat online, through mail or over the phone is a crime and comes with consequences, whether or not the person intended to carry out the threat.”

According to his plea agreement and statements made in connection with the plea hearing, Harris sent a threatening message from his cellular phone to a Maryland doctor who had been a vocal proponent of the COVID-19 vaccine.  Harris’ message included violent statements including “Never going to take your wonder drug. My 12 gauge promises I won’t .… I can’t wait for the shooting to start.”  The message also referenced the doctor’s Asian-American race and national origin.

Harris faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for April 21, 2022.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke commended the FBI for their work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham and Trial Attorney Katherine DeVar of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/civil-rights and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Today Maryland United States Attorney Erek L. Barron announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has entered into a memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Special Inspector General Brian D. Miller of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) and Deputy Inspector General James D. Powell of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), Office of Investigations, regarding the investigation and prosecution of fraud relating to The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding.  The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“While many of our neighbors have suffered to make ends meet during this ongoing pandemic, others stole taxpayer money meant to put food on the kitchen table,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. “These partnerships allow us to beef up our efforts to prosecute those who steal from the American taxpayers.”

“SIGPR’s partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has already produced results and we are excited to continue our work to protect pandemic relief funds from fraud, waste, and abuse.”

Since the start of 2021, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged 23 defendants with criminal offenses based on fraud schemes connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.  These cases involve attempts to defraud over $14 million and more than $419,000 has been seized as the proceeds of these fraud schemes.  These cases were made possible by the coordination, perseverance, and skill of the many law enforcement partners working with us to bring to justice those committing COVID-19-related fraud.

The SIGPR MOU will allow the US. Attorney’s Office and SIGPR to enhance their efforts to provide a coordinated response to CARES Act funding fraud, with an emphasis on organized criminal activity; to link and associate isolated CARES Act-related complaints with larger schemes and related criminal activity; to speed up the prosecution of these cases and deter future fraud by increasing awareness of successful criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement actions against individuals and businesses engaging in CARES Act fraud.

The DOL-OIG MOU will allow up to two DOL-OIG special agents to be co-located in the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Baltimore and Greenbelt, allowing a quicker response and more comprehensive and coordinated investigations involving CARES Act fraud, especially related to unemployment insurance fraud.

U.S. Attorney Barron also provided the following updates on the status of the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office’s efforts to combat COVID-19 related fraud, including schemes targeting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs.

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) fraud

The PPP and EIDL fraud cases charged federally in Maryland during 2021 involve a range of conduct, from individual business owners who inflated their payroll expenses to obtain larger loans than they otherwise would have qualified for, to fraudsters applying for multiple loans using false claims about their purported business entities, and/or charities.  Most charged defendants misappropriated loan proceeds for prohibited purposes, such as the purchase of houses, cars, jewelry, and other luxury items.  For example, Brandon Fitzgerald-Holley, of Suitland, Maryland, used his non-operational nonprofit, the Coalition for Social Justice and Reform Incorporated (the Coalition), to fraudulently obtain $305,854 in PPP loan funds, even though the Coalition had no employees, income, or regular operations since its formation in 2018.  Fitzgerald-Holley admitted that he used the funds to purchase personal items including clothing, a pool table, televisions, electronic equipment, a 2020 Dodge Charger Scat, and various accessories for the vehicle. He also used the funds to fund a vacation rental.  Fitzgerald-Holley is awaiting sentencing.

In addition to Fitzgerald-Holley, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged eight other defendants with PPP and/or EIDL fraud.  Those charges remain pending.

Unemployment Insurance (UI) fraud

More than $860 billion in federal funds were appropriated for UI benefits through September 2021, to assist individuals who lost their jobs due to COVID-19.  Investigation indicates that international organized criminal groups have targeted these funds by using stolen identities to file for UI benefits throughout the country.  Domestic fraudsters have also committed UI fraud. For example, an indictment filed in September 2021 alleges that from February 2020 through February 2021, three Maryland men, Gladstone Njokem, Martin Tabe, Sylvester Atekwane, and others conspired to fraudulently obtain more than $2.7 million in unemployment benefits.  The indictment alleges that the conspirators impersonated victims in order to submit fraudulent UI claims, by obtaining the personally identifiable information (PII) of victims, often under false pretenses.  The defendants allegedly shared the PII amongst themselves and with others and used the victims’ PII to submit fraudulent applications for UI benefits in Maryland, Michigan, and Tennessee.  The defendants are awaiting trial.

A total of six defendants, including Njokem, Tabe, and Atekwane, are charged with UI fraud and those charges remain pending.

Fraudulent Websites

To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland has shut down 17 fraudulent websites which appear to have been used to collect the personal information of individuals visiting the site, in order to use the information for nefarious purposes, including fraud, phishing attacks, and/or deployment of malware.  The seized websites were almost identical to the names of authentic U.S. websites, including COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, retailers, and purported COVID-19 treatment.  Several of the seized websites purported to sell vaccines and other treatments for the COVID-19 virus.  Often, the fake domains mimicked the stylistic designs and language of the authentic U.S. website.  After the seizures, individuals visiting the website see a message that the website has been seized by the federal government and are redirected to another website for additional information. 

Of the three defendants charged with attempting to use a fraudulent website to sell fake COVID-19 vaccines, two are awaiting trial and one has pleaded guilty to his role in the fraud scheme.

Other COVID-19 related fraud schemes

Nicholas Milano White was sentenced to eight years in federal prison and was ordered to pay $29,324 in restitution for conspiring to steal mail, stealing benefits under the CARES Act, and aggravated identity theft.  White was arrested after stealing mail from multiple U.S. Postal Service collection boxes in the Baltimore metropolitan area in March 2020, and Postal Inspectors learned that he had been conducting a bank fraud scheme that involved falsifying and cashing stolen checks.  After his arrest, White continued engaging in fraud, including submitting a false claim for Florida state unemployment benefits using the personally identifying information of another person, and illegally acquiring and cashing an Economic Impact Payment check issued in the name of a couple residing in Maryland, in the amount of $2,900.  In another case, Tyrese Carter, a former Federal Emergency Management Agency employee detailed to work in a Small Business Administration (SBA) virtual call center, was assigned to assist potential disaster loan applicants by answering questions about the SBA’s EIDL program.  Carter admitted that he posed as an SBA employee to induce a victim business owner to wire him funds received.  Specifically, Carter emailed the victim using an account created in the name of the purported SBA employee and directed the victim to wire funds to a PayPal account created in the name of “SBA Financial.” Carter was sentenced to three years of probation and was ordered by pay restitution of $8,738.

Other defendants are charged with allegedly selling fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards and fraudulently obtaining funds by claiming financial hardship as a result of COVID-19, respectively.  Those charges remain pending.  Another defendant was convicted of selling misbranded disinfectants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

What Can You Do?

We encourage the public to follow these three steps when accessing COVID-19 related information and services online:

First, be careful where you click.  Fraudulent websites are designed to look like legitimate websites.  Websites may have small spelling errors or an additional letter or two in website URLs and email addresses, or a different domain suffix.  Check email addresses and links to ensure you’re where you want to be.

Second, guard your personal information.  Don’t enter it on an unknown website or in response to an unsolicited email.  Criminals are trying to capture your information to compromise your identity and access your financial accounts.  Your response may also deploy malware that compromises your digital device.

Third, always remember: the COVID-19 vaccine is not for sale.  Only a limited number of manufacturers have authorization to provide the vaccine in the U.S.  The federal government is covering the cost of the vaccine for all people living in the U.S.  You will never be asked to pay for a vaccine. 

In addition to the DOL-OIG and SIGPR, U.S. Attorney Barron recognized the efforts of a wide range of law enforcement partners for their work in COVID-19 related cases, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the FBI; the U.S. Secret Service; the IRS-CI; the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Offices of Inspectors General from SBA, Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.  The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.  

For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

To report a COVID-19-related fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to fight fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.  

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Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced MS-13 gang member Edin Velasco Garcia, age 21, of Frederick, Maryland, to 41 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for assault with a deadly weapon, in connection with his assault of two victims whom he believed were rival gang members.  The sentence was imposed on February 2, 2022.

The was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Jason Lando of the Frederick City Police Department.

MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador and other central American countries.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County, Maryland.  Velasco Garcia was a member of the Fulton Locos Salvatruchas (“FLS”).

At all times of this conspiracy, members of MS-13 were expected to protect the name, reputation, and status of the gang from rival gang members and other persons.  To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members were expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who showed disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence.  MS-13 had mottos consistent with its rules, beliefs, expectations and reputation including “mata, viola, controla,” which translates as, “kill, rape, control,” and “ver, oir y callar,” which means, “see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing.”  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, often referred to as “chavalas,” whenever possible. 

MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang, as well as against rival gang members.  Participation in criminal activity by a member, particularly in violent acts directed at rival gangs or as directed by gang leadership, increase the respect accorded to that member, resulting in that member maintaining or increasing his position in the gang, and opens the door to promotion to a leadership position. 

As detailed in his plea agreement, from at least January 2019, Velasco Garcia agreed with members of MS-13 to conduct and participate in the gang’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity that included narcotics trafficking, extortion, and acts of violence.

According to his plea agreement, on March 22, 2019, Velasco Garcia and several other MS-13 members and associates approached Victim 1 and Victim 2 in a parking lot in Frederick, Maryland.  They asked Victim 1 and Victim 2 if they were in a gang and they responded that they were not.  Victim 2 had “18” tattooed on his arms, which is related to the 18th Street gang, one of MS-13 primary rival gangs.  After calling other gang members on the phone to joint them, Velasco Garcia pulled out a black folding knife and attempted to stab Victim 2 with an overhead motion, but missed.  Victim 2 ran but was caught by the group and punched several times.  Victim 2 broke away and attempted to run away, but MS-13 members tackled him, punching and kicking Victim 2 several times before one person hit Victim 2 in the head with a rock.  During the attack Velasco Garcia threw up several MS-13 gang signs.  When the attack began, Victim 1 ran in a different direction and was also attacked.  Gang members punched Victim 1 in the face and he was slashed with the knife in the face.  Victim 1 was unconscious for a period of time and gang members stole his cell phone.  Both Victim 1 and Victim 2 were transported to the hospital for treatment of their injuries.           

Velasco Garcia admitted that the assaults on Victim 1 and Victim 2 were intended to maintain and increase the status of MS-13 and allow members to maintain or increase their status within the gang.            

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

This case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.    

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Frederick Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark and Zachary Stendig, who prosecuted this case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Federal grand juries in Maryland have returned indictments against three men in unrelated cases charging them with sexual exploitation of a child to produce child pornography and related charges.  Charged in the three indictments are Gary Rocky Jones, age 42, of Baltimore; Dennis James Harrison, age 39, of Rocky Ridge, Maryland; and Jose Alexander Diaz-Rodriguez, age 22, of Thurmont, Maryland.

The indictments were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; Chief Jason Lando of the City of Frederick Police Department; Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck” Jenkins; and Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith, III.

A superseding indictment was returned on February 2, 2022, against previously convicted sex offender Gary Rocky Jones, adding 27 counts of sexual exploitation of a child to produce child pornography, 15 counts of use of an interstate commerce facility, specifically, the internet, to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity—relating to 15 minor victims from around the country, and commission of a felony crime involving a minor by a registered sex offender, to his original charges of distribution and possession of child pornography.  The superseding indictment alleges that between 2014 and August 2015, Jones twice produced images and videos of a minor male engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  The victim was age 14 to 15 years old during the exploitation.  The superseding indictment also alleges that from September 2018 through August 2020, Jones used social media accounts to persuade, entice, and coerce another 15 minor males from several states and ranging in age from eight to 17 years old, to engage in sexually explicit conduct.  During these internet-based communications, Jones allegedly caused and attempted to cause the victims to produce live and recorded visual depictions of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct, both alone and with others, and send Jones the sexually explicit images and video via the internet.  Further, the superseding indictment alleges that on April 2, 2018, Jones distributed child pornography, and possessed child pornography from December 2, 2014 through January 31, 2020, and from May 29, 2017 through July 14, 2020, respectively, in affiliation with two separate email addresses and related storage accounts.  Finally, the superseding indictment alleges that between 2015 and September 2020, Jones committed felony offenses involving minors while Jones was required to register as a sex offender under Maryland law.

According to Harrison’s nine-count indictment, which was returned by the Grand Jury on February 3, 2022, Harrison sexually exploited two minor girls beginning when the one victim was two years old and when another victim was 10 to 11 years old, to produce child pornography; coerced and enticed a 12-year-old victim to engage in illegal sexual conduct; possessed child pornography; and committed a felony crime involving a minor while he was a registered sex offender.  From at least September 2020 through August 2021, Harrison engaged in sexual activity with Jane Doe 1, a 12-year-old girl who resided in Pennsylvania.  The indictment alleges that Harrison picked-up Jane Doe 1 from her residence and drove her to various location in Maryland, including Harrison’s residence, where he engaged in illegal sexual activity with Jane Doe 1.  The indictment alleges that Harrison attempted to and did use, persuade, induce, entice, and coerce Jane Doe 1 to engage in sexually explicit conduct in order to produce visual depictions of such conduct.  Harrison also allegedly used a hidden camera and a mobile phone in 2018 to produce a series of image files depicting Jane Doe 2, a 10-to-11 year old minor, nude and partially nude in a bedroom and bathroom in Pennsylvania and in a bathroom in Maryland.  The images were taken without the knowledge of Jane Doe 2.  The indictment alleges that on August 12, 2021, Harrison possessed child pornography on his phone, a tablet, several USB drives, and a micro SD card.  Finally, the indictment alleges that Harrison committed these offenses involving a minor while he was required to register as a sex offender under Maryland law.

Finally, Jose Alexander Diaz-Rodriguez is charged in a three-count indictment, returned on February 3, 2022, with sexual exploitation of a child on July 26, 2021, by employing, using, persuading, inducing and coercing a prepubescent minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct, for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct; for distributing child pornography on June 4, 2021; and for possessing visual depictions of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on July 26, 2021.

If convicted, Jones and Harrison each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum sentence of 50 years in federal prison for each count of sexual exploitation of a child; a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment for each count of coercion and enticement of a child; a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography, and a mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison for commission of a felony crime involving a minor by a registered sex offender.  Jones also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison for distribution of child pornography.  Diaz-Rodriguez faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child; a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for distribution of child pornography; and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Jones is in federal custody and is scheduled for trial on December 5, 2022.  Harrison and Diaz-Rodriguez are in custody on state charges and will have an  initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, although dates for those hearings have not been set.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the Jones case which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Paul A Riley.  Mr. Barron also recognized the FBI, the City of Frederick Police Department, and the Frederick State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the Diaz-Rodriguez case, and HSI, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, and the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the Harrison investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce King, Chief Counsel with the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office, who are prosecuting the Diaz-Rodriguez and Harrison cases.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Janice Martina Mason, age 28, of Melbourne, Florida, with second degree murder.  The indictment was returned on February 3, 2022. 

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the U.S. Park Police.

According to the indictment, on November 24, 2021, Mason killed Victim 1 on property under the jurisdiction of the United States.

If convicted, Mason faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Mason is in custody on related state charges.  She is expected to have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on February 14, 2022, although that date has not yet been confirmed.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Park Police for their work in the investigation and thanked Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess and her office for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen Nazmy and Kim Oldham, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Aaron Crawford, age 37, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for the sex trafficking of two minors.  Crawford was also sentenced to pay $10,350 in restitution to the victims.  Judge Chuang also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Crawford must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

“Human trafficking is an insidious crime,” said Attorney General Garland.  “Traffickers exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society and cause their victims unimaginable harm.  The Justice Department’s new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking will bring the full force of the Department to this fight.”

“Not only will our office continue to actively prosecute human traffickers to the fullest extent of the law, but we also remain unified with the Department’s comprehensive strategy to combat this heinous and inhumane crime.  The Office’s longstanding history and exemplary work to bring human traffickers to justice is particularly clear in the sentencing of Aaron Crawford.” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron.  “Crawford abused, manipulated, threatened, and trafficked two minor victims to line his own pockets from the sex work that they conducted. Let this 20-year sentence be a deterrent to others who may commit human trafficking crimes in Maryland.”

“FBI Baltimore and our law enforcement partners worked tirelessly to ensure this defendant will never intimidate, coerce or victimize a child again,” said Thomas J. Sobocinski, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “Crawford’s sentence of 20 years will hopefully bring some closure and allow the victims and their families to move forward from these heinous crimes.” 

According to his plea agreement, from April 2019 to December 2019, Crawford recruited, harbored, and transported two minor victims to engage in commercial sex acts. 

Specifically, Crawford posted a juvenile victim (Victim 1) in online advertisements for commercial sex and provided lodging in two locations for Victim 1 where Victim 1 conducted sex “dates.”  Victim 1 was 15-years-old and had been reported missing for two months at the time.  Crawford instructed Victim 1 to send sexually explicit images to him for the online advertisements; these images constituted child pornography.  Upon further investigation, law enforcement located numerous communications on Crawford’s phone between Crawford, Victim 1, and sex procurers between November 5, 2019 and December 6, 2019.  Crawford sent “johns” the addresses where Victim 1 was kept on 182 occasions. The majority of the communications were related to facilitating prostitution in various locations in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Further, in January 2020, law enforcement officers were advised that a 16-year-old female (Victim 2) had been trafficked by an individual known as “Fly.”  In an interview with law enforcement, Victim 2 positively identified Crawford as the individual she knew as “Fly.” Crawford first met Victim 2 in March 2017 when Victim 2 was 13-years-old.  Later, after they met again in April 2019, Crawford introduced Victim 2 to an adult female who encouraged Victim 2 to work as a prostitute.  After Victim 2 engaged in commercial sex dates, Crawford refused to share the profits with Victim 2.  Victim 2 then left with the adult female.  When they met again in August 2019, Victim 2 performed sex acts for customers at Crawford’s direction at an apartment complex and a parking lot.  When Victim 2 declined to engage in further commercial sex dates, Crawford raped Victim 2 and threatened to kill her if she did not engage in more sex dates.  Victim 2 escaped soon thereafter when Crawford left the apartment complex where he was keeping her.  She then deleted the text communication application that Crawford used to contact her so that he could no longer communicate with her.

After his arrest, investigators discovered that Crawford’s cell phone contained communications with numerous women where Crawford attempted to recruit them to work for him as commercial sex workers.  In at least two of the conversations, the women identified themselves as minors.

As a founding member of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office pledges to continue to combat human trafficking by working with our partners to investigate and prosecute traffickers and rescue victims.  The Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force (MHTTF) was formed in 2007 by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Attorney General of Maryland, and the State's Attorney for Baltimore City to serve as the lead investigative, prosecutorial, and victim services coordinating body for anti-human trafficking activity in the State of Maryland. The MHTTF is a multidisciplinary team of agencies and organizations committed to a victim-centered approach in the fight against human trafficking in Maryland.  Our record of success in rescuing and serving a range of labor and sex trafficking victims is irrespective of gender, nationality, sexual orientation, or age.  Our communities, including the vulnerable victims who are the targets of traffickers, benefit greatly from awareness of the types of human trafficking; indicators of human trafficking; and resources available to survivors of human trafficking.

On January 31, 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland released the Justice Department’s new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which aims to enhance the department's capacity to prevent human trafficking; to prosecute human trafficking cases; and to support and protect human trafficking victims and survivors.

Among other things, the Justice Department’s multi-year strategy to combat all forms of human trafficking will:

• Strengthen engagement, coordination and joint efforts to combat human trafficking in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and by federal law enforcement agents nationwide.
• Establish federally-funded, locally-led anti-human trafficking task forces that support sustained state law enforcement leadership and comprehensive victim assistance.
• Step up departmental efforts to end forced labor by increasing attention, resources and coordination in labor trafficking investigations and prosecutions.
• Develop and implement new victim screening protocols to identify potential human trafficking victims during law enforcement operations and encourage victims to share important information.
• Increase capacity to provide victim-centered assistance to trafficking survivors, including by supporting efforts to deliver financial restoration to victims.
• Expand dissemination of federal human trafficking training, guidance and expertise.
• Advance innovative demand-reduction strategies.

To learn more about the Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking, please visit www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-announces-justice-department-strategy-combat-human.

To learn more about human trafficking indicators visit www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/indicators-human-trafficking.  If you believe that you or someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, please contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or Text 233733.

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Baldwin, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and (https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/human-trafficking.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Ercin Kalender, age 60, of Alexandria, Virginia and Lizette Kalender, age 44, of Alexandria, Virginia pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy in relation to tax fraud within their corporate filings and business taxes.  As part of their plea agreements, the Kalenders have been ordered to pay $2,219,602 in restitution.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

According to their guilty pleas, Ercin Kalender owned and operated Butch’s, a very successful Capital Heights, Maryland auto body shop.  Lizette Kalender worked at the autobody shop as a manager and bookkeeper.  In that capacity, she handled tax reporting matters and regularly worked with an outside tax preparation and accounting agency, which prepared the taxes for Butch’s and the personal tax returns for Ercin and Lizette.  

For the fiscal tax years of 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, Butch’s reported its income and expenses to the federal government by filing Forms 1120 with the Internal Revenue Service.  During this period, the Kalenders conspired with each other to include materially false information on their Form 1120s filed with the IRS on behalf of Butch’s.  The false information included on the Form 1120s included a significantly lower report of gross income and taxable income.

The Kalenders jointly worked to divert revenue from Butch’s and avoid significant revenues being deposited into Butch’s corporate bank accounts and reported to the IRS.  As part of the conspiracy, the Kalenders kept two sets of financial records for Butch’s, one that reported the actual revenues and profits of the business and a second set that reported lower figures which were used for tax purposes.    The Kalenders’ conspiracy to submit false tax returns also involved cashing checks, received at Butch’s at a Prince George’s check cashing facility (Business A).  The checks cashed at Business A were not reported on Butch’s tax returns and resulted in the underreporting of Butch’s annual income for fiscal years 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 by more than $6.6 million.  The corresponding tax loss to the IRS for the four years was $2,219,602.

As stated in their plea agreements, in August 2018, the Kalendars sought to sell Butch’s.  As part of the investigation, an undercover federal agent posed as a potential buyer and had contact with the Kalenders.  During their conversations, Ercin and Lizette explained the profitability of Butch’s and revealed their practices of the underreporting of revenues and income from Butch’s.  During one conversation, while Lizette was present, Ercin informed the uncover agent that he had a regular practice of taking checks intended to pay for auto body repair work and cashing them at Business A.  Some of the checks were made payable to Butch’s while other customer checks were written to Butch’s customers, or jointly payable to Butch’s and the customers.

Further, Ercin explained that while Butch’s filed tax returns showed $2.2 million in gross receipts, the actual gross receipts were closer to $3.1, $4.2, and $3.9 million for the fiscal years for 2015, 2016, and 2017; respectively.  He also stated that his father had done this for years before he had taken over Butch’s operations and that his father used Business A to cash checks for 30-35 years.  Ercin continued to explain the conspiracy by informing the undercover agent that he regularly cashed $50,000-60,000 at a time in off the books checks at Business A but estimated that he had reduced the amounts in recent years to approximately $30,000-35,000 cashed per visit to Business A.  Ercin also informed the agent that Lizette also reported sizeable W-2 income, which helped them evade scrutiny by the IRS.

While working with the outside tax preparation and accounting agency, Lizette deliberately hid the money flowing through Business A.  Lizette sent bank statements for the corporate accounts, check stubs, credit card statements, payroll records, and other business records but withheld the revenue received through the checks cashed at Business A.  Thus, underreporting taxable income to the tax preparation and accounting agency.

During conversations with the undercover agent, Lizette showed records to the undercover agent displaying total sales of $4.3 million and $3.9 million for the fiscal years 2017 and 2018.  Lizette also talked about pulling out invoices for additional customers from business records to cause business records to match their bank records.

As detailed in their plea agreements, the Kalenders knowingly caused a portion of the employee’s wages to be paid in cash and falsely reported the wages of Butch’s employees on Forms 941 filed with IRS.  In a conversation with the undercover agent, Ercin stated that he paid all his employees’ extra compensation in cash to avoid tax obligations except for one secretary who was not paid under the table.  This system of paying employees in cash deprived the State of Maryland of tax revenue and subverted the taxation systems of the IRS and Maryland.

In 2019, after the Kalenders became aware of the IRS’s investigation, Butch’s reported gross receipts of more than $4.5 million, an increase of more than $2.2 million over the fiscal year 2018.

Ercin Kalender and Lizette Kalender face a maximum sentence of five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy.  U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled Ercin and Lizette’s sentencing hearings for May 26, 2022, at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.; respectively.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the IRS-CI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry M. Gruber, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint was filed yesterday charging Luther Moody Trent, age 21, of Baltimore, Maryland, for a federal charge of malicious destruction of property used in and affecting interstate commerce by fire, in connection with an arson at the rented home of his former girlfriend. 

The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr. of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Maryland State Fire Marshal Brian S. Geraci; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Niles R. Ford of the Baltimore City Fire Department.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, on May 21, 2021, at approximately 1:30 a.m., a fire was reported at a residence in the 1900 block of Linden Avenue in Baltimore.  The fire moved along the exterior and into the rear of the residence where it set a raised wooden deck ablaze, and then moved inside the building, doing substantial damage to the residence, as well as damaging the adjoining property.  The home was rented to three individuals, Victim 1, Victim 2, and Victim 3, all of whom were in the residence at the time of the fire.  Baltimore Fire Investigators determined that the fire was intentionally set and that the origin of the fire was under the wooden deck in the back of the residence.

A Baltimore Police detective interviewed Victim 1 shortly after the arson.  Victim 1 told the detective about threatening text messages she had received from Trent, with whom she had prior volatile romantic relationship, resulting in police being called on at least one occasion.  An order of protection had also been issued in favor of Victim 1.  The detective was able to find video of a prior incident with Trent and Victim 1 in March 2021.  Upon viewing Trent in the video, the detective realized that Trent had approached him earlier at the scene of the arson and identified himself as “Trey Johnson.”  At the time, Trent was shirtless, wearing glasses and jeans, and inquired about his cousin, whom he claimed resided in the residence.  The detective noted that “Trey Johnson” was acting nervous and left the scene shortly thereafter driving a two-door black Honda Accord.  Victim 1 confirmed that Trent drives a two-door black Honda and indicated that his cousin had not lived at the residence in several months.  

Law enforcement recovered video surveillance recordings from a variety of sources and vantage points in the area of the fire.  In one surveillance video, a figure is seen walking up the street toward the residence at approximately 1:30 a.m., just prior to the fire.  Two minutes later, just after the fire was set, an individual, who appears to be shirtless, is seen running down the street, away from the residence.  Other video surveillance footage shows a black two door Honda circling the area after the fire.

If convicted, Trent faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for malicious destruction of a commercial property by fire.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Trent is currently detained on related state charges.  An initial appearance in U.S. District Court has not yet been scheduled.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF, the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Baltimore City Fire Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Devell Lincoln, age 56, of Washington, D.C. to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit theft of public money, theft of public money and aggravated identity theft.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Sally Luttrell, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, U.S. Department of the Treasury - Office of Inspector General.

According to court documents and the evidence introduced at trial, from 2011 to 2013, Devell Lincoln conspired with Stephanie Twyman and others to cash tax refund checks fraudulently obtained by filing false federal income tax returns in the names of other individuals with the IRS.  In total, the conspirators cashed more than $500,000 in fraudulent refunds at a check-cashing business and Lincoln deposited more than $150,000 in fraudulent refunds using bank accounts under his control.

From 2011 to 2013, false federal income tax returns were filed with the IRS using the names and Social Security numbers of unwitting taxpayers and seeking fraudulent refunds. When the refunds were received, Lincoln and his co-conspirators cashed the checks at a check-cashing business.  In addition, from 2010 to 2014, Lincoln deposited fraudulent refunds into bank accounts under his control.  While two of these accounts were in Lincoln’s name, one bank account was held in the name of a third-party, who was deceased, and one was in the name of a company registered under the deceased person’s name, with the deceased person as the signatory.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Department of the Treasury - Office of Inspector General, and the Justice Department’s Tax Division for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica C. Collins, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – A criminal complaint was filed on January 28, 2022, charging Scott Ryan Merryman, age 37, of Independence, Kansas, for federal charges of making threats against the President of the United States and interstate communication containing a threat to harm.  Merryman is expected to have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore today at 3:45 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent.

The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Bo Keane of the United States Secret Service - Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Brandon Bridgeforth of the United States Secret Service – Kansas City Field Office.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Merryman has made threats against the President of the United States and several United States Secret Service Agents and traveled from his home in Kansas to Maryland.  The affidavit alleges that in a series of telephone calls on January 25 and January 26, 2022, Merryman advised law enforcement officers that he was en route to Washington, D.C. to see the President and that he was going to “cut the head off the snake in the heart of the nation.” 

As detailed in the affidavit, during an in-person interview with a Secret Service agent on January 26, 2022, in Hagerstown, Maryland, Merryman allegedly reiterated his plans to travel to Washington, D.C. to “cut the head off the snake in the heart of the nation.”  During a consent search of Merryman, the agent found no weapons, but Merryman did have a loaded magazine containing three bullets that he was carrying on his person, and a spotting scope in his backpack.

Later that day, Merryman called the Secret Service agent with whom he had spoken in Kansas and told the agent that he had finished speaking with the agents that the Kansas agent “had sent for him and that they had given him the answer.”  He told the Kansas agent that the agents in Hagerstown had told him “not to take the bullets to the White House,” then stated, multiple times, “I’m coming for you b***h.”  The affidavit alleges that during the course of the conversation, Merryman also stated, “Well, I have a bullet with your name on it,” among other threats.  

The affidavit includes a series of increasingly threatening messages Merryman allegedly posted on social media from January 25, 2022, through January 27, 2022.  In addition, the affidavit alleges that Merryman contacted the White House switchboard on January 27, 2022, and made threats against the President, using the same telephone number he used to contact the Kansas Secret Service agent.  Merryman allegedly stated the threats to a White House operator and to a Secret Service Special Agent to whom his call was referred.

If convicted, Merryman faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for making threats against the President of the United States and a maximum of five years in federal prison for interstate communication containing threats to harm.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the United States Secret Service Baltimore and Kansas City Field Offices for their work in the investigation, and thanked the Justice Department’s National Security Division for its assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Sullivan, who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, and its efforts to protect national security, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/anti-terrorism.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – Tammy Jones, a/k/a “Tammy Taylor”, age 53, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme.  As part of her plea agreement, Jones will be required to pay $111,377.12 in restitution.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General.

According to her guilty plea, in May 2011 Jones purchased a home in Brandywine, Maryland.  To finance the purchase of the home, Jones obtained a mortgage for $360,660 from Lender 1, which was backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

In 2017, Jones sought and received a loan modification for her FHA-insured mortgage through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Partial Claim Program, which is a loan modification program for FHA-insured mortgages.  As part of the Partial Claim Program, HUD works to restructure the borrower’s mortgage payments using a partial claim which allows the borrower to stay in the home.  A lender files a “partial claim” with HUD for a portion of the outstanding mortgage balance and HUD makes payment to the lender on behalf of the borrower for that portion of the mortgage.  In exchange, HUD receives a security interest in the property in the amount of the balance that was paid to the lender and the borrower agrees to repay HUD for the amount of the partial claim.  Thus, the lender is effectively “made whole” by the partial claim payment from HUD.  When the borrower sells the home, the borrower is ultimately responsible for the balance of the partial claim to remove the lien held by HUD. 

As stated in her plea agreement, in or around June 2017, Jones sought and received a loan modification through the HUD Partial Claim Program for her Brandywine, Maryland home.  HUD made a partial claim payment to Servicer 1 (who serviced Jones’s FHA-insured mortgage) of $111,377.12 on behalf of Jones.  In exchange, Jones granted HUD a security interest in the Brandywine, Maryland property for $111,377.12, the amount of the partial claim payment made by HUD.  Jones also entered into a loan modification agreement with the mortgage lender, in which Jones owed $352,151.01 in principal and agreed to make monthly payments of $2,564.96.

In 2018, Jones sought to sell the Brandywine, Maryland property for $429,900.  To close the sale of the property, employees of a settlement company sought proof that Jones’s lien from HUD and the FHA had been released.   

In fact, the lien had not been released.  Jones thereafter created false and fraudulent documents to make it appear as though the lien had been released in order to facilitate the sale of the Brandywine, Maryland home as part of the scheme. 

Specifically, Jones created a fraudulent email account, purporting to be an employee of a company contracted by HUD to service loans on HUD’s behalf.  Jones, posing as an employee of the HUD contractor, told an employee of the settlement company that the lien on the Brandywine, Maryland home had been released and Jones created and attached a bogus lien release document.  Jones thereafter continued to contact the settlement company while posing as an employee of the HUD contractor.  Jones also submitted a fraudulent Certificate of Satisfaction to the settlement company, which permitted the sale of the Brandywine, Maryland property on or about October 19, 2018.

After the sale of the Brandywine, Maryland property closed, the individual who purchased the home from Jones was notified of the outstanding lien on the property in 2019.  Investigation revealed that Jones had falsified documents and fraudulently posed as an employee of the HUD contractor in order to further her scheme to defraud HUD. 

In total, Jones caused a net loss of $111,377.12 to HUD, which represents the partial claim that HUD paid on behalf of Jones in September 2017.

Jones faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release for wire fraud.  U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for May 20, 2022 at 2:30 p.m.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HUD-OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin R. Cottingham, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – Jason Daniel Ort, age 36, of Waldorf, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to transportation of child pornography. 

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Brigadier General Terry Bullard, Commander Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

According to his guilty plea, between September 28, 2020, and October 1, 2020, Ort knowingly transported videos containing child pornography from Maryland to New York.

As stated in his plea agreement, on October 2, 2020, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office of New York (OSCO) received a complaint from an adult complainant (Individual 1) that Ort had placed a black spy camera in Individual 1’s bedroom while visiting the individual’s home.  On October 1, 2020, Individual 1 located the camera, which contained an SD card.  Upon review of the SD card’s contents, Individual 1 discovered a video of a minor female using the bathroom and lifting up her dress to wipe herself.  Individual 1 observed a video of Ort entering the bathroom and adjusting the camera.  According to military records, Ort is a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Maryland and was scheduled for leave during that time to visit Individual 1’s residence in New York.

In an interview with OSCO officers, Ort admitted to placing the camera in Individual 1’s bedroom and that he placed the camera in several other locations, including in a bathroom at another residence in Pocomoke City, Maryland.  Ort said that he watched the videos for sexual pleasure and knew that his actions were wrong.

As a result of their investigation, OSCO seized multiple electronic items in New York, including the spy camera containing the SD card and Ort’s laptop.  A subsequent forensic review of the SD card revealed at least 10 video files depicting minor females using the bathroom and bathing.  Ort recorded these videos using the spy camera placed in the bathroom of the Pocomoke City, Maryland residence in and around December 2019 and January 2020.  The camera appeared to be positioned under the sink, facing the toilet and the shower.  Throughout the videos, four minor females were recorded with their genitals exposed while either showering or using the toilet.

A forensic review of the Ort’s laptop seized in New York revealed hundreds of files constituting child pornography.  Some of the files depicted prepubescent minors engaged in sex acts.

As detailed in his plea agreement, on November 16, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Ort’s Waldorf, Maryland residence and recovered numerous electronic devices including a 1 TB digital hard drive, a 500 GB hard drive, and a second laptop with a 1 TB hard drive.

Upon review of one of the hard drives, law enforcement found duplicate video files to those found on the SD card depicting the minor victims.  The files were located under the folder labeled “Jason’s Photos\OTS Flight 2-10 (Pictures & Video)\EMLEX (Emergency Management Leadership Exercise)\Info Assurance.”

Further, a forensic review of the second laptop located at Ort’s residence revealed a search for “production of child pornography charge” and “Citizen’s Guide to U.S. Federal Law on Child Pornography” on October 7, 2020.

Ort and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Ort will be sentenced to between 10 years and 15 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for May 4, 2022, at 2 p.m. 

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office of New York for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Collins who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has seized “US-dolbids.com” which purported to be the official website for the United States Department of Labor.

The seizure of the domain was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Cooper of the Division of Advanced Technology and Analytics, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the seizure, the domain US-dolbids.com claimed to be the official website of the U.S. Department of Labor and claimed to accept bids from potential contractors for ongoing government projects.  In order to bid for a purported government contract, the fraudulent domain instructed users to log into a portal with the user’s email address and password.  In reality, the website intended to steal a user’s email login credentials for nefarious purposes and financial gain.  Additionally, the domain mimicked stylistic designs and language as the authentic U.S. Department of Labor website, including a purported link providing “Coronavirus Resources” for “responding to COVID-19.”

Individuals visiting the site now will see a message that the site has been seized by the federal government and be redirected to another site for additional information. 

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Department of Labor- Office of Inspector General, HSI, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Baltimore City Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron S.J. Zelinsky and Sean Delaney, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Muhammad Luqman Rana, age 32, of City of Vaughan, Ontario, for the federal charges of production of child pornography and extortion by threat to injure the reputation of another.  The indictment was returned on December 11, 2019 and unsealed yesterday upon his extradition from Canada. 

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Mark Saunders of the Toronto Police Services (Canada).

According to the 10-count indictment, from June 2014 to June 2016 Rana persuaded, induced, and coerced five minor victims, residing in Maryland, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Washington and New York, to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography and extorted the victims by threatening to injure their reputation. 

Rana is made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore today before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Copperthite and is detained pending trial.

If convicted, Rana faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for production of child pornography and up to two years of imprisonment for extortion by threat to injure the reputation of another.  The maximum statutory penalty for all of the charged conduct is 160 years in federal prison.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. commended the FBI and the Toronto Police Services for their work in the investigation.  The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Canada to secure the arrest of Rana in Canada and his extradition to the United States.  Mr. Barron and Mr. Polite thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Baldwin and Jennifer Leonardo of the Justice Department’s Criminal Child Exploitation and Obscenity Unit, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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A federal grand jury in Maryland returned an indictment in December 2019, which was unsealed today, charging a Canadian man with production of child pornography and extortion.

According to court documents, Muhammad Luqman Rana, 32, of Vaughan, Ontario, from June 2014 to June 2016, persuaded, induced, and coerced five minor victims, residing in Maryland, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Washington, and New York, to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography and extorted the victims by threatening to injure their reputation. 

Rana is charged with five counts of production of child pornography and five counts of extortion by threat to injure the reputation of another. If convicted of all counts, Rana faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 160 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Rana made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore today before U.S. Magistrate Judge A. David Copperthite.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Mark Saunders of the Toronto Police Services made the announcement.

The FBI and the Toronto Police Services are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Canada to secure the arrest of Rana in Canada and his extradition to the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Baldwin for the District of Maryland and Senior Trial Attorney Jennifer Toritto Leonardo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the 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 better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

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

Baltimore, Maryland – On January 24, 2022, a federal jury convicted Milton Portillo-Rodriguez, a/k/a “Little Gangster,” age 26; Juan Carlos Sandoval-Rodriguez, a/k/a “Picaro,” age 22; Oscar Armando Sorto Romero, a/k/a “Lobo,” age 22; and Jose Joya Parada, a/k/a “Calmado,” age 20, for a racketeering conspiracy and for racketeering, connected to their participation in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise also known as MS-13. Portillo-Rodriguez, Sandoval-Rodriguez, and Sorto Romero were each also convicted of multiple counts of murder in aid of racketeering. 

The convictions were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations, Baltimore Office; Chief Jason Lando of the Frederick City Police Department; Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck” Jenkins; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith, III; Chief Amal E. Awad of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

“The brutal and tragic violence perpetrated by these defendants and their fellow MS-13 gang members is totally unacceptable. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland and our local, state and federal partners are working together to remove these violent gang members to keep our communities safe from the threat of MS-13,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. “We will continue to work to bring to justice these transnational gangs, and we welcome the continued support from members of our communities in order to carry on our work against MS-13.”

“These convictions mark a profound victory for the people of Maryland, who do not deserve to be intimidated by the reprehensible actions of these criminals,” said James R. Mancuso, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Baltimore. “Hopefully this prosecution and the sentences facing these defendants will deter others from joining criminal organizations. We thank all of our federal and local law enforcement partners for their hard work in making these convictions happen.”

MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador and other central American countries.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County, Maryland.  The defendants were members of the Fulton Locos Salvatruchas (“FLS”) and Parque Vista (“PVLS”) cliques.

The evidence at the three-month trial established that between 2015 and 2017, the defendants engaged in drug trafficking, extortion, and brutal acts of violence against suspected rivals of the gang in an effort to increase MS-13’s power in the Frederick County, Montgomery County, and Anne Arundel County areas of Maryland. 

At all times of this conspiracy, members of MS-13 were expected to protect the name, reputation, and status of the gang from rival gang members and other persons.  To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members were expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who showed disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence. MS-13 had mottos consistent with its rules, beliefs, expectations and reputation including “mata, viola, controla,” which translates as, “kill, rape, control,” and “ver, oir y callar,” which means, “see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing.” One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, often referred to as “chavalas,” whenever possible. 

MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang, as well as against rival gang members. Participation in criminal activity by a member, particularly in violent acts directed at rival gangs or as directed by gang leadership, increase the respect accorded to that member, resulting in that member maintaining or increasing his position in the gang, and opens the door to promotion to a leadership position. 

As detailed during the trial, from 2015 through 2017, the Fulton clique of MS-13 sought to increase its presence in Frederick, Wheaton, and Annapolis, Maryland through numerous acts of violence, extortion, and drug sales. Trial evidence focused on the defendants’ participation in four grisly murders of those suspected of association with rival gang members carried out in 2017. First, on March 31, 2017, the gang lured a 17-year old from Annapolis to Wheaton Regional Park, where they stabbed him over 100 times, dismembered him, removed his heart, and buried him in a clandestine grave. Two days later, the gang kidnapped another individual from Silver Spring, Maryland and brought him to a wooded area in Frederick, where he was killed with knives and machetes before being buried in a shallow grave. On June 24, 2017, the gang used a female associate to lure a 21-year old woman into a car and then took her to a wooded area in Crownsville, where she was killed, her body was dismembered, and she was buried in a clandestine grave. Finally, on August 5, 2017, the gang lured another victim to Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, where he was hit in the head with a hammer and slashed with a machete until he died. He was also buried in a grave in the park. 

According to trial evidence, these murders were all intended to maintain and increase the status of MS-13, as well as allow individual MS-13 members to maintain or increase their status within the gang.

As a result of this guilty verdict, more than 30 defendants have been convicted in this and a related case.

Portillo-Rodriguez, Sandoval-Rodriguez, and Sorto Romero each face a mandatory sentence of life in prison for each of the murder in aid of racketeering charges. Joya Parada faces a maximum sentenced of life in prison for the racketeering conspiracy and for racketeering. Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for Joya Parada for April 8, 2022, at 10 a.m.; Sandoval Rodriguez for April 22, 2022, at 4 p.m.; Sorto Romero for May 6, 2022, at 10 a.m.; and Portillo Rodriguez for May 13, 2022, at 10 a.m.

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

This case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.    

Anyone with information about MS-13 is encouraged to provide their tips to law enforcement. The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations both have nationwide tiplines that you can call to report what you know. You can reach the FBI at 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or you can call HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI; HSI; the Frederick Police Department; the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office; the Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County Police Departments; and the Anne Arundel, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County State’s Attorneys for their work in the investigation, and the Baltimore County Police Department for its assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark, Zachary Stendig, and Anatoly Smolkin, who are prosecuting this case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Yesterday U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Eric Coleman, age 37 of Baltimore City, Maryland, to nine years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr. of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, on May 7, 2020, Coleman and several others were standing on a sidewalk when they were observed by Baltimore Police Department detectives patrolling in the area.  When the detectives were noticed, a lookout alerted Coleman and the others of BPD’s presence.

When the BPD detectives made a U-turn, Coleman quickly turned the right side of his body away from view, walked away from the group of other individuals, and kept his right arm stiff against his body.  The detectives believed that Coleman’s actions were consistent with the characteristics exhibited by an armed person and stopped their patrol vehicle.

As detectives exited the vehicle, Coleman began to flee on foot and eventually threw a firearm with his right arm while running.

During his apprehension and arrest, the detectives discovered a 9mm handgun in the area where he threw it, as well as an extended magazine that Coleman had dropped as he ran.  Coleman also possessed a satchel containing 42 gel caps of heroin, 33 gel caps of fentanyl, 29 glass vials of cocaine, and several bags of marijuana. 

After his arrest, Coleman placed a consensually recorded jail call in which he discussed his arrest and the handgun.  Specifically, Coleman stated “I couldn’t leave without it, yo. I told everybody that I’d rather get caught with it than without it. I got caught with it.”

As stated in his plea agreement, investigators subsequently executed search warrants on Coleman’s cellphone and social media accounts.  As a result of the search warrants, investigators located several images and videos in which Coleman possessed a handgun.  Investigators also discovered pictures and videos relating to the sale of narcotics.

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard P. Gallena and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia C. McLane, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint was unsealed today charging six men for a drug trafficking conspiracy which allegedly distributed cocaine and other drugs in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties as well as the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.  The criminal complaint was filed on January 13, 2022.  Charged in the criminal complaint are:

            Fabricio Alexis Rivera, a/k/a “Breeze,” age 30, of Rockville, Maryland;             William Reyes Garcia, a/k/a “Will,” age 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland;             Adrian Josue Velasquez, a/k/a “AJ,” age 31, of Lanham, Maryland;             Rodney Ricky Rivera, a/k/a “Rodney,” age 27, of Beltsville, Maryland;             Noel Reyes, Jr., a/k/a “June,” age 28, of Bowie, Maryland; and
            Joey Garcia King, a/k/a “Joe,” age 43, of Silver Spring, Maryland.

The defendants will have initial appearances today beginning at 12:30 p.m., in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gina L. Simms.

The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

“These arrests mark a significant victory for Homeland Security Investigations, the Montgomery County Police and for the state of Maryland,” said James R. Mancuso, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Baltimore.  Investigations like this highlight the strength of our partnerships with other federal and local law enforcement organizations.  This operation would not have been possible without the hard work of our partners at the Montgomery County Police, the Prince George’s County Police, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Maryland State Police, ATF and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.”

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, the drug trafficking organization (DTO) allegedly run by F. Rivera, Reyes Garcia, and Velasquez is a tiered organization with multiple members who participate in drug trafficking.  Drug customers would contact the DTO leadership, normally via phone or text message.  The DTO leadership was engaged in the high-level distribution of cocaine to lower-level dealers.  Customers who contacted the phones used by the leaders typically purchased controlled substances—usually cocaine—in amounts consistent with individuals who are re-distributing the drugs.  The affidavit alleges that the defendants participated in the drug conspiracy between at least September 2020 and December 2021.

As detailed in the affidavit, during the investigation several packages containing approximately 15.65 kilograms of cocaine were seized by law enforcement.  The packages were shipped from Brownsville, Texas to an address associated with the DTO, Business 1 in Beltsville, Maryland.  The same sender was found to have sent additional packages, which investigators believe also contained narcotics, to Business 1 and to Velasquez’s residence.  Tracking information obtained from the shipping company revealed that IP addresses associated with Reyes Garcia and Velasquez queried the tracking numbers on the seized packages containing cocaine as well as the additional packages.  In October 2021, law enforcement seized an approximately two-kilogram package of cocaine that was sent to Reyes, Jr.  Intercepted communications following the seizure allegedly showed that this package of cocaine was intended for distribution by the DTO.

The affidavit includes conversations between the conspirators allegedly discussing DTO business, collecting drug debts, arranging drug transactions, and arranging travel to Texas to obtain narcotics for transportation to Maryland.

The six defendants were arrested on January 20, 2022, based on arrest warrants issued from the criminal complaint.  As part of these arrests, law enforcement executed search warrants at 21 locations associated with charged and uncharged DTO members, seizing:  approximately 4.2 kilograms of cocaine; approximately 280 pounds of marijuana; a distribution quantity of phencyclidine; and approximately 12 firearms, including a ghost gun, handguns, and a rifle.  In total, as part of this investigation, law enforcement has seized approximately 22 kilograms of cocaine intended for distribution by this DTO.  Other DTO members were arrested on related state charges that will be prosecuted by the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County State’s Attorneys’ Offices.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI, the DEA, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland State Police, the ATF, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy and their offices for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rajeev R. Raghavan, and Joel Crespo, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Tyrone Sherrod, age 49, of Aberdeen, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of wire fraud and filing a false tax return.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Bo Keane of the United States Secret Service - Baltimore Field Office.

“Sherrod gambled away federal grant funding intended to uplift Baltimore youth.” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. “Our office will continue to prosecute individuals who blatantly misappropriate federal funds intended for our youth and communities and use it to line their own pockets.”

According to his plea agreement, Sherrod owned and operated a non-profit that provided after-school and summer education and sports programs at a Baltimore elementary school from 2015 through 2019.  In 2015, Sherrod applied for a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education through the Maryland State Department of Education to help support those programs and was awarded approximately $1.1 million sub-program federal funding initiative to be paid over three years.  The amounts to be paid each year were based on a detailed budget that accompanied the grant application.  For each period, Sherrod’s non-profit received a 15% advance payment.  The remaining funds were reimbursed every month after Sherrod submitted payroll registers, receipts, and a detailed budget summary referred to as a Project Invoice Summary.

Between 2016 and 2018 Sherrod electronically submitted 19 Project Invoice Summaries that falsely reported a total payroll of $746,005.02.  Sherrod’s actual non-profit payroll during this period was $212,622.55.  The falsities in the Project Invoice Summaries included the overstatement of wages earned, hours worked, and time periods of employment.

For example, on May 22, 2018, Sherrod submitted a project invoice summary for the month of April 2018.  In that summary, Sherrod reported that his payroll totaled $54,200.85, when in reality, the actual payroll paid during this month was $1,000.

As stated in his plea agreement, Sherrod lost a significant amount of the grant funds intended for his non-profit gambling at casinos.  For example, on March 5, 2018, Sherrod’s non-profit received a $39,747.29 payment in grant funds.  The same day, Sherrod wrote three checks to cash totaling $28,500.  Later that day, Sherrod entered a Maryland casino and gambled using $52,270, losing $34,345.

As detailed in his plea agreement, between 2016 and 2018, during the time Sherrod’s non-profit received grant funding, Sherrod incurred approximately $547,000 in gambling losses.  During that same time frame, Sherrod withdrew $552,405 in cash from one casino’s ATM.

Additionally, Sherrod caused the filing of a false Form 1040 Individual Income Tax Returns for the years 2016, 2017, and 2018.  Sherrod hired a certified personal accountant (CPA) to prepare tax returns and provided the CPA with documents containing fraudulent statements.  For example, Sherrod provided the CPA with an Employee Expense Sheet that detailed fraudulent receipts and expenses for Sherrod’s work as a mentoring coach for the non-profit.  Within the document, Sherrod treated himself as a contractor to influence the CPA to attach a Form Schedule C to each of the returns.  Sherrod admitted that he did not inform the CPA of the grant funding.  As a result of underreporting his gross receipts, Sherrod had additional tax due and owing of $148,088.

Sherrod faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for filing a false tax return and a maximum of twenty years in prison followed up by three years of supervised release for wire fraud.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell has scheduled sentencing for June 17, 2022 at 2 p.m.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the IRS, and the United States Secret Service.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean R. Delaney and Aaron S.J. Zelinsky who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher today sentenced David William Jai Herder, age 41, of Ijamsville, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for distribution of child pornography.  Judge Gallagher also ordered Herder to pay restitution totaling $45,000 to identified victims abused by others to produce the child pornography that Herder subsequently distributed, received, and/or possessed.  

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron: Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck” Jenkins.

According to his guilty plea agreement, in January of 2020 investigators at the Federal Bureau of Investigation received information regarding the trading of child pornography in several chat groups on a messaging application.  Herder was identified as one of the individuals participating in the trading and distribution of child pornography images.  For example, in June of 2020, Herder distributed at least two images of child pornography, both depicting prepubescent females between the ages of four and nine years old.  Records received from the messaging application and Internet service provider resolved to the residence where Herder was living.

On August 27, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Herder’s residence, seizing several electronic devices, including two phones and a tablet.  It was determined that Herder used one of the phones to access his messaging account when engaging in the distribution and receipt of child pornography.  Further investigation of the phone revealed between 150 and 300 image and video files documenting the sexual abuse of minors, including prepubescent minors, sadistic and masochistic abuse, and other depictions of violence.  Evidence was presented at today’s sentencing hearing that Herder possessed a total of 887 videos and 597 image files of child pornography and that he distributed a total of 100 videos and 70 image files depicting the sexual abuse of minors. 

According to Herder’s plea agreement, Herder informed investigators that he created the instant messaging account associated with the child pornography and that he used chatrooms to distribute, as well as receive, child pornography.  Herder also detailed that he had been looking at child exploitive material one to two times a day for sexual pleasure, preferring children 6-7 years old and older. 

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Johnny William Kyte, Jr., age 62, of Elkton, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to production of child pornography. 

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; the Cecil County State’s Attorney James Dellmyer; and Chief Carolyn Rogers of the Elkton Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, on September 10, 2020, the Elkton Police Department responded to a complaint reporting that images of child pornography had been located within Kyte’s residence.  Kyte resided at his Elkton, Maryland residence for over 20 years.  However, at the time that the complaint was reported, Kyte was not residing at his residence as he was serving a 36-month jail sentence for a third-degree sex offense at the Ceil County Detention Center.

After the execution of numerous search warrants, the Elkton Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations discovered several digital devices controlled and owned by Kyte that contained images of child pornography.  The devices included a 1 Terabyte USB external hard drive and a 128 Megabyte SD card. 

Evidence recovered from the devices revealed that from August 13, 2014 to July 4, 2017, Kyte produced sexually explicit images of two prepubescent females.  Kyte used a variety of devices to produce the images including at least two digital cameras, a cell phone camera, and other devices.  The child pornographic images depicted the genitalia of two prepubescent females and contained various identifying home items within Kyte’s residence in the background of the pictures.  The minors depicted in the images had been entrusted in his care at the time the images were produced. 

Kyte admitted that he employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced the two minor victims to participate in the sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.  

Kyte faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison followed by up to lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography.   U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for April 22, 2022 at 9:15 a.m.

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the HSI, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Cecil County, and the Elkton Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Duey and Colleen McGuinn, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland - January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month.  As a founding member of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office pledges to continue to combat human trafficking by working with our partners to investigate and prosecute traffickers and rescue victims.  The Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force (MHTTF) was formed in 2007 by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Attorney General of Maryland, and the State's Attorney for Baltimore City to serve as the lead investigative, prosecutorial, and victim services coordinating body for anti-human trafficking activity in the State of Maryland.  The MHTTF is a multidisciplinary team of agencies and organizations committed to a victim-centered approach in the fight against human trafficking in Maryland.  Our record of success in rescuing and serving a range of labor and sex trafficking victims is irrespective of gender, nationality, sexual orientation, or age.  Our communities, including the vulnerable victims who are the targets of traffickers, benefit greatly from awareness of the types of human trafficking; indicators of human trafficking; and resources available to survivors of human trafficking.

Human trafficking is defined as using force, fraud, or coercion to obtain labor or engage in commercial sex acts.  Human trafficking also encompasses the use of minors in commercial sex acts regardless of whether force, fraud or coercion was used.  Often, traffickers make false promises of a job or pose as benefactors to lure their victims and force them into human trafficking.  Although human trafficking is usually associated with commercial sex, labor trafficking is just as prominent.  Forced labor is a category of human trafficking in which individuals are coerced into legitimate and illegitimate industries, including domestic service, massage parlors, agriculture, restaurants, hotels, and manufacturing sweatshops.  According to the U.S. State Department, human trafficking is now the second highest grossing criminal enterprise, with more than $150.2 billion per year earned from the use of forced labor.

Human trafficking has many faces.  Victims can be of any age, race, gender, nationality, and come from any socioeconomic group.  Human traffickers often target the most vulnerable, including individuals who suffer from disenfranchisement, social exclusion, or economic vulnerability (including individuals who have a history of domestic violence, substance abuse, reside in an unstable living situation, and youths in foster care or the juvenile justice system).  Foreign-born individuals face unique challenges, such as language barriers and economic instability, leaving them at the mercy of their traffickers. 

Maryland is not exempt from the horrors of human trafficking.  The close proximity between areas of affluence and poverty, a substantial immigrant population, and other factors create favorable conditions for human traffickers (and their customers) to exploit the vulnerable—including children, recent immigrants, the drug-addicted, and those facing housing instability.  Maryland’s central location on the Eastern Seaboard makes it both a pass-through state and a destination for human traffickers.  The Interstate 95 corridor’s numerous hotels, rest stops, truck stops, and bus stations are prime locations for traffickers to exploit their victims.  According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 529 phone calls, text messages, webchat, online tip reports, or emails indicating human trafficking instances were reported in Maryland in 2020.  Additionally, the National Human Trafficking Hotline reported 136 cases of human trafficking in Maryland for the year 2020. To view the National Human Trafficking Hotline reported cases for Maryland, visit https://humantraffickinghotline.org/state/Maryland.

An effective way to combat human trafficking is to connect with fellow community members and look for key signals and indicators.  Common indicators that a person could be a victim of human trafficking include (but are not limited to) a disconnection from social groups, dangerous or unsuitable living conditions, bruises in various stages of healing, and apparent coaching on what to say in response to questions.  Other ways to combat human trafficking are by attacking the conditions that lead to trafficking, such as poverty, addiction, and homelessness; educating yourself and others on trafficking indicators; and reporting suspicious activity to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1(888)-373-7888.  You can also text “HELP” or “INFO” to 233733.  Visit the Department of Homeland Security and Investigation’s Blue Campaign for more indicators of human trafficking.  For more information on human trafficking in Maryland, please visit the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force’s website.

Federal Prosecution of Human Trafficking Cases – Examples in 2021

United States v. Aaron Crawford: On October 6, 2021, Aaron Crawford, age 37, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of a minor.  According to his plea agreement, from April 2019 to December 2019, Crawford recruited, harbored, and transported two minor victims to engage in commercial sex acts.  Specifically, Crawford posted a juvenile victim (Victim 1) in online advertisements for commercial sex and provided lodging in two locations for Victim 1 where Victim 1 conducted sex “dates.” Victim 1 was 15-years-old and had been reported missing for two months at the time.  Crawford instructed Victim 1 to send sexually explicit images to him for the online advertisements; these images constituted child pornography.  Upon further investigation, law enforcement located numerous communications on Crawford’s phone between Crawford, Victim 1, and sex procurers between November 5, 2019 and December 6, 2019.  Crawford sent “johns” the addresses where Victim 1 was kept on 182 occasions.  The majority of the communications were related to facilitating prostitution in various locations in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Further, in January 2020, law enforcement officers were advised that a 16-year-old female (Victim 2) had been trafficked by an individual known as “Fly.”  In an interview with law enforcement, Victim 2 positively identified Crawford as the individual she knew as “Fly.”  Crawford first met Victim 2 in March 2017 when Victim 2 was 13-years-old.  Later, after they met again in April 2019, Crawford introduced Victim 2 to an adult female who encouraged Victim 2 to work as a prostitute.  After Victim 2 engaged in commercial sex dates, Crawford declined to share the profits with Victim 2. Victim 2 then left with the adult female.  When they met again in August 2019, Victim 2 performed sex acts for customers at Crawford’s direction at an apartment complex and a parking lot.  When Victim 2 declined to engage in further commercial sex dates, Crawford raped Victim 2 and threatened to kill her if she did not engage in more sex dates.  Victim 2 escaped soon thereafter when Crawford left the apartment complex where he was keeping her.

Crawford faces a term of imprisonment between 10 and 23 years in federal prison. His sentencing is scheduled for February 2, 2022 at 2:00 pm.

United States v. Kamal Dorchy: On May 27, 2021, Kamal Dorchy, age 46, of Beltsville, Maryland, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.  According to his plea agreement, from September 2016 to July 2017, Dorchy used Internet websites to post prostitution advertisements and recruit sex workers for his prostitution business through advertisements for massage work or prostitution.  In his guilty plea, Dorchy admitted to recruiting a 17-year-old minor victim to work for him in his prostitution business in July 2017.  Further, Dorchy arranged prostitution dates for the minor victim by posting ads on Internet websites, including for dates in Maryland.  When Dorchy could not be present for the minor victim’s prostitution dates, he employed his cousin to act as “security.” 

United States v. Xavier Lee:  Xavier Lee, a/k/a “X,” age 41, of Elkton, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the federal charge of sex trafficking of a minor on February 25, 2021.  According to his plea agreement, for the past decade Lee operated an illicit prostitution business for financial gain, including a website where Lee posted advertisements of women whom he made available for sexual acts with paying customers.  That website was seized by the FBI, in conjunction with the United States Attorney’s Office and the Maryland State Police.  Further, Lee admitted that he had sexual contact with Minor Victim 5.  Minor Victim 5 was 14 years old when he first engaged in sexual acts with Minor Victim 5.  Investigators recovered eight videos from Lee’s electronic devices, which were recorded by Lee and documented the sexual abuse of Minor Victim 5.  Some videos depicted Minor Victim 5 engaged in sexual acts with Lee or with another adult man.  Finally, Lee admitted that in 2013, Lee also instructed Minor Victim 4, who was sixteen to seventeen years old, to do prostitution dates.  These prostitution dates were arranged through Lee’s website.  Lee was aware of Minor Victim 4’s true age during the time because Minor Victim 4 advised Lee of her true age. 

United States v. Charles Nabit: On September 27, 2021, Baltimore businessman Charles Nabit, age 66, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for transportation of an individual to engage in prostitution.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell also ordered Nabit to pay a fine of $55,000 and a special assessment of $5,100.  Nabit, who owns residences and resides in Bethany Beach, Delaware and Deerfield Beach, Florida, is the owner of Westport Group, LLC. and previously owned Mountain Manor Treatment Center, a comprehensive drug treatment center in Baltimore.  Nabit regularly paid money for commercial sex with women that he knew regularly used narcotics or were severely addicted to narcotics, including one victim who died from a drug overdose, and another victim that Nabit supplied with cocaine.  As stated in his plea agreement, Nabit regularly paid for commercial sex with at least seven women who regularly used narcotics or suffered from serious substance abuse disorders.  Additionally, Nabit regularly transported victims to and from his Baltimore office for commercial sex and, in one instance, paid a victim (Victim 6) to travel with him for commercial sex dates.  Despite Victim 6 discussing her addiction struggles on several occasions, Nabit paid Victim 6 with monetary payment and cocaine.

United States v. Gerald Marshall: On May 4, 2021, Gerald Marshall, age 31, of Baltimore, Maryland was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor.  Marshall admitted that he conspired to traffic two minor girls, ages 15 and 17, to engage in commercial sex acts.  U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel ordered Marshall to pay $2,405 in restitution to each of the minor victims.  According to Marshall’s plea agreement, beginning in or about January 2018, Marshall conspired with co-defendant Sean Dean, age 29, of Baltimore, Maryland to recruit, harbor, transport, and/or maintain three females, including two minors, to engage in commercial sex acts.  In furtherance of the sex trafficking enterprise, Marshall rented hotel rooms in Timonium and Laurel, Maryland to be used by the victims to engage in commercial sex acts.  Marshall and Sean Dean transported the victims to the various hotels where they would stay for multiple days.  While in the hotel rooms, at Dean’s direction, the victims used a website to advertise themselves for commercial sex acts.  The advertisements contained pictures of the victims in provocative poses and provided contact information for clients to use to secure a “date” with the victims.  The victims were required to share a portion of the proceeds from any commercial sex acts with Dean. 

United States v. Sean Dean: On July 9, 2021, Sean Dean, age 29, of Baltimore, Maryland was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor.  According to Dean’s plea agreement, from December 2017 until January 2018, Dean recruited, harbored, transported, and/or maintained five females, including four minors ranging from 15 to 17 years old, to engage in commercial sex acts.  Dean utilized social media and cellular telephones to recruit, monitor, direct, and communicate with the four girls and the woman.  In furtherance of his sex trafficking enterprise, Dean and Gerald Marshall rented hotel rooms for victims to engage in commercial sex acts and transported the victims to various hotels for commercial sex acts.  Dean and Marshall transported three of the minor girls and the woman to a hotel in Timonium.  The victims were at the hotel for approximately one week and met with multiple customers per day to engage in commercial sex acts.  The victims shared a portion of the proceeds earned from their commercial sex acts with Dean and Marshall.

United States v. Adolph J. Scott: In August 2021, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Adolph J. Scott, age 36, of Spring Lake, North Carolina, for the federal charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; interstate transportation of an individual to engage in prostitution; and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.  According to the three-count indictment, from at least January 2020 to February 2021, in the District of Maryland, the Eastern District of North Carolina, and elsewhere, Scott recruited, enticed, transported, advertised, and solicited Victim 1 to conduct sexual acts for his financial benefit.  Specifically, the indictment alleges from January 23, 2021 to January 24, 2021 that Scott transported Victim 1 from Maryland to North Carlina with the intent that Victim 1 would engage in prostitution and sexual activity.  The indictment further alleges that Scott also possessed controlled substances with intent to distribute including: a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, and a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.  An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States v. Feliciano De-Jesus Diaz-Martinez: On November 18, 2021, a federal trial jury convicted Feliciano de Jesus Diaz-Martinez, a/k/a Alex, age 43, of Owings Mills, Maryland, of sex trafficking of a child, enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and distribution of a controlled substance.   According to the evidence presented at his nine-day trial, from 2016 through May 2019, Diaz-Martinez, a Guatemalan national in the United States illegally, caused more than eight individuals, including minors, to engage in commercial sex acts for his own financial benefit by means of force, fraud, and coercion.  Trial testimony confirmed that Diaz-Martinez knew that Victim 1 was 16 years old when he first caused her to engage in commercial sex acts.  Victim 1 continued to work for Diaz-Martinez until she was approximately 18 years old.  The evidence proved that nearly all of the victims that Diaz-Martinez caused to engage in commercial sex acts suffered from serious substance abuse disorders, including addictions to heroin, crack cocaine, and Xanax.  Diaz-Martinez took half or all of the money earned by the victims working for him, and sold some of the victims narcotics, often at prices significantly higher than he paid to purchase the drugs.  Several victims testified that Diaz-Martinez frequently demanded that they engage in sex acts with him, free of charge, and that he retaliated against the victims if he was not personally satisfied with the sexual encounter.

Federal Grant Funding

In December 2021, the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs and its component, the Office of Victims of Crime, gave $600,000 to the University of Baltimore School of Law and Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS), the largest provider of pro bono civil legal services in Maryland. The MVLS will use funds over the course of three years to extend the reach of their Human Trafficking Prevention Project in Baltimore City and into more rural areas of Maryland, as well as to increase the number of staff who will deliver free legal services and full representation to survivors.

Training

In 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners conducted 14 training events for law enforcement and other professionals fighting human trafficking, training a total of 725 individuals including through the Human Trafficking Investigators Seminar and the Human Trafficking Professionals Seminar, both of which occurred in October 2021.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has deployed many resources in the fight against human trafficking and we will continue to make the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases a priority.

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Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment charging Marilyn J. Mosby, age 41, of Baltimore, Maryland, on federal charges of perjury and making false mortgage applications, relating to the purchases of two vacation homes in Florida. 

The defendant will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, but the hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

According to the four-count indictment, on May 26, 2020 and December 29, 2020, Mosby submitted “457(b) Coronavirus-Related Distribution Requests” for one-time withdrawals of $40,000 and $50,000, respectively, from City of Baltimore’s Deferred Compensation Plans.  In each request, the indictment alleges that Mosby falsely certified that she met at least one of the qualifications for a distribution as defined under the CARES Act, specifically, that she experienced adverse financial consequences from the Coronavirus as a result of being quarantined, furloughed, or laid off; having reduced work hours; being unable to work due to lack of childcare; or the closing or reduction of hours of a business she owned or operated.  In signing the forms, Mosby “affirm[ed] under penalties for perjury the statements and acknowledgments made in this request.”  The indictment alleges that Mosby did not experience any such financial hardships and in fact, Mosby received her full gross salary of $247,955.58 from January 1, 2020 through December 29, 2020, in bi-weekly gross pay direct deposits of $9,183.54. 

Further, the indictment alleges that on July 28, 2020 and September 2, 2020, as well as on January 14, 2021 and February 19, 2021, Mosby made false statements in applications for a $490,500 mortgage to purchase a home in Kissimmee, Florida and for a $428,400 mortgage to purchase a condominium in Long Boat Key, Florida.  As part of both applications, Mosby was required to disclose her liabilities.  Mosby did not disclose on either application that she had unpaid federal taxes from a number of previous years and that on March 3, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had placed a lien against all property and rights to property belonging to Mosby and her husband in the amount of $45,022, the amount of unpaid taxes Mosby and her husband owed the IRS as of that date.  In each application, Mosby also responded “no” in response to the question, “Are you presently delinquent or in default on any Federal debt or any other loan, mortgage, financial obligation, bond, or loan guarantee,” even though she was delinquent in paying federal taxes to the IRS. 

Finally, according to the indictment, one week prior to closing on the Kissimmee vacation home, on or about August 25, 2020, Mosby executed an agreement with a vacation home management company giving the management company control over the rental of the property she ultimately purchased in Kissimmee.  On September 2, 2020, Mosby signed a “second home rider” which provided, among other things, that the borrower occupy and use the property as their second home; that the borrower maintain exclusive control over the ownership of the property, including short-term rentals, and not subject the property to any…agreement that requires the borrower either to rent the property or give a management firm or any other person or entity any control over the occupancy or use of the property; and that the borrower keep the property available primarily as a residence for their personal use and enjoyment for at least one year, unless the lender otherwise agrees in writing.  The indictment alleges that by falsely executing the “second home rider” Mosby could obtain a lower interest rate on the mortgage for the property than she would have received without it. 

If convicted, Mosby faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each of two counts of perjury and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for each of two counts of making false mortgage applications.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and IRS-CI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Wise, Sean R. Delaney, and Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron issued the following statement on the death of former U.S. Attorney Stephen H. Sachs: 

Steve Sachs was one of the most respected public servants in Maryland’s history and a personal mentor to me and many others.  A brilliant attorney, Sachs spent years in public service, first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, then as U.S. Attorney and subsequently as Attorney General for Maryland.  In 1968, while Sachs was U.S. Attorney, he prosecuted the Catonsville Nine, Vietnam protestors who stole draft records from the Catonsville Selective Service office and burned them in the parking lot.  While in private practice and during the Watergate scandal, Sachs represented FBI Director L. Patrick Gray.  His commitment to the rule of law and passion for justice are legendary and continued to his passing.  Those traits continue to inspire all of us who serve in the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.  We offer our sincerest condolences to Steve Sachs’ children, grandchildren, family, and friends.  

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and history, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/history.

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Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Kristy Stock, age 46, of Waterflow, New Mexico to 18 months federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for federal charges of interstate transportation of stolen goods and tax fraud.           

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore. 

According to Stock’s plea agreement, and other court documents, beginning in 2014,  defendant James Bender agreed to allow a good friend, defendant Saurabh Chawla, and a relative of Chawla’s, SC2, to sell goods and merchandise through Bender’s eBay accounts. Chawla’s eBay account had previously been suspended due to security concerns. From May 2014 through August 2019, Bender and Chawla conspired so Chawla could use Bender’s eBay and PayPal accounts to sell stolen goods and merchandise. 

Stock worked for the Central Consolidated School District in New Mexico from 2010 to 2019 and was responsible for overseeing a program to provide Apple iPods to school children with the intent of benefitting Native American children living on tribal reservations in New Mexico.  On behalf of the school district, Stock directed federal grant monies be used to make bulk purchase orders of iPods, ranging from 100 to 250 units per order, two to three times each year.

Stock admitted that from 2013 to 2018 she stole more than 3,000 iPods purchased by the school district and sold them on eBay to Chawla and others for her personal benefit.  From October 2015 to 2018, Stock and Chawla dealt directly with each other, in emails, texts, and phone calls. Stock repeatedly advised Chawla of the items she had obtained, providing details such as the model, color and number of Apple products available. Chawla and Stock then negotiated a price, and Stock shipped the items to Chawla’s relative on the Eastern Shore in Maryland.  Chawla paid Stock through PayPal. Stock admitted that she received more than $800,000 in illegal proceeds from selling stolen iPods worth more than $1 million.  After his relative received the stolen goods from Stock, Chawla listed them for sale online through eBay at a substantial markup.

Stock also admitted that she filed false tax returns for calendar years 2012 to 2017, which failed to report significant amounts of taxable income, causing a tax loss to the United States of $270,821.

Saurabh Chawla, age 36, of Aurora, Colorado, and James Bender, age 36, of Baltimore, Maryland, were sentenced to 66 months and to a year and a day in federal prison, respectively. Additionally, Chawla was sentenced to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $713,619, and to sign an order of forfeiture requiring him to forfeit a 2013 Tesla Model S, $2,308,062.61 from accounts held in his name, and the sale of property in Aurora, Colorado.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the IRS-Criminal Investigation and HSI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Gruber and Paul A. Riley, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – Justina Aburime, age 53, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to distribute and dispense oxycodone and one count of distribution and dispensing of oxycodone. 

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.

According to her guilty plea, from February 2017 to February 2020, Aburime conspired with others, including Thomas Charles Johnson, to distribute and dispense oxycodone outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose at Personal Touch Medical Spa, LLP (PTMS), a Largo, Maryland pain management clinic. 

As licensed and registered nurse practitioners under the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the state of Maryland, Aburime and Johnson were legally authorized to prescribe controlled substances for legitimate medical purposes.

During her employment with PTMS, Aburime wrote oxycodone prescriptions without a legitimate medical need and outside the scope of professional practice.  Aburime allowed an unauthorized person to write oxycodone prescriptions using her medical credentials.  Specifically, Aburime allowed PTMS’s owner—who was not authorized to prescribe controlled substances—to prescribe oxycodone to individuals using pre-signed blank prescriptions bearing Aburime’s name and DEA registration number.

In some instances, Aburime was traveling outside the United States at the time of treatment or did not see the patient who was prescribed oxycodone using her credentials.  Further, Aburime agreed that she prescribed oxycodone to patients when there was no legitimate need and without considering alternative treatment options.  Aburime also agreed that she increased oxycodone dosage over time without a medical justification.

Co-defendant Thomas Charles Johnson, Jr. pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone on October 28, 2021 and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 17, 2022 at 12:00 p.m.

Aburime faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release for each count.  U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for April 26, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services- Office of Inspector General for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica C. Collins and Elizabeth Wright, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the dangers and effects of opioids, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.  For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint was filed on January 7, 2022, charging James Albert Borum, age 19, of Washington, D.C., for carjacking and for using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief Robert J. Contee III of the Metropolitan Police Department; United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Borum is alleged to have participated in a series of carjackings committed in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in June 2021.  As detailed in the affidavit, location monitoring data for an ankle bracelet that Borum was wearing at the time and cellular location information for Borum’s phone allegedly put him in the area of each of the three carjackings and an attempted carjacking.  In addition, surveillance images from the locations of the crimes, witness and victim statements, forensic evidence, and items recovered from a search warrant executed at Borum’s residence on July 1, 2021, allegedly indicate that Borum participated in the carjackings.  As detailed in the affidavit, at the time of the June carjackings,  Borum was on pre-trial supervision with the condition that he be subject to location monitoring with an ankle bracelet in connection with an unrelated carjacking charge pending in D.C. Superior Court.

Specifically, the affidavit alleges that on June 4, 2021, Victim 1 was beaten and carjacked by two males, who also stole his Apple iPhone 8.  Victim 1’s wallet, which contained several items, including a bank card, was inside the vehicle at the time of the carjacking.  Law enforcement recovered Victim 1’s bank card and a social security card in the name of Victim 1’s spouse from Borum’s bedroom during the search on July 1, 2021. 

On June 10, 2021, the affidavit alleges that two individuals committed an armed carjacking in Silver Spring, Maryland.  After Victim 2 had parked his car, he began walking into a nearby apartment courtyard.  Two individuals followed Victim 2 and approached him as he was in the courtyard.  According to the affidavit, one of these individuals pointed a handgun at Victim 2’s forehead and stated, “I’ll kill you.  Give me the keys,” while the second individual stood behind Victim 2.  Victim 2 gave one of the individuals his keys and the carjackers drove away in Victim 2’s car.  At the time of the carjacking, Victim 2 had $950 in his vehicle.  The day after the carjacking, an unknown number texted Borum asking him what car he was in.  Borum replied that he was in a “2 door Honda.”  The vehicle taken from Victim 2 in the carjacking was a two-door Honda Accord.

As detailed in the affidavit, two individuals attempted to carjack Victim 3 in a parking garage in the 8700 block of Cameron Street in Silver Spring.  During the attempted carjacking, Victim 3 saw her colleague pulling into the parking lot and told the two males that her colleague was coming and that she would not call the police if they left her alone.  Both males fled.  As they ran away, Victim 3 got into her colleague’s vehicle and as they left the garage, they saw the males running away and Victim 3 took a photo of them from behind.  Victim 3 gave law enforcement a description of her attackers, including that one of the attackers had on an ankle monitor, a distinctive white hooded sweatshirt and a white facemask that was not covering his face.

According to the affidavit, surveillance footage obtained from the Rhode Island Avenue, Silver Spring, and Wheaton Metro stations both before and after the attempted carjacking shows Borum and a second individual wearing clothing that matched the descriptions Victim 3 provided and pictured in the photograph taken by Victim 3.  The footage also shows Borum wearing an ankle monitor. The Silver Spring Metro station is located approximately 0.4 miles from 8700 Cameron Street.

Finally, on June 23, 2021, Victim 4 was carjacked by two men as he was entering his car.  The first man allegedly approached Victim 4 from behind and held a black handgun at the left side of Victim 4’s head and repeated, “Give me the keys!”  Victim 4 handed the man his keys and wallet.  The man got into the driver’s seat and a second man jumped into the front passenger seat.  The carjackers then fled in Victim 4’s vehicle.  As alleged in the affidavit, Victim 4’s vehicle was located five days later parked on the same block as Borum’s residence and Borum’s fingerprints were identified on the car.

If convicted, Borum faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for carjacking and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison and a maximum of life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Borum is currently detained in Washington, D.C. and no court appearance in Maryland has been scheduled yet.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

This case is a result of the Regional Carjacking Prosecution Task Force, which was created to ensure the prosecution of individuals who engage in carjacking and robberies in multiple jurisdictions.  Federal and state prosecutors and law enforcement are working together to ensure that investigations and prosecutions encompass all of a perpetrator’s crimes, even if they are committed in multiple jurisdictions.  Members of the Regional Carjacking Prosecution Task Force are the United States Attorney’s Offices for Maryland and for the District of Columbia; the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Office; and the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.  This cross-border partnership between federal and state prosecutors’ offices mirrors similar collaboration among the police departments in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, Washington, D.C., and among the FBI and ATF. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Jared C. Engelking and Assistant United States Attorney Dana J. Brusca, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/regional-carjacking-prosecution-task-force.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Jason Wade Harley, age 49, of Frederick, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography.   

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck” Jenkins.

According to Harley’s plea agreement, on February 24, 2020, four suspected child pornographic images were uploaded to the internet.  The internet platform to which the images were uploaded reported the upload to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).  Harley’s name and email address was listed under the information of the subscriber that uploaded the child pornographic material.  Investigators determined that several of the images distributed on the internet platform depicted the sexual abuse of infants and prepubescent minors, and that the upload was linked to Harley’s account.

On August 28, 2020, investigators executed a search warrant at Harley’s residence. As a result of the executed search warrants, investigators located a SIM card within a cell phone that contained two videos of children engaged in sexually explicit activity as well as 499 images of child pornography, including images that depicted the sexual abuse of infants and prepubescent minors.  That same day, Harley admitted to investigators that he sent images of child pornography to online accounts and that he has sexual fantasies involving children.

As stated in his plea agreement, investigators also executed a search warrant for Harley’s online accounts.  Following the review of Harley’s internet activity, investigators discovered evidence that Harley searched multiple phrases including “young sluts.”  On another internet account, investigators discovered 11 additional images of child pornography and conversations between Harley and another internet user.  Within the online communications, Harley stated that he possessed 260 pictures and 130 videos of child pornography in a hidden vault and expressed his interest in sexual abuse of children. 

Harley faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison followed by up to lifetime of supervised release for possession of child pornography.   U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for March 31, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine L. Duey and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce King, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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A federal judge in the District of Maryland unsealed a superseding indictment today charging nine members of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) with racketeering conspiracy involving murder, extortion and money laundering. MS-13 is an international criminal organization and one of the largest street gangs in the United States.

The superseding indictment charges Hernan Yanes-Rivera, 20; Franklyn Edgardo Sanchez, 24; Brayan Alexander Torres, 28; Agustino Eugenio Rivas Rodriguez, 24; Brian Samir Zelaya Mejia, 23; Miguel Angel Ramirez, 21; Jorge Isaac Argueta Chica, 21; and Diego Fabrisio Angel-Artiga, 22, with racketeering conspiracy. The superseding indictment also charges Yanes-Rivera, Torres, Rivas Rodriguez, Zelaya Mejia, Ramirez, Argueta Chica and Angel-Artiga with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion.

“MS-13 uses violence and intimidation to prey upon vulnerable communities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division is committed to dismantling MS-13 and protecting all communities from the harm alleged in this indictment.”

“Witness retaliation will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “As alleged in the superseding indictment unsealed today, these MS-13 members not only extorted money from community members to support the gang — both in Maryland and in El Salvador — they also allegedly killed an individual who was cooperating with law enforcement. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland and our local and state partners are working together to remove violent gang members to keep our communities safe from the threat of MS-13.”

According to court documents, in the United States, MS-13 is organized into branches or “cliques.” These defendants were allegedly members or associates of Weedams Locos Salvatrucha, an MS-13 clique operating primarily in the Adelphi, Maryland area. As alleged, the defendants extorted multiple victims, from whom they collected extortion payments, or “rent,” on a regular basis. Several of the defendants allegedly illicitly transferred this money to MS-13 associates in El Salvador.

The superseding indictment also alleges that Yanes-Rivera and Sanchez, acting at the direction of senior MS-13 members, murdered an individual in retaliation for the victim’s cooperation with law enforcement.

If convicted, the defendants face statutory maximums ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment for the racketeering conspiracy and 20 years for the extortion conspiracy. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and Prince George’s County Police Department are investigating the case. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations and Montgomery County Police Department provided valuable assistance.

Trial Attorney Brendan Woods of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Baldwin and Joel Crespo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case.

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

Greenbelt, Maryland – A superseding indictment charging members of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) with racketeering conspiracy involving murder, extortion, and money laundering was unsealed today as to eight defendants.  A federal grand jury in Maryland returned the indictment on December 22, 2021. The superseding indictment charges the following defendants with racketeering conspiracy:

Brayan Alexander Torres, a/k/a “Spooky,” 28, of Adelphi, Maryland; Agustino Eugenio Rivas Rodriguez, a/k/a “Cipitio,” “Chuchin,” “Angel,” “Terrible,” and “Small,” 24, of Silver Spring, Maryland; Hernan Yanes-Rivera, a/k/a “Shrek,” “Recio,” and “Garra,” 20, of Adelphi; Franklyn Edgardo Sanchez, a/k/a “Freddy,” “Magic,” “Miclo,” and “Delinquente,” 24, of Adelphi; Brian Samir Zelaya Mejia, a/k/a “Flaco,” “Catrachito,” “Calacas,” “Chispa,” and “Directo,” 23, of Hyattsville, Maryland; Miguel Angel Ramirez, a/k/a “Majin Buu” and “El Gordo,” 21, of Adelphi; Jorge Isaac Argueta Chica, a/k/a “Timido” and “Enano,” 21, of Gaithersburg, Maryland; and
Diego Fabrisio Angel-Artiga, a/k/a “Stewie,” 22, of Hyattsville.

The superseding indictment also charges Yanes-Rivera, Torres, Rivas Rodriguez, Zelaya Mejia, Ramirez, Argueta Chica, and Angel-Artiga with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

“Witness retaliation will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. “As alleged in the superseding indictment unsealed today, these MS-13 members not only extorted money from community members to support the gang—both in Maryland and in El Salvador—they also allegedly killed an individual who was cooperating with law enforcement.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland and our local and state partners are working together to remove violent gang members to keep our communities safe from the threat of MS-13.”

“MS-13 uses violence and intimidation to prey upon vulnerable communities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division is committed to dismantling MS-13 and protecting all communities from the harm alleged in this indictment.”

According to court documents, La Mara Salvatrucha gang, also known as “MS-13”, is an international criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in the State of Maryland, including Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Frederick County, and throughout the United States. In Maryland and elsewhere MS-13 members are organized in “cliques,” smaller groups that operate in a specific city or region. MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence, both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang and against rival gangs. One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible.

These defendants allegedly were members or associates of Weedams Locos Salvatrucha, an MS-13 clique operating primarily in the Adelphi, Maryland area. As alleged, the defendants extorted multiple victims, from whom they collected extortion payments, or “rent,” on a regular basis. Several of the defendants used the “rent” proceeds and other gang revenues to unlawfully transfer money to MS-13 associates in El Salvador. The superseding indictment also alleges that Yanes-Rivera and Sanchez, acting at the direction of senior MS-13 members, murdered an individual in retaliation for the victim’s cooperation with law enforcement.

If convicted, the defendants face maximum sentences ranging from twenty years to life in federal prison for the racketeering conspiracy and twenty years in federal prison for the extortion conspiracy. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  The defendants are expected to have arraignments beginning next week in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

Anyone with information about MS-13 is encouraged to provide their tips to law enforcement.  The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations both have nationwide tiplines that you can call to report what you know.  You can reach the FBI at 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or you can call HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.

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

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. commended the FBI, HSI, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation, and thanked the Montgomery County Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations and for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Baldwin and Joel Crespo, and Trial Attorney Brendan Woods of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – Marius Vaduva, age 27, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. As part of his plea agreement, Vaduva will be ordered to pay at least $1,320,829.23 in restitution.   

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Charles Wickersham of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG); Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Toni Dezomits of the Cary, North Carolina, Police Department; and Sheriff Dusty Rhoades of the Williamson County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office.

According to his guilty plea, beginning in June 2018 to January 2021, Vaduva and his co-conspirators conspired to steal checks from the U.S. mail intended for religious institutions and deposit the illegally obtained funds into multiple fraudulent bank accounts at various victim financial institutions. Conspirators, including Vaduva, conducted the thefts by driving to roadside mailboxes of churches and other religious institutions and removing the mail, specifically targeting donation checks.

As part of the scheme to defraud, Vaduva and other co-conspirators fraudulently opened bank accounts at victim financial institutions under false identities. Conspiracy members often opened fictitious bank accounts with the aid of a conspiracy member that was an employee at one of the victim financial institutions. In addition, Vaduva and his co-conspirators used at least two extended family members who were minors to assist in the account openings.

Vaduva and co-conspirators then withdrew cash from the fraudulent bank accounts through ATMs and spent the illegally obtained proceeds using debit cards associated with the bank accounts. Additionally, Vaduva deposited stolen checks in fraudulently opened bank accounts held in others’ identities. Vaduva opened at least nine fraudulent accounts between October 24, 2019 to November 20, 2019. The same nine fraudulent accounts received a total of 119 stolen checks totaling approximately $41,528.99. Vaduva also deposited at least four stolen checks totaling approximately $2,120.69 into other bank accounts. Those checks had been stolen from religious institutions in North Carolina and Virginia.

Further, upon his arrest in February 2021, Vaduva’s cell phone contained images of at least 21 stolen checks, totaling $10,119.68.

In total the conspiracy stole at least approximately $1,320,829.69 from 3,075 stolen checks.

Co-conspirators Daniel Velcu, age 43, of Baltimore, Maryland; Marian Unguru, age 36, of Baltimore, Maryland; and Vali Unguru, age 19, of Baltimore, Maryland, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. Nicole Gindac, age 52, of Dania Beach, Florida pled guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. Mateus Vaduva, age 29, of Baltimore, Maryland pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 18, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.

Vaduva faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for June 2, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, HSI, the FDIC Office of Inspector General, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Cary (North Carolina) Police Department, and the Williamson County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Wright, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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