Eastern District of Michigan

DETROIT – A former University of Michigan doctor was sentenced today to 10 years in prison on child exploitation charges, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. 

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Steve Francis, Department of Homeland Security Investigation (HSI).

Sentenced was Mark Hoeltzel, 47, of Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Hoeltzel pleaded guilty on September 13, 2018 before U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow to online enticement of a minor.

According to court records, in 2017, Hoeltzel, a pediatric rheumatoid arthritis doctor, created a Facebook account for a fictitious teenage boy and used this persona to engage in online conversations with numerous minor girls across the country.  During these conversations, Hoeltzel was able to convince the minor girls to produce child pornography. 

“The Department of Justice is committed to the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable members of our society – our children,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “This defendant pretended to be a teenage boy in order to sexually exploit minors, many the same age as the patients he treated.”

"The sentencing handed down in this case reflects the serious nature of the crimes committed, which are particularly troubling given the defendant's role in the community as a physician,'" said Steve Francis. “Mr. Hoeltzel abandoned his oath to "do no harm" and instead sought opportunities to harm and exploit innocent children. This case shows that HSI is committed to investigating child predators regardless of the positions they hold in society.”

 This case was investigated by agents of the HSI and detectives from the University of Michigan Police Department, Special Victims Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward prosecuted the case.

 

A Detroit man was sentenced to 36 months in prison today for having conspired to engage in mail fraud and being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and Wanda M. Stokes, Director of the Talent Investment Agency

According to court records, Charles H. Alexander, 54, of Detroit, participated in a multi-year scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits. As part of the scheme, Alexander obtained personal identifying information of third parties and caused unemployment benefits to be issued in the names of those third parties—even though those individuals has no legitimate entitlement to such benefits.  Alexander also impersonated others in order to withdraw fraudulently-obtained unemployment insurance benefits.

Alexander, who has prior convictions for illegal weapons activity, drug activity, and aggravated domestic violence, was also sentenced for having illegally possessed a loaded firearm.

“Unemployment insurance fraud hurts honest employers and employees by driving up rates and making it more difficult for legitimate claimants to receive their benefits,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. “Charles Alexander took that damaging fraud activity and made it even worse when he chose to endanger others through his illicit possession of a loaded gun. “

“Charles Alexander and his co-conspirators defrauded the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency by falsely obtaining and using debit cards containing over $330,000 in unemployment insurance benefits issued in the names of claimants who were not entitled to such benefits.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and state workforce agencies to protect the integrity of unemployment insurance benefit programs,” said James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

"Stealing unemployment benefits hurts us all," Wanda M. Stokes, Director of the Talent Investment Agency said. "We are vigilant in bringing these criminals to justice and making certain they face stiff penalties for their crime. I commend Regulation Agent Kurt Eggly for his efforts to bring this criminal to justice," Stokes added.

Alexander was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman. Judge Friedman ordered Alexander to pay $330,561 in restitution.

The case was investigated by the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General and the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Yahkind.

Two brothers from Oregon, Ohio have been indicted on charges of distributing and conspiring to distribute fentanyl resulting in the overdose death of a victim, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Joining Schneider in the announcement were Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division, and Chief Charles F. McCormick IV, Monroe Police Department.

Charged were Harry Clifford Wise, 36, and James Allen Wise, 29.  Both were arrested on December 6, 2018, and appeared this afternoon in federal court for their detention hearings.

On April 1, 2017, the Monroe Police Department responded to a house in the 300 block of E. 4th St. on a report of a deceased 33 year old male.  An investigation revealed that the male victim had died of an opioid overdose.  The Monroe Police Department conducted a thorough investigation which uncovered that two brothers from Oregon, Ohio had supplied the victim with the opioids that took his life.  On December 4, 2018, the two brothers, Harry Wise III and James Wise, were indicted on charges of delivery of opioids causing death and conspiracy to distribute opioids. 

"Overdose deaths from heroin and fentanyl have become a national epidemic, including here in Michigan," Schneider said.  "Law enforcement agencies are working closely together to investigate and prosecute traffickers who are contributing to this epidemic."

DEA Special Agent in Charge Plancon said, “It is a priority of DEA to identify and investigate those who distribute drugs that result in overdose and death.  The charges announced today should make it clear to all drug dealers that they will face consequences, for the harm that they inflict on the user and on society.  The Monroe Police Department deserves significant credit for devoting the time and effort needed to successfully investigate and bring these individuals to prosecution.”

Monroe Police Chief Charles F. McCormick IV stated, “I would like to thank the DEA for their partnership in this investigation, and a special thank you to MPD’s D/Lt. Derek Lindsay for his relentless efforts to seek justice in this case”.                

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This investigation was led by the Monroe Police Department in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lievense.  

UPDATE

Defendants Rajendra Bothra, Ganiu Edu, David Lewis and Christopher Russo, were acquitted of the charges alleged in the indictment described in the press release below.

 

 

 

A grand jury returned an indictment Tuesday that charges six doctors as part of an investigation into a $464 million health care fraud scheme that involved over 13 million unlawfully prescribed opioid prescription drugs, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office and Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI’s Detroit Division.

The 56-count Indictment charges that Dr. Rajendra Bothra, 77, of Bloomfield Hills, owned and operated a pain clinic in Warren, Michigan that sought to bill insurance companies for the maximum number of services and procedures possible with no regard to the patients’ needs.  Dr. Eric Backos, 65, of Bloomfield Hills; Dr. Ganiu Edu, 50, of Southfield; Dr. David Lewis, 41, of Detroit; Dr. Christopher Russo, 50 of Birmingham; and Dr. Ronald Kufner, 68 of Ada, all worked at the clinic in varying capacities but each prescribed opioid pain medication to induce patients to come in for office visits.  Once there, in order to receive the highly addictive opioid prescriptions, patients were forced to undergo ancillary services, such as painful facet joint and facet block injections

“The damage that opioid distribution has done to our community and to the United States as a whole has been devastating,” said U.S. Attorney Schneider.  “Healthcare professionals who prey on patients who are addicted to opioids in order to line their pockets is particularly egregious.  We will continue to prosecute such individuals who choose to violate federal law and their ethical oaths.”

 “Our enforcement actions underscore the commitment of the FBI and our partners to investigate vigorously physicians who use opioid prescriptions to induce patients to submit to unnecessary medical procedures,” said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Division. “Today’s charges should signal to the community that we take these cases seriously and I encourage anyone who has information about this case - or about any other activity of this type - to contact the FBI at 313-965-2323.”

“Physicians who engage in the illegal and negligent prescribing of controlled substance in order to unjustly enrich themselves of taxpayer dollars will be held accountable” said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Chicago Region. “The OIG will continue to prioritize the investigation of allegations involving fraud schemes that incorporate the illegitimate prescribing of Opioid medications in order to protect the health and safety of patients. We will continue to work diligently with our federal, state and local partners to preserve the integrity of federal funded health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and the people that these programs support.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the City of Warren Police Department, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield - Corporate and Financial Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brandy R. McMillion. 

McMillion serves as the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit Prosecutor for the Eastern District of Michigan.  This Department of Justice initiative uses data to target and prosecute individuals that are contributing to the nation’s opioid crisis.  The Eastern District of Michigan is one of the twelve districts included in the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit. 

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Eight men from around the country were sentenced today and yesterday for participating in an international child pornography production ring, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Slater of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division.

            Sentenced were:

• Christian Maire, age 40 Binghamton, New York, was sentenced to 40 years
• Arthur Simpatico, age 47 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, was sentenced to 38 years
• Jonathan Negroni Rodriguez, age 37 West Hollywood, California, was sentenced to 35 years
• Michal Figura, age 36 Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 31 ¼ years
• Odell Ortega, age 37 Miami, Florida, was sentenced to 37 ½ years 
• Brett Jonathan Sinta, age 36 Hickory, North Carolina, was sentenced to 30 ½ years
• Caleb Young, age 38 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was sentenced to 30 years
• Daniel Walton, age 34 Saginaw, Texas, was sentenced to 30 ½ years

 

In addition to their prison sentences and terms of supervised release, all of the defendants were ordered to pay $5000 in restitution to each of the identified victims, reaching a total of over one million dollars.  United States District Judge Stephen J. Murphy, III of the Eastern District of Michigan imposed the sentences.

 According to court records, these eight men worked together from 2012 through 2017, with other men both inside and outside of the United States, to lure juvenile girls to an unmonitored video chat website and then sexually exploit them.  The men recruited the victims from common social media platforms by pretending to be teenage boys interested in chatting with the girls in real time.  Once the victims arrived in the chatrooms, the group—all pretending to be teenagers—worked together to build trust and convince the children to engage in sexually explicit conduct on web cameras.  Group members then recorded that activity.  The girls were unaware that the men were making recordings, or what they dubbed “captures,” of the sexual activity.

Through their scheme, the group successfully targeted hundreds of minors, some as young as ten years old.  The forensic examination of their devices recovered over 450,000 child exploitive and child pornography videos of these minors, some of whom were present for the sentencing hearing and made statements to the Court.  Still other victims have not been identified.  The FBI has so-far identified more than two dozen victims in the United States.

“These predators committed truly horrific crimes against innocent girls and they deserve decades in prison.  Shockingly, some of these defendants have young children themselves,” said United States Attorney Schneider.  “Parents, please speak with your children about the dangers of chatting online so we can keep all of our children safe.”

“Those who abuse children by enticing them to produce pornographic images of themselves cause grave harm to their victims and to our community,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Slater. “The FBI, our partners in the SEMTEC task force, and our global law enforcement network will continue to work together to identify these criminal networks and aggressively pursue charges against those who victimize and exploit innocent children.”

Assistant United States Attorneys April Russo and Kevin Mulcahy of the Eastern District of Michigan prosecuted the case.  The FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes task force investigated the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

The Detroit One collaboration of local, state, and federal law enforcement has led to the convictions of two members of a Detroit street gang known as “Bandgang” for attempted murder in aid of racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.

 Joining in the announcement was Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Martez Bailey, 24, of Detroit, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson. Bailey’s plea agreement calls for a sentence of 25 to 30 years in prison. Bailey’s co-defendant, and fellow Bandgang member, Khalil Wilson, 25, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the drive-by shooting. Wilson’s plea agreement also calls for a sentence of 25 to 30 years in prison.

According to court records, Bailey and Wilson were both part of Bandgang, a local street gang on the west side of Detroit. On June 21, 2016, Bailey and Wilson drove to Biltmore Street in Detroit and fired repeatedly into a house, hoping to kill two rival gang members. Bailey fired a .45 caliber handgun repeatedly while Wilson unloaded an Uzi with an extended magazine capable of holding 50 rounds. A woman in the house unrelated to the gangs was severely injured in the shooting. The attempted murder stemmed from a dispute with two rival gangs, Trust No One (TNO) and Too Much Cash (TMC), prompted, in large part, by jealously over credit card fraud, as well as an earlier shooting by Bandgang members in February 2016 that left a five-year-old girl permanently disabled.

“This type of credit card fraud and identity theft is actually a deadly crime, because gangs are using extreme violence to protect their illegal income,” United States Attorney Matthew Schneider said.  “But if gangs in Michigan think they will get off easy, they are wrong - several gang members have been sentenced to a decade or more in prison for credit card fraud.”

This case is the latest in the FBI Violent Gang Task Force’s investigation into Bandgang. In total, twenty-four members and associates of the gang have been charged in sixteen different cases and have received sentences ranging from 36 to 154 months on charges related to attempted murder, credit card fraud, identity theft, firearm offenses, and obstruction of justice. Four different credit card labs have been seized from Bandgang members during the investigation (not counting individual skimmers and embossers), and over 15,000 stolen credit card accounts have been linked to Bandgang members.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shane Cralle and Terrence Haugabook.

The owner of a Michigan trucking business was sentenced today in federal court in Detroit, Michigan, to 33 months in prison for wire fraud and willfully failing to file a tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Matthew J. Schneider, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.

According to court documents, Arshawn Kenard Hall, a resident of Farmington, Michigan, operated a truck hauling business called RAMA Enterprise Inc. (RAMA). An automobile company hired Hall to transport plastic crates filled with automobile parts.  After transporting the parts, Hall was required to return the empty crates to a facility in Detroit. Instead, Hall took the plastic crates and sold them to a plastic recycling company for approximately $460,000.  The value of the stolen plastic crates to their owner was approximately $2,921,000.

Hall also willfully failed to file a 2012 federal income tax return on behalf of RAMA and failed to pay the taxes due.  The tax loss associated with Hall’s conduct is $142,069.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. Court Judge Terrence G. Berg ordered Hall to serve three years of supervised release, to pay restitution of $2,919,265 to the automobile company and $142,069 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Schneider commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Abigail Burger Chingos and Kenneth C. Vert and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adriana Dydell, who prosecuted the case. 

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.

The former National President of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Club (DDMC), Jeff Garvin Smith, aka “Fat Dog,” 64, of Mt. Clemens, Michigan was sentenced November 13, 2018, to life in prison by the Honorable Judge Robert H. Cleland in Detroit, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Field Office.

Smith’s sentencing arises out of his having been convicted of several offenses after a six-month jury trial in 2014-2015 in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan.   Following a second, four-month trial in 2015, additional members of the Devils Diciples were convicted.  In total, eight members of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Club were convicted during two trials, including the national president (Smith), the national vice president and national warlord, and three others, for their participation in various criminal acts, including RICO, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, methamphetamine production and trafficking, illegal firearms offenses, obstruction of justice, subornation of perjury and other federal offenses. 

“This brings to a close, in part, the years’ long effort of the federal government to bring down the leadership of a dangerous organized crime biker gang that terrorized innocent victims throughout the United States.  For over three decades, the Devils Diciples spread fear, violence and their poisonous drugs throughout Michigan and the country,” said United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “The extent of the crimes committed by members of this outlaw motorcycle gang is staggering, and they avoided prosecution over the years through witness intimidation and obstruction of justice at all levels.  Very appropriately, the National President of the Devils Diciples will spend the rest of his life in federal prison. These sentencings help secure justice for the communities and all the individuals they harmed.”

“The life sentence imposed on this Defendant is a clear indication of the seriousness of the violence he engaged in and how committed the law enforcement community is to stop this kind of organized violence,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Detroit Division of the FBI. “The FBI, our state and local partners and the US Attorney’s offices across the region will not rest until all who would harm the peace and safety of our residents are brought to justice, regardless of where those threats originate.“

In addition to Smith, Devils Diciples National Warlord Cary Dale Vandiver, a/k/a “Gun Control,” 59, of Sand Mountain, Alabama, was sentenced to life imprisonment on November 1, 2018, methamphetamine cook Patrick Michael McKeoun, a/k/a “Magoo,” 59, of Birmingham, Alabama, was sentenced to 372 months on November 8, 2018, and Alabama leader, Michael Rich, a/k/a “Tatu,” 62 of Anniston, Alabama was sentenced to 360 months imprisonment on October 26, 2018. 

Awaiting sentencing are four remaining defendants who were found guilty by a jury of engaging in a RICO conspiracy, methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct justice, violent crimes in aid of racketeering and various substantive charges.  Those individuals include: National Vice President Paul Anthony Darrah, aka “Pauli,” 54, of Macomb Township, Michigan; and “West Cost Boss” Vincent John Witort, a/k/a “Holiday,” 68, of Fontana, California.  Victor Castano, 46, of St. Clair Shores, Michigan and David Randy Drozdowski, a/k/a “D,” 42, of Fair Haven, Michigan, were also found guilty in a second trial in late 2015 of engaging in a RICO conspiracy and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy.  Drozdowski was separately found guilty by a jury of committing violent crimes in aid of racketeering and being a felon in possession of ammunition, while Castano was separately found guilty of obstruction of justice and subornation of perjury.  The remaining sentencings have been set at later dates before U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland of the Eastern District of Michigan.

According to evidence presented at these trials, the Devils Diciples (which is intentionally misspelled) is a motorcycle gang with its national headquarters in Clinton Township, Michigan.  For decades, the Devils Diciples operated regional chapters in cities throughout Michigan, Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere, and engaged in criminal activities to protect the enterprise and for financial gain.

Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that membership in the Devils Diciples is based in part on successful compleion of a probationary period, followed by formal approval by one or more members or leaders.  Members, commonly referred to as “full patched members,” are required to own Harley Davidson motorcycles and are required to follow orders from the gang’s leadership, including orders to assault, threaten and intimidate others, to transport and distribute drugs, to lie to law enforcement and to hide or destroy evidence.  Members are also required to follow the Devils Diciples by-laws and attend regular meetings referred to as “church.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Smith was the National President and Darrah was the National Vice President of the gang.  In those roles, they were responsible for overall management of the activities of the other Devils Diciples members and chapters, including giving final approval to any activity generally affecting the gang as a whole.  Vandiver was the National Warlord – or enforcer – of the gang.  With other gang members, the leaders also participated directly in criminal activities both for financial gain on behalf of the Devils Diciples, and to protect the gang and its members.

Specifically, the evidence showed that at Smith’s direction, individuals including members and associates of the gang were beaten and robbed, and that Smith also participated in this activity directly.  For instance, in late 1998, Smith shot a Devils Diciples member who failed to abide by the gang’s rules.  And, in August 2008, Smith brutally assaulted the girlfriend of another Devils Diciples member because he believed she disrespected him and the gang. 

Additionally, the evidence showed that Smith possessed state and federal law enforcement manuals regarding outlaw motorcycle gangs marked “For Official Use Only” and “Law Enforcement Sensitive,” and numerous documents related to criminal matters involving members of the Devils Diciples, including police reports, search warrants, affidavits, indictments and witness interview transcripts.  The evidence showed that the documents were used for the purposes of counter-surveillance and to identify suspected informants. Suspected informants or members who failed to follow the gang’s rules were frequently thrown out of the gang, or “run down the road.”  The evidence showed that when a member was stripped of his membership, the gang seized the member’s property and motorcycle, by violent means if necessary.  For instance, the evidence at trial showed that in the mid-1990s, members of the gang murdered a former member for retaking motorcycle after the gang had “run him down the road” and seized his motorcycle.

The other defendants were also full patched members of the gang, who committed several other acts of violence.

For example, in August 2003, Witort and other gang members traveled from California and elsewhere to Arizona where they robbed, kidnapped and attempted to murder members of the gang’s Arizona Chapter for violating the gang’s rules.  Inside the Arizona clubhouse, the victims were bound with duct tape and zip ties, and severely beaten with baseball bats, firearms, tasers, knives, and other weapons.  The victims’ were stripped of personal possessions, such as phones, wallets, and shoes.  They were then loaded into the bed of a pick-up truck, driven out into the desert, beaten further, and dumped into ravines, and left to die.  The evidence showed that the beatings were planned by the national leaders, including Witort, and that Smith later congratulated participants, telling him in a letter that the Devils Diciples were “all proud of you.”

Additionally, the evidence demonstrated that in 2012, at a bar in Chesterfield Township, Michigan, Drozdowski and another Devils Diciples member assaulted a man who they mistaken believed to be a rival motorcycle gang member for being present in Devils Diciples territory.  The victim was knocked unconscious and suffered multiple fractures to his face and jaw.  Drozdowski and the other Devils Diciples member then ripped the leather vest off of the unconscious victim. 

In addition to the four trial defendants sentenced recently, over 50 members and associates of the Devil’s Diciples have pleaded guilty to various crimes as result of this investigation.  The investigation further resulted in the seizure of more than 60 firearms and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition and the dismantling of eight methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories across the country.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Michigan State Police, the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office and the County of Macomb Enforcement Team (COMET), with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, and the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section

Former Chesterfield Township Supervisor, Michael Lovelock, 59, of New Baltimore, Michigan, was sentenced to 24 months in prison today based on his conviction for conspiracy to commit bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent In Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Lovelock was convicted of conspiring with Rizzo Environmental CEO Charles B “Chuck” Rizzo to accept $30,000 in cash bribes from Rizzo between 2010 and 2016.  The bribes were paid by Rizzo in exchange for favorable treatment from Lovelock in connection with Rizzo’s municipal garbage-hauling contract with the township.    

Lovelock is one of twenty defendants charged in the government’s wide-ranging corruption investigation centered in Macomb County, Michigan.  The sentence for Lovelock was reduced based on his cooperation with the government against Rizzo and others.       

“Public officials who desecrate their elected office by selling out for bribes from contractors are among the most deserving of federal prosecution and will be held to account for each and every one of their corrupt misdeeds,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. 

“Public officials who misuse their position of trust for personal gain, undermine the integrity of their office and deny honest services to the residents they purport to serve” said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.   "The FBI led Detroit Area Public Corruption Task Force will continue to aggressively investigate cases involving any federal, state, or local public officials who solicit and accept bribes in exchange for official acts and will work with our partners to ensure that those who violate their obligation to the public are held accountable.”

This case is part of the government’s wide-ranging corruption investigation centered in Macomb County, Michigan.  The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Gardey, R. Michael Bullotta, Steven Cares, and Adriana Dydell.

An indictment was unsealed today charging Dr. Otis Leon Crawford, D.O., and two other individuals with conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy Plancon of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.

Charged in the indictment are:

Otis Leon Crawford, 80, of Detroit

Debbie Ann Taylor, 37, of Detroit

Earnie Ronnie-Jaew Taylor, 49, of River Rouge

The indictment alleges that in July of 2016, Dr. Crawford and Debbie Ann Taylor opened a medical clinic called Doctors Creative Care, located at 16125 Mack Avenue in Detroit.   Dr. Crawford was the only doctor associated with the clinic and Debbie Ann Taylor was the office manager. Debbie Taylor scheduled appointments, collected payments, and accompanied patients into the examination room with Dr. Crawford.  Although she had no medical license or training, she recommended that particular patients be prescribed particular controlled substances, in particular dosage units.  With little or no medical examination, Dr. Crawford wrote and signed prescriptions for various opioids, as well as other drugs with substantial street value, such as Xanax, Soma, Valium and Promethazine/codeine cough syrup.  It is further alleged that Debbie Taylor’s brother, Earnie Ronnie-Jaew Taylor, recruited fake patients from his neighborhood in River Rouge who would visit Dr. Crawford and receive unnecessary prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances.  Once the prescriptions were filled, Earnie Taylor took possession of the controlled substances for future illegal distribution.  According to the Indictment, the top ten prescribed controlled substances prescribed by Dr. Crawford, from June 2015 to date, had a conservative street value in excess of $2,556,550. 

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the DEA and HHS.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Engstrom.

A federal jury in Flint, Michigan, today found Amor M. Ftouhi, 51, of Quebec, Canada, guilty of three crimes, including an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, in conjunction with an attack on Bishop Airport officer on June 21, 2017, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. 

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Ftouhi conducted research in Canada and entered our country with a plan to obtain a weapon and kill American police officers. With today’s guilty verdict, he will be held accountable for his brutal knife attack on an airport police officer in Flint,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “I want to thank the prosecutors and law enforcement partners who made this result possible. The National Security Division remains committed to holding accountable all who seek to carry out terrorist attacks on our soil and target our men and women in uniform.”

“Investigating and prosecuting terrorists remains the Justice Department’s highest priority,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “The Assistant United States Attorneys who prosecuted this case to trial, as well as our federal and state law enforcement partners, worked tirelessly to investigate this case and bring this would-be murderer to justice.”

“Protecting our citizens and nation from terrorist attack remains the top priority of the FBI,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Detroit Division of the FBI. “Today’s conviction is the result of hard work conducted by the men and women of the FBI, our partner agencies on the FBI Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, and our foreign partners in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I would also like to acknowledge the heroic actions of civilian and law enforcement officers who were present on the day of the attack and likely saved Lt. Neville’s life.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Ftouhi entered the United States from Canada on a “mission” for the purpose of killing American police officers in the United States.  Before entering the United States on June 16, 2017, while in Canada, Mr. Ftouhi conducted online research of American gun laws and for gun shows in Michigan.  Mr. Ftouhi subsequently traveled to Michigan where he was unsuccessful in repeated attempts to purchase a gun and purchased a knife instead.  On June 20, 2017, Mr. Ftouhi walked up to the victim, who is a lieutenant with the Flint Bishop Airport police and was in full uniform, and stabbed the police officer in the neck twice with a knife.  Mr. Ftouhi referenced killings in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and yelled “Allahu Akbar.”  After his arrest, Mr. Ftouhi told law enforcement that he was a “soldier of Allah,” subscribed to the ideology of Al Qaeda and Usama bin Laden and that his plan had been to kill the victim, steal his gun, and kill other police officers in the airport.    

The charges carry a statutory maximum penalty of up to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled before Matthew F. Leitman for March 7, 2019 at 9:30 a.m.

This investigation was conducted by the Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is led by the FBI with the assistance of the FBI Flint Resident Agency, the Michigan State Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.   Additional assistance has been provided by the Flint Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cathleen M. Corken, Jules DePorres and Craig Wininger of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan with the assistance of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice.

Amor M. Ftouhi, 51, of Quebec, Canada, was found guilty of three crimes, including an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, in conjunction with an attack on a Bishop Airport officer in Flint, Michigan on June 21, 2017.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider for the Eastern District of Michigan, and Special Agent Timothy Slater of the FBI’s Detroit field office.

“Ftouhi conducted research in Canada and entered our country with a plan to obtain a weapon and kill American police officers.  With today’s guilty verdict, he will be held accountable for his brutal knife attack on an airport police officer in Flint,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “I want to thank the prosecutors and law enforcement partners who made this result possible.  The National Security Division remains committed to holding accountable all who seek to carry out terrorist attacks on our soil and target our men and women in uniform.”

“Investigating and prosecuting terrorists remains the Justice Department’s highest priority,” stated U.S. Attorney Schneider.  “The Assistant United States Attorneys who prosecuted this case to trial, as well as our federal and state law enforcement partners, worked tirelessly to investigate this case and bring this would-be murderer to justice.”

“Protecting our citizens and nation from terrorist attacks remains the top priority of the FBI,” said Special Agent in Charge Slater.  “Today’s conviction is the result of hard work conducted by the men and women of the FBI, our partner agencies on the FBI Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, and our foreign partners in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  I would also like to acknowledge the heroic actions of civilian and law enforcement officers who were present on the day of the attack and likely saved Lt. Neville’s life.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Ftouhi entered the United States from Canada on a “mission” for the purpose of killing American police officers in the United States.  Before entering the United States on June 16, 2017, while in Canada, Ftouhi conducted online research of American gun laws and for gun shows in Michigan.  Ftouhi subsequently traveled to Michigan where he was unsuccessful in repeated attempts to purchase a gun and purchased a knife instead.  On June 20, 2017, Ftouhi walked up to the victim, who is a lieutenant with the Flint Bishop Airport police and was in full uniform, and stabbed the police officer in the neck twice with a knife.  Ftouhi referenced killings in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and yelled “Allahu Akbar.”  After his arrest, Ftouhi told law enforcement that he was a “soldier of Allah,” subscribed to the ideology of Al Qaeda and Usama bin Laden and that his plan had been to kill the victim, steal his gun, and kill other police officers in the airport.   

This investigation was conducted by the Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is led by the FBI with the assistance of the FBI Flint Resident Agency, the Michigan State Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.   Additional assistance was provided by the Flint Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cathleen M. Corken, Jules DePorres and Craig Wininger of the Eastern District of Michigan, with the assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice.

The people of Michigan have voted to legalize – with certain restrictions – the possession, use, and distribution of marijuana under state law. However, marijuana continues to be an illegal drug under federal law. As the chief federal law enforcement officers in Michigan, we are providing this statement regarding the enforcement of federal marijuana laws in light of the passage of Proposal One.

Because we have taken oaths to protect and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States, we will not unilaterally immunize anyone from prosecution for violating federal laws simply because of the passage of Proposal One.

We will continue to approach the investigation and prosecution of marijuana crimes as we do with any other crime.  We will consider the federal law enforcement priorities set by the United States Department of Justice, the seriousness of the crime, the deterrent effect of prosecution, and the cumulative impact of the crime on a community.  As we weigh the interests in enforcing a law, we must also consider our ability to prosecute with our limited resources.

Combating illegal drugs is just one of our many priorities.  We are also focused on preventing and prosecuting terrorism, violent crime, gangs, corruption, and fraud.  Even within the area of drugs, we are increasingly focused on combating the opioid epidemic, which is killing our citizens at an alarming rate.

Our offices have never focused on the prosecution of marijuana users or low-level offenders, unless aggravating factors are present.  That will not change.  Nevertheless, crimes involving marijuana can pose serious risks and harm to a community.  The seriousness of the offense and impact on a community includes a broad range of related activity and concerns for federal law enforcement. These concerns include, for example: adverse effects of interstate trafficking of marijuana; the involvement of other illegal drugs or illegal activity; persons with criminal records; the presence of firearms or violence; criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels; the bypassing of local laws and regulations; the potential for environmental contamination; and the risks to minors.  We, of course, also have an interest in preventing the cultivation, use and distribution of marijuana on federal property.

These are just examples, and this statement does not limit our discretion to enforce the law.  We will continue to work closely with our federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners to assess the federal law enforcement interest for every case as it comes in.  When we act, we will act in the interests of public health and safety.

Two high-level executives of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC (“FCA” or “Fiat Chrysler”) and a senior official of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (“UAW”) were sentenced to prison today based on their convictions relating to a scheme to bribe UAW officials by Fiat Chrysler, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Joining in the announcement were Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, James Vanderberg, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Timothy Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Thomas Murray, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards.

Jerome Durden, 62, of Rochester, Michigan, was sentenced today to 15 months in prison based on his prior August 2017 guilty plea to conspiracy to defraud the United States before United States District Judge Paul D. Borman.  Durden was a former Financial Analyst for Fiat Chrysler, and he had served as the Controller of the joint UAW-Chrysler National Training Center between 2008 and 2015.  Durden presented false tax returns on behalf of the National Training Center and a “charitable” organization associated with former UAW Vice President General Holiefield known as the Leave the Light On Foundation in order to conceal over $1.5 million in illegal payments by Fiat Chrysler to senior UAW officials through the National Training Center and the foundation, all done in an effort to affect the labor-management relationship between Fiat Chrysler and the UAW.  The senior UAW officials who were bribed included UAW Vice President Holiefield, UAW Assistant Director Virdell King, senior UAW official Keith Mickens, senior UAW official Nancy A. Johnson, who served as the second in command of the UAW’s Chrysler Department from July 2014 through 2016, and others.

The illegal payments included paying off the mortgage on Holiefield’s home, first-class airline travel, designer clothing, furniture, jewelry and custom-made watches.

Keith Mickens, 64, of Clarkston, Michigan was sentenced today to 12 months in prison based on his April 2018 conviction to conspiring with other UAW officials and FCA executives to take illegal payments from Fiat Chrysler.  Between 2010 and 2014, Mickens was one of the senior UAW officials responsible for administering the collective bargaining agreements on behalf of tens of thousands of UAW members employed by FCA.  Mickens served as a member of the UAW’s National Negotiating Committee in 2011 and was one of the UAW officials responsible for negotiating the collective bargaining agreements between the UAW and FCA.  He also served as the co-Director of the National Training Center. 

Mickens has admitted to helping transfer over $700,000 from FCA to former UAW Vice President Holiefield using two companies that Holiefield controlled with Monica Morgan, Holiefield’s girlfriend and later wife.  FCA executives concealed the illegal payments using the bank account of the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center. 

Separate from the illegal activities involving UAW Vice President Holiefield, Mickens admitted that he and other senior UAW officials also accepted thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing, electronics, golf equipment, and other personal items that were paid for by FCA.

Michael Brown, 60, of West Bloomfield, Michigan was sentenced to 12 months in prison based on his felony conviction for providing misleading and incomplete testimony to a federal grand jury.  Brown misled the grand jury in a deliberate effort to conceal the existence of the conspiracy to bribe UAW officials by FCA, FCA executives acting in the interest of FCA, the UAW, and UAW officials.  Between 2009 and 2016, Brown was employed as a Director for Employee Relations at Fiat Chrysler.       

The Court’s sentencings of Durden, Brown, and Mickens mark the third, fourth, and fifth defendants to be sentenced in the ongoing criminal investigation into illegal payoffs to UAW officials.  On July 13, 2018, defendant Monica Morgan was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $190,747 in restitution for her tax fraud in connection with the receipt of illegal payments by her husband, the now deceased Holiefield, who had served as the Vice President of the UAW in command of the Chrysler Department.  On August 27, 2018, Alphons Iacobelli was sentenced to 66 months in prison and ordered to pay $835,523 in restitution for his involvement in the conspiracy to bribe UAW officials and his submission of false tax returns.        

“The Court’s sentences today are further strides forward in our effort to root out corruption in the leadership of the UAW because of illegal payments by Fiat Chrysler and its executives,” said United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “We want the hard working men and women of the union to know that federal law enforcement will uncover, prosecute, and punish any effort to undermine their collective bargaining process.”   

Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Detroit office, stated, “Corporate Fraud continues to be a top priority for IRS Criminal Investigation.  When executives abuse the power they are given, it undermines our trust in the business sector and compromises the integrity of our economic and political system.  Today’s sentencings serve as a warning to those who hold positions of trust and leadership. Muriel continued, “IRS-CI and its law enforcement partners will continue to work together to uncover these schemes and hold the corporate and union executives accountable.” 

“Mickens, a former senior UAW official, conspired with former FCA management officials, including Durden, to accept illegal payments and other things of value from FCA in exchange for manipulating the collective bargaining agreement process at the expense of UAW members.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards to safeguard the assets of union members,” said James Vanderberg, Special Agent-In-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

“Today’s sentencings of former FCA executives and a senior UAW official once again demonstrate that those who seek personal gain through deception and fraud will be brought to justice,” said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to the dogged pursuit of all those responsible for corrupting the collective bargaining process and stealing from the many hardworking and dedicated auto workers in our community.”

“Protecting members against corruption perpetrated by their union leaders is critical to the mission of the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS),” said Thomas Murray, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards.  “OLMS thanks the United States Attorney’s Office for vigorously prosecuting those involved in the conspiracy.  We will continue to work cooperatively with our law enforcement partners to ensure that anyone who abuses their union position for personal financial gain will be brought to justice.”

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Gardey, Erin S. Shaw, and Adriana Dydell.

An indictment was unsealed today charging 10 individuals with conspiring to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.  Joining Schneider in the announcement was Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Timothy Slater.  Named in the federal indictment were:

RODNEY DUANE OBRYAN, 52 of Saginaw,

DEMETRIUS TYRONE CHAPPELL, 48 of Redford Township,

DEVITRI DESHAUNE SANTOS, 40 of Saginaw,

CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE ROY, 46 of Detroit,

MALCOLM DWIGHT OBRYAN, 60 of Grand Rapids,

KEVIN DEWAYNE SHACKS, 52 of Saginaw,

ROBERT EARL BROOKS, 46 of Saginaw,

EDWARD BRYANT JR., 58 of Saginaw,

THOMAS JAMAR MCKINLEY, 44 of Saginaw, and

MACK ADAM MCCLAIN, 32 of Saginaw

"We intend to continue to do all we can to rid our community and our neighborhoods of illegal drugs and the violence and dysfunction that accompany them,” stated United States Attorney Schneider.  “I’d like to thank the entire law enforcement team that worked so hard on this case.  This case demonstrates cooperation and teamwork at its best.”

“Today’s arrests in metro Saginaw, Grand Rapids, and Detroit highlight the positive impact of collaboration among federal, state, and local law enforcement upon communities throughout Michigan when we use every tool available to combat violent drug trafficking organizations wreaking havoc on our neighborhoods and flooding our communities with dangerous narcotics,” said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI. “Everyone deserves to live in a safe environment free from illicit narcotics and the violence that goes hand-in-hand with these criminal activities. Only concerted collaboration – both among law enforcement and with our community members – will safely return our neighborhoods to the families living their lives in these communities each day. The FBI is proud to work side-by-side with each law enforcement agency involved in this investigation and today’s arrests, to include: the FBI Bay City Resident Agency Mid-Michigan Safe Streets Task Force, DEA, and ATF; the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, Flint Area Narcotics Group, and Western Wayne Narcotics Unit; the Michigan State Police, Bay City Police Department, Saginaw Police Department, and Detroit Police Department; and the Michigan National Guard.”

The indictment alleges that since at least the summer of 2017, the defendants conspired to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine and cocaine base.  The indictment alleges that over 500 grams of cocaine was involved in the conspiracy. 

In conjunction with the unsealing of the indictment, FBI special agents, along with agents and officers from other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, executed numerous search warrants at various locations throughout Michigan. 

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Mid-Michigan Safe Streets Task Force along with the DEA, ATF, Michigan State Police, Bay City Police Department, Saginaw Police Department, Western Wayne Narcotics Unit, and the Michigan Army National Guard.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Turkelson.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Detroit Police Officer Christopher Staton, 51, of Detroit, with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one count of making a false statement to a special agent of the FBI, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced. 

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Timothy Plancon, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Special Agent in Charge Manny Muriel, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and Chief James Craig, Detroit Police Department.

According to the Indictment, beginning in 2012, and continuing through 2017, Officer Staton conspired with ten other members of a drug trafficking organization to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine. The indictment further alleges that Staton agreed to help by providing members of the conspiracy with sensitive law enforcement information, including about a co-conspirator’s arrest and about vehicles’ registrations. Staton was also charged with lying to FBI agents about his disclosure of this information.

“Detroit Police Officers are outstanding public servants, and the corrupt actions of just this one defendant should not undermine the public’s overall trust in law enforcement,” United States Attorney Matthew Schneider said.  “Given the magnitude of the opioid crisis, the allegations are especially troubling that this defendant was actively helping drug dealers evade police detection and distribute large quantities of poisonous drugs.”

“The Detroit Police Department is a long standing partner in our efforts to protect the community from drug traffickers and its related violence,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Plancon.  “The indictment of this single officer in no way diminishes the hard work provided by so many Detroit Police Officers on a daily basis.  This indicted officer willingly contributed to the destruction that drug trafficking brings to our neighborhoods.  Make no mistake, when any officer crosses the line and becomes a drug trafficker or co-conspirator, the DEA and our law enforcement partners will be relentless in bringing them to justice.”

“When an officer of the law violates the community’s trust and breaks his or her oath to protect and serve, the FBI will ensure they answer for their crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Detroit Division of the FBI.   “Today’s indictment reflects an individual officer’s betrayal of his oath and his fellow officers. It should not take away from the outstanding work conducted every day by the men and women of the Detroit Police Department.”

“We are disappointed in the actions of Officer Christopher Staton, as they have left a stain on our department,” said Chief of Police James Craig. “However, the actions of this officer does not reflect the values of our department and the men and women who serve honorably in keeping our communities safe. Our focus has been and will continue to be building trust and combating the existence of illegal activity within our communities.”

Staton faces up to life imprisonment and a fine of $10,000,000 for the drug conspiracy count, and up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for the false statement count.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Cares and Mitra Jafary-Hariri.

Two Detroit men were convicted yesterday by a federal jury in Detroit on charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and oxycodone, and use of a firearm causing death during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Chief James Craig, Detroit Police Department.

Convicted were Deaunta Belcher, 35, and Andre Watson, 32, both of Detroit.

The four-week trial was conducted before United States District Judge Avern Cohn. 

According to the evidence presented at trial, on September 11, 2015, a drive-by shooting took place outside of They Say restaurant in the Warehouse District of Detroit in which the victim, Devin Wallace, 30, of Novi, Michigan, was killed. The investigation into the shooting determined Deaunta Belcher was part of an intricate drug and fraud scheme throughout Detroit. Belcher and others, including his co-defendant Darnell Bailey and Devin Wallace, obtained cars, apartments, furniture, and other items fraudulently using the identities of drug customers and other victims, and leased those items to drug dealers throughout the city. Belcher and others decided to kill Wallace out of greed so they could assume his role in their fraud and drug conspiracy.

The evidence showed that Belcher and his co-defendant, Darnell Bailey, offered two men, Andre Watson, and Stephen Brown, money, a car, and other compensation to commit the murder. Watson and Brown spent weeks trying to locate Wallace, and on September 11, 2015, Belcher informed Watson and Brown that Wallace would be at They Say. Watson, Brown, and a third man, Billie J. Chambers, drove to They Say where Brown fired toward Wallace twice and Watson shot Wallace 12 times at close range. Nine bullets struck his body, with six bullets entering his head. Wallace died at the scene. Belcher and Bailey told police that Wallace was killed for cooperating with the DEA in a separate drug investigation in an effort to mislead investigators.

The jury also convicted Belcher for obstruction of justice for statements made to Detroit police on September 24, 2015, in which he tried to mislead investigators regarding his relationship with Stephen Brown.

Co-defendants Darnell Bailey, 29, of Roseville, Billie J. Chambers, 33, and Stephen Brown, 27, both from Detroit, previously pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire for their respective involvement in the shooting.  Each are awaiting sentencing.

“These defendants carried out a brazen, cold blooded murder in broad daylight near downtown Detroit, and the shooting shocked our community when it was broadcast on the evening news,” United States Attorney Matthew Schneider said.  “Thanks to the tireless efforts of the FBI and the Detroit Police Department, the people of Detroit can rest easier knowing these defendants will remain behind bars for the rest of their lives. Eradicating violent crime remains our top priority, and we will continue to work every day so Michiganders can go about their lives without fear of harm.”

“This case demonstrates the violence that accompanies large-scale narcotics trafficking,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Detroit Division of the FBI. “With yesterday’s conviction, Deaunta Belcher and Andre Watson have been held accountable for their part in these crimes and the City of Detroit is safer as a result.”

“We certainly appreciate the partnership with the Federal Bureau Investigation Violent Crime Task Force," said Chief James Craig. "This partnership is yet another example of how we can work together to combat violent crimes in our community and bring offenders to justice."

The federal offense of murder-for-hire carries a mandatory sentence of life. The offense of use of a firearm causing death during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime carries a sentence of any term of years or life; however, since a firearm was discharged, there is at least a mandatory minimum of ten years up to life. The offense of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and oxycodone carries a maximum sentence of twenty years, and the offense of obstruction of justice carries a maximum sentence of twenty years.

The investigation was a collaboration between Detroit Police and members of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shane Cralle and Terrence Haugabook.

An indictment was unsealed today charging the owner and sole practitioner of a medical clinic with conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division, and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.

Charged in the indictment is Dr. Afzal Beemath, 42, of Waterford

The indictment alleges that from January 2013 through October 2018, Dr. Afzal Beemath conspired with others to issue a large number of prescription opioids to recruited “patients” who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs.  Dr. Beemath operated Afzal Beemath, M.D., P.C., in Lathrup Village.  Beemath only accepted cash at his clinic, and utilized the clinic to prescribe oxycodone and oxymorphone, two of the most addictive and diverted opioids that have a significant street value. Dr. Beemath, often-prescribed benzodiazepines in conjunction with the opioids, which when used together can be a lethal combination.

Patient recruiters brought supposed “patients” to the clinic to obtain medically unnecessary opioid prescriptions.  The recruiters would then fill the prescriptions and sell the opioid pills on the street at a significant profit. According to the indictment, Dr. Beemath, issued more than1 million dosage units of Schedule II opioids during the course of the conspiracy.  These controlled substances had a conservative street value in excess of $32,000,000.

“The damage that opioid distribution has done to our community and to the United States as a whole has been devastating,” said U.S. Attorney Schneider.  “Our aggressive prosecutions of opioid crimes continues to focus not just on street dealers, but also on medical professionals who choose to violate federal law and their Hippocratic Oath to “first, do no harm’.”

“Dr. Beemath illegally prescribed painkillers for no legitimate medical purpose. Putting corrupt medical professionals like him out of business is one of several steps we are taking to turn the tide on the opioid crisis that has caused so much death and heartbreak in our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Detroit Division of the FBI. “The FBI remains committed to working alongside our partners to ensure that those who ignore the law, put people at risk and contribute to this crisis are held accountable.”

“Writing prescriptions without medical necessity and outside the scope of professional medical practice is illegal and further fuels the opioid epidemic” said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Chicago Region. “The OIG will continue to focus our efforts on identifying and holding accountable those medical professionals who put their patient’s health and tax payer dollars at risk.”

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Regina R. McCullough, Brandy R. McMillion, and Andrew J. Lievense. The Eastern District of Michigan is one of the twelve districts included in the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit, a Department of Justice initiative created by Attorney General Sessions, that uses data to target and prosecute individuals that are contributing to the nation’s opioid crisis.

The case was investigated by special agents and task force officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy.  

“Project Safe Neighborhoods has been a long-standing weapon in our fight against violent gangs and gun crimes in Michigan,” United States Attorney Matthew Schneider said.  “With this new revitalization of Project Safe Neighborhoods, we now have even more resources to go after violent offenders who seek to wreak havoc in our communities.  Our success is a direct result of the hard work and commitment of our state and local law enforcement partners.”  

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

Throughout the past year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has continued to partner with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs.  I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face.  Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.” 

“We are one community.  When criminals prey on one of us, it hurts all of us,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge James Deir. “Because we are one community, ATF will never waver in our mission to protect the public from violent criminals.”

“Ensuring the safety and security of our residents in the city of Detroit is our number one priority. With the collaborative efforts of Project Safe Neighborhoods, we will continue our efforts to target and dismantle gangs, as well as, other violent offenders that pose a threat to the safety and wellbeing of our City,” said Assistant Chief James White.

As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, here are some of the highlights of our PSN actions over the past year:

Enforcement Actions

Detroit is one of the original ten cities that participated in the rollout of Project Safe Neighborhoods in 2001.  Since then, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has expanded its PSN efforts to cover the entire Eastern District of Michigan. 

Since the revitalization of PSN in October 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has increased its PSN caseload by 14%.  

In the last few months, the United States Attorney’s Office has hired 18 new Assistant United States Attorneys to fill vacancies in the office.  Six of these Assistant U.S. Attorneys are entirely new positions.  Five are focusing on violent crime and gun prosecutions; one is focusing on immigration-related crimes.  The office now has 120 full-time Assistant U.S. Attorneys.  The Eastern District of Michigan covers 34 counties with a population of over 6.5 million residents

The U.S Attorney’s Office has been working closely with our state and local partners to ensure that federal efforts are focused on the most violent offenders.  By incorporating the basic principles of the Detroit One Initiative along with PSN, we have created a unified approach, working in partnership with a large community of stakeholders to reduce violent crime.  By utilizing available data and advances in technology, we have been able to identify offenders who are driving violent crime rates in certain areas of Detroit. 

Given the success of PSN in the northwest area of Detroit, the Justice Department is providing additional PSN funding to the eastside of Detroit using the nearly $700,000 grant awarded last week.  The funding will be utilized to enhance the suppression, prosecutorial and outreach activities identified as best practices to target violent crime and improve the quality of life for the community.

In addition, the Department of Justice announced last week that the City of Detroit was awarded $800,000 to be used to hire personnel to utilize the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), to purchase technology required to operate a Crime Gun Intelligence Center and ammunition for ballistic tests of recovered weapons.

Information sharing is a key piece in this strategy.  Two ways in which information is shared is through Project Green Light and Gun Stat.  Project Green Light is a crime-fighting partnership between the City of Detroit, the Detroit Police Department and local businesses whereby real-time cameras are installed and connected directly to the Detroit Police Department headquarters where video feeds are received, monitored and analyzed.  Information gathered from the surveillance cameras have proven useful in federal prosecutions.  In one instance, the footage from one of the surveillance cameras lead to an indictment of a three-time convicted felon who was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after officers caught him trying to discard a firearm into a dumpster. 

Another vital tool in sharing information is Gun Stat.  Gun Stat is a partnership between the Detroit Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, the ATF, and the FBI. The purpose of GunStat is to focus on benchmarks that lead to an overall reduction of violent gun related crime. Specific emphasis is place on violent offenders and gun related cases. Law enforcement will review citywide gun arrests and look at whether the arrestee has certain characteristics that statistically contribute to violent gun related crimes. Such characteristics include if the arrestee is a gang member or an associate of a gang, has a prior arrest with a firearm, has a violent criminal history, is on probation or parole, was shot or has been a shooter, or has other gun related contacts. Based on these factors, law enforcement will prioritize resources and focus on those individuals who are more likely to engage in violent gun related crimes. 

Community Partnerships

Another key component to any successful crime-fighting initiative is community engagement.   The United States Attorney’s Office, along with our law enforcement partners and community members are actively involved in outreach programs as part of our prevention strategy.  Two of those outreach programs are Ceasefire and Project Sentry.

Operation Ceasefire Detroit is a community based violence prevention partnership aimed at reducing violent crime.  Under the program violent street group members on parole or probation are called in to meetings as a condition of their release.  Participants include law enforcement officials who explain to the street groups that continued violence will result in prosecution and stiff prison sentences.  Social service providers describe services that are available under re-entry programs to help street group members succeed outside of prison and residents of the street group members’ own communities -- clergy, ex-offenders and families of victims of violent crime describe in graphic and personal terms the consequences of violence in their neighborhood, and insist that the street group members help stop the violence.  Call-ins occur quarterly at preselected locations within the City of Detroit. Following the hour long presentation, the speakers and participants have dinner and fellowship to reinforce the message: the community will assist every group member who wants to change his life for the better.

Project Sentry is a school-based youth engagement approach to reducing gun violence through prevention and deterrence strategies.  The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan (USAMIE) is committed to educating youth on the dangers and consequences of gun violence.  Like many USAMIE outreach efforts, Project Sentry relies on federal, state, and local law enforcement volunteers, along with other first responders to raise awareness about gun violence.

Improvements to Community Safety

• The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline.  The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.

• The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.

• Detroit PSN focuses on the 8th precinct of Detroit. The 8th precinct, on Detroit’s west-side, historically has experienced some of the highest levels of violence in the city. According to statistics compiled by the PSN Michigan State University Research Partner, fatal and non-fatal shootings continued a downward trend that began in 2017. The first six months of 2018 experienced a 13% decrease from 2017 and a 28% decrease from 2016. When compared to the average number of fatal and non-fatal incidents that occurred from 2014 to 2016, the first six months of 2018 witnessed a 20% decline.

These enforcement actions and partnerships are 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. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.

Today a federal grand jury indicted Detroit City Council Member Gabriel Leland, 35, of Detroit, with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced. 

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the Indictment, beginning in May 2017, and continuing through August 2017, Councilman Leland conspired with Elisa Grubbs, a campaign worker, to solicit and accept bribes consisting of $15,000 in cash and free auto body work from a local business owner.  The indictment further alleges that Leland agreed to help delay or prevent the City’s sale of property that the business owner believed he owned in exchange for the bribes.  Leland is charged with taking a $7,500 cash bribe on

August 4, 2017, just four days before the primary election for Detroit City Council.

United States Attorney Schneider stated, “A sitting member of the Detroit City Council engaging in bribery is an extreme breach of the trust of the people of Detroit that badly undermines their faith in local government.  As was starkly demonstrated by the prosecution of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and several corrupt members of his Administration, federal law enforcement is dedicated to rooting out and severely punishing corruption at every level of City governance.”

“The public demands and is entitled to honest public servants. Today’s indictment of Detroit City Council Member Gabriel Leland underscores the fact that individuals who hold a position of public trust - and who betray that trust - will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, FBI Detroit. “The FBI is committed to aggressively investigating allegations of public corruption. If you are aware of a government official engaging in illegal conduct, I encourage you to notify the FBI’s multi-agency Public Corruption Task Force.”

Leland faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for each bribery count, and up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for the bribery conspiracy count.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Michael Bullotta and Steven Cares.

A Detroit-area doctor was sentenced to 135 months in prison today for her role in a scheme involving approximately $8.9 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for home health care and other physician services that were procured through the payment of kickbacks, were not medically necessary, were not actually provided or, in some instances, were provided by the defendant, who was not a licensed physician during the relevant time period.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge David P. Gelios of the FBI’s Detroit Division and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement.

Millicent Traylor, M.D., 47, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland of the Eastern District of Michigan.  Traylor was convicted in May 2018 of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, and five counts of health care fraud following a four-day trial.  Traylor’s co-defendant, Muhammad Qazi, 48, of Oakland Township, Michigan, was sentenced to serve 42 months in prison on Aug. 27, her co-defendant Christina Kimbrough, M.D., 39, of Canton, Michigan, was sentenced to serve 27 months in prison on Sept. 26, and her other co-defendant, Jacklyn Price, 34, of Shelby, Michigan, awaits sentencing.  Qazi, Price, and Kimbrough each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  

According to evidence presented at trial, from 2011 to 2016, Traylor and her co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare of approximately $8.9 million through fraudulent home health and physician claims.  The evidence showed that Traylor, who was unlicensed at the time, acted as a physician for these companies, providing services that were not medically necessary and that were billed to Medicare as if they were provided by a licensed physician.  The evidence further showed that Traylor conspired to cause Medicare to be billed for services that were not rendered.  To make it appear that these services were medically necessary and actually provided, Traylor and her co-conspirators falsified medical records and signed false documents.  Additionally, the evidence at trial showed that Traylor and her co-conspirators paid and received kickbacks in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to serve as patients at the clinics.  The trial evidence also revealed that Traylor fraudulently signed the names of licensed physicians on prescriptions for opioid medications, such as oxycodone, as a means of inducing patient participation in the scheme.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern District of Michigan.  Trial Attorneys Stephen Cincotta and Steve Scott of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in 12 cities across the country, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. 

A federal grand jury charged eight members of an organized fraud ring based in Detroit with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and aggravated identity theft in a twenty-three count indictment, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Detroit Field Office, Patricia Armstrong, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Detroit Division, Reginald DeMatteis, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, and Michael Patton, Chief of Police, West Bloomfield Police Department.

Charged were:

Toriano Adams, 32, of Eastpointe

Anthony Adans, 32, of Troy

Devin Simmons, 32, of Sterling Heights

Aatif Brown, 25, of Detroit

OD Williams, 27, of Detroit

Denico Adams. 26, of Detroit

Rodney Gist, 27, of Detroit

Tayan Jackson, 32, of Brooklyn, New York

According to the indictment, the defendants are members and/or associates of an organized fraud ring known as the “Free Band Gang.” Members of the fraud ring obtained stolen credit card accounts in bulk through various sources, including “dump” sites on the internet. The stolen accounts were then pressed on the front of counterfeit cards to create cloned credit cards. Free Band Gang members traveled to Walmart stores throughout the United States where they purchased $500 gift cards using the cloned credit cards without the authorization — or knowledge — of the true accountholder. Free Band Gang members often purchased a hundred thousand dollars or more in gift cards in a single day using the cloned credit cards and returned to Michigan with the gift cards which they sold for cash to launder the proceeds. The scheme lasted for nearly three years and resulted in millions in losses. 

“In the span of nine hours, two of these defendants allegedly traveled to ten Walmart stores in and around Bentonville, Arkansas, used three counterfeit credit cards, and made over $100,000.00 in fraudulent purchases,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. “This was not uncommon for this group. Over three years, the defendants allegedly stole millions of dollars in an organized, calculated scheme.  Because Michigan is a national leader in identity theft, we are literally working day and night to break up these fraud rings and put the perpetrators where they belong: in federal prison.”

“This type of identity theft and credit card fraud is not a victimless crime. It has a negative impact not only on the corporations involved but on the individual whose identity is stolen,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, FBI Detroit. “The FBI will continue to work in close partnership with the members of the Detroit Metro Identity Theft Task Force to identify and disrupt individuals and criminal organizations engaged in these schemes which can result in the loss of millions of dollars a year.”

Schneider commended the substantial assistance of law enforcement agencies around the country as well as the tremendous work by Walmart’s Global Investigations Team, without it the full scope of the fraud would never have been uncovered.  Organized fraud rings operate across multiple jurisdictions by design in an attempt to evade detection. 

The case is being investigated by the Detroit Metro Identity Theft Task Force, which includes representatives of the FBI, Michigan State Police, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Auburn Hills Police Department, Birmingham Police Department, and Bloomfield Township Department along with assistance from the West Bloomfield Township Police Department and Ellisville, MO Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shane Cralle and James R. Drabick.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

United States Attorney Matthew Schneider is proud to announce the establishment of the Southeast Michigan Regional Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force.  This is an unprecedented step to co-locate so many federal as well as state and local resources to address the unique challenges in the southeast Michigan region. 

This multi-agency Strike Force is composed of personnel from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and approximately 26 state, local and Canadian law enforcement agencies.

The Department of Justice recognized that Southeast Michigan had both a significant opioid problem and a violent gang problem. Analysis of investigations in the Region found that domestic cartel and violent street gangs are responsible for distribution of Mexican-sourced heroin, fentanyl-laced heroin and pure fentanyl here. Additionally, DOJ noticed a significant increase in overdose deaths as well as identified over 140 neighborhood-based gangs operating in the Region. These gangs were and are facilitating the drug trade and using violence to control their territories and prevent cooperation with law enforcement.

In response to this problem, the Southeast Michigan Strike Force will coordinate investigations to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute transnational criminal organizations, violent drug trafficking organizations, firearms trafficking organizations, and their subsidiary organizations, which operate throughout the southeast Michigan region, the United States and the world.  The Strike Force will focus cooperative investigations on dissolving these organizations, their financial infrastructures, and the violence and associated deaths they bring to our communities.

“While all of us have been working individually to fight gangs and drugs, our individual efforts were not as effective as we wanted,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “We know that gangs and cartels work together.  So we’re doing the same thing.  We’re going to step up our efforts.  We are now communicating immediately, sharing intelligence, and planning our attacks against these criminals together.” 

“As a part of the Southeast Michigan OCDETF Strike Force, we are committed to a long-term partnership that allows law enforcement to reduce the illegal drug supply by aggressively targeting criminal organizations operating throughout southeast Michigan,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon. “Drug trafficking and violence go hand-in-hand, which is why federal, state and local law enforcement are making these dangerous drug trafficking organizations a top priority. By working with our partners, we are able to bring these violent individuals to justice and improve the safety of our communities. We are focused on the current opioid epidemic, but this initiative is ready to adapt to any future drug threat facing southeast Michigan“

“The Strike Force model, which has proven effective in other areas of the country, will certainly be highly successful in the fight against criminal organizations that are flooding our communities with dangerous narcotics. The influx of these drugs into our communities feeds other illicit activities including human trafficking, carjackings, homicides and other gang-related violent crime.” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, FBI Detroit. “Combining the resources and capabilities of the agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting these crimes will improve our ability to target, disrupt and ultimately dismantle those organizations distributing drugs and contributing to violence in communities throughout Southeast Michigan.”

 “As criminal organizations become increasingly sophisticated in their activities, the law enforcement community must continue to partner to leverage our unique capabilities and combined resources to combat this ever evolving threat,” said Steve Francis, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit.

“Special Agent in Charge Manny Muriel, IRS - Criminal Investigation, stated, “The IRS-CI will utilize our expertise as financial investigators and leverage our domestic and international partnerships to combat national and transnational money laundering organizations.”  Muriel continued, “Similarly we will continue to work with our law enforcement and private sector partners to repeatedly assess ongoing and emerging money laundering threats.”

Since its inception in October 2017, the members of the Southeast Michigan Regional Strike Force have been responsible for the seizure or over 35 kilograms of fentanyl, 25 kilograms of heroin, 50 kilograms of cocaine, as well as the seizure of 12 weapons and approximately three million dollars in drug proceeds.  The seized fentanyl alone would have exponentially fueled the opioid epidemic in the region and was enough to have killed approximately 15 million people based on the lethal dosage threshold.  In addition, over 100 people have been arrested.  Some of the people arrested by Strike Force members have been sentenced to extensive terms of incarceration related to the delivery of controlled substances which caused the death of those who developed an addiction to opioids. 

The local agencies include Michigan State Police, Michigan National Guard, Canton Township Police Department, Detroit Police Department, Northfield Township Police Department, Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Walled Lake Police Department, Shelby Township Police Department, Southgate Police Department, Livonia Police Department, Livingston County Sheriff’s Department, Milan Police Department, Pittsfield Charter Township Police Department, Plymouth Township Police Department, Brownstown Police Department, Woodhaven Police Department, Allen Park Police Department and the Wayne County Airport Authority.   The Canadian law enforcement agencies include the London Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Windsor Police Service and the Canada Border Services Agency.  Also included are the Michigan State Attorney General’s Office and Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

 

Former state senator Bertram C. Johnson, 44, of Highland Park, was sentenced today to 90 days in prison, followed by two years of supervised release with 90 days of home confinement and 480 hours of community service, and over $23,000 in restitution, after having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft from a federally funded program, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Joining Schneider in the announcement were Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI and Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.

Johnson had previously pled guilty in March 2018 before United States District Judge Matthew F. Leitman. During his guilty plea, Johnson admitted that from March 2014 through January 2, 2015, he employed an unnamed co-conspirator as a community liaison, certifying her bi-weekly timesheets thereby causing the State of Michigan to pay the individual for work she did not actually complete. The indictment alleges that Johnson borrowed thousands of dollars in cash from the unnamed co-conspirator, and placed this “ghost employee” on the public payroll solely to pay off Johnson’s personal loan debt, and that the ghost employee was paid over $23,000 in taxpayer money. 

“Public officials, especially those elected by the people, cannot treat the people’s money as their own,” stated United States Attorney Schneider. “The defendant in this case treated taxpayer money as his own, to repay his personal debt. Such an egregious abuse of power will not be tolerated.”

“The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively pursue public officials who engage in criminal conduct at taxpayer expense,” stated Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “As demonstrated by the criminal actions in this case, the defendant put his own selfish interests above those he served. We ask that anyone with information regarding similar actions by any public official contact the FBI or FBI Detroit.”

“Senator Johnson made a conscious decision to violate the trust and confidence of the constituents that he was elected to represent,” stated Special Agent in Charge Manny J. Muriel, IRS Criminal Investigation.  “As today’s sentencing shows, IRS-CI, along with our law enforcement partners will continue to hold those who use fraud and deceit to line their pockets by stealing from our nation’s taxpayers accountable.”

 This case was investigated by agents of the FBI and IRS-CI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Michael Buckley and Frances Lee Carlson.

A former City of Detroit employee, Masharn Franklin, 53, of Detroit, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by 3 years supervised release, and ordered to pay $265,573 in restitution to the city of Detroit based on her conviction for embezzlement, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today. 

Franklin was employed by the City of Detroit in its audit and payroll department in 2016 and 2017.  During that time, Franklin was responsible for overseeing the execution of garnishment orders for the salaries of Detroit city employees.  While so employed, Franklin concocted a scheme to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city by causing money to be “garnished” from city funds in the names of Franklin’s relatives.  Once the city had issued checks in the names of Franklin’s relatives in the amounts dictated by Franklin, Franklin then deposited the checks into bank accounts held jointly by her and her relatives.  As a result of her embezzlement scheme, Franklin stole approximately $265,573 from the City of Detroit.  The FBI has already seized $58,000 in criminal proceeds from Franklin’s bank accounts.        

Besides being sentenced to prison, the Court ordered Franklin to pay restitution to the City of Detroit for the additional $207,000 that she has yet to repay. 

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy Slater, Special Agent In Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

United States Attorney Schneider said, “Detroit employees who embezzle money from the city steal from all citizens of the city, depriving them of needed public services and projects.  The Court’s sentence today vindicates the rule of law and demonstrates that such conduct will not be tolerated as the city continues its comeback.”        

“Make no mistake, city employees who exploit their positions of trust in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the taxpayers will be held accountable”, said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit FBI.  

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Gardey.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced today that the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) has agreed to pay the United States $4.3 million as part of a settlement resolving allegations that UMHS violated certain provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), 21 U.S.C. §§ 801-904. The settlement, which is civil in nature, resulted from a years-long Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation of UMHS’s handling of controlled substances. It is the nation’s largest settlement of its kind involving allegations of drug diversion at a hospital.

DEA began its investigation after two tragic incidents occurred in December 2013 involving two UMHS employees – a nurse and an anesthesiology resident. Both overdosed on opioids, including fentanyl, at a UMHS facility. The nurse’s overdose was fatal.

Following its investigation, DEA concluded that a number of the hospital’s practices concerning controlled substances were in violation of the CSA. For example, UMHS failed to secure DEA registrations for 15 off-site ambulatory care locations throughout Ann Arbor and Southeast Michigan, each of which received narcotics from the main hospital’s pharmacy and dispensed them to patients. The failure to secure DEA registrations rendered unlawful all of the narcotics distributions from the main hospital to the unregistered off-site locations, as well as the unregistered locations’ subsequent dispensing of these narcotics to their patients. DEA also determined that UMHS committed a number of significant recordkeeping violations, some of which included failing to maintain complete and accurate records of certain controlled substances that it received, sold, delivered or otherwise disposed of, and failing to notify DEA in a timely manner regarding certain instances of thefts or significant losses of controlled substances. DEA concluded that UMHS’ deficient recordkeeping negatively impacted UMHS’ ability to guard against the theft and diversion of controlled substances.

“Every professional and every institution throughout our health care system has a responsibility to comply with the laws governing the regulation of controlled substances,” said United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “Even the University of Michigan Health System, which does great work every single day, has an obligation to its patients, to its employees, and to the public to responsibly control its drug inventory.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy Plancon stated, “Through rigorous investigation, DEA  Diversion Investigators uncovered system-wide violations within the University of Michigan Health System, highlighting the fact that anything short of full compliance can have grave public health consequences. This case should alert all health systems – large or small – that complying with the Controlled Substance Act is not only their legal responsibility but also a matter of public trust.”

As part of the settlement, UMHS has entered into a three-year Memorandum of Agreement with DEA, which prescribes the hospital’s drug-handling responsibilities going forward. That Memorandum also recognizes the substantial steps that UMHS has already taken to address deficiencies in its handling of controlled substances.

A main objective of the CSA is controlling illegitimate traffic in controlled substances. To prevent the diversion of controlled substances, the CSA regulates persons, companies and other entities that manufacture, distribute and dispense controlled substances. The government’s investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating the prescription opioid crisis.

This matter was investigated by Diversion Investigator Brian Bishop from DEA’s Detroit Field Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Caplan and Caroline Burgunder from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

A Detroit man was sentenced to 7 years (84 months) in federal prison on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. 

Vincent Samuel Hill, Jr., was sentenced yesterday before United States District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow in Detroit, Michigan.    

Hill pleaded guilty on July 9, 2018, to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Hill had illegally possessed a stolen firearm on Easter Day when he brandished the firearm at Dane’s Social Club on W. McNichols.  Detroit Police Department Officers responded to a shooting at Dane’s Social Club on Easter Day where Hill was shot multiple times.  Initial reports were that Hill was shot in the crossfire when with his girlfriend, who rushed him to the hospital.  Upon further investigation, Detroit Police Officers learned that those reports were not true.  Surveillance video showed that Hill was shot only after brandishing a firearm with a laser sight into the crowd.  Detroit Police Department executed a search warrant of Hill’s home following their investigation and recovered the firearm with the laser sight.  Hill was arrested at that time.  Hill also has a pending domestic violence case in Wayne County and a federal supervised release violation in federal court. 

“Keeping guns out of the hands of felons is a priority of our office,” stated United States Attorney Schneider.  “Felons and violent offenders should take notice that they will go to prison if they illegally possession firearms.”

“Today’s sentence is another example of ATF’s relentless effort to reduce violent crime in the City of Detroit and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to target dangerous individuals,” Special Agent in Charge James Deir said.

Hill’s case signals the commitment by ATF and the United States Attorney’s Office to take violent individuals off the streets.  This case was a joint investigation by the Detroit Police Department, Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, special agents of the ATF and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mitra Jafary-Hariri in conjunction with the Project Safe Neighborhood initiative.

A federal jury convicted a Manhattan Beach, California woman of eight counts of wire fraud yesterday, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. The convictions followed a week-long trial in front of U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Special Agent in Charge Manny Muriel, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division.

“Our office aggressively investigates and prosecutes people who defraud our citizens through lies and deceit,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider stated.  “When investors entrust their hard-earned money to third parties, they should know that their money won’t be stolen.  When investors are lied to and taken advantage of, we’ll hold the swindlers accountable for their crimes.”

Gayle Hassan Al-Said, 68, a purported international banker, was found to have defrauded local Detroit investors and used their investment funds for her own benefit. Among the expenditures that Al-Said made using investor funds were purchases at high-end retail stores in Europe, payment for a plastic surgeon, and cash transfers to herself and her family members. Al-Said also used investor funds to make a down payment on a $4 million home and rented a high-end London flat for $16,000/month. She failed to disclose any of these expenditures to the investors, who had been led to believe that their investments would be placed in risk-free trust accounts.

Al-Said also claimed to have high-level connections to the royal family of Saudi Arabia and represented herself to be the chairwoman and chief executive officer of multiple international banks. Evidence at trial demonstrated that these banks were, in fact, shell companies that did not engage in any banking activity.

In total, Al-Said’s fraudulent scheme caused approximately $1.3 million in losses to investors.

Al-Said faces a maximum possible penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment for each count of conviction. Sentencing has been set for January 8, 2019 at 1:30 p.m..

The case was investigated by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen L. Hiyama and Andrew J. Yahkind.

A Detroit man was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft and defrauding the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Wanda M. Stokes, Director, Michigan Talent Investment Agency, Unemployment Insurance.

Devin Marquzes Griffin, 25, was sentenced today to 60 months by United States District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud.

According to court records, from June 2016 through November 2017, Griffin conducted a scheme to defraud the Department of Labor through the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. Griffin obtained the personally identifiable information (PII) of several hundred Michiganders, and used that PII to file, access, and modify approximately 447 unemployment insurance claims in the names of other people. Additionally, Griffin used this PII to open credit card accounts in the names of others, and deposited the money derived from his fraudulent unemployment insurance scheme into these credit card accounts.

Griffin received hundreds of fraudulent unemployment insurance payments through his illegal scheme, stealing more than $504,000. Griffin used this money to make cash withdrawals, purchase cars, airline tickets, hotel rooms, shoes, and like items for himself.

“Devin Griffin robbed taxpayers and business owners for his personal use, stealing from the system meant to protect Michiganders. Even worse, Griffin stole the identities of hundreds of people, causing them untold financial, mental, and emotional harm. The people of Michigan deserve better, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases on their behalf,” U.S. Attorney Schneider stated.

Director Stokes said, “ID theft is not a victimless crime. Individuals whose identity is stolen suffer as well as our taxpayers. We are committed to investigating, charging and convicting these criminals.  The UI staff along with the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Attorney’s office are to be commended for catching this criminal and putting him in prison.”

This case was investigated by Steven Bognar and Andrew Donohue of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and Kurt Eggly of the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. Assistant United States Attorney Hank Moon prosecuted the case.

After a 10-week trial, a federal jury in the Eastern District of Michigan convicted four members of the Seven Mile Bloods Street Gang today for their participation in various criminal acts, including racketeering conspiracy and related firearm offenses.                  

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan and Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI’s Detroit Division made the announcement.

“The Seven Mile Bloods and its rival conducted a gang war on the east side of Detroit, leading to an increase in murders and shootings in that part of the city,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “We commend our prosecutors and law enforcement partners for their hard work to hold members of the gang accountable for their crimes.  Today’s verdict sends a strong message that the Department of Justice and its partners will use every tool available as we continue our work to disrupt and dismantle violent street gangs like the Seven Mile Bloods.”

“These guilty verdicts are a tremendous victory for the Detroit community that was plagued by the violence, drug dealing and mayhem inflicted by this violent street gang,” said U.S. Attorney Schneider.  “The jury’s guilty verdicts highlight that our community has no tolerance for the senseless murders and violence spread by gang members.” 

“The FBI, our Task Force partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will continue to vigorously combat gang, drug and gun crimes in our neighborhoods so that all residents of the City of Detroit can live in an environment that is safe and free of violence,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Slater.

The trial was conducted before U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh in Detroit, Michigan.  The jury deliberated approximately seven days before reaching their verdicts.  Amongst those convicted are:

• Corey Bailey, aka “Sonny,” “Cocaine Sonny,” 30, of Detroit, was convicted of RICO conspiracy; murder in aid of racketeering; attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence;

 

• Arlandis Shy, aka “Grymee,” “Vil,” 29, of Clinton Township was convicted of RICO conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence;

 

• Robert Brown II, aka “R.O.,” 36, of Warren, Michigan, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; and

 

• Keithon Porter, aka “KP,” 32, of Detroit; was convicted of RICO conspiracy; murder in aid of racketeering; attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

 

A fifth defendant, Eugene Fisher, aka “Fes,” 38, of Detroit, was convicted of two counts of felon in possession of a firearm.

According to evidence presented during the trial,  the Seven Mile Bloods gang operates on the east side of Detroit, between Gratiot Avenue and Kelly Road and between Seven and Eight Mile Roads.  Seven Mile Bloods or “SMB” members have claimed this area as their territory and refer to it as the “Red Zone.”  The area is in zip code 48205, which SMB members refer to as “4-8-2-0-Die” in some of their rap lyrics.

Evidence presented at trial showed an ongoing gang war between the Seven Mile Bloods and an alliance of other gangs operating on Detroit’s east side stemming from a murder that occurred in July 2014.  These rival gangs have been violently attacking one another and have posted respective “hit lists” on social media.  This shooting war has led to increased homicides and non-fatal shootings on Detroit’s east side.

This case was the work of the Detroit One Initiative.  Investigators were able to bring together separate probes into various members of this organization and its criminal activities into one encompassing investigation. Partners include the Detroit Police Department Gang Intelligence Unit, the FBI Violent Gang Task Force, which consists of representatives of Detroit Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Michigan Department of Corrections and Michigan State Police, with the cooperation of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

 The investigation further resulted in the seizure of more than 20 firearms, including several high-powered assault rifles.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Julie A. Finocchiaro of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Wechsler, Mark Bilkovic and Tare Wigod of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

A federal jury convicted a Rochester Hills man of sexual abuse onboard an aircraft, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Stater, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Field Division.

Convicted was Prabhu Ramamoorthy, 35.  Ramamoorthy is in the United States on a work visa and will be deported once he has served his sentence.

The five-day trial was conducted before United States District Judge Terrence Berg.  The jury deliberated approximately 3 1/2 hours before returning the guilty verdict.

The indictment alleged that on January 3, 2018, Ramamoorthy engaged in a sexual act with a female, while she was sleeping.  At trial, the government admitted evidence demonstrating that Ramamoorthy digitally penetrated the woman sleeping next to him during an overnight flight from Las Vegas to Detroit.  The sexual assault woke her up, she found her pants unbuttoned and unzipped, and she sought help from the flight attendants.

United States Attorney Matthew Schneider stated, ““Everyone has the right to be secure and safe when they travel on airplanes.  We will not tolerate the behavior of anyone who takes advantage of victims who are in a vulnerable position, and we are glad the jury agreed. We appreciate the victim in this case for her courage to speak out.”

“The safety and security of all aircraft passengers is a priority for the FBI, our local and federal law enforcement partners, and airline carrier personnel,” said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Divison of the FBI. “The federal conviction of Prabhu Ramamoorthy demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to hold individuals accountable for their actions on an aircraft, especially those who commit such a heinous crime.  If you, or someone you know, is the victim of a crime during air travel, immediately notify a flight crew member, airport security police, and the FBI.  We remain committed to working with our federal, local, and private industry partners to ensure that anyone traveling by air is afforded a safe environment.”

A sentencing date has been set for December 12, 2018. Ramamoorthy faces up to life in prison

This case was investigated by the Wayne County Metropolitan Airport Authority, and Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda Jawad and Maggie Smith.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan has reached settlements with two clinical psychology practices:  Michael Vredevoogd P.C., and Apex Behavioral Health-Dearborn, P.L.L.C., to resolve allegations that they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

The ADA requires that places of public accommodation, such as medical offices, provide sign language interpreters or other appropriate auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.  The ADA also requires that public accommodations make reasonable modifications to their policies and practices, such as allowing a service animal in a treatment room, when necessary to afford full and equal services to individuals with disabilities.

Michael Vredevoogd, P.C. is a neuropsychology practice in Clinton Township, Michigan and Apex Behavioral Health-Dearborn P.L.L.C. provides mental and behavioral health services in Dearborn, MI.

These settlements resolve investigations prompted by complaints that Apex Behavioral Health-Dearborn P.L.L.C. failed to provide a sign language interpreter to a patient who is deaf and communicates using American Sign Language, and that Michael Vredevoogd, P.C., refused to provide services to a patient who used a service dog.  The investigations confirmed both allegations.  It also revealed that Michael Vredevoogd, P.C., had a policy of refusing to provide sign language interpreters for patients who are deaf, thus patients with disabilities at both practices were denied the opportunity to get psychological care and communicate effectively with their therapists

“It is critical for patients to be able to communicate effectively with their mental health care providers, especially clinical psychologists who must understand sensitive details in order to appropriately treat complex psychological issues” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider. “It is also important for patients who use service animals to be able to access the office of mental health providers. The Americans with Disabilities Act ensures that persons with disabilities are given equal access to health care.”

Under the settlement, both medical offices have agreed to update their policies and train their staff to ensure compliance under the ADA. They have also agreed to take steps to ensure that interpreters or other appropriate auxiliary aids and services are provided to individuals who need them in the future.  The complainants in the Apex Behavioral Health matter will also receive monetary compensation.

For more information on the ADA and the DOJ’s Barrier Free Healthcare Initiative, visit http://www.ada.gov/usao-agreements.htm. Those interested in finding out more about these settlements or the obligations of public accommodations under the ADA may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD), or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov.  ADA complaints may be submitted to the U.S. Attorney’s Office by email at usamie.civilrights@usdoj.gov, or by calling 313-226-9151.

A grand jury indictment was unsealed today charging Patrick Wittbrodt, Dr. April Tyler and Jeffrey Fillmore of Genesee County with health care fraud and Patrick Wittbrodt with money laundering, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by William P. Conway, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Chicago Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.

The Indictment charges the defendants with a conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 17 counts of health care fraud.  The Indictment specifically charges that between 2014 and 2017, the defendants would attend meetings of the United Auto Workers (“UAW”) union.  At those meetings, the defendants touted unnecessary prescription pain cream, scar cream, pain patches and vitamins to UAW members.   The prescriptions were unnecessary because Dr. April Tyler did not establish a valid doctor-patient relationship with any of the UAW members and/or did not determine medical necessity for the prescriptions she wrote for the UAW members.  Many of the compounded pain and scar creams were billed to the insurance company at over $15,000 per prescription.

Over the course of the conspiracy, the defendants caused fraudulent claims to be submitted to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan and/or Express Scripts totaling approximately $9,500,000.  Over the same period, Medicare paid over $800,000 in fraudulent prescription claims.

Defendant Patrick Wittbrodt is also charged with seven counts of money laundering in connection with the illegal proceeds of the health care fraud conspiracy.

“Health care fraud involving medically necessary prescriptions not only is dangerous to those patients receiving the drugs, but also drives up the cost of health care for everyone,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “This indictment demonstrates that our office is committed to stamping out health care fraud in the Eastern District of Michigan.”

“When medical professionals and others scheme to illegally provide unneeded drugs to consumers, they violate the public trust,” said William P. Conway, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Chicago Field Office. “Our office will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who are criminally involved in the distribution of medicines.”

“Writing medically unnecessary prescriptions for health care items and products and thus causing them to be billed to federal and private health insurance programs is wrong and illegal” said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General.  “Fraudulent acts such as this threaten vitally important programs such as Medicare and the beneficiaries they serve. The OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to ensure that individuals that perpetuate these types of fraudulent schemes are held accountable.”

Health care fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering are each punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine on each count.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Heesters and Health Care Fraud Chief Wayne F. Pratt.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

The owner of multiple towing companies in southeast Michigan, Gasper Fiore, 57, of Grosse Pointe Shores, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine today based on his conviction for conspiracy to commit bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent In Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service.

Fiore was convicted of conspiring to pay bribes to Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds in order to obtain a municipal towing contract with the township.  Clinton Township is the sixth largest municipality in the state.  Fiore gave Reynolds cash bribes of $4,000 and $3,000 in March and May of 2016 in order to buy Reynolds’ vote to select Fiore’s company to receive the Clinton Township towing contract.  Fiore paid the bribes to Reynolds through Charles B. Rizzo, who was cooperating with federal law enforcement at the time of the bribe payments. 

Fiore is one of twenty defendants charged in the government’s wide-ranging corruption investigation centered in Macomb County, Michigan.  United States District Judge Robert H. Cleland remanded Fiore into custody following the sentencing.

Information at the sentencing hearing revealed that besides his conviction for paying bribes to Reynolds, Fiore has also paid bribes to former Detroit Deputy Chief of Police Celia Washington, other law enforcement officers, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers.    

“Big-time contractors like Fiore who pay bribes and corrupt communities in order to maximize their wealth face significant punishment,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “The court’s sentence demonstrates that pay-to-play contracting will not be tolerated and will be punished.”

"Public corruption is one of the FBI's top criminal priority," said FBI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater.  "Corruption of local, state, and federally elected, appointed, or contracted officials - strikes at the heart of government and erodes public confidence."

This case is part of the government’s wide-ranging corruption investigation centered in Macomb County, Michigan.  The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Gardey, R. Michael Bullotta, and Adriana Dydell.

WASHINGTON – William Beaumont Hospital, a regional hospital system based in the Detroit, Michigan area, will pay $84.5 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act of improper relationships with eight referring physicians, resulting in the submission of false claims to the Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE programs, the Justice Department announced today.    

The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs.  The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians with whom the hospital has an improper financial arrangement, including the payment of compensation that exceeds the fair market value of the services actually provided by the physician and the provision of free or below-market rent and office staff.  Both the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law are intended to ensure that physicians’ medical judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives and instead are based on the best interests of their patients.

“Offering financial incentives to physicians in return for patient referrals undermines the integrity of our health care system,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Patients deserve the unfettered, independent judgment of their health care professionals.”

“We are very pleased with the outcome of this case.  This result should impress on the medical community the fact that we will aggressively take action to recover monies wrongfully billed to Medicare, through the remedies provided in the federal False Claims Act,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider for the Eastern District of Michigan.  “I would like to commend the new leadership at Beaumont Hospital for making things right once its past wrongdoing was brought to its attention by federal investigators.”

The settlement resolves allegations that between 2004 and 2012, Beaumont provided compensation substantially in excess of fair market value and free or below-fair market value office space and employees to certain physicians to secure their referrals of patients in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law, and then submitted claims for services provided to these illegally referred patients, in violation of the False Claims Act.  The settlement also resolves claims that Beaumont allegedly misrepresented that a CT radiology center qualified as an outpatient department of Beaumont in claims to federal health care programs.  As a result of this settlement, Beaumont will pay $82.74 million to the United States and $1.76 million to the State of Michigan. 

“Health care providers that offer or accept financial incentives in exchange for patient referrals undermine both the financial integrity of federal health care programs and the public’s trust in medical institutions,” said HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh.  “Our agency will continue to protect both patients and taxpayers by holding those who engage in fraudulent kickback schemes accountable.”

The allegations resolved by the settlement were brought in four lawsuits filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to receive a share of any recovery.  The four qui tam cases are captioned:  United States ex rel. David Felten, M.D., Ph.D. v. William Beaumont Hospitals, et al., No. 2:10-cv-13440 (E.D. Mich.), United States ex rel. Karen Carbone v. William Beaumont Hospital, No. 11-cv-12117 (E.D. Mich.), United States ex rel. Cathryn Pawlusiak v. Beaumont Health System, et al., No. 2:11-cv-12515 (E.D. Mich.), and United States ex rel. Karen Houghton v. William Beaumont Hospital, No. 2:11- cv-14312 (E.D. Mich.).  The whistleblower shares to be awarded in the cases have not yet been determined.

These matters were investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, and the State of Michigan Attorney General’s Office.  Investigative assistance was provided by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service.  

In addition to resolving its False Claims Act liability, Beaumont has entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General which includes, among other things, an arrangements review to be conducted by an Independent Review Organization.

The government’s investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. 

Lucresha Frank, 41, of Pontiac, a former manager of the Colony Arms apartments in Detroit, pleaded guilty to bribery, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Brad Geary, Special Agent in Charge, Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General and Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In 2013, Frank worked as a manager of the Colony Arms apartments, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded Section 8 housing facility.  Frank admitted during her guilty plea that she solicited and accepted cash bribes from prospective tenants in exchange for improperly moving them up on a lengthy waiting list for an apartment.  One of the cash bribes she took was from a woman who was then homeless and living in a shelter with her two small children.

“Bribery by those entrusted to provide federally-funded housing to the economically disadvantaged is an atrocity that cannot stand.  It is not only a breach of the public trust, it takes advantage of those who are at their financial low point and who are desperate for shelter for themselves and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “As such, this criminal conduct will be uncovered and prosecuted to the fullest extent allowed by federal law.” 

“Lucresha Frank’s illegal actions, motivated by her own greed, devastated families experiencing financial distress and prevented those in desperate need from being able to access low cost housing,” said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain fully committed to investigating and prosecuting anyone who seeks to take advantage of those in our communities through such devious criminal schemes.” 

Frank is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2018 before U.S. District Judge Terrence G. Berg.  She faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. 

The investigation of this case was conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Michael Bullotta.

WASHINGTON – In a criminal indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of Michigan today, Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli, 28, of Dearborn, Michigan, was charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The indictment was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan and Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Musaibli, a natural-born U.S. citizen, was detained overseas by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and recently transferred into U.S. custody. Musaibli will be arraigned on the indictment at the federal courthouse in Detroit on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

The indictment alleges that from about April 2015 through June 2018, Musaibli knowingly provided and attempted to provide material support to ISIS, in the form of personnel and services, knowing that ISIS is a terrorist organization and that ISIS engages in terrorism.

 “The National Security Division will not tolerate threats to our country from terrorist organizations like ISIS—not least of all those that come from our own citizens,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “Musaibli’s alleged provision of material support to ISIS put the United States at risk and may have endangered the lives of countless innocent people.  I am confident that he will face justice for his crimes, and I hope that his case sends a clear message that we will hold our citizens accountable who are apprehended overseas and tried to join a terrorist organization such as ISIS.  I am also grateful to our law enforcement and military partners who made this prosecution possible.”

 “The indictment alleges that, for a substantial period of time, defendant Musaibli provided material support to ISIS — one of the most violent terrorist organizations in the world.  During that same time, American-backed coalition forces were fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” United States Attorney Matthew Schneider stated.  “We will vigorously prosecute anyone who provides, or even attempts to provide, support to terrorists.”  

“The indictment in this case serves as a reminder of the danger posed by those who travel overseas to join forces with ISIS,” said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI. “The FBI is determined to find these individuals and bring them to justice.  Bringing charges in these cases will remind others what can happen if they provide assistance to foreign terrorist organizations.”

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cathleen Corken and Kevin Mulcahy of the Eastern District of Michigan with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

The former second highest official in the UAW’s Chrysler Department pleaded guilty today to conspiring with other UAW officials and Fiat Chrysler executives to make illegal payments to union officials, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Joining in the announcement were James Vanderberg, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, and Thomas Murray, Acting District Director, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards.

Nancy A. Johnson, 57, of Macomb, Michigan pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Labor Management Relations Act by accepting and arranging for illegal payments from Fiat Chrysler executives to high-level UAW officials from 2014 through 2016.  After the now-deceased UAW Vice President General Holiefield retired in 2014, Johnson and other UAW officials began running the UAW’s Chrysler Department, responsible for dealing with executives at Fiat Chrysler.  During the plea hearing, Johnson admitted to participating in a conspiracy that had existed at least from 2009 through 2016 whereby Fiat Chrysler executives conspired with one another, with Fiat Chrysler, with UAW officials, and with the UAW to funnel money and things of value worth tens of thousands of dollars from Fiat Chrysler to UAW officials and the UAW.  The things of value funneled to UAW officials from Fiat Chrysler included personal travel, golf resort fees, lavish meals and parties, limousine services, designer clothing, designer shoes, golf equipment, electronics, and an Italian shotgun.            

Johnson’s guilty plea indicated that a high-level UAW official directed other UAW officials to use money supplied from automobile manufacturing companies through joint UAW training centers to pay for travel, including travel solely for purported union business, as well as lavish meal and other entertainment costs of senior UAW officials and their friends, family, and allies. This directive was issued in order to reduce costs to the UAW budget from such expenditures because the UAW’s budget was under pressure. 

Johnson’s plea also stated that In 2014, 2015, and 2016, in Palm Springs, California, high-level UAW officials used UAW funds to pay for extravagant meals, premium liquor, multi-month stays at condominiums, and multiple rounds of golf for little, if any, legitimate union-business or labor-management purposes.  These expenditures were in addition to other expenses paid for by Fiat Chrysler by way of the training center.

As another part of the conspiracy, Johnson’s plea indicated that during the period 2014 through 2016, 100% of the UAW salaries of a large number of UAW officials and employees, nominally assigned to the NTC, was paid for by FCA through the NTC. FCA paid these salaries for the UAW even though senior UAW officials and FCA executives both knew that these UAW officials and employees “assigned” to the NTC spent most of their work time performing tasks for the UAW, reported to the UAW, and enforced FCA’s compliance with the collective bargaining agreement on behalf of the union and not for the benefit of FCA or the NTC.      

Johnson is the seventh defendant to plead guilty in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation into illegal payoffs involving UAW officials and FCA executives.  The following individuals have already pleaded guilty to their participation in the scheme:  former FCA Vice President for Employee Relations Alphons Iacobelli, former FCA Financial Analyst Jerome Durden, former Director of FCA’s Employee Relations Department Michael Brown, former senior UAW officials Virdell King and Keith Mickens, and Monica Morgan, the widow of UAW Vice President General Holiefield.    

“Today’s conviction of yet another senior UAW official further exposes the dishonorable scheme between UAW officials and Fiat Chrysler executives to corrupt the collective bargaining process at the expense of rank and file union members,” said United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “The conviction reveals that part of this scheme involved the wrongful use of UAW funds for extravagant meals, entertainment, golf, and travel for little, if any, union-business purpose.”   

“Nancy Johnson held a high-level position in the UAW and was entrusted to negotiate and implement contracts for the UAW union members she served. Instead, Johnson defrauded the membership by illegally obtaining items worth thousands of dollars, including jewelry, clothing, and other personal items, knowing that FCA was paying the bill. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate corrupt union officials who violate their duty to the members they represent for personal gain.” stated James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

“Today’s guilty plea from Nancy A. Johnson, a former senior UAW official, demonstrates the continued efforts of the FBI along with our law enforcement partners to hold those persons misusing funds, whether for personal gain or the enrichment of others, accountable for their actions," said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI. "Her actions, depriving the rank and file UAW membership of training money, is intolerable and we remain committed to pursuing all those responsible."

“Protecting members against corruption perpetrated by their union leaders is critical to the mission of OLMS,” said Thomas Murray, acting District Director of the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) Detroit-Milwaukee District Office.  “We will continue to work cooperatively with our law enforcement partners to ensure that anyone who abuses their union position for personal financial gain will be brought to justice.”

U.S. Attorney Schneider commended the outstanding work of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in conducting a comprehensive criminal investigation into labor corruption activities involving a vital sector of the local and national economy.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Gardey, Erin Shaw, Charles J. Kalil II, and Adriana Dydell.

A 35-year-old resident of Mount Pleasant, Michigan, was sentenced yesterday to 72 months in prison for Abusive Sexual Contact, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.   

United States District Judge Thomas L. Ludington also imposed 5 years of supervised release on Wayne Marshall Acuna who pled guilty on April 9, 2018.

The evidence established that in 2016 or 2017, Acuna entered the room of a minor and rubbed the victim’s vagina through the clothing while the victim was sleeping. This all occurred on the Isabella Reservation.

The case was investigated by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roy Kranz.    

Six men from around the country were sentenced today and yesterday for participating in an international child pornography production ring, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI, Detroit Division. 

• Terry Kovac, 49, a dispatcher of a package delivery company of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to 37 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. 
• Felipe Dominguez-Meija, 31, a painter of Springdale, Arkansas, was sentenced to 41 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. 
• Noel Eisley, 38, a research scientist of Wappinger Falls, New York, was sentenced to 35 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. 
• Eric Robinson, 42, a restaurant manager of Duluth, Minnesota, was sentenced to 34 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. 
• Bret Massey, 47, a sales coordinator and design specialist of Portland, Maine, was sentenced to 32 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. 

William Phillips, 39, a cook of Highland Park, New York, pleaded guilty to the charge of child exploitation enterprise in two cases for his participation in the above-described group as well as another, similar group with the same objective.  Phillips entered guilty pleas on Dec. 21, 2017 and May 11, 2018.  On the first case, Phillips was sentenced to 33 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.  On the second case, Phillips was sentenced to 33 years in prison, to run concurrently, followed by 5 years of supervised release.  

In addition to their prison sentences and terms of supervised release, all of the defendants were ordered to pay 5,000 dollars in restitution to each of the identified victims, reaching a total of over 1.4 million dollars.  U.S. District Judge Stephen J. Murphy III for the Eastern District of Michigan imposed the sentences.  

According to court records, these six men worked together from 2013 to April of 2017, with other men both inside and outside of the United States, to lure juvenile girls to two different unmonitored video chat websites and sexually exploit them.  The men recruited the victims from common social media platforms by pretending to be teenage boys interested in chatting with the girls in real time.  Once the victims arrived in the chatrooms, the group—all pretending to be teenagers—worked together to build trust and convince the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct on web camera.  The group members then recorded that activity and shared it with each other.  The girls were unaware that the men were making recordings, or what they dubbed “captures,” of the sexual activity.  

Through their scheme, the group successfully recorded tens of thousands of sexually explicit videos of minors, some as young as 11 years old.  The defendants preyed on more than 100 victims, some of whom were present for the sentencing hearing and made statements to the Court.  Still other victims have not been identified.  The FBI has so-far identified 48 victims in the United States. 

“The six men sentenced today are an example of a disturbing and reprehensible new trend: the ‘crowdsourcing’ of child exploitation,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “These highly organized and coldly calculating defendants worked together over the course of several years, pretending to be teenage boys in order to entice more than 100 minor girls—some as young as 11 years old—into producing child pornography which the defendants then shared with each other. Thanks to the outstanding efforts of the agents and prosecutors who worked on this case, these men will spend years behind bars, and their victims—some of whom were present at the sentencing and addressed the Court—have received some measure of justice for the terrible harm done to them.”

“These predators committed truly horrific crimes against innocent girls, and they deserve decades in prison.  Shockingly, some of these defendants have young children themselves,” said United States Attorney Schneider.  “Parents, please speak with your children about the dangers of chatting online so we can keep all of our children safe.”

“These appalling crimes victimize and exploit innocent children”, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Slater.  “The arrest and prosecution of perpetrators who commit these heinous acts of violence will continue to be a high priority of the FBI’s SEMTEC task force.”

Assistant United States Attorneys April N. Russo and Kevin M. Mulcahy of the Eastern District of Michigan, along with Trial Attorney Leslie Fisher of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, prosecuted the case.  The FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes task force investigated the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

William Pritula, 69, of Romulus pleaded guilty to paying co-defendant James Warner, a field inspector at the Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA), over $5 million in bribes and kickbacks between May of 2010 and August of 2014, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today. 

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy Slater, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Thomas J. Ullom, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the United States Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General.

Pritula, who owned and operated Pritula and Sons, a company which sought and entered into contracts for pavement repair and replacement, as well as water main repair and fire hydrant installation and maintenance at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, participated in a scheme in which Warner, with Pritula’s knowledge, would draft and submit fraudulently-inflated invoices for work which Pritula was contracted to perform at the airport. Upon payment by the WCAA to Pritula, Pritula would kickback roughly half of the profits to Warner—a total of over $5 million over four years. Thus far, law enforcement has seized $11.4 million in criminal proceeds, including $7.5 million from Pritula and $3.9 million from Warner.

The bribery charge to which Pritula has pleaded guilty carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. 

United States Attorney Schneider said, “Today’s guilty plea to one of the largest bribes prosecuted to date in the Eastern District of Michigan, reinforces our continued commitment to protecting our citizens from the fraud, waste, and abuse that stems from bribe-paying contractors who are motivated by greed rather than a desire to improve our public infrastructure.”

“To those who seek advantage in obtaining government contracts by paying kickbacks or bribes, the message should be clear—the collective resources of the FBI and our law enforcement partners will expose your illegal activities and bring you to justice”, said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI.

“As evidenced by the guilty plea entered into today by William Pritula, investigating acts of corruption and pursing the individuals who commit them remains a top priority for the Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG),” stated Thomas J. Ullom, Regional Special Agent-In-Charge, DOT-OIG. “Working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, we will continue our vigorous efforts in preventing, detecting and prosecuting infrastructure fraud.”

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Transportation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eaton P. Brown, Paul Kuebler and R. Michael Bullotta.

The wife of former UAW Vice President General Holiefield was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release and a fine of $25,000 today based on her conviction for felony tax fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Joining in the announcement were Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, James Vanderberg, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Thomas Murray, Acting District Director, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards, and Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Monica Morgan, 54, of Harrison Township, Michigan had previously pled guilty in February 2018 before United States District Judge Paul D. Borman.  During her guilty plea, Morgan admitted to filing fraudulent tax returns whereby she failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income for the years 2011 through 2014.  In total, Morgan failed to pay $190,747 in taxes owed. 

Morgan is the wife of former UAW Vice President General Holiefield, who died in March of 2015.  From 2010 to 2014, Holiefield was the director of the UAW Chrysler Department and acted as the lead negotiator and the lead administrator for the collective bargaining agreements between the UAW and FCA.

According to court records, Morgan owned and operated the companies Monica Morgan Photography and Wilson’s Diversified Products based in Detroit, Michigan.  Morgan’s companies received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center during the years when Holiefield was a UAW Vice President.  Morgan’s companies also received significant payments from Holiefield’s charity, known as the Leave the Light On Foundation.  Former FCA Vice President Alphons Iacobelli and former FCA Financial Analyst Jerome Durden each acknowledged using Wilson Diversified Products and the Leave the Light On Foundation to conceal payments made on behalf of FCA to UAW Vice President Holiefield.  Both Durden and Iacobelli have previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the criminal conspiracy, along with former FCA executive Michael Brown and former senior UAW officials Virdell King and Keith Mickens.  Durden, Iacobelli, Brown, King, and Mickens are all awaiting sentencing before Judge Borman.     

Morgan’s various companies received hundreds of thousands of dollars in money funneled by FCA executives to Morgan and Holiefield, all in effort to keep UAW executives like Holiefield “fat, dumb, and happy.”  At the hearing today, Morgan’s sentencing guidelines were enhanced based on the fact that the income she failed to report was the proceeds of criminal activity.  In addition, her sentence was enhanced because Morgan used sophisticated means and shell companies in order to conceal her tax fraud.

The Court ordered Morgan to pay $190,747 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Morgan is the first defendant to be sentenced in the ongoing criminal investigation into illegal payoffs involving UAW officials and FCA executives.

U.S. Attorney Schneider commended the outstanding work of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in conducting a comprehensive criminal investigation into labor corruption activities involving a vital sector of the local and national economy.

“Morgan was punished for cheating on her taxes and for helping to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal payments from FCA executives to Morgan and her husband, General Holiefield, the former UAW Vice President in charge of the Chrysler Department,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “The court’s sentence for Morgan vindicates the honest tax payers who properly report their income and pay their taxes, while sending a strong signal to those who would steal from everyone in the community through tax fraud.”

Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of Detroit’s IRS Criminal Investigation stated, “Today’s sentencing of Monica Morgan demonstrates the consequences for enriching oneself with funds designated for the hard working members of the UAW and failing to report the diverted funds as income on your personal tax returns. IRS-CI and our federal partners will continue to aggressively pursue corrupt corporate and union officials who violate federal law and interfere with our nation’s tax laws."

“Monica Morgan filed a false tax return to conceal income she received from her companies. Those companies received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center during the years her late husband was a UAW Vice President. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate crimes that threaten the integrity of the union collective bargaining process,” said James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

“The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards places a high priority on combatting financial malfeasance and safeguarding financial integrity in labor unions,” said acting OLMS Detroit-Milwaukee District Director Thomas Murray.  “Morgan’s conviction leaves no question as to the agency’s commitment to seek justice when anyone puts personal financial gain ahead of the best interests of union members.”

“The sentencing of Monica Morgan should serve as a firm reminder that anyone who believes that they can enrich themselves through deception and fraud will be held accountable", said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI.  "In the process of receiving and concealing ill-gotten funds, Morgan committed tax fraud and squandered training opportunities for many deserving blue-collar auto workers".

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Gardey, Erin Shaw, Charles J. Kalil II, and Adriana Dydell.

DR. POMPY WAS ACQUITTED OF THE CHARGES ALLEDGED IN THE INDICTMENT DESCRIBED IN THE PRESS RELEASE BELOW

A grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Dr. Lesly Pompy, 57, of Monroe, Michigan with unlawful distribution of prescription drugs and health care fraud, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Field Division and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.

The 37-count Indictment charges that between 2012 and 2016, Dr. Pompy unlawfully distributed more than 4,221,892 dosage units of Schedule II controlled substances and over 6,196,642 total dosage units of all controlled substances outside the course of professional medical practice.  During that time frame, he also submitted claims to Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield totaling approximately $16,856,683.  The majority of these fraudulent claims were seeking reimbursement for the costs of office visits and other services that were not medically necessary and that Dr. Pompy never rendered.

“The damage that the proliferation of opioid distribution has done to our community, like many across the United States has been devastating,” stated United States Attorney Schneider.  “It’s particularly disturbing when the distributor is a medical professional

DEA Special Agent in Charge Plancon stated, “This investigation was only possible because of the collaborative efforts of our federal and local law enforcement partners including but not limited to the Monroe Area Narcotics and Investigation Team. The indictment of Pompy reminds the citizens we serve that collectively we are ridding the community of crime one drug dealer at a time.”

Dr. Pompy was arraigned this afternoon in federal court and was released on bond.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brandy R. McMillion and Health Care Fraud Chief Wayne F. Pratt.  McMillion serves as the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit Prosecutor for the Eastern District of Michigan.  This Department of Justice initiative uses data to target and prosecute individuals that are contributing to the nation’s opioid crisis.  The Eastern District of Michigan is one of the twelve districts included in the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit. 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

An indictment was unsealed today charging  psychologist Paul L. Smith, PhD, 54, most recently practicing in Shelby Township, Michigan, with fraudulently billing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) for neuropsychological and psychological testing that was never performed, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today. In total, according to the indictment, BCBSM lost approximately $5,000,000 as a result of Smith’s false claims. Smith is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court tomorrow afternoon.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters of the FBI’s Detroit Division and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.

The indictment alleges that from January 2015 to February of 2018, Smith submitted approximately 1,700 false claims for neuropsychological testing (CPT Code 96118) and 140 false claims for psychological testing (CPT Code 96101).  As an example of excessive and unnecessary billing, the indictment alleges that Smith billed BCBSM for allegedly providing neuropsychological testing on 21 occasions for a single patient within a single year, each claim involving 24 hours of professional service.  BCBSM paid Smith approximately $61,000 based upon false claims on behalf of that patient.    In total, according to the indictment, BCBSM lost approximately $5,000,000 as a result of Smith’s false claims.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI and HHS.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Engstrom and Shankar Ramamurthy.

This afternoon, a federal jury convicted Dean Reynolds, a former Trustee of Clinton Township, on all fourteen counts of bribery and bribery conspiracy United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today. 

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service. 

The jury deliberated for slightly over an hour before reaching its guilty verdicts following a six-day long trial that began on June 13, 2018.  The Court remanded Reynolds into custody following entry of the verdicts. 

During the trial, the evidence showed that Reynolds demanded and took over $150,000 in bribes in four separate bribery conspiracies involving four different government contracts.  The bribes included over $75,000 in cash, $50,000 in free legal services for Reynolds’ divorce, and an all-expenses paid trip to Disney World, including an eight-night stay in a deluxe-level room costing over $600 per night.  The jury found that Reynolds demanded bribes in connection with the Clinton Township garbage-hauling contract worth over $16 million, the township engineering contract worth over $500,000 per year, and the township towing contract.  In addition, the jury convicted Reynolds of conspiring to pay bribes to former New Haven, Michigan Trustee Brett Harris and to corrupt the garbage contract for New Haven.  Reynolds was convicted of taking multiple bribes from convicted garbage executive Chuck Rizzo, from Paulin Modi, a former managing partner of Giffels Webster Engineering, who was also convicted of bribery, and from Gasper Fiore, the owner of multiple towing companies in southeast Michigan, who was also previously convicted of bribery conspiracy.        

United States Attorney Schneider said, “Today’s verdict shows both our intolerance for corrupt public officials in Metro Detroit, and the community’s willingness to find them guilty after hearing the evidence.  The verdict is a victory for honest government and a blow to those officials who try to subvert it for their own selfish, greedy ends.”

"The pursuit of public officials who abuse their authority for personal gain is one of the highest priorities for the FBI," stated Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. "We are committed to rooting out corruption and graft in southeast Michigan to ensure that our communities get the honest and quality public representation that they deserve."

Based on the jury’s guilty verdicts for conspiring to commit bribery and taking bribes, Reynolds faces a maximum of five years in prison on each of the four bribery conspiracy charges and a fine of up to $250,000.  In addition, Reynolds also faces a maximum of ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each of his ten convictions for bribery.  A preliminary calculation of the federal sentencing guidelines for Reynolds indicates that he faces a total combined sentencing guideline range of over twenty years in prison.         

This case is part of the government’s wide-ranging corruption investigation centered in Macomb County, Michigan.  Reynolds was the sixteenth individual convicted as part of this investigation, including public officials, contractors, and other co-conspirators. 

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Michael Bullotta, David A. Gardey, and Adriana Dydell

An indictment was unsealed in Flint charging Doniel A. Heard of Canton, Talasha R. Willis of Flint, Kimberly A. Perryman of Mt. Morris, and Alina D. White of Waterford for their involvement in a vicious assault on a 15-year old boy, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Timothy T.  Waters, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division (FBI), John C. Mullaly, Chief of Police of the Genesee Township Police Department, and David S. Leyton, Genesee County Prosecuting Attorney. 

Heard, Willis, Perryman, and White are each charged with a count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and a count of interference with commerce by robbery.

According to the indictment, the defendants, Heard, Willis, Perryman, and White, are members of a street gang known as “M.O.B. 662,” which is a set of the Bloods, a national criminal street gang.  The defendants beat and robbed the 15-year old victim, then carved “M.O.B. 662” into his chest with a knife.  The indictment alleges that the defendants assaulted the victim for the purpose of gaining entrance to and maintaining and increasing position in the gang. 

“As alleged in the indictment, this was a brutal attack on a 15-year old boy by a violent street gang,” stated United States Attorney Schneider.  “We will continue to vigorously prosecute violent street gangs, especially those who target children.”

“This case is a stark reminder that the influence of violent street gangs extends beyond the big cities and into smaller communities such as our own,” said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. “We must be ever-vigilant in thwarting their activities and stopping them from gaining a foothold in Flint and Genesee County and the prosecution of this case is a part of that effort,” he said.  

“The defendants’ vicious attack of a 15-year old child is the type of senseless violence that if left unchecked can eat away at the core of a community,” stated Timothy T. Waters, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit FBI. “The FBI, in collaboration with our local and state partners, is dedicated to protecting our neighborhoods from violent street gangs and securing safety for our communities.”

“During the Genesee Township Police Department’s investigation, it became obvious that the nature of the robbery and maiming of the juvenile victim was part of a larger organized gang related activity.  Our agency worked closely with the United States Attorney’s Office, the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office, and with our State and Federal law enforcement partners to identify and apprehend the criminal parties responsible for this heinous attack,” said Chief Mullaly. 

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the Genesee Township Police Department and special agents of the FBI, with assistance from the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Rawsthorne, Ann Nee, and Anthony Vance. 

A Detroit man was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison for the January 2017 sale of fentanyl laced heroin that resulted in the death of a 36 year old Westland man, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. 

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy Plancon, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division and Chief Jeff Jedrusik of the Westland Police Department.

Sentenced was Alxleotold Gordon, 46.  Gordon pleaded guilty on September 18, 2017 before U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland.  Co-defendant Lori Ann Pangborn also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 108 months in prison last December.

According to court records, the victim in this case was supplied heroin by Lori Ann Pangborn, Gordon’s co-defendant, while the victim was in a recovery house attempting to overcome his heroin addiction.  Gordon, who has numerous felony drug convictions, was sentenced following his guilty pleas to Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death, Possession of Controlled Substances (Heroin) With the Intent to Distribute, Possession of Firearms by a Previously Convicted Felon and Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.

 “This conviction and sentence is particularly important given Mr. Gordon’s numerous previous felony conviction for narcotics distribution offenses,” stated U.S. Attorney Schneider.  “Persons addicted to opiates face nearly insurmountable challenges in beating their addiction. Those who make it available to users guarantee failure in that fight.”  

“This sentence is the culmination of numerous hours of dedicated work by Westland Police Officers and DEA Agents” said Special Agent Plancon.  “DEA will continue to aggressively target and prosecute drug trafficking crimes involving heroin as part of the effort to address the ongoing opiate crisis that is threatening the safety of Detroit’s citizens.”

An important component to the federal prosecution was swift and successful investigation and undercover work by officers of the Westland Policed Department. 

Chief Jedrusik of the Westland Police stated, “Westland Detectives and Officers from the Special Investigations Unit conducted a thorough and professional investigation, quickly determined the defendants’ identities and orchestrated a seamless undercover operation and search warrant resulting in Gordon and Pangborn’s arrest.  Their hard work and dedication is a credit to the Westland Police Department.”

Westland Police Department and the Detroit office of the DEA investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Shaw and John O’Brien of the Eastern District of Michigan prosecuted the case.

 

A Detroit man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to engage in mail fraud and being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

According to court records, Charles H. Alexander, 54, of Detroit, participated in a multi-year scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits. Alexander acknowledged that as part of the scheme, he obtained personal identifying information of third parties and caused unemployment benefits to be issued in the names of those third parties—even though those individuals had no legitimate entitlement to such benefits. Alexander also acknowledged that he impersonated others in order to withdraw fraudulently-obtained unemployment insurance benefits.

Alexander, who has prior convictions for illegal weapons activity, drug activity, and aggravated domestic violence, also admitted that he illegally possessed a loaded firearm.

“Charles Alexander defrauded the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency by conspiring with others to falsely obtain and use debit cards containing over $330,000 in unemployment benefits issued in the names of claimants who were not entitled to such benefits.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the unemployment insurance system from those who exploit these benefit programs,” said James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

As part of his plea agreement, Alexander has agreed to be held accountable for $330,561 in restitution.

Alexander entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman in Detroit.  Sentencing has been set for October 5, 2018.

The case is being investigated by the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General and the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Yahkind

Former Detroit Police Department Officer Charles Wills was sentenced today to twenty-six months’ imprisonment for accepting bribes from an owner of an automobile collision shop in exchange for referring stolen and abandoned vehicles recovered in the City of Detroit to that shop, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Patricia Armstrong, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Detroit Division and Chief James Craig, Detroit Police Department, Patricia Armstrong, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Detroit Division and Chief James Craig, Detroit Police Department. The defendant was actively employed with the Detroit Police Department at the time of the offense.

Charles Wills, age 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland. Wills previously pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion.

According to the facts alleged in the superseding indictment and further developed at the plea hearing and in sentencing briefing, Wills accepted cash payments from the owner/operator of a Detroit collision shop in exchange for referring abandoned vehicles to that shop for repairs. Wills also accepted cash from other collision shops, wrote false police reports, and introduced another officer to the scheme of accepting cash in exchange for referring vehicles to collision shops. 

This is the fifth defendant to have been sentenced as a result of this investigation.  The sixth defendant, Deonne Dotson, is awaiting trial.

All of the Officers were charged with engaging in extortion for using their official positions as Police Officers to refer cars to certain collision shops in exchange for cash payments.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Detroit Police Department and the following agencies from the FBI Detroit Area Corruption Task Force: Michigan State Police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Professional Responsibility, Investigative Operation Division.

The FBI Detroit Area Corruption Task Force is comprised of personnel from the Detroit Division of the FBI; Michigan State Police; Michigan Department of Attorney General; Detroit Police Department; U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Professional Responsibility, Investigative Operations Division; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General; U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General; U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General; and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of the Inspector General.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Resnick Cohen and Craig A. Weier

A medical assistant was indicted on charges of defrauding the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) and stealing patients’ Personal Identifying Information (PII) from a doctor’s office in Pontiac, Michigan, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Douglas J. Zloto, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Detroit Field Office.

Indicted was Aline Harris, 34, of Detroit, Michigan.  The indictment charges wire fraud, wrongful disclosure of health information, and identity theft in relation to unemployment benefits fraud and unauthorized disclosure of patients’ PII. 

According to the indictment, Harris, who worked for a doctor’s office in Pontiac, Michigan was fraudulently printing out patients’ profiles which contained PII and giving the information to others who used them to commit other federal crimes.  She also lied to the Michigan UIA and collected over $33,000 in unemployment benefits she was not entitled to.

Harris was arrested today and appeared in court the Eastern District of Michigan for arraignment on the indictment.  She was released on a personal bond.

The case was investigated by the Southeast Michigan Financial Crimes Task Force led by the United States Secret Service.  West Bloomfield, Warren, and Royal Oak Police Departments, Michigan Attorney General’s Office, and the IRS.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abed Hammoud with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.