District of Maryland

Nghia Hoang Pho, 68, of Ellicott City, Maryland, and a naturalized U.S. citizen originally of Vietnam, was sentenced today to 66 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for willful retention of classified national defense information.  According to court documents, Pho removed massive troves of highly classified national defense information without authorization and kept it at his home.

The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur, and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III issued the sentence.

“Pho’s intentional, reckless and illegal retention of highly classified information over the course of almost five years placed at risk our intelligence community’s capabilities and methods, rendering some of them unusable,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “Today’s sentence reaffirms the expectations that the government places on those who have sworn to safeguard our nation’s secrets.  I would like to thank the agents, analysts and prosecutors whose hard work brought this result.”

“Removing and retaining such highly classified material displays a total disregard of Pho’s oath and promise to protect our nation’s national security,” said U.S. Attorney Hur.  “As a result of his actions, Pho compromised some of our country’s most closely held types of intelligence, and forced NSA to abandon important initiatives to protect itself and its operational capabilities, at great economic and operational cost.”

“The privilege of working for the U.S. Intelligence Community requires strict adherence to laws governing the lawful secrecy of its work,” said Special Agent in Charge Johnson.  “We cannot have a functioning Intelligence Community without the protection of sources and methods, and taking classified information and placing it in a vulnerable setting has profound and often disastrous consequences.  This case is a clarion call to all security clearance holders to follow the law and policy regarding classified information storage.  The FBI will leave no stone unturned to investigate those who compromise or mishandle classified information.”

According to his plea agreement, beginning in April 2006, Pho was employed as a developer in Tailored Access Operations (TAO) at the National Security Agency (NSA).   NSA is a component of the U.S. intelligence community and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).  The NSA's TAO involved operations and intelligence collection from foreign automated information systems or networks, as well as actions taken to prevent, detect and respond to unauthorized activity within DoD information systems and computer networks, for the United States and its  allies.

Pho held various security clearances in connection with his employment, including Top Secret and Top Secret // Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).  Pho had access to national defense and classified information and worked on highly classified, specialized projects.   Over his years of holding a security clearance, Pho received training regarding the proper handling, marking, transportation and storage of classified information.  Pho was also told that unauthorized removal of classified materials, and the transportation and storage of those materials in unauthorized locations, risked disclosure of the materials and could endanger the national security of the United States.  Pho signed numerous non-disclosure agreements demonstrating that he understood the trust that the United States places in individuals who receive a security clearance.

According to the plea agreement, beginning in 2010 and continuing through March 2015, Pho removed and retained U.S. government property, including documents and writings that contained national defense information classified as Top Secret and SCI.  This material was in both hard copy and digital form, and was kept in a number of locations in Pho’s residence in Maryland.  Pho knew that he was not authorized to remove the material or store it at his home.

Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Hur commended the FBI and the NSA for their work in the investigation.  This prosecution was handled by the District of Maryland, and the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Baltimore, Maryland – United States District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Nghia Hoang Pho, age 68, of Ellicott City, Maryland, today to 66 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for willful retention of classified national defense information.  According to court documents, Pho removed massive troves of highly classified national defense information without authorization, which he kept at his residence.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers; and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

“Removing and retaining such highly classified material displays a total disregard of Pho’s oath and promise to protect our nation’s national security,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “As a result of his actions, Pho compromised some of our country’s most closely held types of intelligence, and forced NSA to abandon important initiatives to protect itself and its operational capabilities, at great economic and operational cost.”

“Pho’s intentional, reckless, and illegal retention of highly classified information over the course of almost five years placed at risk our intelligence community’s capabilities and methods, rendering some of them unusable,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “Today’s sentence reaffirms the expectations that the government places on those who have sworn to safeguard our nation’s secrets.  I would like to thank the agents, analysts and prosecutors whose hard work brought this result.”

“The privilege of working for the U.S. Intelligence Community requires strict adherence to laws governing the lawful secrecy of its work," said FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson. "We cannot have a functioning Intelligence Community without the protection of sources and methods, and taking classified information and placing it in a vulnerable setting has profound and often disastrous consequences.  This case is a clarion call to all security clearance holders to follow the law and policy regarding classified information storage.  The FBI will leave no stone unturned to investigate those who compromise or mishandle classified information.”

According to his plea agreement, beginning in April 2006, Pho was employed as a developer in Tailored Access Operations (TAO) at the National Security Agency (NSA).   NSA is a component of the U.S. intelligence community and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).  The NSA's TAO involved operations and intelligence collection from foreign automated information systems or networks, as well as actions taken to prevent, detect, and respond to unauthorized activity within DoD information systems and computer networks, for the United States and its  allies.

Pho held various security clearances in connection with his employment, including Top Secret and Top Secret//Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).  Pho had access to national defense and classified information and worked on highly classified, specialized projects.   Over his years of holding a security clearance, Pho received training regarding the proper handling, marking, transportation, and storage of classified information.  Pho was also told that unauthorized removal of classified materials, and the transportation and storage of those materials in unauthorized locations, risked disclosure of the materials and could endanger the national security of the United States.  Pho signed numerous non-disclosure agreements demonstrating that he understood the trust that the United States places in individuals who receive a security clearance.

According to the plea agreement, beginning in 2010 and continuing through March 2015, Pho removed and retained U.S. government property, including documents and writings that contained national defense information classified as Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information.  This material was in both hard copy and digital form, and was kept in a number of locations in Pho’s residence in Maryland.  Pho knew that he was not authorized to remove the material or store it at his home.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur and Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers commended the FBI and the NSA for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked his office’s national security prosecutors and attorneys from the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, all of whom are handling the prosecution.

Baltimore, Maryland –U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Garrion McCellan, age 30, of Baltimore today to 25 years in prison, followed by 8.5 years of supervised release, for a drug conspiracy and for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime causing death.  McCellan was part of a drug trafficking operation that operated in and around Pedestal Gardens, an apartment complex located in the 300 block of McMechan Street in West Baltimore.  McCellan was also an active member of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang during his participation in the drug conspiracy.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

“Garrion McCellan and his fellow members of the Pedestal Gardens gang brought death to West Baltimore--through the drugs they sold and the gun violence they committed,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “This sentence makes clear that U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, will bring to justice those who terrorize our city’s neighborhoods.”

“Today’s sentencing is indicative of the success that can be attained when agencies combine resources to remove violent drug distributors off the street,” said FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson. “The citizens of Maryland have the FBI’s commitment that we will continue to aggressively investigate criminal organizations that target our communities with their drug-related violent activity to ensure they are held accountable and removed from their neighborhoods."

According to his plea agreement and other court documents, from at least July 2016 through April 28, 2016, MCellan conspired with others, including Pedestal Gardens gang leader DeAndre Smith, and gang members Jamal Carter and Dymir Rhodes, to distribute heroin and fentanyl in and around Pedestal Gardens.  Smith, Carter, Rhodes, and others maintained a “stash” house in Catonsville, Maryland to store drugs and drug proceeds, and to process and package drugs for distribution.  Rhodes supplied McCellan with “packs” of heroin and/or fentanyl, which McCellan redistributed to drug users at Pedestal Gardens.  Each “pack” typically contained between 25 and 50 gel capsules of the drugs, totaling approximately 2.5 to 5 grams.  McCellan and other co-conspirators routinely distributed 40 to 50 packs of heroin and fentanyl in one day.

McCellan admitted that sometime before August 10, 2015, Smith ordered McCellan to kill a drug dealer who was encroaching on their organization’s drug territory.  On August 10, 2015, McCellan, Smith, and Rhodes went to the 1700 block of McCullough Street where they located the drug dealer outside a corner store.  McCellan shot the drug dealer several times, killing him.  Another person was found shot in the corner store, but survived.

As detailed in his plea agreement, on October 7, 2015, McCellan shot another individual at the direction of Smith, who was disrupting the organization’s drug operation by robbing drug dealers in the area.  On October 7, 2015, McCellan and Carter contacted the individual using the ruse that they wanted help to rob other drug dealers.  McCellan and Carter arranged to meet the victim in the 1400 block of Druid Hill Avenue.  While the victim was putting on gloves in preparation for the purported robbery, McCellan shot the victim multiple times at close range, killing him.

McCellan admitted that he expected to receive something of value from Smith in return for the two killings.  McCellan also admitted that during his participation in the conspiracy he and his co-conspirators distributed between one and three kilograms of heroin.

Co-Defendants:

Deandre Smith, age 28, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy.
Sentenced to 25 years in federal prison;

Jamal Carter, age 24, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy.
Sentenced to 11 years in federal prison;

Dymir Rhodes, age 32, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy.  Sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel C. Gardner and Christopher J. Romano, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Antoine Jamel Henderson age 35, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute 40 or more grams of fentanyl—as little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be a lethal dose.  In his plea agreement, Henderson admitted that he and others distributed at least 280 grams of fentanyl in the area of Washington County, Maryland—enough fentanyl to kill most of the residents of Washington County.  As part of his plea, Henderson admitted that the drug trafficking organization that he supervised sold fentanyl that resulted in both fatal and non-fatal overdoses, including the fatal overdoses of two Pennsylvania men.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, led by Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore; and Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong, Jr.

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “Working together with our local, state, and federal partners, we will reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths in Maryland.  We’re particularly targeting those who sell fentanyl, the drug that is killing the most of our citizens.  Drug traffickers are on notice that dealing in fentanyl increases their odds of federal prosecution.”

According to his plea agreement, from at least 2017 through January 2018, Henderson conspired with others to distribute at least 280 grams of fentanyl in the area of Washington County, Maryland.  Henderson knew that the fentanyl that was distributed during the conspiracy resulted in both fatal and non-fatal overdoses, including the fatal overdoses of Marc Brumbaugh, age 27, and Nathan Bolden, age 31, both from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. 

Between August and September 2017, investigators conducted at least six controlled purchases of either fentanyl or crack cocaine from Henderson or his co-defendant.  According to the plea agreement, the controlled purchases were supposed to be heroin, but lab results showed that the substances provided by Henderson and his co-defendant were in fact fentanyl, not heroin. 

On January 17, 2018, search warrants were executed at two locations and three vehicles involved in the Henderson Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO).  At Henderson’s stash house, located on Atlantic Drive in Hagerstown, agents recovered 80.22 grams of fentanyl.  The fentanyl was located in the bottom compartment of a Coca-Cola vending machine in the garage.  The agents also recovered 9 mm ammunition, a drug press, digital scales, drug packaging equipment, plastic bags containing fentanyl residue, cellular phones, and other drug paraphernalia.

At Henderson’s primary residence, located on Lantern Lane in Hagerstown, the agents recovered additional cellular phones, a currency counter, jewelry, and a garage opener that opened the garage at the stash house.  Search warrants were obtained for the 28 cellular phones that were recovered from the houses and cars, as well as for the DVD from the surveillance system located at the stash house.  Also on Henderson’s iPhone, agents found iPhone “notes” tracking law enforcement surveillance.

Henderson and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Henderson will be sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for January 10, 2019, at 3:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA; the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, led by Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore; and Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong, Jr. for their work in the investigation.  U.S Attorney Hur thanked Franklin County (PA) District Attorney Matt Fogal, the Waynesboro (PA) Police Department, the Franklin County Drug Task Force, the Franklin County Coroner’s Office, the Washington County Special Response Team, and the Maryland Natural Resources Police for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joan C. Mathias and Michael C. Hanlon, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced David Wise, a/k/a Rambo and Rampage, age 23, of Baltimore, to 13 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for the armed robbery of a federally licensed firearms dealer.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.

“David Wise and his co-defendants targeted a gun dealer in order to steal and resell the guns on the street.  Through the coordinated efforts of our law enforcement partners, many of the guns were recovered, and a group of armed robbers has been put behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.

“These five felons terrorized innocent employees, they victimized a law-abiding business owner, and they stole these firearms with purely criminal intentions in mind,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Cekada. “Federal firearms licensees are more than businesses—they are the livelihood of the FFL owner and their employees. Violent acts like this are a threat to public safety and we will do everything in our power to bring offenders like these to justice.”

According to his plea agreement and other court documents, on August 5, 2016, Wise and four co-conspirators robbed a bait, tackle, and gun store in Dundalk, Maryland, that was a federally licensed firearms dealer.  Specifically, Raymond McCullough, the principal planner and orchestrator of the robbery, drove the co-conspirators in a stolen pick-up truck to the store to conduct the robbery.  The group had specifically targeted the store in order to pilfer firearms for subsequent sale and use, and brought firearms to force the victims to submit and zip-ties to bind the victims.  Wise and Lerron Sheppard entered the store, pointed guns at the store owners, and demanded money and guns.  Fearing for their lives, the victims complied.  Wise and Sheppard bound one victim with zip-ties, then ordered the second victim to assist them in getting the cash and firearms.  While Wise stood guard over the victims, Sheppard unlocked the front door of the store (which had automatically locked) so that Smith and Hawkins could enter.  McCullough backed the pick-up truck to the front of the store and waited outside.  Wise, Smith, Hawkins, and Sheppard then proceeded to plunder the store of cash and 37 firearms, including three assault rifles and a silencer.  The men packed the firearms in duffel bags and backpacks and carried them outside to the pick-up truck.  Sheppard then pushed the second victim in a safe and locked her inside.  The men then fled to an apartment in Baltimore, where they divided the cash and firearms among themselves.  Wise received several guns, including one of the assault rifles. 

The victims reported that Wise had removed a shotgun from the safe before Sheppard locked the second victim inside.  Wise did not take the shotgun, but left it in the store next to the earbuds he had worn during the robbery.  Investigators were able to obtain a fingerprint from the shotgun which matched Wise’s fingerprint.  A search warrant was subsequently executed at Wise’s residence.  Law enforcement recovered several items stolen in the robbery, including firearms with the sales tags still attached.  Officers also recovered the loaded pistol that Wise pointed at the victims during the robbery.

During the investigation of this robbery, law enforcement recovered many of the firearms taken during the robbery and learned that the defendants had committed additional robberies in the weeks before the robbery of the firearms dealer.  As part of their plea agreements and/or at their sentencing hearings, David Wise, Raymond McCullough, and Lerron Sheppard admitted committing these additional robberies. 

Wise is the fifth, and final, defendant to be sentenced to federal prison in this case. 

Co-defendants:

Raymond McCullough, a/k/a Troop, age 35, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to an armed commercial robbery and admitted committing another robbery with David Wise.  Sentenced to 20 years in federal prison;

Reginald Smith, a/k/a Young Loc and Loc, age 25, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to an armed commercial robbery.  Sentenced to 115 months in federal prison;

Tavon Hawkins, a/k/a G and Tay, age 36, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to an armed commercial robbery.  Sentenced to 17 years in federal prison; and

Lerron Sheppard, a/k/a D-Loc, age 25, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to an armed commercial robbery and admitted committing another robbery.  Sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, FBI and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Metcalf and Patricia C. McLane, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Kyle Mueller, age 24, of Thurmont, Maryland, to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for malicious use of explosive materials in connection with the detonation of a pipe bomb on a Thurmont Police Department vehicle.  The sentence was imposed on September 19, 2018.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Gregory L. Eyler of the Thurmont Police Department.

“Kyle Mueller admitted constructing a pipe bomb that not only damaged a police vehicle, but caused bomb fragments to be blown into an officer’s residence,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Today’s sentence sends the message that this type of violent attack on law enforcement cannot and will not be tolerated.”

“This dedicated officer was targeted at his home, a place he should have been able to feel safe after returning from a day of serving and protecting his community,” said Special Agent in Charge Cekada. “This case should make it clear to anyone with violent intentions against police officers: ATF, our state and local partners, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are united in our efforts to end this vicious cycle of attacks on law enforcement officers.”

According to Mueller’s plea agreement, on August 3, 2016, a pipe bomb was detonated on the hood of a Thurmont Police Department vehicle that was parked in front of an officer’s residence.  The explosion caused significant damage to the police vehicle.  Pieces of the device also entered the residence through the front picture window, traveling through the curtains and into an interior wall.  Parts of the device were recovered, including a piece of galvanized pipe, end caps, and explosive filler powder.  Finishing nails were taped to the exterior of the galvanized pipe.

Investigation revealed that between July 20 and August 1, 2016, Mueller purchased black powder at a firearms store in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania; a roll of cannon fuse from an online company; and pipe and end caps at a store in Pennsylvania.  All of these items, which were utilized to construct the explosive, were purchased using a credit/debit card used by and in the name of Mueller.  The last four digits of the credit/debit card matched those on a fast food receipt that was found on the street where the explosion occurred a few days prior to the detonation.

Mueller was arrested on August 5, 2016, waived his rights, and agreed to be interviewed by law enforcement agents.  During the interview, Mueller admitted to purchasing black powder, pipe, and end caps and to constructing the destructive device.  Mueller also admitted that he was in the area of the explosion at the time that the destructive device was detonated. A residence used by Mueller was searched on August 5, 2016, and law enforcement recovered metal shavings, various drill bit sets, grey adhesive tape, and 2.5 inch nails similar to those used to construct the explosive device detonated on August 3, 2016.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Thurmont Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Sippel, Jr., who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Roland Chick Akum, age 25, formerly of Silver Spring, Maryland, to 12 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for two counts of sex trafficking of a minor.  Judge Blake imposed the sentence on September 18, 2018, and also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Akum 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 Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to Akum’s plea agreement, between June and August 2017, Akum, a/k/a “Rayne,” transported two minor females, 15 and 17 years old, respectively, to a motel in College Park, Maryland, in order to engage in commercial sex acts.  Akum used Backpage, a website that marketed commercial sex, to advertise the girls and kept a portion of the proceeds that customers paid the girls for commercial sex acts.  On July 7, 2017, the 15-year-old girl left Akum and the hotel and contacted law enforcement authorities.  Akum continued to traffic the 17-year-old girl until he was arrested on August 10, 2017, as part of an undercover operation targeting Backpage, and was released on bond the following day. 

On September 30, 2017, Akum, who is a citizen of Cameroon, purchased a one-way ticket from Dulles International Airport to Cameroon, scheduled to depart on October 12, 2017.  Akum was arrested again on October 3, 2017, and remains in custody.

This case was investigated by the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders.  Members include federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members.  For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_human.html.

Report suspected instances of human 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 Robert K. Hur commended HSI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks and Chief Tim Altomare of the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Ray D. McKenzie, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted three men on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering, arising from an alleged $364 million investment fraud scheme.  The indictment was returned under seal on September 11, 2018, and unsealed on September 18, 2018, upon the arrests of the defendants.  Charged in the indictment are:

            Kevin B. Merrill, age 53, of Towson, Maryland;             Jay B. Ledford, age 54, of Westlake, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada; and
            Cameron R. Jezierski, age 28, of Fort Worth, Texas.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.  A related enforcement action and complaint was announced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Co-Director of Enforcement Stephanie Avakian.

“Federal prosecutors, FBI agents, and our SEC partners together interrupted an ongoing fraud scheme, with the potential to victimize even more people.  According to the indictment, the defendants lured investors through an elaborate web of lies, duping them into paying millions of dollars into this Ponzi scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Most of these investors are just learning that they have been victimized.  The effects of this kind of fraud can be devastating.  We urge anyone who thinks they may be a victim to contact the FBI at www.FBI.Gov/MerrillLedford or e-mail MerrillLedford@fbi.gov.”

“The FBI takes our responsibility to investigate and pursue those who commit fraud for personal gain very seriously,” said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI’s Baltimore Division.  “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who use illegal means and criminal behavior to take advantage of others. We are committed to protecting investors from the illegal and deceptive practices Mr. Merrill and Ledford used to defraud investors out of their hard earned money and savings.”

According to the fourteen-count indictment, beginning in January 2013, the defendants perpetrated a Ponzi scheme to defraud investors of more than $364 million.  The scheme was revealed with the arrests and unsealing of the indictment. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Merrill and Ledford invited investors to join them in purchasing consumer debt portfolios.  “Consumer debt portfolios” are defaulted consumer debts to banks/credit card issuers, student loan lenders, and car/truck financers which are sold in batches called “portfolios” to third parties which attempt to collect on the debts.  The defendants falsely represented to investors that they would use the investors’ money to buy consumer debt portfolios and make money for them by (1) collecting the payments that people made on their debts or (2) selling the portfolios for a profit to third party debt buyers--in a practice called “flipping.”  According to the related complaint filed by the SEC, the victim investors included small business owners, restauranteurs, construction contractors, retirees, doctors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, talent agents, professional athletes, and financial advisors, located in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Las Vegas, Texas, and elsewhere.

The indictment alleges that in order to induce investors to participate, the defendants falsely represented who they were buying the debt portfolios from and how much they were paying for the portfolios; whether they were investing their own funds, and their track record of success. At times, according to the indictment, there was no underlying debt portfolio purchased with the investors’ money.  To conceal the truth, the defendants created imposter companies with names similar to actual consumer debt sellers or brokers and opened bank accounts in the names of those imposter companies.  In addition, to lend credibility to the transactions, the defendants created false portfolio overviews, sales agreements which used the names and forged signatures of actual employees of the sellers, created false collections reports, and falsified bank wire transfer records and bank statements.

Further, the indictment alleges that the defendants falsely represented that the monies they paid to investors were “proceeds” from collections and/or flipping debt portfolios, when in fact, the proceeds were paid from funds provided by other investors.  The indictment alleges that Merrill, Ledford, and Jezierski personally enriched themselves and concealed their diversion of $73 million of investors’ funds to purchase and renovate high end homes in Maryland, Texas, Nevada, and Florida, purchase luxury automobiles, jewelry, boats, and a share in a jet plane, gamble $25 million at casinos, and support a lavish lifestyle.

The indictment seeks to forfeit nine properties, 26 luxury cars, one boat, interest in an aircraft, a life insurance policy, seven and nine carat diamond rings, and a 23 carat diamond bracelet, which were allegedly purchased with proceeds of the scheme to defraud.

If convicted, Merrill, Ledford, and Jezierski each face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy and for each of five counts of wire fraud.  Merrill and Ledford each also face 20 years in prison for an additional two counts of wire fraud, as well as 20 years in prison for a money laundering conspiracy, and for each of four counts of money laundering.  Finally, Merrill and Ledford face a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for identity theft.  The defendants also face possible fines of $250,000, or twice the gross gain, for the wire fraud conspiracy and for each count of wire fraud and money laundering.  Merrill and Ledford face an additional fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the property, for the money laundering conspiracy. 

The SEC has filed a parallel civil complaint in this matter. 

If you believe you may have been a victim, or have information concerning these charges, please complete a brief questionnaire at www.fbi.gov/MerrillLedford or you can email Merrillledford@fbi.gov.  Your responses are voluntary.  You may be contacted by the FBI.

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. 

Merrill and Ledford each had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and Las Vegas, respectively, on September 18, 2018, and were ordered to be detained.   Jezierski also had his initial appearance in Las Vegas and was released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services.  Merrill is scheduled to have a detention hearing on Thursday, September 20th at 3:30 p.m.  Jezierski is expected to have his initial appearance in Maryland on September 24, 2018, and Ledford is expected to be brought to Maryland for a court appearance at a later date.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI in Baltimore, Dallas, Las Vegas and Tampa, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of the Inspector General for their work in this investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joyce K. McDonald and Martin J. Clarke, who are prosecuting the criminal case.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted three men on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering, arising from an alleged $364 million investment fraud scheme.  The indictment was returned under seal on September 11, 2018, and unsealed on September 18, 2018, upon the arrests of the defendants.  Charged in the indictment are:

                Kevin B. Merrill, age 53, of Towson, Maryland;

                Jay B. Ledford, age 54, of Westlake, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada; and

                Cameron R. Jezierski, age 28, of Fort Worth, Texas.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.  A related enforcement action and complaint was announced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Co-Director of Enforcement Stephanie Avakian.

“Federal prosecutors, FBI agents, and our SEC partners together interrupted an ongoing fraud scheme, with the potential to victimize even more people.  According to the indictment, the defendants lured investors through an elaborate web of lies, duping them into paying millions of dollars into this Ponzi scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Most of these investors are just learning that they have been victimized.  The effects of this kind of fraud can be devastating.  We urge anyone who thinks they may be a victim to contact the FBI at MerrillLedford@fbi.gov.”

“The FBI takes our responsibility to investigate and pursue those who commit fraud for personal gain very seriously,” said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI’s Baltimore Division.   “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who use illegal means and criminal behavior to take advantage of others. We are committed to protecting investors from the illegal and deceptive practices Mr. Merrill and Ledford used to defraud investors out of their hard earned money and savings.”

According to the fourteen-count indictment, beginning in January 2013, the defendants perpetrated a Ponzi scheme to defraud investors of more than $364 million.  The scheme was revealed with the arrests and unsealing of the indictment. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Merrill and Ledford invited investors to join them in purchasing consumer debt portfolios.  “Consumer debt portfolios” are defaulted consumer debts to banks/credit card issuers, student loan lenders, and car/truck financers which are sold in batches called “portfolios” to third parties which attempt to collect on the debts.  The defendants falsely represented to investors that they would use the investors’ money to buy consumer debt portfolios and make money for them by (1) collecting the payments that people made on their debts or (2) selling the portfolios for a profit to third party debt buyers--in a practice called “flipping.”  According to the related complaint filed by the SEC, the victim investors included small business owners, restauranteurs, construction contractors, retirees, doctors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, talent agents, professional athletes, and financial advisors, located in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Las Vegas, Texas, and elsewhere.

The indictment alleges that in order to induce investors to participate, the defendants falsely represented who they were buying the debt portfolios from and how much they were paying for the portfolios; whether they were investing their own funds, and their track record of success. At times, according to the indictment, there was no underlying debt portfolio purchased with the investors’ money.  To conceal the truth, the defendants created imposter companies with names similar to actual consumer debt sellers or brokers and opened bank accounts in the names of those imposter companies.  In addition, to lend credibility to the transactions, the defendants created false portfolio overviews, sales agreements which used the names and forged signatures of actual employees of the sellers, created false collections reports, and falsified bank wire transfer records and bank statements.

Further, the indictment alleges that the defendants falsely represented that the monies they paid to investors were “proceeds” from collections and/or flipping debt portfolios, when in fact, the proceeds were paid from funds provided by other investors.  The indictment alleges that Merrill, Ledford, and Jezierski personally enriched themselves and concealed their diversion of $73 million of investors’ funds to purchase and renovate high end homes in Maryland, Texas, Nevada, and Florida, purchase luxury automobiles, jewelry, boats, and a share in a jet plane, gamble $25 million at casinos, and support a lavish lifestyle.

The indictment seeks to forfeit nine properties, 26 luxury cars, one boat, interest in an aircraft, a life insurance policy, seven and nine carat diamond rings, and a 23 carat diamond bracelet, which were allegedly purchased with proceeds of the scheme to defraud.

If convicted, Merrill, Ledford, and Jezierski each face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy and for each of five counts of wire fraud.  Merrill and Ledford each also face 20 years in prison for an additional two counts of wire fraud, as well as 20 years in prison for a money laundering conspiracy, and for each of four counts of money laundering.  Finally, Merrill and Ledford face a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for identity theft.  The defendants also face possible fines of $250,000, or twice the gross gain, for the wire fraud conspiracy and for each count of wire fraud and money laundering.  Merrill and Ledford face an additional fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the property, for the money laundering conspiracy. 

The SEC has filed a parallel civil complaint in this matter. 

If you believe you may have been a victim, or have information concerning these charges, please email MerrillLedford@fbi.gov and complete a brief questionnaire.  Your responses are voluntary.  You may be contacted by the FBI

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. 

Merrill and Ledford each had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and Las Vegas, respectively, on September 18, 2018, and were ordered to be detained.   Jezierski also had his initial appearance in Las Vegas and was released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services.  Merrill is scheduled to have a detention hearing on Thursday, September 20th at 3:30 p.m.  Jezierski is expected to have his initial appearance in Maryland on September 24, 2018, and Ledford is expected to be brought to Maryland for a court appearance at a later date.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI in Baltimore, Dallas, Las Vegas and Tampa, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of the Inspector General for their work in this investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joyce K. McDonald and Martin J. Clarke, who are prosecuting the criminal case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Harrison Lewis III, age 54, of Catonsville, Maryland, today to 11 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for six counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery.   A federal jury convicted Lewis of those charges on May 18, 2018.  Lewis was dubbed the “winter hat” robber due to the hats he wore during the robberies as part of his disguise.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the evidence presented at his five-day trial, Lewis committed bank robberies in Catonsville on December 28, 2016, January 5, 2017, January 6, 2017, January 11, 2017; a robbery and an attempted robbery on January 19, 2017 in Ellicott City; and a robbery on January 30, 2017 in Phoenix, Maryland.   According to evidence presented at trial, Lewis entered each bank wearing a hat and sunglasses, approached the teller, passed the teller a note that demanded U.S. currency, and then fled the bank after the teller complied and handed over cash.  The notes referenced an armed partner outside the bank, and instructed the tellers to not use any security measures such as alarms, dye packs, bait money, or tracking devices.  Lewis also demanded the notes back from the tellers.

As to the January 19, 2017 attempted robbery, Lewis, entered a bank wearing a disguise, including a hat and sunglasses, passed a note, and then fled the bank after the teller told him that she could not read it.  Minutes later, while wearing the same disguise, Lewis walked less than 100 yards down the street to another bank, again passed a note demanding money, and fled after the teller complied and handed over cash.

At his trial in May, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on charges relating to robberies that took place on December 31, 2016 in Sykesville and January 10, 2017 in Ellicott City.

In 2002, Lewis was convicted of federal bank robbery, and was sentenced to 150 months in prison on that charge.  As part of his guilty plea in 2002, Lewis admitted to robbing 19 banks over the course of three months in 2001, using a demand note.

United States Attorney Hur commended the FBI, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Howard County Police Department, and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Budlow and Paul Riley, who prosecuted this case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal jury today convicted Kyle Stephen Thompson, age 33, of Burtonsville, Maryland, on 18 counts of production of child pornography.  The jury deliberated less than 30 minutes before reaching its guilty verdict.

The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

According to the evidence presented at his three day trial, from May 9, 2015, to January 28, 2017, Thompson engaged in sexually explicit conduct with three minor females, in order to produce visual depictions documenting the abuse.  Witnesses testified that on March 17, 2017, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Thompson’s residence and recovered a Secure Digital (SD) memory card hidden in the laundry room.  During a preliminary on-scene forensic preview of the SD card, law enforcement saw a video depicting child pornography.  According to trial testimony, subsequent forensic analysis of the SD card revealed 18 videos of Thompson sexually abusing three young girls, each of whom were between two and four years of age at the time of the abuse. 

Thompson faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison for each of the 18 counts of production of child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled Thompson’s sentencing for January 28, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.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 Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, Montgomery County Police Department, and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristi N. O’Malley, Kelly O. Hayes, and Joseph Baldwin, who are prosecuting the federal case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Deandre Smith, age 28, and Karron Wheeler, age 35, both of Baltimore, to 12 years and 25 years in prison, respectively, for conspiring to sell heroin and fentanyl.  Smith was sentenced today and Wheeler was sentenced on September 12, 2018.

The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

“Our city is plagued by the deaths caused by drug-trafficking gangs:  They kill their customers with heroin and fentanyl, and they kill each other (and innocent bystanders) with guns and bullets.  These gangs are terrorizing the neighborhoods that they occupy,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Police, federal agents, and prosecutors are working together to identify, disrupt, and hold accountable drug dealers who bring violence to Baltimore City and remove entire groups of them from our neighborhoods.”

According to Smith’s plea agreement, from at least July 2015 through April 28, 2016, Smith managed a large drug-trafficking organization that supplied heroin and fentanyl to distributors in Baltimore, including Wheeler.  Smith also managed a drug trafficking operation that operated in and around Pedestal Gardens, an apartment complex located in the 300 block of McMechan Street in West Baltimore.  

Smith maintained a “stash” house in Catonsville, Maryland, to store drugs and drug proceeds, and to process, and package drugs for distribution.  Once packaged for distribution, Smith supplied large quantities of heroin and/or fentanyl to several drug shops in Baltimore, including shops operated by Wheeler.  At Pedestal Gardens, Smith’s operation distributed “packs” of heroin and/or fentanyl.  Each “pack” typically contained between 25 and 50 gel capsules of the drugs, totaling approximately 2.5 to 5 grams. 

As detailed in Smith’s plea agreement, a co-conspirator killed two individuals on October 7, 2015 and August 10, 2016 respectively, to further the Pedestal Gardens drug organization’s drug trafficking activities.  The organization believed that one of the individuals was distributing drugs in their territory, and that the other was robbing drug dealers in the area and disrupting the organization’s drug trafficking.

On April 28, 2016, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the stash house in Catonsville.  At the time of the search warrant, officers located Smith and other conspirators inside the residence.  During the search, officers discovered over a kilogram of fentanyl, 575 grams of heroin, and nine grams of cocaine, all of which was being packaged for distribution.  Officers also discovered approximately two kilograms of Phenacetin, a substance commonly used to “cut” drugs, as well as drug paraphernalia and approximately $15,465 in cash.  Smith also had approximately $2,000 cash in his pocket.

According to Wheeler’s plea agreement, between at least March 2015 and August 26, 2016, Wheeler managed a drug organization that operated in several locations in Baltimore, including Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street in West Baltimore.  During the course of the conspiracy, Wheeler employed or directed more than five individuals.  Wheeler admitted that, at his direction, the organization kept a firearm in close proximity to the drug shop for protection and to facilitate the drug operation.

Smith and Wheeler admitted that during their participation in the conspiracy they and their co-conspirators distributed between one and three kilograms of heroin.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel C. Gardner and Christopher J. Romano, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Earl Williams, age 30, of Baltimore, today to 66 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for assaulting a federal officer.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.

“This officer, like all law enforcement officers, put his life on the line in order to make our community safer,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “We will find and hold accountable those who assault the brave men and women who have sworn to protect us.”

“ATF Special Agents and Task Force Officers risk their safety and lives every day investigating violent offenders, including those who push drugs onto Baltimore’s streets. We do this to protect the community, and remove criminals and violence from their neighborhoods,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada. “Earl Williams and Devin Braxton showed no regard for human life when they violently beat our Task Force Officer, a member of our ATF family. We are immensely grateful that this TFO has made a full recovery and that these men are being held responsible for their crime.”

According to Williams’ plea agreement, on January 18, 2017, an ATF Task Force Officer (TFO) was working undercover in an investigation of a drug dealer in Baltimore.

While wearing an audio recording device, the TFO met the target drug dealer in front of a carryout store in the 1800 block of North Gay Street in Baltimore, where the drug dealer gave the TFO packaged crack cocaine in exchange for cash.  While the TFO was engaged in the transaction, Earl Williams approached the TFO and poked his finger into the TFO’s hand that was holding the crack cocaine.  The TFO attempted to excuse Williams, who persisted in his confrontation and began threatening the TFO.  Williams and his co-defendant Devin Braxton then blocked the exit to the business. The TFO attempted to push Williams into the corner of the store, but, as the TFO struggled with Williams, Braxton began striking the TFO. Williams then wrestled the TFO to the ground, where Braxton and Williams punched and kicked the TFO, causing serious injuries. Hearing the commotion over the TFO’s audio recording device, ATF agents rapidly responded to the scene. Before agents could arrive, Braxton and Williams left the store.  As they fled, Williams took the TFO’s cell phone and Braxton took the TFO’s service weapon.

ATF agents apprehended Braxton and Williams a short time later. They also recovered the TFO’s phone and service weapon.  The TFO was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Co-defendant: Devin Braxton, age 28, of Baltimore, was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for assaulting a federal officer.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Sippel, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland –Matthew Dale Bush, age 39, and Crystal French, a/k/a “Crystal Lynn Bush,” age 34, both of Grasonville, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank larceny, interstate transportation of stolen goods, and interstate transportation of stolen vehicles. Bush also pleaded guilty to bank robbery and to illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Bush entered his guilty plea on September 11, 2018, and French pleaded guilty today.

The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

According to their respective plea agreements, from September 2017 through October 23, 2017, Bush and French conspired to break into retail businesses in order to steal Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and the money contained inside.   The couple admitted that they used stolen vehicles to travel to and from the scenes of the crimes.

In September and October 2017, the couple stole six ATMs that contained over $38,900, and attempted to steal two other ATMs.  As part of the conspiracy, the couple traveled to, and stole from, businesses in: Stevensville, Maryland; Chester, Maryland; Kent County, Delaware; Sterling, Virginia; Broadlands, Virginia; Dover, Delaware; Stevensville, Maryland; and Cambridge, Maryland.  Generally, Bush entered the store wearing a mask, attached a chain or rope to the ATM, and pulled the ATM out of the store through the front glass window.  Bush and French then transported the ATM and its contents to their home in Grasonville, where they hid the proceeds. Bush and French spent the proceeds of the crimes they committed on personal items, including heroin and other illegal narcotics.  Bush and French married on October 14, 2017, during the crime spree.

Law enforcement obtained a state search warrant for Bush and French’s residence.  On October 19, 2017, just prior to the execution of the search warrant, the police saw Bush and French leave the residence in a green Mercedes.  When Bush and French saw a marked Queen Anne’s County patrol vehicle, they sped away.  During the search, police recovered the following evidence: tow straps used to pull the ATM machines from the stores; sledgehammers used to break the glass at the burglaries; masks and clothing worn by the suspects in the surveillance videos at the burglaries; the license plate to one of the stolen pickup trucks, cut in numerous pieces; packaging for “walkie-talkies” used by Bush and French during some of the ATM burglaries; and a van containing several damaged ATM machines.  The police also found French’s cell phone, a loaded 12 gauge shotgun near the bed where Bush slept, and additional shotgun ammunition in the garage.  Bush is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to previous felony convictions, including 2010 convictions for assault and burglary related to a number of Delaware ATM burglaries.

On October 22, 2017, Bush and French stole a pick-up truck in White Marsh, Maryland, and drove to a gas station in Harford County.  Bush entered the gas station and demanded money, but the clerk refused to give Bush the cash.  Bush and French then drove to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where they left the pick-up truck stolen in White Marsh and stole another pick-up truck.  Bush and French then drove the second stolen pick-up truck to a convenience store in Harford County, Maryland.  Bush and another person, both wearing masks and hats, broke into the convenience store and stole approximately 86 packs of cigarettes.  Later that morning, Bush and French drove to a bank on Bel Air Road in Perry Hall, Maryland.  While French remained in the passenger seat of the truck, Bush entered the bank and displayed a note demanding money to the teller, who complied with Bush’s demands.  Bush stole $4,820, fled the bank, got into the truck and drove away in the stolen truck.

Officers spotted Bush and French leaving the bank and attempted a traffic stop.  Bush refused to stop.  He drove away in a reckless manner, fled into Baltimore City, finally crashing into another vehicle.  Bush then got out of the truck, helped French out of the passenger side, and the two ran away, followed by at least two police officers.  Bush and French were caught and arrested.  The cigarettes stolen from the convenience store were found in the stolen truck.

French faces a maximum sentence of five year in prison for the conspiracy.  Bush and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Bush will be sentenced to between four and 10 years in prison for the conspiracy, bank robbery, and gun charge.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for Bush on December 11, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. and for French on December 12, 2018, at 3:00 p.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.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the HSI, the Maryland State Police, the Delaware State Police, the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Loudon County, Virginia Sheriff’s Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Budlow and Sandra Wilkinson, who are prosecuting the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Konstantin Bas, age 41, of Brooklyn, New York, and co-conspirator Mubtagha Shah Syed, age 49, of Jersey City, New Jersey, today to a year and a day, and three months in prison, respectively, each followed by three years of supervised release, for a scheme in which a Maryland pain management practice referred urine specimens to Bas’s testing lab in return for $1.37 million in kickbacks.  Chief Judge Bredar also ordered Bas to forfeit $241,600 and to pay a fine of $5,000.  Chief Judge Bredar ordered that Syed serve the first three months of his supervised release in home detention with electronic monitoring, and ordered that Syed forfeit $23,400 and pay a fine of $4,000.

The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig, Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid-Atlantic Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Bret D. Mastronardi, Investigative Operations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General.

According to their plea agreements and other court documents, Bas was the owner and CEO of Accu Reference, a medical testing laboratory with corporate offices in New Jersey.  In late 2010 or early 2011, Bas began using Mubtagha Shah Syed to market Accu Reference’s services.  In February 2011, Syed had a meeting with Muhammad Ahmad Khan, the chief administrative officer (CAO) of a group of Maryland-based pain management medical clinics that were incorporated as Advanced Pain Management Services but that operated under the name of American Spine Center (APMS/ASC).  The clinics were owned and operated by Drs. Atif Malik and Sandeep Sherlekar.  APMS/ASC required patients who were prescribed pain relief medications to submit urine samples for testing in order to monitor the levels of pain medication or other narcotics in their bodies. 

During their February 2011 meeting, Syed and Khan discussed the possibility of APMS/ASC referring its patients’ urine toxicology specimens to Accu Reference for testing in return for the payment of kickbacks.  Khan discussed the plan with Malik and Sherlekar who assigned Vic Wadhwa, APMS/ASC’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), to conduct additional discussions concerning the arrangement.  Syed arranged for a meeting between Bas and Wadhwa during which they agreed that Accu Reference’s profits from the urine toxicology tests would be equally divided between Accu Reference and APMS/ASC personnel.  In addition, Bas agreed to pay Syed a 5% share of the proceeds for his role in putting the transaction together.  Unknown to Bas, Wadhwa told Malik and Sherlekar that he and Bas had agreed on a figure of $35 per specimen cup for the kickbacks, which was significantly lower than the amount of the kickbacks Bas would actually be paying under his agreement with Wadhwa.  This allowed Wadhwa and Khan to skim off approximately 60% of the kickback payments for themselves. Starting in the spring of 2011, APMS/ASC also referred patients for back braces to another company that Bas operated, in exchange for kickbacks to APMS/ASC. 

Each month from April 2011 through July 2012, APMS/ASC referred between 700 and 1,300 patient urine specimens to Accu Reference in return for kickbacks.  Accu Reference received approximately $4.4 million in payments from claims submitted to Medicare and private insurers for testing the specimens submitted by APMS.  Bas caused his companies to pay kickbacks totaling approximately $1.37 million to Wadhwa and his co-conspirators. 

Co-Defendants: Sandeep Sherlekar, age 52, of Germantown, Maryland, died before his scheduled initial appearance and arraignment.  The charges were dismissed after his death. 

Atif Babar Malik, age 48, of Germantown, Maryland, was sentenced to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  The sentence was imposed for his trial conviction on 26 counts arising from the $1.376 million kickbacks scheme and a fraudulent billing scheme, as well as his guilty plea to a conspiracy to defraud the United States of more than $2.1 million in taxes.  Malik was also ordered to pay a fine of $75,000; to pay restitution of $175,000; and to forfeit $241,976.

Vic Wadhwa, 41, of Frederick, Maryland, pleaded guilty to violating the Anti-Kickback Act. 
Scheduled to be sentenced on September 26, 2018 at 4:00 p.m.

Muhammad Ahmad Khan, age 44, charged with the kickbacks conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States. He is a fugitive. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services – OIG, IRS - Criminal Investigation, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Office of Personnel Management – OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jefferson M. Gray and Sean Delaney, who prosecuted the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Antonio Raymond Leach, age 45, of Washington, D.C., on September 10, 2018, to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for armed commercial robbery and for using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, on April 2, 2017, Leach and two co-conspirators robbed a business in District Heights, Maryland.  Leach and one co-conspirator entered the store, while the second co-conspirator drove the get-away car.  After entering the store, Leach pointed the loaded gun at one victim, while the co-conspirator made the second victim open the both cash registers.  The co-conspirator took cash from both registers and Leach and the co-conspirator fled in the waiting car.  Prince George’s County Police officers stopped the car and located the $195 stolen from the business in the car.  Near the car, officers located the 7.62-caliber semi-automatic handgun used during the robbery and the blue latex gloves worn by the co-conspirator.  The gun was loaded with five rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one round in the chamber.  Leach and his co-conspirators were arrested.  The co-conspirators were convicted on related state charges.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Bernstein and Ray D. McKenzie, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Atif Babar Malik, age 48, of Germantown, Maryland, today to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  The sentence was imposed for his trial conviction on 26 counts arising from two criminal schemes involving $1.376 million in kickbacks and fraudulently billing, as well as his guilty plea to a conspiracy to defraud the United States of more than $2.1 million in taxes.   Chief Judge Bredar also ordered Malik to pay a fine of $75,000; to pay restitution of $175,000; and to forfeit $241,976.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig, Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid-Atlantic Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Bret D. Mastronardi, Investigative Operations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General.

According to his plea agreement and the evidence presented to the jury at his 13-day trial, Malik is a physician trained in pain management.  Malik and co-defendant, Dr. Sandeep Sherlekar, merged their pain management practices in February 2009 to create Advanced Pain Management Services, LLC (APMS), which had offices in Maryland and New Jersey.  In August 2010, APMS began doing business under the name of American Spine Center, LLC (APMS/ASC). Co-defendants Muhammad Ahmad Khan and Vic Wadhwa were respectively the CEO and CFO of APMS/ASC.

The Kickback Scheme

APMS/ASC physicians required patients who were prescribed controlled substances as pain relief medications to submit urine specimens to monitor the levels of pain medication or other narcotics in their bodies.  According to evidence presented at trial, in late 2011, Mubtagha Syed, the marketing agent for Accu Reference (which was owned by co-defendant Konstantin Bas), proposed to Khan and Wadhwa that APMS/ASC start referring patients’ urine toxicology specimens to Accu Reference in return for the payment of kickbacks.  After Malik and Sherlekar approved the plan, which also came to include back braces from another Bas-controlled company, APMS/ASC began submitting all of its patients’ urine specimens to Accu Reference.

Each month from April 2011 through July 2012, APMS/ASC referred between 700 and 1,300 patient urine specimens to Accu Reference in return for kickbacks.  Accu Reference received approximately $4.4 million from claims submitted to Medicare and private insurers for testing the specimens.  After deducting its overhead expenses on the testing, Accu Reference split its profits 50/50 with Khan, Wadhwa, Sherlekar, and Malik.  (Syed also received a share of Accu Reference’s profits.)  From the time the kickback payments commenced in June 2011 until the end of the scheme in August 2012, Bas caused his companies to pay kickbacks totaling $1.376 million to Sherlekar, Malik, Khan and Wadhwa.  Khan and Wadhwa deceived Drs. Sherlekar and Malik about the full amount of the kickback payments from Accu Reference, however, and retained more than 60% of the kickback payments for themselves.  Drs. Sherlekar and Malik each received approximately $240,000 in kickbacks from the scheme.        

The Fraudulent Anesthesia Billing Scheme

In addition, according to evidence presented at trial, from January 2010 through the summer of 2012, APMS/ASC fraudulently submitted bills to Medicare and private insurers using a billing code that represented that two separate physicians had provided the nerve block and the anesthesia, when in fact, only one physician performed both.  As a result of this fraudulent “upcoding,” APMS/ASC received a higher level of reimbursement from insurers.  For example, on January 3, 2012, Dr. Sherlekar provided both spinal injections and anesthesia to a large number of patients at APMS/ASC’s Frederick office.  However, he texted Dr. Malik that “I am using your name today as surgeon as we have 34 procedures here [in Frederick] and 20 in Waldorf,” to which Malik responded “ok.” Malik was seeing patients at his office in Hackettstown, New Jersey that day.    

The Tax Evasion Scheme

On June 25, 2018, Malik pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the IRS.  Malik admitted that from 2009 through 2012, he underreported his taxable income by approximately $3,374,997, resulting in additional taxes owed of $1,157,712.  Malik failed to report as income the kickback payments received from Accu Reference; he did not report and instead pocketed large amounts of the cash payments received by the practice from patients; and he used the services of a corrupt New Jersey accountant to fraudulently overstate APMS/ASC’s business expenses on its corporate tax returns and to understate the income received from the company.

Co-Defendants:

Sandeep Sherlekar, age 52, of Germantown, Maryland, died before his scheduled initial appearance and arraignment.  The charges were dismissed after his death.  

Konstantin Bas, age 41, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the
Anti-Kickback Act.  Scheduled to be sentenced on September 12, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.

Mubtagha Shah Syed, age 50, of Jersey City, New Jersey; pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Act.  Scheduled to be sentenced on September 12, 2018 at 2:15 p.m.

Vic Wadhwa, 41, of Frederick, Maryland, pleaded guilty to violating the Anti-Kickback Act. 
Scheduled to be sentenced on September 26, 2018 at 4:00 p.m.

Muhammad Ahmad Khan, age 44, charged with the kickbacks conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States.  He is a fugitive. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, IRS - Criminal Investigation, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Office of Personnel Management – Office of the Inspector General for their work on the investigation.  Mr. Hur also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jefferson M. Gray and Sean R.  Delaney, who prosecuted the case against Dr. Malik.

 Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Dawn Chapelle Cottman, age 45, of Owings Mills, Maryland today to seven years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for fourteen counts of filing false tax returns, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.  Cottman owned a tax preparation business called 40 AM Tax Service, which she operated from her residence in Owings Mills.  A federal jury convicted Cottman on May 22, 2018.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly ‎R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

Evidence presented at trial showed that from January 2009 until March 2013, Cottman electronically filed hundreds of tax returns, then had the tax refunds for those returns directly deposited into her bank account instead of having the refunds sent to the taxpayers.  Many of the returns she filed contained materially false information to increase the size of the tax refunds.  The false information included fictitious personal income amounts and dependent information that qualified taxpayers for the Earned Income Tax Credit and American Opportunity Education Credit. 

Cottman also prepared and filed income tax returns using the personal identifiers of other people without their knowledge and consent in order to fraudulently obtain a tax refund to which she was not entitled.  Cottman paid money to various individuals to obtain the identities of other people in whose names she filed the false returns.  Cottman had the resulting tax refunds directly deposited into her bank account. 

Cottman was also convicted of filing a false personal tax return for 2011.  Cottman falsely claimed in her tax return that her tax preparation business had gross receipts of $152,100 when, in fact, more than $1 million of other people’s tax refunds were wired into her bank account.  Cottman also falsely claimed to have earned a net income of approximately $17,000 when, in fact, she spent more than $250,000 that year on personal expenses, including trips to Disneyland, Las Vegas, Busch Gardens, and Atlantic City.   

United States Attorney Hur commended the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the FBI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Martin J. Clarke and Sean R. Delaney, who prosecuted this case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Adam Robert Miller, age 29, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to possession, receipt, and distribution of child pornography.  Miller also admitted taking sexually explicit images and videos of a minor female beginning when she was 15 years old.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

According to the indictment and the facts presented to the Court as part of his guilty plea, in July 2017, Homeland Security Investigations-Baltimore received information from Canadian authorities regarding a user of the KIK secure messaging application, “amiller89,” who was distributing visual depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in KIK chatrooms. Canadian authorities learned about the account in the course of a larger investigation of child pornography trafficking by KIK users.  Subscriber information obtained for the IP address used to access the account was identified as belonging to Miller’s father, at the home where they both resided.

On September 13, 2017, a search warrant was executed at Miller’s residence.  Miller waived his rights and spoke with law enforcement, admitting that “amiller89” was his account.  Miller admitted that between May 13, 2015 and September 13, 2017, he uploaded and stored images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in his Dropbox accounts.  A search of Miller’s Dropbox accounts revealed that they contained over 300 videos of child pornography.  Data stored on devices seized during the search of Miller’s residence included hundreds of videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit activity, including a prepubescent girl being subjected to sexual bondage. 

In addition, Miller admitted taking sexually explicit images and videos of Jane Doe, whom the defendant met when Jane Doe was 14 years old.  The images and videos produced by Miller were uncovered on Miller’s devices and were taken when Jane Doe was 15, 16, and 17 years old.  On July 16, 2017, Miller used an encrypted chat application to communicate with another user. During those communications, Miller sent the other user three images of Jane Doe engaged in sexually explicit activity.

As a result of his conviction, Miller will be required to 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).

Miller faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison, followed by up to lifetime of supervised release for each of three counts of distribution and transportation of child pornography; and a maximum of 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for December 14, 2018 at 11:30 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 Robert K. Hur commended HSI-Baltimore, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers, who is prosecuting the federal case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Jose Augustin Salmeron-Larios (a/k/a Joseph Morales-Martinez, Angel Salvador Gutierrez, Yankee, and Kean), age 25, of Severn, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13; attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

The plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

“Salmeron-Larios’s arrest and conviction have dealt a significant blow to MS-13 in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “As the founder and leader of the Maryland Program, Salmeron-Larios organized and coordinated violence, drug trafficking and extortion among six cliques operating in the Maryland area. His arrest helped to dismantle the Maryland Program and the effort to create a permanent structure under which these cliques worked.”

“MS-13 is an organization ruthlessly committed to living up to its motto—‘Kill, Steal, Rape, Control,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “Fortunately, today’s plea demonstrates that the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners are committed to relentlessly pursuing the gang and its leadership.”

“DEA and our partners work hard every day to ensure the safety of our communities,” state DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke.  “Following this case through to a guilty plea shows our commitment to hold accountable those who jeopardize the safety of our neighborhoods.  We will continue to investigate criminal enterprises that have a callous disregard for the destruction they cause.”

MS-13 is a gang 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.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 often work together cooperatively to engage in criminal activity and to assist one another in avoiding detection by law enforcement.  In Maryland and the surrounding area, these cliques include Parkview Locos Salvatrucha (“PVLS”), Normandie Locos Salvatrucha (“NLS” or “Normandie”), Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside (“SLSW” or “Sailors”), Langley Park Salvatrucha (“LPS”), Weedoms Locos Salvatrucha (“Weedoms”), and Cabanas Locos Salvatruchas (“Cabanas”).  MS-13 cliques often combine and work together as “Programs,” with the purpose of increasing the gang’s levels of organization, violence, extortion, and other criminal activity. A person within the participating cliques is selected as the Program leader.

To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members and associates are expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who show disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence.  MS-13’s creed is based on one of its mottos, “Mata, roba, viola, controla,” which translates to, “kill, steal, rape, control.”

According to his plea agreement, from at least January 2015 through September 2016, Salmeron-Larios was a member of the PVLS clique and served as the MS-13 Maryland Program Leader.  Salmeron-Larios admitted to participating in numerous acts in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy. 

For example, in April 2015, Salmeron-Larios and other MS-13 members and associates traveled to New York, met with MS-13 members there and discussed MS-13 business.  Salmeron-Larios admitted that on November 7, 2015, he and other MS-13 members and associates traveled to Hyattsville, Maryland, intending to murder Victim 1, who was believed to be a member of the 18th Street Gang.  Two MS-13 co-conspirators lured Victim 1 to a location in Hyattsville.  Salmeron-Larios and two MS-13 co-conspirators, all armed with firearms, went to the meeting location.  Salmeron-Larios and the armed MS-13 co-conspirators got out of the car while another MS-13 accomplice waited in the vehicle.  The victim arrived in a car driven by another person and one of Salmeron-Larios’s MS-13 co-conspirators fired his handgun into the vehicle, attempting to kill Victim 1, who was struck in the face by one of the gunshots.  Salmeron-Larios and his accomplices returned to their vehicle and left the area.  The guns used during this crime, including the gun possessed by Salmeron-Larios, were taken to the residence of the co-conspirator who shot Victim 1.  Victim 1 survived the shooting, but lost an eye, sustained loss of hand and leg function, and was permanently disfigured as a result of the shooting.  Salmeron-Larios participated in the shooting in order to gain entrance to, maintain, and increase his position in MS-13.

Salmeron-Larios admitted that in January 2016, he traveled to Florida and obtained firearms, which were distributed to MS-13 members for use in Maryland.  In addition, during the time of the conspiracy, Salmeron-Larios possessed and distributed controlled substances, including cocaine, for the benefit of MS-13.  Finally, on June 8 and June 9, 2016, Salmeron-Larios discussed an attack upon suspected rival gang members with other MS-13 members.  During several conversations, Salmeron-Larios discussed providing a firearm to a member of the Sailors Clique to be used against rival gang members in the area of 23rd Avenue in Langley Park “by the towers.” Salmeron-Larios instructed one individual where to find the gun and that it was loaded, and instructed another MS-13 member to loan a gun to a member of the Sailors Clique.

Salmeron-Larios faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise; a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and a mandatory 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, and up to life in prison, for using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for Salmeron-Larios for December 7, 2018, at 10:00 a.m.  Salmeron-Larios remains detained pending sentencing.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur and Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski commended the DEA; HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur and Mr. Benczkowski also recognized the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Departments of Corrections, HSI Baltimore’s Operation Community Shield Task Force, and the Maryland Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit for their assistance. Mr. Hur and Mr. Benczkowski thanked Assistant United States Attorneys William D. Moomau, Ray D. McKenzie, and Lindsay Eyler Kaplan and Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick with the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Jose Augustin Salmeron-Larios aka “Joseph Morales-Martinez,” “Angel Salvador Gutierrez,”  “Yankee,” and “Kean,” 25, of Severn, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13; attempted murder in aid of racketeering and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland, Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Field Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Field Office, Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department, Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy made the announcement. 

“MS-13 is an organization ruthlessly committed to living up to its motto—‘Kill, Steal, Rape, Control,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “Fortunately, today’s plea demonstrates that the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners are committed to relentlessly pursuing the gang and its leadership.”

“Salmeron-Larios’s arrest and conviction have dealt a significant blow to MS-13 in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “As the founder and leader of the Maryland Program, Salmeron-Larios organized and coordinated violence, drug trafficking and extortion among six cliques operating in the Maryland area. His arrest helped to dismantle the Maryland Program and the effort to create a permanent structure under which these cliques worked.”

“DEA and our partners work hard every day to ensure the safety of our communities,” said DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge Hoernke.  “Following this case through to a guilty plea shows our commitment to hold accountable those who jeopardize the safety of our neighborhoods.  We will continue to investigate criminal enterprises that have a callous disregard for the destruction they cause.”

MS-13 is a gang 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.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 often work together cooperatively to engage in criminal activity and to assist one another in avoiding detection by law enforcement.  In Maryland and the surrounding area, these cliques include Parkview Locos Salvatrucha (“PVLS”), Normandie Locos Salvatrucha (“NLS” or “Normandie”), Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside (“SLSW” or “Sailors”), Langley Park Salvatrucha (“LPS”), Weedoms Locos Salvatrucha (“Weedoms”), and Cabanas Locos Salvatruchas (“Cabanas”).  MS-13 cliques often combine and work together as “Programs,” with the purpose of increasing the gang’s levels of organization, violence, extortion, and other criminal activity. A person within the participating cliques is selected as the Program leader.

To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members and associates are expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who show disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence.  MS-13’s creed is based on one of its mottos, “Mata, roba, viola, controla,” which translates to, “kill, steal, rape, control.” 

According to his plea agreement, from at least January 2015 through September 2016, Salmeron-Larios was a member of the PVLS clique and served as the MS-13 Maryland Program Leader.  Salmeron-Larios admitted to participating in numerous acts in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy.   

For example, in April 2015, Salmeron-Larios and other MS-13 members and associates traveled to New York, met with MS-13 members there and discussed MS-13 business.  Salmeron-Larios admitted that on Nov. 7, 2015, he and other MS-13 members and associates traveled to Hyattsville, Maryland, intending to murder Victim 1, who was believed to be a member of the 18th Street Gang.  Two MS-13 co-conspirators lured Victim 1 to a location in Hyattsville.  Salmeron-Larios and two MS-13 co-conspirators, all armed with firearms, went to the meeting location.  Salmeron-Larios and the armed MS-13 co-conspirators got out of the car while another MS-13 accomplice waited in the vehicle.  The victim arrived in a car driven by another person and one of Salmeron-Larios’s MS-13 co-conspirators fired his handgun into the vehicle, attempting to kill Victim 1, who was struck in the face by one of the gunshots.  Salmeron-Larios and his accomplices returned to their vehicle and left the area.  The guns used during this crime, including the gun possessed by Salmeron-Larios, were taken to the residence of the co-conspirator who shot Victim 1.  Victim 1 survived the shooting, but lost an eye, sustained loss of hand and leg function, and was permanently disfigured as a result of the shooting.  Salmeron-Larios participated in the shooting in order to gain entrance to, maintain, and increase his position in MS-13.  

Salmeron-Larios admitted that in January 2016, he traveled to Florida and obtained firearms, which were distributed to MS-13 members for use in Maryland.  In addition, during the time of the conspiracy, Salmeron-Larios possessed and distributed controlled substances, including cocaine, for the benefit of MS-13.  Finally, on June 8 and June 9, 2016, Salmeron-Larios discussed an attack upon suspected rival gang members with other MS-13 members.  During several conversations, Salmeron-Larios discussed providing a firearm to a member of the Sailors Clique to be used against rival gang members in the area of 23rd Avenue in Langley Park “by the towers.” Salmeron-Larios instructed one individual where to find the gun and that it was loaded, and instructed another MS-13 member to loan a gun to a member of the Sailors Clique. 

Salmeron-Larios faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise; a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and a mandatory 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, and up to life in prison, for using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for Salmeron-Larios for Dec. 7 at 10 a.m.  Salmeron-Larios remains detained pending sentencing.

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

The investigation was conducted by DEA, HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. The Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Departments of Corrections, HSI Baltimore’s Operation Community Shield Task Force, and the Maryland Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit provided investigative assistance. This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau, Ray D. McKenzie, and Lindsay Eyler Kaplan of the District of Maryland.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Dolores Delgado, age 33, of San Antonio, Texas, today to 17 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for interstate travel to commit domestic violence resulting in death, in connection with the death of Karlyn Ramirez.  Army Sergeant Maliek Kearney, age 37, of San Antonio, Texas, with whom Delgado had a romantic relationship, was convicted by a federal jury on August 9, 2018, for the murder and a related gun charge.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Major General David P. Glaser, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.

According to Delgado’s plea agreement, Karlyn Ramirez was an active-duty soldier of the United States Army assigned to Fort Meade, Maryland.  Ms. Ramirez was found shot to death in her off-post residence on the morning of August 25, 2015.  Her four-month old daughter had been placed in her arms.  Forensic evidence estimated the likely time of death was during the late evening hours of August 24, 2015. 

At the time of her death, Ramirez was married to another active-duty soldier, Sergeant Maliek Kearney, who was the father of her four-month old daughter.  They had recently separated and Ramirez had obtained a protective order through the Army prohibiting all contact between Ramirez and Kearney. 

According to Delgado’s plea agreement and evidence presented at Kearney’s trial, Kearney was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.  On August 24, 2015, he finished work in the early afternoon and traveled from South Carolina to Severn, Maryland.  He entered Ramirez’s townhouse using his key and brandishing a Taurus .357 caliber revolver.  Ramirez attempted to calm her husband but reiterated that she did not want to see him again.  Kearney shot Ramirez three times, killing her.  He then took off her pants and pulled down her underwear in an attempt to make it look like a sexual assault.  Kearney also placed their 4-month old daughter in Ramirez’s arms.

Delgado admitted that she provided the firearm that Kearney used to murder Ramirez and allowed Kearney to drive her car from South Carolina to Maryland to commit the murder.  Delgado also purchased large gas cans for Kearney to take with him, so that he would not have to stop for gas and risk being seen.  During the murder, Delgado (who lived in Florida at the time) stayed at Kearney’s apartment in South Carolina with his phone and vehicle so that it would appear that he was in South Carolina at the time of the murder.  After the murder, Delgado and another individual traveled to a waterway in Florida and disposed of the firearm, shell casings, the clothing Kearney wore during the murder, and the key he used to enter Ramirez’s townhouse.  Delgado also dismantled the revolver and took steps to obliterate the serial number.  Law enforcement divers recovered the firearm and forensic testing determined that it was indeed the gun Kearney used to shoot Karlyn Ramirez to death.  

Judge Russell has scheduled sentencing for Maliek Kearney on November 30, 2018, at noon.  Kearney remains detained pending sentencing.

Delgado has been detained since her arrest. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI Baltimore, the Army CID, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation, and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and FBI San Antonio for their assistance.  Mr. Hur also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Kenneth S. Clark, who are prosecuting the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Joseph Darren Brooks, age 42, of California, Maryland, and Marvin Leon Young, age 42, of Lexington Park, Maryland, each to 11 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute powder and crack cocaine.  Brooks was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Judge Hazel sentenced co-conspirator Brandon Darnell Bowman, age 32, of Great Mills, to 86 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  Brooks and Young were sentenced on September 5th and 6th respectively, and Bowman was sentenced today.

The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to Young’s plea agreement and information presented to the Court, from at least February 2015 through December 2016, Brooks and Young conspired with others, including Darryl Michael Franklin and Brandon Darnell Bowman, to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine primarily in St. Mary’s County.  During the course of the conspiracy, Young and Brooks were business partners and Franklin was their source of supply for cocaine.  Young would typically acquire kilograms of cocaine from Franklin, which he would split with Brooks.  Brooks sold smaller distribution quantities of cocaine to other members of the conspiracy and to his own customers.  On occasion, Brooks would cook the powder cocaine into crack cocaine and distribute the crack cocaine.  The conspirators used Bowman’s residence as a stash house and to cook the powder cocaine into crack.

For example, on November 2, 2016, Young, acting on behalf of himself and Brooks, arranged to purchase two kilograms of cocaine from Franklin.  Prior to meeting Franklin, Young picked up cash from Brooks at Bowman’s house.  Young met Franklin to deliver the cash and received the cocaine in return.  Young dropped off one kilogram of cocaine to Brooks at the home of another conspirator and retained one kilogram to sell to his own customers.  Later that day, Brooks informed Young that he had already sold a good portion of his kilogram of cocaine.  Between October 5 and November 2, 2016, Young and Brooks purchased at least six kilograms of cocaine from Franklin.

On December 15, 2016, law enforcement executed search warrants at the homes of Brooks, Young, Bowman and other conspirators.  At Brooks’ home they recovered a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, three .50-caliber rifles, a shotgun, and a variety of ammunition.  Brooks, who was not home at the time of the search, was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition as a result of a previous felony convictions, including a previous conviction in St. Mary’s County for drug distribution.

When officers searched Bowman’s residence in Great Mills, Maryland, they located Brooks in the living room.  From Bowman’s residence, law enforcement recovered a total of 228 grams of cocaine, drug distribution paraphernalia, $11,490 in cash hidden in a speaker, and $2,165 in cash from Brooks.  From the search of Young’s residence, law enforcement recovered $5,743 in cash and three cell phones.  The cash represented proceeds of their drug dealing.

Based upon the length of the drug trafficking conspiracy, recorded telephone conversations, surveillance, and information provided by others, the quantity of cocaine involved in the offense and foreseeable to Young and Brooks was between 15 and 40 kilograms of cocaine.

Darryl Michael Franklin, age 44, of Waldorf, Maryland, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin B. Pulice and Gregory Bernstein, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced William McFadden, age 33, of Baltimore, to 19 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for robbing a gas station in Greenbelt, Maryland, and for using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during the robbery.  McFadden pleaded guilty to those charges on July 9, 2018, just before his trial was scheduled to begin.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the indictment and information presented to the Court, during October and November 2015, McFadden and two other men, either together or in pairs, robbed seven businesses in Maryland and Virginia, including five gas stations, a food store, and a check cashing store.  In each of the robberies either McFadden or one of the other men brandished a handgun and took cash from the business.  In the robbery of the food store, McFadden dropped a mask that contained both his and a co-conspirator’s DNA profile.  Furthermore, McFadden is seen on video holding a handgun that was similar to a handgun recovered from McFadden’s car after the robbery on November 22nd.

Specifically, McFadden admitted that on November 22, 2015 he drove a co-conspirator to a gas station in Greenbelt in order to rob the gas station.  The co-conspirator entered the store wearing a black jacket and a ski mask, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money.  The cashier placed approximately $400 in the bag provided by the co-conspirator.  McFadden and the co-conspirator drove away from the gas station and were stopped by law enforcement in Baltimore City.  Officers recovered the cash, ski mask and other identifying clothing, as well as a loaded.45-caliber automatic pistol.

McFadden is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition as a result of convictions for three previous armed robberies and another robbery.  He was also convicted of assaulting a correctional officer while in prison.

Co-defendants Marcus Cureton, age 34, and Taeqwon Prater, age 25, both of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the robbery conspiracy and were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia C. McLane and Lauren E. Perry, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland –U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Raymond Kilchenstein, age 53, formerly of Essex, Maryland, to 150 months in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for transportation of child pornography.  Judge Bennett ordered that, upon his release from prison, Kilchenstein must continue to 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 Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Interim Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to the his plea agreement, in 1997, while Kilchenstein was serving in the U.S. Air Force, he pleaded guilty to repeatedly sexually abusing a minor female for four years, beginning when the child was four years old.  He also acknowledged fondling a second minor female, who was 10 years old at the time of the abuse.  Kilchenstein was sentenced to 10 years of confinement and dishonorably discharged from the Air Force.  He was released on May 2, 2003 and has been a registered sex offender since that time.

Kilchenstein admitted that beginning in 2015, he traded child pornography in three ways:  by using a foreign website that facilitates sharing images and videos; through several e-mail addresses; and by utilizing an instant-messaging application for mobile devices that allows users to share photos, videos, and other content.  A search warrant executed at Kilchenstein’s home on February 10, 2017, recovered digital storage media, including three thumb drives, a laptop, and a hard drive.  Subsequent forensic analysis of the media recovered over 20,000 images and 665 videos of child pornography, including over 275 identified child pornography series.  Kilchenstein has been ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution to the identified victims in those series.  The images and videos also included prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, as well as sadistic, masochistic, and other depictions of violence.

Kilchenstein was arrested on December 15, 2017, and an Apple iPhone 7 was seized, but was locked, preventing forensic analysis.  As part of his plea agreement, Kilchenstein provided the password to allow access to his iPhone in order to allow a full forensic analysis of the phone to determine whether there was any evidence of production of child pornography.  None was found.

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 Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who is prosecuting the federal case.

Baltimore, Maryland –U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Mohammed “Kofi” Kwaning, age 37, of Laurel, Maryland late on September 4, 2018, to 121 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, as well as bank and wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.  The sentence was imposed in connection with a fraud scheme in which Kwaning and his co-conspirators attempted to steal nearly $1.4 million in funds from the personal, retirement, and business accounts of various victims. Kwaning is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and a citizen of Ghana. A federal jury convicted Kwaning and two co-defendants on November 2, 2017.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, Baltimore Office; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to evidence at presented at his 10-day trial, in 2014, Mohammed Kwaning and other conspirators acquired account information of individual victims, including from investment account management firms, as well as forged checks containing bank account information of both individual and corporate victims from across the United States.

Co-conspirator Issah Mohammed then recruited individuals, including Mark Dennis, Charles Mensah, and others, who registered corporate shell entities with the state of Maryland.  The recruits then set up bank accounts at multiple banking institutions in the names of these shell entities. Mohammed Kwaning then either directed that the funds from the compromised accounts be wired into the bank accounts opened in the names of the shell entities or provided altered or fabricated checks from compromised accounts to Issah Mohammed.  Mohammed then provided the checks to Mark Dennis, Charles Mensah, and the other recruits to be deposited into the shell entities’ bank accounts.  The recruits would then attempt to withdraw the stolen funds before the banks discovered that the source of the funds were compromised accounts.

Some of the accounts were compromised by individuals who called investment firms pretending to be the actual account holders, and then eventually providing enough correct answers in order to reset the password for the account.  Individuals also hacked the e-mails of victims and, posing as the account holders, requested funds be wired from their retirement accounts to the bank accounts of the shell corporations controlled by the conspirators.  The attempted loss during the nine months of the scheme was over $1.3 million, and the conspirators were able to withdraw over $229,000 of stolen funds, which they then split amongst themselves.

Mark Dennis, age 30, of Laurel, Maryland, and Charles Mensah, age 32, of the Bronx, New York, were also convicted at trial and sentenced to 27 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, each followed by five years of supervised release.  Issah Mohammed, age 31, of Laurel, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI Baltimore and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Judson T. Mihok and Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted this case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Eric Epstein, age 58, of Pompano Beach, Florida (previously of Owings Mills, Maryland) today to 135 months in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, and sentenced co-conspirator Andrew Stafford, age 58, of Bel Air, Maryland, to six years in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, each followed by three years of supervised release.  Epstein, Stafford, and their co-conspirators admitted perpetrating a nationwide fraudulent telemarketing scheme designed to ship unwanted and vastly over-priced light bulbs and cleaning supplies to thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations.  Epstein and Stafford were leaders in the scheme in which they and their co-conspirators obtained more than $50 million.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Division; and Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Washington Division.

“Eric Epstein and his co-conspirators preyed on churches, schools, homeless shelters, and businesses to steal more than $50 million through a sophisticated scheme that involved sham sales of light bulbs and cleaning supplies,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Not only did he not pay taxes on much of the money, but Epstein used the ill-gotten gains to fund a lavish lifestyle including luxury vehicles, a million-dollar home, and extravagant jewelry.  Federal agents and prosecutors will pursue perpetrators of such fraud schemes to recover money stolen from the victims and from the United States Treasury.”

“Eric Epstein’s conspiracy was a scheme motivated by pure greed. Through false and fraudulent business practices, Epstein not only personally enriched himself, but cheated several businesses out of more than $50 million in the process, ” said Kelly R. Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.  “IRS Criminal Investigation, in partnership with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate corporate fraud and hold corporations and their executives accountable when failing to comply with the law.” 

According to Epstein’s and Stafford’s plea agreements and other court documents, in 2003, Epstein co-founded a Maryland-based telemarketing business, Midway Industries, LLC and Johnson Distributing, LLC and incorporated them in Maryland, each with the stated purpose to engage in the retail sale of light bulbs and cleaning supplies, among other activities.  Between July 22, 2008 and April 18, 2014, Epstein and Brian Wallen incorporated additional shell entities, in Maryland and Florida.  Midway, Johnson Distributing, and the shell entities will be collectively referred to here as “Midway.”

Epstein, Stafford, and other co-conspirators obtained tens of millions of dollars from thousands of victim businesses by deceiving the businesses into paying exorbitant prices for light bulbs and cleaning supplies, as well as paying for products that the businesses never ordered.  Victims of the scam included global conglomerates, small family-run businesses, government agencies, churches, schools, homeless shelters, and other non-profits.

In 2012, Epstein sold a majority financial interest in Midway to Brian Wallen for $15 million, but he retained an ownership stake, received a regular paycheck, and continued to advise and supervise Midway employees, along with Brian Wallen and Andrew Stafford.

Specifically, from 2003 through 2014, Midway employees would cold-call businesses making false representations, including that the business had an existing business relationship with Midway. During these cold-calls, the conspirators sought to obtain the personal information of an “authorized representative” for the business, which the Midway collections department could use later to justify an order.  The conspirators concealed Midway’s true locations in Reisterstown, Maryland and in Florida, as well as the price of the products and the quantity of any shipment.  Often the conspirators would tell the victim businesses that Midway would send a “half box” of light bulbs.  In fact, the “half box” was a deceptive technique used to understate the volume and price of shipments, and disguise unwanted future shipments.  As long as the victims continued paying the Midway invoices, in subsequent calls Epstein, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators misrepresented that the balance of the victim’s order, or their “regular seasonal order” had recently been shipped, despite no order having been made by the victim business, and no actual shipment having yet been sent.

When the authorized representative at a business could not be reached, Epstein, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators would simply send the product and an inflated invoice to the victim, without the victim placing an order.  The conspirators referred to this practice as “just ship.” If the authorized representative had quit, been fired, or even passed away, the conspirators sent a product and inflated invoice to the victim business knowing that the victim would be unable to dispute the validity of the order. This practice was referred to by the Midway conspirators as a “down the road.”  The Midway conspirators regularly sought the approval of Epstein, Wallen and Stafford, as their supervisors, to engage in the practices of “just ship,” or “down the road.”

Epstein, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators ordered the light bulbs and cleaning supplies from a company located in New Jersey (supplier).  They instructed the supplier to ship the products to the victim without an invoice, and to send the invoices directly to Midway.  Epstein, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators then sent inflated invoices to the billing departments of the victims, that were regularly 900% greater than the prices Midway paid for the supplies, and sometimes greater than 8,000% above the supplier’s prices.  When victims did not remit payment, the collections department at Midway repeatedly called the victims in order to force them to pay the inflated invoices.  If the victim threatened to contact law enforcement or the Better Business Bureau, Epstein, Wallen, Stafford and the conspirators offered to revise the invoice to a discounted rate, or take back a product for either a “re-stocking fee” or “at cost,” which was still substantially greater than the cost of the products purchased from the supplier.

As a result of the fraud scheme, Midway sent fraudulent invoices to victim companies for more than $100 million and received more than $50 million in payments on those invoices.   

Further, Epstein admitted that he caused victims’ checks payable to Midway corporate entities to be cashed at money remitters, while Epstein personally kept and used the money.  Epstein and others at Midway also used Midway credit cards for lavish personal expenditures, such as luxury furniture and vehicles.

Co-conspirators Robert Chesser, age 46, of Dundalk, Maryland; Brandon Johnston, age 38, of Catonsville, Maryland; Alan Landsman, age 36, of York, Pennsylvania; Steven Phillips, age 64, of Pikesville, Maryland; Brandon Riggs, age 34, of Baltimore; and Thomas Wishon, age 54, of Cockeysville, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with their roles in the scheme, and were sentenced to between 30 months and 72 months in prison.

Charges against Brian Wallen were dismissed after his death.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur thanked the FBI, the IRS, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their work on the investigation.  Mr. Hur commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean R. Delaney and Harry M. Gruber, who prosecuted the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland –U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced former Maryland State Delegate Michael Lynn Vaughn, age 60, of Bowie, Maryland, today to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a bribery conspiracy in connection with a scheme in which he accepted bribes in exchange for influencing the performance of his official duties.  A federal jury convicted Vaughn of conspiracy and four counts of bribery on March 1, 2018.  At today’s sentencing hearing, the government also presented evidence, which Vaughn did not dispute, that Vaughn stole campaign funds from early 2005 through 2016, totaling over $100,000.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

“We expect our elected officials to place the interests of the citizens above their own,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “When they violate the trust placed in them and break the law, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will bring them to justice.” 

According to court documents and evidence presented at his two-week trial, Vaughn was a Maryland State Delegate from January 2003 until January 2017, representing District 24, which covered portions of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and was the Deputy Majority Whip and a member of the Economic Matters Committee.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from January 2015 through April 2016, Vaughn conspired with former Prince George’s County Liquor Board member and later, Chief Liquor Inspector, David Dae Sok Son, liquor store owners Young Jung Paig, Shin Ja Lee, and others in order to enrich himself personally, in exchange for Vaughn performing and agreeing to perform favorable official action. 

Specifically, the evidence showed that Vaughn took $19,000 in cash bribe payments from Paig, Lee, and others, in exchange for influencing and voting for the 2015 Sunday Sales Bill, which established up to 100 Sunday liquor sales permits in Prince George’s County for holders of Class A licenses and Class B licenses with an off-sale privilege; and the related 2016 Additional Sunday Permits Bill, both of which became Maryland law.  Vaughn voted in favor of the bills, which benefitted Paig and Lee’s liquor stores, in the Prince George’s County Delegation meetings, in the Economic Matters Committee, and in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Also according to court documents and information presented at today’s sentencing hearing, from early 2005 through 2016, Vaughn diverted money donated to his campaign finance committee, Friends of Michael Vaughn (FOMV), for his personal use, totaling over $100,000.  A candidate, such as Vaughn, is prohibited from personally making disbursements from a political committee established to promote his candidacy.  According to the information presented at the sentencing hearing, the government’s sentencing memo, and other court documents, Vaughn withdrew campaign funds from the FOMV account to use for personal expenses, including electronically transferring money from the FOMV campaign account directly to Vaughn’s personal bank account, making payments to his personal credit card account, and making payments of his personal income tax to the Internal Revenue Service.  In addition, during an interview on April 12, 2016, Vaughn admitted to stealing funds from his campaign account and spending them on a number of things, including his personal mortgage, his son’s school tuition, and credit card bills.  As part of the wire fraud conduct, Vaughn received campaign contributions, deposited them into the FOMV account, and then converted them to his personal use without identifying the contributions on campaign finance reports made to the Maryland State Board of Elections.  In order to conceal the scheme from FOMV and the FOMV campaign contributors, Vaughn caused the filing of fraudulent campaign finance reports with the Maryland State Board of Elections.  For example, as of January 14, 2015, the campaign finance report filed with the Maryland State Board of Elections showed a balance in the FOMV account of $64,462.44.  The expenditures identified in the report did not include substantial cash withdrawals made by Vaughn, and the account actual balance on that date, according to bank statements, was only $1,654.36.

United States Attorney Robert Hur commended the FBI, IRS-CI, and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Windom, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Corey Hammond, age 30, of Houston, Texas, today to 20 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine.  Hammond was convicted on March 8, 2018, after a four-day trial.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Baltimore District Office; Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department; Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.

Evidence at trial established that the defendant was part of a conspiracy to distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine.  The drugs were transported from Houston, Texas to Baltimore, Maryland by vehicles equipped with hidden compartments, or “traps.”

According to testimony at trial, law enforcement intercepted phone calls and text messages in which Hammond discussed drug transactions.  Intercepted calls and text messages played at trial established that Hammond communicated in code with his co-conspirators discussing the amounts and payment for cocaine.  One text message in particular indicated payment in the amount of $256,000 for 8 kilograms.  Hammond took the stand at trial and falsely testified that he was selling car parts.  Evidence at trial established the quantity of cocaine as being between 15-50 kilograms.                  

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the DEA, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Romano and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Hann, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

                                                                                                  Contact MARCIA MURPHY

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                        at (410) 209-4854

Greenbelt, Maryland – Keith Edward Taylor, age 33, of Kingsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

According to Taylor’s plea agreement, in 2017, Taylor used an instant-messaging software application to communicate with minors throughout the United States and internationally.  Specifically, Taylor admitted that he engaged in sexually explicit conversations with at least five minor male victims, ranging from 12 to 15 years old, and residing in various states, including Texas, Massachusetts, Iowa, Michigan, and Colorado.  During the course of his conversations with the boys, Taylor typically portrayed himself as a woman.  Taylor repeatedly requested that the boys send sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  Taylor sent some of the boys sexually explicit photos of women, falsely claiming that they were photos of himself.

Taylor further admitted using the messaging app to distribute and trade child pornography with adults.  For example, during December 2017, Taylor traded child pornography with a user who sent Taylor a live photo of a child that the user claimed was his own stepchild.  Taylor repeatedly requested sexually explicit photos of the child and discussed the other user engaging in sex acts with the child.  Taylor also maintained digital collections of child pornography in multiple cloud storage accounts and electronic devices. 

As part of his plea agreement, Taylor 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).

Taylor faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison followed by up to lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography.   U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for November 30, 2018 at 3 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 Robert K. Hur commended HSI-Baltimore, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Maddox, who is prosecuting the federal case.

###

                                                                                                              Contact MARCIA MURPHY

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                                    at (410) 209-4854

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment charging Rodney Mondell Coby, a/k/a “Cuz,” age 29, of Waldorf, Maryland, and Steven Jerome, of Leonardtown, Maryland, with distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.  Coby is also charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  Coby was initially indicted on the drug distribution and gun charges on May 21, 2018.  The superseding indictment added Jerome as a new defendant and three counts of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.

The superseding indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron; and Charles County Sheriff Troy D. Berry.

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “We are determined to reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths in Maryland.  We’re particularly targeting those who sell fentanyl, the drug that is killing the most of our citizens.  Drug traffickers are on notice that dealing in fentanyl increases their odds of federal prosecution.”

The six-count superseding indictment alleges that Coby and Jerome distributed fentanyl to an individual on September 6, 2017, resulting in death.  Further, the indictment charges Coby and Jerome individually with distributing fentanyl on November 29, 2017 and March 27, 2018, respectively, resulting in death.  Coby is also charged with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and illegally possessing five semi-automatic pistols and 159 rounds of various types of ammunition.

If convicted, Coby and Jerome face a mandatory minimum of 20 years and up to life in prison for each of two counts of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.  Coby also faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; a maximum of life in prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and a maximum of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  Coby has been in custody since his arrest on April 13, 2018.  Jerome is also detained on unrelated state charges.  The defendants are expected to have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, but no date has 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. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA and the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Bernstein and Erin Pulice, who are prosecuting the case.

                                                                                      Contact MARCIA MURPHY

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                            at (410) 209-4854

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Correctional Officer Rachelle Hankerson, age 28, of Salisbury, Maryland, on August 24, 2018, to 52 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a racketeering conspiracy operating at the Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover, Maryland, and for deprivation of rights under color of law for participating in the stabbing of an inmate.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Secretary Stephen T. Moyer of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

“As demonstrated by today’s sentence, public servants who violate their duty for personal gain will be held accountable. We will continue to work closely with state officials to root out and prosecute correctional officers who bring cell phones, drugs and other contraband into correctional facilities,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.

According to court documents, the Eastern Correctional Institution (ECI) is the largest state prison in Maryland, operating since 1987 near Westover, in Somerset County, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. During the conspiracy, Hankerson was a Correctional Officer (CO) at ECI.

Hankerson admitted that she accepted payments from facilitators and inmates to smuggle contraband into ECI, including narcotics, cell phones and tobacco.  Hankerson charged at least $500 per package of contraband she smuggled into ECI.  Hankerson also admitted that she approached a co-defendant who was a member of the Bloods gang at ECI for whom she smuggled contraband, and asked the inmate to confront inmate D.S., with whom Hankerson had had a verbal dispute.  Hankerson twice allowed her co-defendant onto the tier where D.S. was housed.  The second time that the co-defendant entered D.S.’s cell he violently attacked D.S., stabbing him multiple times.  Another inmate told Hankerson about the violent confrontation, but rather than notifying prison authorities, Hankerson left the area.  She later told an inmate to provide a false story to prison authorities that Hankerson had not been on the tier when the attack occurred.  Law enforcement intercepted multiple calls in which Hankerson and others working with her discussed contraband, arranging meetings with correctional officers, and payment for contraband. 

Of the 80 defendants charged in this case, 77 have been convicted, including 16 of the 18 correctional officers charged.  All the defendants who have been sentenced to date have been ordered to serve a term of imprisonment, ranging from a year and a day in prison to 65 months in prison.

The U.S. Attorney expressed appreciation to Secretary Moyer, whose staff initiated the ECI investigation and who has made the full resources of the DPSCS available to assist the three-year investigation.  U.S. Attorney Hur also commended the efforts of the Maryland Prison Task Force which has brought together federal, state and local agencies in meetings to generate reforms in prison procedures and facilitate joint investigations of prison corruption and prison gangs.  Mr. Hur thanked the members of the Maryland Prison Task Force and the other agencies who assisted in this investigation and prosecution.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Wise, Robert R. Harding, and Daniel C. Gardner, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

                                                                            Contact MARCIA MURPHY

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                         at (410) 209-4854

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Devin Braxton, age 28, of Baltimore, to five years in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for assaulting a federal officer.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.

“Law enforcement officers—including members of ATF and the Baltimore Police Department—routinely put their lives on the line for the sake of public safety,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Those who assault these brave men and woman will be held accountable.”

“ATF Special Agents and Task Force Officers risk their safety and lives every day investigating violent offenders, including those who push drugs onto Baltimore’s streets. We do this to protect the community, and remove criminals and violence from their neighborhoods,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada. “Devin Braxton and Earl Williams showed no regard for human life when they violently beat our Task Force Officer, a member of our ATF family. We are immensely grateful that this TFO has made a full recovery and that these men are being held responsible for their crime.”

According to Braxton’s plea agreement, on January 18, 2017, an ATF Task Force Officer (TFO) was working undercover in an investigation of a drug dealer in Baltimore.

While wearing an audio recording device, the TFO met the target drug dealer in front of a carryout store in the 1800 block of North Gay Street in Baltimore, where the drug dealer gave the TFO packaged crack cocaine in exchange for cash.  While the TFO was engaged in the transaction, Braxton’s co-defendant, Earl Williams, approached the TFO and poked his finger into the TFO’s hand that was holding the crack cocaine.  The TFO attempted to excuse Williams, who persisted in his confrontation and began threatening the TFO.  Braxton and Williams then blocked the exit to the business. The TFO attempted to push Williams into the corner of the store, but, as the TFO struggled with Williams, Braxton began striking the TFO. Williams then wrestled the TFO to the ground, where Braxton and Williams punched and kicked the TFO, causing serious injuries. Hearing the commotion over the TFO’s audio recording device, ATF agents rapidly responded to the scene. Before agents could arrive, Braxton and Williams left the store.  As they fled, Williams took the TFO’s cell phone and Braxton took the TFO’s service weapon.

ATF agents apprehended Braxton and Williams a short time later. They also recovered the TFO’s phone and service weapon.  The TFO was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Earl Williams, age 30, of Baltimore, also pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal officer.  If the Court accepts the plea, Williams will be sentenced to 66 months in prison, at his sentencing before Judge Bennett on September 12, 2018 at 3:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Sippel, who is prosecuting the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – A licensed pharmacist, Richard Daniel Hiller, age 64, of Owings Mills, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, and to distributing oxycodone

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.

 “Abuse of oxycodone and other pharmaceutical drugs is one of our most significant drug enforcement challenges.  Those who divert pharmaceutical drugs for illegal purposes further the tragic cycle of addiction and the epidemic of opioid overdose deaths,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.

According to his plea agreement, Hiller was a licensed pharmacist working at a pharmacy in Towson, Maryland.  Hiller admitted that he filled fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone for several women in return for sexual favors.  On numerous occasions between January 2014 and February 2017, Hiller directed two of the women to come to the pharmacy where he worked prior to the opening of the pharmacy.  Hiller would make them engage in sexual intercourse or perform other sexual acts in the rear area of the pharmacy prior to filling their fake prescriptions for oxycodone.

Beginning in 2014, Hiller also distributed oxycodone to a third woman.  In return for distributing oxycodone to her, often without any valid prescription, Hiller would ask the woman to send him nude photos and sexual videos of herself, and allow him to grope and kiss her.  This woman would sometimes use different names to simultaneously obtain oxycodone prescriptions from two doctors.  Hiller would fill both prescriptions knowing they had been fraudulently obtained.  When the woman rejected one of Hiller’s advances, he called the woman’s doctors to notify them that she was fraudulently obtaining prescriptions from both of them.

Hiller filled these prescriptions knowing they were fraudulent and outside the usual course of professional practice.  Hiller would permit the women to fill additional prescriptions for oxycodone before the previous 30-day window had expired.  In an effort to hide the conspiracy, some of the fraudulent prescriptions listed fake names and names of family members.  The women were addicted to oxycodone and would resell many of the pills they obtained from Hiller to maintain their addiction.  Over the course of the conspiracy, Hiller distributed approximately 20,500 15 milligram oxycodone pills.

Hiller faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy, and a maximum of 20 years in prison for distributing oxycodone.  U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for Hiller on November 15, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in these investigations.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Burden H. Walker, who is prosecuting the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Kevin J. Gorbsky, age 32, of Bowie, Maryland, on five counts of enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity and one count of transferring obscene material to a minor. The indictment was returned on August 23, 2018, and unsealed today. 

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commanding General David P. Glaser of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

According to the six-count indictment, Gorbsky was a Captain in the United States Army, stationed in Kuwait and in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, where he was assigned to work at a secure facility.  Gorbsky created and used e-mail accounts “Justin Smelder” and “John Bbeez,” and a social media account, “johnbeez66.”  Beginning in October 2015 and continuing through at least January 8, 2018, Gorbsky used those accounts to engage in online chat with hundreds of other users, many of whom identified themselves as minors between 12 and 17 years old.  Gorbsky told many of the individuals he chatted with that he was 19 years old, when in fact, he was between 28 and 31 years old.  Gorbsky’s chats with the users were sexually explicit.  Gorbsky repeatedly persuaded, enticed, and coerced the other users to send him sexually explicit images and to engage in sexually explicit video chat with him.  Gorbsky sent many of the users sexually explicit images and videos of himself.  On numerous occasions, Gorbsky accessed his accounts and engaged in sexually explicit chats using the unclassified computer system at his workplace.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that from September 22, 2017 through January 3, 2018, Gorbsky engaged in sexually explicit communications with a girl who said she was 12 years old, including during times the girl stated she was in school.  Gorbsky repeatedly asked the girl for sexually explicit images and to engage in sexually explicit video chat with him.  On October 26, 2017, Gorbsky e-mailed a sexually explicit video of himself to the girl.  The indictment alleges that Gorbsky also engaged in sexually explicit chat with four other girls who stated in their chats that they were ages 13, 17, 17, and 15, respectively.  Gorbsky repeatedly asked the girls to send him sexually explicit images of themselves and to engage in sexually explicit video chat with him.  Gorbsky also  e-mailed sexually explicit videos of himself to one of the girls who said she was 17 years old. 

If convicted, Gorbsky faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison for each count of enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity, and a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for transfer of obscene material to a minor.  Gorbsky is scheduled to have an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson on August 27, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. 

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 Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and Army CID for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Derek E. Hines, who are prosecuting the federal case.

Greenbelt, Maryland –Dontaze Purnell Drake, age 41, of Baltimore, Maryland pleaded guilty today to involuntary manslaughter.  Drake admitted that he caused a fatal collision on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway on September 24, 2017, in which he was speeding, his blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit in Maryland, and he was driving on a suspended license. 

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Chief Robert D. MacLean of the U.S. Park Police. 

According to his plea agreement, at approximately 3:00 a.m. on September 24, 2017, Drake caused a fatal collision on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.  Drake was traveling southbound at approximately 33 miles per hour over the posted speed limit when he attempted to pass a vehicle traveling in the right lane.  Drake struck the rear of an SUV traveling in the right lane.  As a result of the collision, one of the four passengers in the SUV was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.  An autopsy determined that the cause of death was multiple injuries sustained in the crash caused by Drake.

Drake’s blood-alcohol level was .12%, which is above the legal limit in Maryland, and he also had .03 mg/L of MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, in his system at the time.  In addition, a search of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration database revealed that Drake’s license had been suspended.

Drake faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison, which U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled for November 8, 2018, at 2:00 p.m.                   

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised U.S. Park Police for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Hollis Raphael Weisman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Chimaobim Nwachukwu, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – James Atkinson, age 28, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to an armed robbery.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Interim Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, on February 23, 2018, Atkinson went to a Baltimore car rental agency and requested that the security deposit for a vehicle “his wife” had recently rented be returned to him.  In reality, “his wife” was a drug customer of Atkinson’s, whom Atkinson would direct to rent cars on his behalf in return for drugs and/or cash. The rental agency employee checked the company’s records and discovered that the rental car had been returned with multiple bullet holes in the car door.  The employee advised that the security deposit would not be returned until the repairs had been paid for.  Atkinson then asked if there were any vehicles available to rent, but there were no vehicles available.  The employee asked Atkinson to leave because he was closing up for the night. 

Atkinson pointed a revolver at the employee and demanded money.  Atkinson stole $405 from the employee’s desk drawer, and the victim’s phone and wallet, which contained $207.  Atkinson then demanded a car and the victim advised that there were keys to a car in the back room.  Atkinson went back and took the keys to a black Hyundai Elantra, then produced a stun gun and began to shock the victim on the arm while he was kneeling on the floor.  Atkinson ordered the victim into an adjacent room.  The victim walked into the room, then ran up the stairs.  Atkinson left the office and departed in the Elantra.

The victim ran downstairs, called 911, and began cancelling the credit cards that were in his stolen wallet.  Investigation determined that Atkinson attempted to make two unauthorized purchases using a credit and debit card stolen from the victim.  One of the attempts was on the website of a large retailer and included Atkinson’s name, address, and telephone number.

Atkinson and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Atkinson will be sentenced to 12 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for November 28, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Burden H. Walker and James G. Warwick, who are prosecuting the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Ronald L. Coleman, age 70, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty on August 21, 2018, to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  Coleman has four previous federal convictions—one for mail fraud and three for access device fraud and related crimes.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to his plea agreement, from at least July 23, 2015 to May 7, 2017, Coleman used the personal identifying information of more than 10 victims to request that financial institutions send replacement credit and debit cards, and to apply for new credit cards.  Coleman had the cards sent to addresses in Baltimore where he lived or had access.  Most of the requests were made by phone and some of those requests were recorded.  When calling financial institutions, Coleman pretended to be the account holder and used the name, birthdate, social security number, address and telephone number of the true account holder, which Coleman had fraudulently obtained and was not authorized to use.  Coleman also admitted that he made some requests online through the Internet. Using the victims’ identifying information, Coleman successfully obtained and sought to obtain more than two dozen credit cards from financial institutions and other entities.  

In addition, in February 2015, Coleman fraudulently obtained a vehicle loan totaling approximately $22,132, which he used to purchase a Mercedes Benz SL.  On the loan documents, Coleman falsely represented that he had resided at an address in Baltimore for 15 years, and had been employed for eight years at a graphics company in “sales.”  In fact, in February 2015 Coleman was completing his sentence for a federal fraud conviction for which he had been incarcerated since December 2011.  Coleman subsequently defaulted on the loan, causing the loan company a loss of approximately $9,600.

Coleman’s fraudulent activities resulted in an actual loss of at least $11,076.34, and an intended loss of more than $39,000.

Coleman and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Coleman will be sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for Coleman on January 30, 2019, at 2:30 p.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana J. Brusca and Tamera L. Fine, who are prosecuting the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal jury convicted Darius Eric Wilder, age 41, of Silver Spring, Maryland, on August 16, 2018, on charges related to the firebombing of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment.

The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department, and Fire Chief Scott Goldstein of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

According to the information presented at Wilder’s four-day trial, on April 15, 2017, at approximately 9:22 p.m. the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service responded to a fire on the balcony of an apartment in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which they located and extinguished.  Investigators from the Montgomery County Office of Fire and Explosives Investigation conducted an investigation and located two incendiary bombs, commonly known as Molotov cocktails.  One of the Molotov cocktails was on the balcony of the apartment, and damaged the wooden decking and children’s bikes.  The second Molotov cocktail was on the ground below.  The liquids within the bottles as well as wick material found in the debris field were submitted to the ATF Forensic Science Laboratory, which later confirmed the presence of gasoline.  The ATF National Laboratory Center also conducted DNA analysis of the bottles and found that Wilder was a possible contributor to the DNA profile found on one of the Molotov cocktails. 

According to trial testimony, the individual who leased the apartment had recently attempted to end a relationship with Wilder, but Wilder continued to contact the woman.  The evidence showed that on April 15, 2017, Wilder had texted and called the woman repeatedly, with the last text occurring at 9:13 p.m.  Cell location data established that Wilder’s cell phone was located in the area of the apartment complex at around the time of the fire.

Witnesses testified that on April 18, 2017, law enforcement attempted to stop Wilder’s vehicle, but Wilder rammed a police vehicle and ran away.  Montgomery County Police officers pursued and arrested Wilder. 

Wilder had a previous felony conviction and was therefore prohibited from possessing destructive devices.

Wilder faces a maximum of 10 in prison for being a felon in possession of a destructive device; a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison for arson affecting interstate commerce; and a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison for use and carry of a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence and possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence.  U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing on December 6, 2018 at 10:00 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.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST) for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Sykes and Nicolas Mitchell, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Steven Murn, age 50, of Pasadena, Maryland, today to 12 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for armed bank robbery and attempted bank robbery.  Judge Russell also ordered Murn to pay restitution of $1,210.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.

According to information presented to the court at his plea and sentencing hearings, on August 19, 2016, Murn attempted to rob a bank in the 3200 block of Pasadena, Maryland.  Murn entered the bank wearing a wig and a baseball cap and carrying a bag.  He went to the check-writing station in the lobby, then to a teller station.  The teller asked Murn to remove his hat and he complied.  Murn then placed his bag on the teller counter and said “C’mon!”  The teller said, “No.”  Murn grabbed the bag, left the bank, and ran away.

On August 29, 2016, Murn robbed a bank in the 8100 block of Jumpers Hole Road in Pasadena.  Murn entered the bank wearing an orange safety vest over a tee shirt and a hard hat with a towel draped beneath it, and carrying a bag.  After writing a note on a deposit slip that read, “Bomb all money now please,” Murn gave the teller the note, placed a fake bomb on the counter in front of a teller station, and demanded money.  The teller opened the cash drawer and Murn reached over the counter and removed bundles of cash.  Murn then left the bank and drove away in his car, which was parked nearby.  He was arrested the next day in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the Court, Murn assaulted a Pennsylvania State Trooper at the time of his arrest in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and threatened to kill the officers.  Murn was later taken to the hospital, complaining of chest pain, where on September 3, 2016, he attempted to disarm an officer by grabbing his pistol and holster from the officer’s duty belt.  The officer struggled with Murn to recover the weapon.  On that same date, while being transported to the Franklin County Jail, Murn kicked out a window of the van, shattering the glass, and attempted to wriggle out of the van through the window.  Murn was placed back in the van and transported to jail.

Judge Russell ordered that Murn’s federal sentence run concurrent to the remaining sentence Murn is serving in Pennsylvania for attempted escape, disarming an officer, and making threats to the police.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Pennsylvania State Police for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Maddox, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Demetrius William Harris, a/k/a “Demetrius Diggs,” age 34, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty on August 15, 2018, to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.  Diggs had five previous convictions for drug distribution or violent crimes.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, at 11 p.m. on September 11, 2017, Baltimore Police officers in an unmarked vehicle saw Diggs driving a car with temporary Texas tags traveling at an extremely high rate of speed.  The officers activated their vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens to initiate a traffic stop but Diggs sped away in an attempt to flee from police.  Officers followed, but terminated their pursuit after Diggs drove his car across the median into a lane of oncoming traffic.  Shortly thereafter, Diggs crashed his car head-on into another vehicle, then attempted to back up.  Diggs’s car became stuck when he reversed it onto a grassy median between the lanes of traffic.  As officers arrived on the scene, a man exited from the passenger side of Diggs’s car and ran away.  Officers removed Diggs from the driver’s seat and took him into custody.  Officers recovered two cell phones from Diggs.  A search of Diggs’s vehicle recovered a black hat, black ski mask, and black trench coat on the floor next to the front passenger seat; two additional cell phones from the center console, as well as two clear plastic sandwich bags that held 49 clear gel capsules containing heroin.  On the grass just outside the passenger side of Diggs’s vehicle, officers found two loaded firearms: a 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun.  The pistol had been reported stolen from a home in Fayetteville, North Carolina on June 27, 2017.

According to court documents, the man who fled from Diggs’s car was located by police in a nearby neighborhood and subsequently identified as Percy Eugene Johnson, age 29, of Baltimore.  Johnson pleaded guilty on July 24, 2018 to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled Johnson’s sentencing on October 23, 2018, at 3:00 p.m.

Diggs and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Diggs will be sentenced to between eight and 10 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for November 26, 2018 at 3:00 p.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.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey J. Izant and Patricia C. McLane, who are prosecuting the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Travis Wilmoth, age 31, of Fayetteville, North Carolina pleaded guilty today to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.  Wilmoth admitted that he traveled from North Carolina to Maryland to engage in sexually explicit conduct with a 15-year-old girl.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to his plea agreement, on March 2, 2018, the FBI received a telephone call from the mother of a 15-year-old minor female who had recently discovered that Wilmoth had been using social media to chat online with her daughter since November 2017, and those conversations had become sexual in February 2018.  With the permission of the girl and her mother, FBI agents took control of the girl’s account and communicated with Wilmoth posing as the minor female.  During the ensuing chats, Wilmoth repeatedly asked the girl to take “naughty” pictures and send them to him.  On March 14, 2108, Wilmoth discussed traveling to Maryland to visit the girl and engaging in sexual acts with her.  Between March 7 and April 11, 2018, Wilmoth sent the girl sexually explicit images and videos of himself.  On May 11, 2018, Wilmoth drove from North Carolina to Maryland to meet with the girl with the intent to engage in sexual activity.  The FBI agent posing as the girl had provided Wilmoth with an address in an apartment complex in Baltimore County, Maryland.  Wilmoth arrived at that location with condoms he had previously purchased and was arrested as he approached the front door.

As part of his plea agreement, Wilmoth 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).

Wilmoth and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Wilmoth will be sentenced to nine years in prison followed by 25 years of supervised release.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for December 7, 2018 at 12:00 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 Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Wilkinson, who is prosecuting the federal case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Tynisha Martin Kadiri, age 40, of Baltimore, Maryland, on August 13, 2018, to four years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for assisting in the filing of false income tax returns and for failing to file corporate tax returns.  Judge Bredar also ordered Kadiri to pay restitution of $90,895.  A federal jury convicted Kadiri on April 16, 2018.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

Evidence presented at the six-day trial showed that Kadiri, who owned three tax preparation businesses in west Baltimore, filed false and fraudulent tax returns for her client-taxpayers.  These false returns included business receipts that the taxpayers did not receive, business losses that the taxpayers did not incur, and false or fictitious businesses.  As a result of these false statements, Kadiri’s clients received larger refunds than those to which they were entitled.  In addition, evidence presented at trial proved that Kadiri did not file federal corporate income tax returns for her businesses for tax years 2014 and 2015.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the IRS-CI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Maddox, who prosecuted the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – On August 13, 2018, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Cory Nicholas Skinner, age 33, of Pikesville, Maryland, to seven years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams of more of heroin as well as quantities of cocaine and buprenorphine.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; and Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division.

According to his plea agreement, while investigating the death of a University of Arkansas police officer, a detective with the Conway (Arkansas) Police Department found an opened Priority Mail package shipped from Baltimore, Maryland, under the decedent’s head (the “Arkansas package”).

During the investigation of the Arkansas package, Postal Inspectors identified two other Priority Mail packages purchased in the same transaction and destined for addresses in North Carolina (the “North Carolina package”) and Arizona (the “Arizona package”), that were related to the Arkansas package.  The recipient of the North Carolina package told investigators that he used Bitcoin to purchase heroin from DoggFood, an online vendor on the dark web.  The North Carolina package contained approximately 2.8 grams of heroin, and the Arizona package contained approximately four buprenorphine units.  Fingerprints found on both packages belonged to Skinner.    

During their surveillance of Skinner between September 2017 and January 2018, Postal Inspectors intercepted over 20 packages containing a total of approximately 47.5 grams of heroin and 81 buprenorphine units that Skinner sent through the United States mail.  Additionally, Postal Inspectors discovered that Skinner did not act alone to distribute controlled substances through the mail.  Instead, Skinner used individuals that he knew were unusually vulnerable due to a physical or mental condition to drop off packages containing heroin and cocaine at Baltimore post offices in July 2017 and August 2017, respectively.

By January 2018, Skinner had sold approximately 290.5 grams of heroin, 97.5 grams of cocaine, and 216 units of buprenorphine as the dark web vendor DoggFood. 

When officers searched Skinner’s residence, they found the laptop he used to run the dark web vendor DoggFood, printed labels, approximately $6,600 in cash, plastic baggies, a digital scale, heat and bag sealers, a large amount of Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express shipping supplies, $23.75 in postal stamps, a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm firearm, and 12 rounds of Luger 9mm ammunition. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division, which led the investigation, and the Postal Inspectors in other field divisions that provided assistance—including the Charlotte, San Francisco, Seattle, and Phoenix Divisions, as well as the Fort Worth Division - Little Rock Domicile, and the National Headquarters Cyber Crimes Unit—for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur recognized the Conway (Arkansas) Police Department; the Brunswick County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Office; the Baltimore County Police Department; the Maryland State Police; and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Baltimore and Raleigh Field Offices for their contributions in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Samika N. Boyd, who prosecuted the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Raul Ernesto Landaverde-Giron, a/k/a “Humilde,” a/k/a “Decente,” age 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland, today to two consecutive sentences of life in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in connection with his gang activity as a member of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and other violent crimes, namely murder in aid of racketeering; conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering; using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and murder resulting from the use, carrying, and discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence.  A federal jury convicted Landaverde-Giron of those charges on March 14, 2018, after a three-week trial.

The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County, Maryland, Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Captain Amal Awad, Interim Chief of the Hyattsville City Police Department; Chief Edward Hargis of the Frederick Police Department; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.  Evidence presented at trial showed that branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County, Maryland.  Landaverde-Giron was a member of the MS-13 Normandie Locos Salvatrucha Clique. 

According to evidence presented at the trial, from at least 2012 through at least 2016, MS-13 members planned and committed numerous crimes, including murders and attempted murders in Prince George’s County and Frederick County.  Gang members also extorted owners of illegal businesses, among other crimes.  Witnesses testified that MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence to maintain membership and discipline within the gang.  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible.  Serious violations of MS-13 rules, such as cooperating with law enforcement, could result in the issuance of a “greenlight,” or order to be killed.  Participation in violent acts directed at rival gangs, or as directed by gang leadership, increased the respect accorded to that member.

Trial evidence showed that on November 30, 2013, Landaverde-Giron, along with two other Normandie Clique members, murdered an individual in Frederick, Maryland, who had fled El Salvador to escape a greenlight imposed by MS-13 members in El Salvador.  After a co-conspirator recognized the victim in Frederick, Normandie Clique members called an MS-13 leader in prison in El Salvador to confirm that the greenlight was still in effect.  A co-conspirator then lured the victim to a wooded area in Frederick, where he shot the victim in the head and Landaverde-Giron and another co-conspirator stabbed the victim in the face and neck.  Landaverde-Giron was promoted within the Normandie Clique for his participation in this murder.

Landaverde-Giron pleaded guilty today to illegally reentering the U.S. after having been deported, and was sentenced to six months in prison.  Landaverde-Giron has been detained since his arrest.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI Baltimore, Frederick Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department, Hyattsville City Police Department, and Montgomery County Police Department, and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Lindsay Eyler Kaplan and William D. Moomau, and Trial Attorney Francesca Liquori with the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who prosecuted the case.

Raul Ernesto Landaverde-Giron, aka “Humilde,” and “Decente,” 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte to two consecutive sentences of life in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in connection with his gang activity as a member of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and other violent crimes, namely murder in aid of racketeering; conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering; using, carrying and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and murder resulting from the use, carrying and discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence.  A federal jury convicted Landaverde-Giron of those charges on March 14, after a three-week trial.

The conviction was announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County, Maryland Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Captain Amal Awad, Interim Chief of the Hyattsville City Police Department; Chief Edward Hargis of the Frederick Police Department; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.  Evidence presented at trial showed that branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Frederick County, Maryland.  Landaverde-Giron was a member of the MS-13 Normandie Locos Salvatrucha Clique. 

According to evidence presented at the trial, from at least 2012 through at least 2016, MS-13 members planned and committed numerous crimes, including murders and attempted murders in Prince George’s County and Frederick County.  Gang members also extorted owners of illegal businesses, among other crimes.  Witnesses testified that MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence to maintain membership and discipline within the gang.  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible.  Serious violations of MS-13 rules, such as cooperating with law enforcement, could result in the issuance of a “greenlight,” or order to be killed.  Participation in violent acts directed at rival gangs, or as directed by gang leadership, increased the respect accorded to that member.

Trial evidence showed that on Nov. 30, 2013, Landaverde-Giron, along with two other Normandie Clique members, murdered an individual in Frederick, Maryland, who had fled El Salvador to escape a greenlight imposed by MS-13 members in El Salvador.  After a co-conspirator recognized the victim in Frederick, Normandie Clique members called an MS-13 leader in prison in El Salvador to confirm the greenlight was still in effect.  A co-conspirator then lured the victim to a wooded area in Frederick, where he shot the victim in the head and Landaverde-Giron and another co-conspirator stabbed the victim in the face and neck.  Landaverde-Giron was promoted within the Normandie Clique for his participation in this murder.

Landaverde-Giron pleaded guilty today to illegally reentering the United States after having been deported, and was sentenced to six months in prison.  Landaverde-Giron has been detained since his arrest.

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

The investigation was conducted by HSI Baltimore, Frederick Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department, Hyattsville City Police Department, and Montgomery County Police Department, and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau and Lindsay Eyler Kaplan of the District of Maryland.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Demetrius Darrius Rasberry, age 36, of Lanham, Maryland, to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for the robbery of a convenience store and for using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during the robbery.  Rasberry also committed two other armed robberies in Prince George’s County.  Judge Chuang ordered that Rasberry pay restitution in the full amount of the loss.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, on April 7, 2017, Rasberry entered a convenience store in Lanham, Maryland, pointed a semiautomatic handgun at an employee and demanded that the employee open the cash drawer.  Rasberry then went behind the counter, ordered the employee to the ground and stole $148.42.  After putting the money into a bag, Rasberry jumped over the counter and exited the store.  As he was leaving, Rasberry turned and fired two shots into the store, then ran away.

According to Rasberry’s plea and other court documents, on April 8, 2017, Rasberry and co-conspirator Jose Orlando Johnson robbed two liquor stores in Forestville and Camp Springs, Maryland, respectively.  In each robbery, Johnson drove to the location and waited outside while Rasberry entered the store and robbed the employee at gunpoint.  At the first liquor store, Rasberry stole $500 and two bottles of Hennessy cognac.  Rasberry then exited the store and got into the car driven by Johnson and the two drove away from the area.  In the second liquor store robbery, Johnson waited in the car at a gas station nearby while Rasberry entered the store and robbed the store employee at gunpoint.  At the second liquor store Rasberry stole approximately $1,080 and a bottle of Hennessy cognac packaged in a black and gold box.  Rasberry ran out of the store in the direction of the gas station where Johnson was waiting.  An officer who was in the area saw Rasberry fleeing toward the gas station.

Shortly after the robbery, officers canvassing the area located the car and could see two men in the front seats.  As they approached, Rasberry got out of the front passenger seat and attempted to run away.  Rasberry was quickly apprehended near the vehicle and arrested.  Johnson was located in the driver seat and his 5-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son were also present in the vehicle.

Rasberry and Johnson were taken in custody.  Officers searched Rasberry and Johnson and recovered $993.81 from Rasberry and $954 from Johnson.  From the vehicle, officers recovered: a loaded black and silver Ruger P89 9mmx19 semiautomatic handgun, with one unfired cartridge in the chamber, and eight cartridges in the magazine (front passenger floorboard); a Hennessy cognac decorative box with bottle inside (front passenger floorboard); and two unopened bottles of Hennessy cognac. 

Analysis performed by the Prince George’s County Firearms Examination Unit revealed that the shell casings recovered from the scene of the robbery at the convenience store were fired from the Ruger handgun recovered from the vehicle.

Johnson, age 26, of Suitland, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the liquor store robbery and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29, 2018.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Eyler Kaplan and Timothy F. Hagan, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury today convicted Army Sergeant Maliek Kearney, age 37, of San Antonio, Texas, for interstate travel to commit domestic violence resulting in the death of Karlyn Ramirez, and for using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. 

The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commanding General David P. Glaser of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.

According to the evidence presented at Kearney’s 11-day trial, Kearney was married to Karlyn Ramirez, an active-duty soldier of the United States Army assigned to Fort Meade, Maryland, and they had a four-month-old daughter together.  Ramirez was found shot to death in her off-post residence on the morning of August 25, 2015.  The baby had been placed in her arms.  Based on the evidence, the likely time of death was estimated to be the late evening hours of August 24, 2015. 

Witnesses testified that at the time of Ramirez’s death, the couple had recently separated and Ramirez had obtained a protective order through the Army prohibiting all contact between her and Kearney. 

Kearney was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.  The evidence presented at trial showed that on August 24, 2015, Kearney finished work in the early afternoon and traveled from South Carolina to Severn, Maryland.  Witnesses testified that Kearney entered Ramirez’s townhouse using his key and brandished a Taurus .357 caliber revolver.  According to trial testimony, Ramirez attempted to calm her husband but she reiterated that she did not want to see him again.  Kearney then shot Ramirez three times, killing her.  According to the evidence presented, Kearney then took off her pants and pulled down her underwear in an attempt to make it look like a sexual assault.  He also placed their four-month-old daughter in Ramirez’s arms.

Kearney’s girlfriend, Delores Delgado, testified at trial that she provided the firearm that killed Ramirez and allowed Kearney to drive her car from South Carolina to Maryland to commit the murder. The evidence showed that Delgado also purchased large gas cans for Kearney to take with him, so that he would not have to stop for gas and risk being seen.  According to witness testimony, during the murder, Kearney’s girlfriend, who lived in Florida at the time, stayed at Kearney’s apartment in South Carolina with his phone and vehicle so that it would appear that he was in South Carolina at the time of the murder.  After the murder, Delgado and a third party went to a waterway in Florida and disposed of the firearm, shell casings, Kearney’s clothing worn during the murder, and the key he used to enter the townhouse.  Delgado also dismantled the revolver and took steps to obliterate the serial number.  The firearm was subsequently recovered by law enforcement divers and forensic testing determined that it was indeed the gun used by Kearney to shoot Karlyn Ramirez to death.  

Dolores Delgado, age 33, of San Antonio, Texas, previously pled guilty in federal court for interstate travel to commit domestic violence resulting in death, in connection with the death of Karlyn Ramirez.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for Delgado on September 7, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.

Kearney faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Judge Russell scheduled sentencing for Kearney on November 16, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.  Kearney remains detained.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI Baltimore, Army CID, and Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation, and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and FBI San Antonio for their assistance.  Mr. Hur also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Kenneth S. Clark, who are prosecuting the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Richard Butler III, age 36, of Landover, Maryland today to 243 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of an explosive; malicious use of explosive materials; and transportation of explosive materials with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate, in connection with the attempted firebombing of his girlfriend’s apartment.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Chief Benjamin M. Barksdale; and Chief Hank Stawinski of the Prince George’s County Police Department. 

According to his plea agreement, on March 4, 2016, at 3:25 a.m., the Prince George’s County Fire Department (PGFD) were called to an apartment complex in Landover, Maryland for an automated general fire alarm, and located the remnants of a fire in the master bedroom of apartment 102.  The fire had been extinguished by the fire sprinkler system prior to the arrival of the PGFD.  Firefighters discovered that the master bedroom window had been broken and requested fire investigators from the Prince George’s County Fire Investigations Division to examine the apartment.

Fire investigators located a concrete brick inside the master bedroom on the floor between the bed and window and near the brick, an improvised incendiary device—specifically, a clear plastic water bottle containing an unknown liquid, and a paper towel protruding from the mouth of the bottle.  A similar plastic bottle was found melted to the top of the burned bed.  Outside, investigators located a blue plastic one-quart motor oil container.  The ATF Forensic Science Laboratory examined the plastic bottles, which revealed the presence of gasoline.

At the time of the incident, two adults and three minors were in the apartment, which was leased by Butler’s girlfriend.  She was not in the apartment at that time of the fire because she was at the Prince George’s County Police Department in connection with a complaint of sexual abuse involving Butler and her minor daughter.  Butler’s girlfriend reported that she had last seen Butler at 11:28 p.m. and he was a wearing a black coat, blue jeans, and red, white, and blue sneakers.

Investigators reviewed surveillance videos from a nearby gas station which showed an individual wearing the clothing described by Butler’s girlfriend who pumped gas into three containers—two of which appeared to be clear plastic water bottles, and the third, a blue container which he retrieved from a trash can located next to the pump.  The individual then entered the restroom and exited with paper towels in his hand, got a white plastic bag from the cashier and placed the containers in the plastic bag and walked away.  During an interview with investigators on March 7, 2016, Butler’s girlfriend was shown a screen-capture from the gas station’s surveillance footage of the individual standing near the gas pumps, which she identified as Butler.

A subsequent review of the ATF National Firearms Registrations and Transfer Records determined that there were no destructive devices legally registered to Butler.  In addition, Butler was prohibited from possessing destructive devices due to a previous felony conviction.                    

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the ATF, the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Sykes, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – United States District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Donald Stepp, age 51, of Middle River, Maryland, today to five years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and other controlled dangerous substances.  Stepp obtained the drugs from former Baltimore Police Department (BPD) Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, and from robberies in which he participated with Jenkins and other BPD officers.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, Stepp operated Double D Bail Bonds and was an associate of former BPD Sergeant Wayne Jenkins.  From 2015-2017, Stepp obtained significant quantities of narcotics from Jenkins and robbed citizens of their property, including drugs, cash, and watches. 

To facilitate the robberies and drug trafficking, Jenkins brought Stepp to search locations in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, and falsely represented to other law enforcement agencies that Stepp was an officer with BPD.  Jenkins would travel to Stepp’s residence after he had robbed citizens and Stepp would store the stolen drugs in his tool shed.  Stepp then sold the stolen drugs and returned hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash proceeds to BPD officers.  Jenkins took a portion of the proceeds from the drug sales and paid other officers in the BPD who participated in the robberies with Jenkins and Stepp.

On December 14, 2017, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Stepp’s residence and recovered approximately 423 grams of crack cocaine, 262 grams of cocaine, 14 grams of heroin, 28 grams of MDMA, digital scales, packaging material, a large sum of cash, and several high-value watches.

On June 7, 2018, Wayne Jenkins was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for racketeering conspiracy; racketeering; robbery; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation; and deprivation of rights under color of law.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek E. Hines and Leo J. Wise, who prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.