Western District of Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that two Florida men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for harboring illegal aliens working for their labor leasing businesses in Branson, Mo.

 

Martin Ghambaryan, 29, and Mikayel V. Abrahamyan, 34, both of whom are Armenian nationals and legal permanent residents of the United States residing in Delray Beach, Fla., were charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, July 8, 2015.

 

Ghambaryan incorporated MGM Union, LLC, in Missouri in 2008 and Abrahamyan incorporated Seasonal Labor Solutions, LLC, in Missouri in 2009. Both businesses have Branson addresses. According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.

 

The federal indictment alleges that Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan, knowingly and in reckless disregard of the fact that aliens were in the United States in violation of law, concealed, harbored, and shielded numerous illegal aliens from detection. The indictment alleges Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan conspired with, and aided and abetted, the de facto operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions to harbor those illegal aliens and conceal them from detection.

 

The operators of MGM applied for federal authorization to employ non-citizen workers with H-2B visas (a non-immigrant visa granted to aliens seeking to work in the United States on a temporary or seasonal non-agricultural work basis). MGM’s application to employ alien workers with H-2B visas was denied, the indictment says, and MGM never received authorization to employ alien workers with H-2B visas. No one acting on behalf of Seasonal Labor Solutions ever even applied for that authorization, according to the indictment.

 

Even though MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions never received legal authorization to employ alien workers with H-2B visas, the indictment says, the operators of those companies routinely employed alien workers with H-2B visas, thereby placing the alien workers in an illegal employment status and rendering the alien workers subject to deportation for violating the terms and conditions of their visas.

 

The operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions allegedly also employed undocumented aliens who were not legally entitled to be in the United States, much less be employed.

 

These alien workers, whether they were undocumented or had some form of work visa, were typically required to live in certain hotels and apartments in the Branson area, the indictment says, creating a situation where the workers had to make a rent payment to the operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions. These alien workers also were dependent on the operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions for transportation to and from their living quarters to their jobs, and were transported in vans provided by their employers.

 

According to the indictment, workers often ended up owing large debts to the operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions, which were then deducted from the workers’ paychecks, leaving the workers with minimal take home pay.

 

The operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions routinely allowed alien workers to remain on the payroll following expiration of a temporary work visa, the indictment says. They allegedly collected fees from the alien workers based on the promise of obtaining extensions of the temporary work visa, but routinely failed to do so, leaving the alien workers in an illegal employment status. The operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions used the alien workers’ illegal employment status, and the threat of potential removal and deportation from the United States, as a way to compel the aliens to continue working.

 

The federal indictment alleges that Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan, knew, and acted in reckless disregard of the fact that the de facto operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions routinely employed alien workers with H-2B visas, thereby placing the alien workers in an illegal employment status, and rendering the alien workers subject to deportation for violating the terms and conditions of their visas. The indictment also alleges that Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan, knew, and acted in reckless disregard of the fact that the de facto operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions also employed undocumented aliens who were not legally entitled to be in the United States, much less be employed.

 

Between April 27, 2009, and Dec. 28, 2009, the de facto operators of MGM funneled more than $220,000 into MGM’s business checking account to pay the alien workers illegally employed by and harbored by MGM.

 

Between Jan. 8, 2010, and Nov. 2, 2010, the de facto operators of Seasonal Labor Solutions funneled more than $490,000 into Seasonal Labor Solutions’ business checking account to pay the alien workers illegally employed by and harbored by Seasonal Labor Solutions.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Criminal Division Chief Gene Porter. It was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Also participating in the investigation were the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services; the U.S. Department of State, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former correctional officer at the Jackson County Detention Center has been indicted by a federal grand jury for violating an inmate’s civil rights by using unreasonable force.

 

Young Isinwa, 45, of Kansas City, Mo., was charged in an indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, July 8, 2015. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Isinwa’s arrest and initial court appearance.

 

The federal indictment alleges that Isinwa deprived an inmate at the Jackson County Detention Center, who is identified in the indictment as “M.F.,” of his Constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by one acting under color of law.

 

Isinwa, while on duty working as a correctional officer on Oct. 16, 2011, allegedly kicked M.F. in the head while the inmate was restrained and not posing a threat to Isinwa or others. The inmate suffered bodily injury as a result.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

This case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ketchmark. It was investigated by the FBI.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Liberty, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving child pornography over the Internet.

 

Tracy J. Yost, 44, of Liberty, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 15 years in federal prison without parole.

 

On Dec. 4, 2014, Yost pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet.

 

Based upon an investigation of persons using a peer-to-peer file-sharing program, investigators executed a search warrant at Yost’s residence on April 5, 2013, and seized several computer hard drives. Forensic examiners found several videos of child pornography on one of the hard drives. According to court documents, Yost was also involved in a sexually exploitative interaction with a minor.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. It was investigated by the FBI.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for carjacking.

 

Stephen D. Bagley, 25, of Kansas City, Kan., was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.

 

Today’s indictment alleges that Bagley stole a 2008 Nissan Altima at gunpoint on June 22, 2014. Bagley allegedly brandished a Glock .40-caliber pistol during the carjacking. Bagley, who has been convicted of a felony, allegedly was in possession of ammunition.

 

Bagley is charged with one count of carjacking, one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jess E. Michaelsen. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the owner of a Joplin, Mo., business was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a mail fraud conspiracy and to money laundering related to the sale of more than $1.1 million of synthetic marijuana, also known as K2.

 

Timmy J. Ridgway, 53, of Weir, Kan., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to three years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Ridgway to forfeit to the government $285,949, which represents the proceeds of the mail fraud conspiracy, as well as his business property in Joplin, a residential property in Pittsburg, Kan., and $299,037 that was seized from his business and bank accounts.

 

On July 22, 2013, Ridgway pleaded guilty to distributing synthetic marijuana, also known as K2, at his business, The Looking Glass, 1860 W. 20th St., Joplin. K2 is a mixture of plant material that has been sprayed or mixed with a synthetic chemical compound similar to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Ridgway attempted to conceal his drug distribution by marketing K2 products as “incense” that was “not intended for human consumption.” In reality, however, the K2 products were intended for human consumption as a drug.

 

Ridgway obtained approximately $1,129,500 from the sale of approximately 94 kilograms of synthetic marijuana between December 2011 and March 2013. Ridgway deposited $830,467 into his bank accounts during that timeframe. Law enforcement seized $299,037 from Ridgway’s bank accounts on March 4, 2013.

 

According to court documents, Ridgway filled a vacuum created by the arrests of other distributors of K2 in the Joplin area. Effective law enforcement, which led to the arrests of his competitors, did not deter Ridgway’s criminal conduct. In fact, Ridgway’s profits skyrocketed between the summer of 2012 and March 2013.

 

On March 4, 2013, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at The Looking Glass and seized approximately 615 packages of “Bizarro,” 268 packages of “Orgazmo,”and $7,575 in cash. The same day, approximately $123,512 was seized from two bank accounts.

 

The labels on these packages of synthetic marijuana stated that the contents were “incense” or “potpourri” and “not for human consumption.” However, Ridgway admitted that he distributed K2, which contained a controlled substance analogue, for human consumption.

 

K2 was delivered to The Looking Glass via United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx from distributors and manufacturers in Ohio and California on at least 80 occasions between Dec. 29, 2011, and March 4, 2013. Invoices seized from The Looking Glass recorded the delivery of and payment for 93,931.5 grams of synthetic marijuana.

 

This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Jasper County Drug Task Force and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Texas man was sentenced in federal court today for traveling to Missouri to engage in sex with two minor sisters whose “father” (actually an undercover police detective) he met online.

 

John Paul Christian, 42, of San Marcos, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

 

On Sept. 17, 2014, Christian pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and to one count of traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

 

According to court documents, Christian communicated through an online social media site with a man he believed to be the father of two minor females, ages 11 and 15, on Feb. 19, 2014. The father was actually an undercover Kansas City, Mo., Police Department detective.

 

Christian called the undercover detective on his cell phone to discuss his interest in having sex with the girls, and sent e-mail and text messages to the undercover detective to arrange a meeting to further discuss this opportunity to have sex with his children. On Feb. 26, 2014, Christian sent a text to the undercover detective stating that he wanted to have sex with the 11-year-old girl first and describing all of the sex acts he desired to perform on and with her. On Feb. 28, 2014, Christian sent a $200 Money Gram to the undercover detective as partial payment of the $400 agreed price for sex with the girls.

 

On March 1, 2014, Christian traveled from Texas to Missouri, to a location where he believed the man and his daughters lived, with the intent to have sex with the girls as previously arranged. Christian arrived in a taxi at about 8:10 p.m. and was arrested as he got out of the taxi.

 

When he was taken into custody, Christian was in possession of two bags. According to court documents, one of the bags contained a “Hello Kitty” backpack doll, two “Hello Kitty” underwear outfits for young girls, two pairs of young girls’ panties, two cans of Red Bull, rope necklaces, Q-Tips and a teal iPod Nano with headphones. The other bag contained an Acer Chromebook laptop computer with power cables, a Samsung flip phone, and a bottle of Astroglide lubricant.

 

When officers searched Christian’s hotel room, according to court documents, they found a notebook with what appears to be a letter written to the 15-year-old daughter. The letter details the various sex acts that Christian was going to be engaged in with the sisters. Christian wrote that he wanted to get the 15-year-old girl pregnant so that they could have a “little baby girl together” that they in turn would sexually molest.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department in conjunction with the Human Trafficking Rescue Project.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Neosho, Mo., man has been convicted in federal court of illegally possessing firearms.

 

Louis Anthony Hardison, also known as Mohammad L. Carrol, 54, of Neosho, was found guilty on July 2, 2015, of being a felon in possession of two firearms, in an order by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool, following a bench trial on June 15, 2015.

 

Hardison was in possession of an Intratec 9mm pistol (along with 140 rounds of ammunition) and a Cobray Derringer .45-caliber pistol (along with two rounds of ammunition) on Nov. 27, 2013.

 

According to court documents, a 911 dispatcher received a desperate call for assistance at about 4 a.m. on Nov. 27, 2013. The caller reported that someone had a gun and knives and told the dispatcher, “I will be . . . dead before you get all this information . . . he got a butcher knife to my . . . neck and he got a gun.”

 

When Neosho police officers arrived at the residence, they found the caller standing near her vehicle parked on the roadside in front of Hardison’s residence. Hardison was standing near the front door of the residence. The officer noticed that Hardison smelled of intoxicants and his speech was slurred.

 

Another police officer, who arrived a few minutes later, asked Hardison about the gun. Hardison pointed to a green duffel bag on the floor in the hallway. Inside the bag, the officer found a Tech 9 Intratec 9mm handgun. The gun had a magazine in it, and there were four other magazines in the duffel bag.

 

A police officer, who had been informed by the victim that Hardison had a Derringer, told Hardison he was sure there were other weapons in the residence. Hardison then told the officer he had another handgun in the bedroom. Hardison escorted the police officer to the bedroom and told him that the gun was in the ductwork. The officer removed the ductwork and located the derringer two-shot pistol.

 

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Hardison has two prior felony convictions for forgery and prior felony convictions for escape, grand theft auto and non-sufficient funds.

 

Under federal statutes, Hardison is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull II. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Neosho, Mo., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, and Chris Koster, Missouri Attorney General, announced that the former Harrison County, Mo., prosecuting attorney was sentenced in federal court today for stealing more than $540,000 from an elderly client.

 

Richard F. Turner, 40, of Bethany, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Kays to three years and nine months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Turner to pay restitution to his former client, followed by restitution payments to the Internal Revenue Service and the Missouri Department of Revenue. Turner has already made two restitution payments to his former client totaling $193,753.

 

Turner, an attorney, is the former elected county prosecutor of Harrison County and he was re-elected on Nov. 4, 2014. On Nov. 26, 2014, Turner pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements on his tax return.

 

Turner admitted that from Oct. 12, 2004 to May 29, 2014, he fraudulently attempted to obtain at least $728,147, and he did obtain at least $540,803, from an elderly client. He spent the money on personal expenses not authorized by his client, the client’s trust agreements, or his power of attorney, including paying off his home mortgage, putting in a swimming pool, and spending heavily at retail establishments and restaurants in Bethany, St. Joseph, and Kansas City, Mo., including to support his clothing store, Richard’s / TD Clothiers, in Bethany. Debits included 20 payments to Turner’s law firm from August 2011 to March 2014 totaling $39,936.

 

Turner also admitted that he failed to pay taxes on the embezzled income, causing additional loss to the state and federal government of at least approximately $154,453.

 

On Oct. 12, 2004, a Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) was created for Dorothy Bush, naming Turner as her attorney-in-fact. The DPOA specified that it, “shall become effective ONLY upon (Bush’s) subsequent incapacity ...”  The DPOA granted Turner the ability to conduct financial transactions and pay taxes on behalf of Bush, and to conduct business in which she is an interested party.  On May 10, 2010, Bush became a resident at the Crestview Home, a skilled nursing facility in Bethany.  Records reflect that she was suffering short-term memory impairment at the time of her admission.

 

Embezzlement Scheme

 

Through his plea, Turner admitted that from 2005 to 2011, his income diminished but his spending increased.  On Jan. 19, 2011, Turner received a foreclosure notice for his residence.  On Jan. 31, 2011, Turner filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in the Western District of Missouri.

 

On March 3, 2011, Turner caused to be created the Dorothy A. Bush Revocable Trust, naming Bush as the “Settler,” and himself as the “Trustee.” At the time, according to the plea agreement, Bush was suffering from memory problems. The trust appears to have been signed by Bush; however, Turner notarized the signature himself. No other witnesses were listed. The trust authorized the trustee to make payments from the trust assets for the “care, maintenance and comfort” of Bush. It allowed the trustee to sell assets, invest funds, sell property, pay debts, and to act “generally in the management of the trust estate to do all acts and things which he/she deems for the best interests of the trust.” Turner was not himself a beneficiary under the terms of the trust, nor was he authorized under the trust to make personal expenditures. Upon Bush’s death, the trust provided for the distribution of her remaining assets to various persons and charitable organizations, including family members, friends, the Salvation Army, Masonic Home of Missouri, Northwest Missouri State University, and multiple churches. One week after the trust was set up, on March 10, 2011, doctors declared Bush incapacitated.

 

In the summer of 2011, Turner made arrangements to sell Bush’s farmland, while intending to embezzle some or all of the proceeds. On July 12, 2011, Turner’s bankruptcy case was dismissed on his own motion. On July 29, 2011, Turner opened an individual checking account for Bush at Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri and deposited a $576,329 check from Missouri Land Title Company from the proceeds of the sale of Bush’s farmland.

 

On Aug. 12, 2011, Turner wire transferred $370,000 from Bush’s account at Farmer’s Bank to Bank of America to fund a new checking account. The outgoing wire transfer sheet stated the reason for the transfer as, “Funding a new trust for Dorothy,” but the account was held solely in Turner’s name. On Aug. 16, 2011, he made a $2,631 purchase at Best Buy. On Aug. 17, 2011, he made a $2,882 payment to Chase Automotive. Out of his Bank of America account, Turner paid almost $300,000 to his various personal creditors, including Discover, Bank Northwest, Chase Automotive Finance, and Best Buy. This included the purchase of a $279,967 cashier’s check, which he used on Aug. 22, 2011 to pay off his home mortgage loan. He spent much of the remaining money on daily living and entertainment expenses for himself, and for his struggling business, Richard’s / TD Clothiers.

 

On July 13, 2012, Turner wired another $12,760 from Farmer’s Bank to his Bank of America account. On Aug. 15, 2013, he wired in another $13,560. On Sept. 21, 2012, Turner cashed in two certificates of deposit held solely by Bush. On Sept. 21, 2012, Turner then wired the proceeds, $106,127, to his Bank of America account.  Also on Sept. 21, with a debit card on his Bank of America account, Turner spent $2,530 at Wal-Mart in Bethany. On Sept. 22, he spent $3,617 at O’Neils Home Furnishing in Bethany. In July and November 2012, Turner also spent $13,316 on a swimming pool, also taken from Bush’s funds.

 

In all, from Aug. 16, 2011, to Dec. 17, 2013, Turner debited $520,137 from his Bank of America account, resulting in a negative balance of (-$85.75) on Dec. 21, 2013.  A total of $327,400 went to pay off and improve Turner’s home, including for the swimming pool.  He spent $22,843 at Wal-Mart, $14,667 on retail electronics, $8,430 to pay off his credit cards, $13,324 on automotive expenses (including maintenance for his 2005 GMC Hummer), $9,516 on fuel and convenience stores, $5,805 at restaurants, $6,546 on travel, and $19,014 on clothing, including for items to sell in his store, Richard’s / TD Clothiers.

 

From Nov. 25 to 26, 2013, Turner used a check in the amount of $147,752, issued from Bush’s account at Farmers Bank, to open a US Bank account in the name of Dorothy A. Bush Revocable Trust, Richard F. Turner Trustee. The referenced check is signed by Turner as the POA, with, “transfer to Trust estate,” written in the memo section. Signature cards for the new US Bank account list Turner as the sole signer on the account.

 

Dorothy A. Bush Revocable Trust account statements from Nov. 26, 2013, through Feb. 21, 2014, show numerous debits from this account, most of which were conducted via debit card. The debit card usage appears typical of day-to-day purchases, including groceries, dining, gas, and movies. Of note are three debits to the “Turner Law Firm” totaling $1,789. The account balance on Feb. 21, 2014, was $130,553. From Dec. 12, 2013, through March 10, 2014, Turner spent approximately $20,616 from the account. These debits included four payments to Turner’s law firm from December 2013 to March 2014 for $2,539. On March 11, 2014, the bank froze the trust account and contacted law enforcement.

 

On March 21, 2014, Turner opened another account in Bush’s name at Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri. For the initial deposit, he transferred the entire balance of $61,707 from a business money market account that Bush had opened in 1998. On March 18, 2014, Turner opened an account at the Edward Jones office in Bethany in the name of “Dorothy A Bush Revocable Trust” with Turner as trustee and sole signer on the account. Turner caused a $41,686 starter check drawn on the new Famers Bank account to be deposited to the account at Edward Jones. Turner also attempted to transfer the remaining funds ($125,635) from the frozen trust account at US Bank to the Edward Jones account. The transfer was denied due to the holds that US Bank placed on the account.

 

Tax Scheme

 

During this timeframe, Turner maintained a legal practice, a private probation business, a legal services business and a retail clothing business. Turner filed federal individual income tax returns using the filing status single for tax years 2011 (paper) and 2012 (electronic). According to the plea agreement, Turner claimed $0 taxable income in 2011 (he listed adjusted gross income as $11,116) and 2012 (he listed adjusted gross income as $2,944). The income reported is due to losses in some of his businesses that are offset by the gains made in the other businesses. Turner admitted that he knowingly and willfully did not pay federal or state income taxes on the embezzled funds from Bush.

 

Turner self-prepared his 2011 and 2012 Form 1040. Turner admitted that he knowingly and willfully failed to report and pay income tax on the embezzled income of $370,000 in 2011 and $118,934 in 2012. Consequently, Turner has an estimated additional tax due and owing of $102,978 and $25,331 for tax years 2011 and 2012, respectively. Turner did not file or pay state income taxes for 2011 and 2012.  =For 2011, Turner owed $20,424. For 2012, he owed $5,720.  The total amount of federal and state tax liability still due and owing from 2011 and 2012 is $154,453.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel M. Nelson and Missouri Assistant Attorney General Joseph Schlotzhauer. It was investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, The Missouri Division of Health and Senior Services, and the Missouri Department of Revenue.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for having thousands of images of child pornography on his computer.

 

Duane E. Elliott, 57, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to seven years in federal prison without parole. Elliott has also paid $3,000 in restitution to one of the victims whose images of child sexual abuse were included in his collection of child pornography.

 

On Oct. 28, 2014, Elliott pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving child pornography over the Internet.

 

A detective with the Independence, Mo., Police Department identified Elliott’s computer as sharing child pornography over the Internet. Elliott used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to make approximately 20 movies of child pornography available for distribution over the Internet on multiple occasions.

 

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Elliott’s residence and seized multiple computers and electronic storage media, which contained thousands of images of child pornography. Investigators found more than 1,000 movies and more than 2,500 images of child pornography. Some of the movies depicted sexually explicit conduct with children under the age of 12, and some depicted children in bondage or subjected to other sadistic or violent sexual abuse. Among the videos were two instructional videos, one titled, “How to Molest Juveniles.”

 

According to court documents, Elliott had more child pornography stored on an encrypted hard drive that could not be examined.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department and the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing child pornography and attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet.

 

Craig E. Williams, Jr., 28, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to seven years in federal prison without parole. Williams must also pay restitution of $5,000 apiece to two of the victims, or $3,000 apiece if he pays within 30 days of the sentencing date.

 

On Dec. 2, 2014, Williams pleaded guilty to for possessing child pornography and attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet.

 

Kansas City, Mo., police officers arrested Williams at his residence on May 16, 2013, on a felony warrant for an unrelated state case. They seized various electronic media from his residence. Forensic investigators discovered 413 videos of child pornography and more than 200 images of child pornography on a computer and three hard drives. The victims were primarily prepubescent children, including some toddlers. Some of the images depicted bestiality and child bondage.

 

Williams told officers that he used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download child pornography over the Internet. According to court documents, by the time Williams was caught he had been viewing and sharing child pornography for five years.

 

Williams was also being investigated by the Nixa, Mo., Police Department and the Western Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force, which were conducting separate undercover child pornography investigations and had identified Williams’s computer as sharing child pornography over the Internet. Investigators downloaded child pornography being made available by Williams on five separate occasions.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the FBI, the Nixa, Mo., Police Department and the Western Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Bucyrus, Kan., woman was sentenced in federal court today for a bank fraud scheme in which she embezzled more than $543,000 from one employer, and admitted that she also stole more than $188,000 from a subsequent employer.

 

Susan Elise Prophet, 46, of Bucyrus, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to 22 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Prophet to pay $668,889 in restitution to her former employers; this is in addition to a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport, a 2013 Harley Davidson FLTRX Road Glide motorcycle, a 2008 Ford Focus, a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe and a 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer, all of which were purchased with proceeds of the fraud scheme and have already been acquired by her former employer to recuperate some of the loss.

 

On Aug. 13, 2014, Prophet pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Prophet admitted that she embezzled $543,034 from Dorfman Plumbing Supply Company in Kansas City, Mo., by forging her employer’s signature on 104 checks, 99 of which were written to herself. After her theft was discovered and she was fired by Dorfman, Prophet was hired as a bookkeeper at a Paoloa, Kan., nursing center. Prophet admitted that she also embezzled at least $188,460 from this employer. According to court documents, Prophet defrauded several other employers as well.

 

Prophet worked as a bookkeeper for Dorfman from December 2012 until she was fired eight months later in August 2013. (The company has since been sold to Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., a national distributor of residential and commercial plumbing supplies.) Prophet was known to her employer as “Susan Morriss.” She touted that she was the wife of a federal law enforcement agent, which was true at or close to the time she was hired. In a separate and unrelated case, former ICE-Homeland Security Investigations agent Jeffrey Morriss was convicted of making false statements to FBI agents in regard to a more than $800,000 mortgage fraud scheme.

 

Prophet used the funds for her personal enrichment, purchasing trucks, a car, a motorcycle, travel, furniture, electronics, a gym membership, tattoos and other items. Prophet spent at least $130,424 on vehicle-related purchases, including a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport; a 2013 Harley Davidson FLTRX Road Glide motorcycle; a 2008 Ford Focus; a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe; and a 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer. Prophet withdrew at least $86,000 from her accounts and wrote nearly $21,000 in checks to herself or to cash. She used the embezzled funds to pay her rent and pay down her debts, and spent at least $15,096 at restaurants, $12,743 on travel, $6,703 on electronics, and $9,221 at Nebraska Furniture Mart.

 

Prophet took steps to conceal her scheme, such as altering the company’s financial records to show that vendors had been paid when, in fact, they had not been paid. When vendors attempted to collect, Prophet answered the calls and hid the claims from her employer. As vendors began to freeze the company’s accounts, Prophet created new checks and forged her employer’s name on the checks to pay the most critical invoices.

 

When Prophet was hired by Dorfman in November 2012 she did not disclose her criminal history or that she was prohibited by her supervision conditions from working as a bookkeeper. She did not inform her parole officer of her new employment. Prophet began embezzling from the company the very next month.

 

On Aug. 7, 2013, company owner Charles Dorfman met with Scott Rayburn, a representative of Ferguson Enterprises, regarding the company’s sale to Ferguson. Prior to the meeting, Rayburn sent an e-mail to Dorfman containing a list of all the outstanding invoices that needed to be satisfied before the completion of the sale. During the negotiation process, Rayburn thanked Dorfman for paying the outstanding invoices to Ferguson via an electronic funds transfer of $10,000. Dorfman had neither ordered nor authorized the transfer. The electronic authorization form had been filled out by Prophet (who signed Dorfman’s name). At the conclusion of the meeting, Dorfman contacted bank officials regarding the known forgeries committed by Prophet and she was fired.

 

According to court documents, Prophet defrauded several other employers prior to being hired by Dorfman, and defrauded another employer after being fired from Dorfman.

 

In August 2012, Prophet apparently committed felony theft with respect to Mainstreet Credit Union, causing an apparent loss of $6,264.  The same month, Covenant Network of Presbyterian Churches hired Prophet as a temporary administrative assistant and bookkeeper.  From Aug. 30, 2012, through Sept. 11, 2012, Prophet stole checks from the church and wrote checks to herself by putting her name, or variations of her name, as the payee, and forged the executive director’s signature. She endorsed and deposited several checks into her bank account. The church’s loss was $10,997. On Oct. 1, 2012, a Liberty attorney hired Prophet as his part-time secretary for $10 per hour. She forged  approximately $12,300 in checks on his firm’s account, and she opened or attempted to open six credit cards in his name.

 

A few months after being fired from Dorfman, on or about Oct. 10, 2013, Prophet obtained another bookkeeping job at North Point Skilled Nursing in Paola, Kan. She did not disclose her criminal history or that she was prohibited by her supervision conditions from working as a bookkeeper. She did not inform her parole officer of her new employment. Following her Feb. 28, 2014, arrest on the federal indictment, North Point discovered that Prophet had been embezzling from North Point as well, also by writing numerous checks to herself and altering the ledgers to conceal where the money actually went. The loss from this embezzlement was at least $188,460.

 

Prophet had worked as a bookkeeper for multiple companies beginning in Tennessee at least in 2002, and she sustained a felony conviction or convictions related to those positions. Upon her release from prison, Prophet applied to transfer her supervision from Tennessee to Kansas in 2009. Her release conditions prohibited her from any employment where she would have access to cash, checks or any account information of her employer. She was required to keep her parole officer continuously informed of her residence and employment, and to notify her employer of her felony convictions.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel M. Nelson. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man and a Kansas City, Mo., man were sentenced in federal court today for their roles in a $1.2 million arson and insurance fraud conspiracy.

 

Joshua Stamps, 28, of Independence, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to 12 years and one month in federal prison without parole. Co-defendant John S. Wayne, 31, of Kansas City, was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Stamps to pay $429,991 in restitution and Wayne to pay $198,824 in restituiton, for which they are jointly and severally liable.

 

On June 12, 2014, Stamps pleaded guilty to leading the arson and insurance fraud conspiracy and to using fire to commit a federal crime (mail fraud). Stamps, Wayne and four other co-conspirators – all of whom have pleaded guilty and were sentenced today – bought, over-insured and burned five houses, all in Kansas City, Mo. The total actual loss to insurance companies in the scheme was $434,938, while the total intended loss was $1,196,840.

 

Beginning in July 2007, Stamps bought houses costing from $6,500 to $15,000. Stamps used co-conspirators Michael Smith, 27, and his mother, Randy Stamps, 57, both of Kansas City, Mo., as straw owners for three of the houses. Other co-conspirators acted as tenants so the properties could be classified as rentals.

 

In the conspiracy that lasted until 2013, Stamps and his co-conspirators insured the houses for much more than the purchase price, in amounts from $88,000 to $307,000. Stamps, Wayne and co-defendant Roy Richard, 34, of Wichita, Kan., burned the houses. The listed owner of the house that burned would then claim a total loss with the applicable insurance company and would falsely claim they had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the fire. Stamps and his co-conspirators made false statements on the insurance applications, such as that the houses were rented and/or occupied, that there were valuable contents in the houses, and that the houses had been renovated.

 

Wayne pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson, use of a fire to commit a federal crime, mail fraud and wire fraud. In addition to the conspiracy, Wayne also pleaded guilty to one count of arson.

 

Wayne was injured while setting a house on fire and forced to shed his burning pants in the street. On April 23, 2011, the house at 4901 Agnes partially burned, and the fire was determined to be arson. Two days later, on April 25, 2011, Wayne and Stamps burned the house in another arson fire. This time the house was a total loss.

 

A witness saw Wayne running from the house with his pants on fire. Wayne took his pants off and left them in the street. Kansas City police detectives recovered burned sweatpants and boots from the street; DNA recovered from the pants confirmed that Wayne wore the burned pants discarded in the street. A chemical analysis established that the pants and boots had evaporated gasoline on them.

 

Wayne was admitted to Research Medical Center with severe burns to his legs later that day. Wayne told investigators that Stamps, who was driving, refused to take him to a hospital and instead took him home and bought him some burn cream. Wayne said the burn cream wasn’t going to work so he went to the hospital.

 

Smith, Randy Stamps and Richard each received probationary sentences today. Co-defendant Luis Esquivel, 50, a citizen of Costa Rica residing in Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to time served (approximately 13 months).

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Tennessee man was sentenced in federal court today for enticing a minor victim to engage in illicit sexual activity in Lawrence County, Mo.

 

Dylan Wade Garcia, 29, of Huntingdon, Tenn., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 10 years and one month in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Garcia to a 15-year term of supervised release following incarceration.

 

Garcia, who pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2014, admitted that he used the Internet and a cell phone between June 9 and 26, 2014, to entice a minor under the age of 17 to engage in illicit sexual activity in Lawrence County.

 

On June 26, 2014, the Marionville School District notified the Aurora-Marionville Police Department that the child victim was missing from summer school. An officer reviewed the middle school’s video surveillance of the parking lot and saw the victim getting into a car with Tennessee license plates. The officer recognized the vehicle as one she had seen the day before at the Aurora Inn Motel. Officers located Garcia’s vehicle at the motel and found Garcia and the victim in a motel room.

 

The victim reported that she met Garcia online a few weeks earlier; he told her he was 16 years old. They had discussed him coming to Missouri to have sex with her and they engaged in several sexual acts in the motel room.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Aurora-Marionville, Mo., Police Department and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Nevada, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for a bank fraud scheme in which she embezzled more than $336,000 from her employer and failed to pay taxes on the stolen money.

 

Patricia Culbertson, 52, of Nevada, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to two years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Culbertson to pay $412,022 in restitution to the business and to the government.

 

On Dec. 4, 2014, Culbertson pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return. According to court documents, Culbertson’s four-year-long criminal scheme started just a few years after being released from state probation for trafficking in illegal narcotics.

 

Culbertson worked for Barrington Manufacturing Corporation (a subsidiary of Hammond Sheet Metal) as a book keeper from June 2009 until she was suspended on June 24, 2014. Her fraud scheme began within six months of being hired. Culbertson admitted that she forged the company owner’s signature on checks from the company’s bank account without authorization in order to cover her gambling debts and for other personal expenses.

 

On hundreds of occasions, Culbertson stole the identity of various company officials, forged their signatures, and wrote unauthorized checks on the company's operating account and a separate account created to provide financial assistance to her fellow employees. The checks were either deposited into Culbertson’s personal bank account, the bank accounts of her mother and son, or the bank account of her company, PC Tech.

 

Culbertson’s criminal conduct continued when she realized her fraud had been discovered. In July of 2014, agents spoke with Culbertson at her home and they observed Barrington's financial records that had been removed from the business office. Agents immediately seized and preserved those financial records. After completing their investigation, agents determined that Culbertson destroyed and stole financial documents in an effort to conceal the true scope of her crimes.

 

Culbertson also admitted that she failed to report this embezzled income on her federal income tax returns for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Culbertson’s actions resulted in a total tax loss to the federal government (without penalties and interest) of $60,431. The total tax loss to the state of Missouri (without penalties and interest) was $14,754.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the El Dorado Springs, Mo., Police Department.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Camdenton, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for a mail fraud scheme that involved the distribution of more than $1.2 million of synthetic marijuana, commonly referred to as K2, from a head shop in Lebanon, Mo.

 

Stephen Brian Reynolds, 36, of Camdenton, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to six years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Reynolds to forfeit to the government $1,167,990, which was obtained from the distribution of K2, as well as real estate in Eldridge, Mo., funds in bank accounts, approximately $128,000 that was seized from Reynolds’s residence and a safe deposit box, a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 2007 Ducati 1098 motorcycle, three pistols, two rifles and a shotgun.

 

Reynolds, the owner of Lucky’s Novelties in Lebanon, pleaded guilty on Aug. 15, 2014, to participating in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud and to one count of money laundering.

 

His brother, Eric Scott Reynolds, 33, of Lebanon, was employed at Lucky’s Novelties. Eric Reynolds has also pleaded guilty to his role in the mail fraud conspiracy and to participating in a money-laundering conspiracy. Eric Reynolds, whose bond has been revoked, remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing.

 

Stephen and Eric Reynolds both admitted they participated in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud from March 1, 2011, to Dec. 11, 2012. They defrauded the Food and Drug Administration and the public by using mail deliveries in a conspiracy to distribute several products that were labeled as “incense” or “potpourri” and “not for human consumption,” when in reality these substances were synthetic marijuana intended for human consumption as a drug.

 

Between Sept. 15, 2011, and July 25, 2012, Stephen and Eric Reynolds deposited $1,245,761 in proceeds from the distribution of K2 into bank accounts and a safety deposit box. Based upon DEA undercover purchases, they charged approximately $1 for every 300 mg of K2. Therefore, they distributed approximately 373 kilograms of K2.

 

Reynolds was also part-owner of a Springfield, Mo., head shop known as Doobies, which he supplied with wholesale quantities of synthetic marijuana for distribution and from which he received 40 percent of the profits. His partners have also been sentenced in a separate but related case for their roles in a mail fraud conspiracy. Travis Basford, 30, of St. Robert, Mo., was sentenced to six years in federal prison without parole. Kerry Lee Long, 24, of Springfield, was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison without parole.

 

Today’s sentencing also reflects the court’s finding that Stephen Reynolds was in possession of firearms in connection with the offense. When DEA agents searched his residence, they seized a Smith and Wesson .380-caliber pistol, a Ruger .380-caliber pistol, an FHN 5.7-caliber pistol, a Ruger AR-15 rifle, a Bushmaster ACR rifle, a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun, body armor and ammunition. Agents also seized cardboard boxes containing synthetic cannabinoids weighing approximately 58 kilograms. Agents also seized $7,506 from a safe in the garage. Law enforcement officers also executed a search warrant at Lucky’s Novelties and seized a handgun.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigations, the Laclede County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Lebanon, Mo., Police Department and the Lake Area Narcotics Enforcement Group (LANEG).

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for sexually exploiting two children to produce child pornography.

 

Ronald Mazza, 34, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 60 years in federal prison without parole.

 

Mazza pleaded guilty to two separate counts of using two children, identified as “Jane Doe” and “John Doe,” to produce child pornography between Aug. 1 and Dec. 1, 2013. Mazza also pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

 

Mazza was arrested on Dec. 3, 2013, when his wife reported to the Springfield, Mo., Police Department that she found images of child pornography on his computer. When officers arrived at their residence, she showed them images of a 3-year-old victim and a 5-year-old victim on Mazza’s computer. As the officers were in the process of seizing the computer, Mazza arrived at the home and was immediately placed under arrest. He has remained in federal custody without bond since his arrest.

 

According to court documents, investigators discovered approximately 432 images and 61 videos depicting child pornography, including the sexual exploitation of infants, on Mazza’s computer. Five videos and 53 images contained sexually explicit depictions of the two victims that Mazza produced. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has reported that Mazza’s images of those victims have been recovered in multiple unrelated child pornography investigations, indicating that those images are now circulating the Internet.

 

Mazza also faces state charges in Greene County Circuit Court for three counts of statutory sodomy, three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of statutory rape, one count of sexual misconduct involving a child, one count of promoting child pornography and 13 counts of possessing child pornography.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Branson, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing hundreds of thousands of images of child pornography over the Internet.

 

Paul Young, 49, of Branson, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 12 years and seven months in federal prison without parole.

 

On Feb. 3, 2015, Young pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

 

Law enforcement officers who were conducting an investigation into the distribution of child pornography identified Young’s computer as sharing images of child pornography through a peer-to-peer, file-sharing network. Officers executed a search warrant at Young’s residence and seized two computers and three external hard drives, which contained child pornography.

 

Investigators discovered more than 600,000 images of child pornography and more than 13,000 videos of child pornography on Young’s computers and hard drives. He also possessed depictions of dead women and children in a folder titled “Necro.”

 

Young also faces state charges in Taney County Circuit Court for possession of child pornography.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Taney County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Nixa, Mo., Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

 

Andrew Paul Dinsmore, 19, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Dinsmore to a life term of supervised release following incarceration, and ordered Dinsmore to pay $3,000 in restitution to a victim.

 

On Feb. 2, 2015, Dinsmore pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography between July 5 and Aug. 25, 2014. Law enforcement received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in August 2014 when an Internet site flagged suspected child pornography being uploaded. Investigators identified Dinsmore’s computer as sharing a video of child pornography over the Internet.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the FBI and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lee’s Summit, Mo., man and a Smithville, Mo., man were indicted by a federal grand jury today, in separate and unrelated cases involving child pornography.

 

USA v. Moore

 

Ronald L. Moore, Jr., 50, of Lee’s Summit, was charged in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.

 

Today’s indictment alleges that Moore distributed child pornography over the Internet between June 27 and Aug. 28, 2014.

 

Moore is also charged with two counts of receiving child pornography over the Internet on Aug. 17, 2013, and on Sept. 15, 2012, and one count of possessing movies of child pornography on Sept. 19, 2014.

 

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Moore to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offense, including a desktop computer and two hard drives.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the FBI.

 

 

USA v. Arnold

 

Jacob A. Arnold, 19, of Smithville, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.

 

Today’s indictment alleges that Arnold received child pornography over the Internet on March 17, 2015. Arnold is also charged with possessing child pornography on June 4, 2015.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force and the Smithville, Mo., Police Department.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Mo., man, a Maryland man and a Denver, Colo., man have been charged in federal court for their roles in one of the largest software piracy schemes ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

 

The multi-million dollar scheme, with co-conspirators in the People’s Republic of China and across the United States, illegally sold millions of dollars of Microsoft Corporation and Adobe Systems, Inc., software product key codes through a charitable organization and several online businesses. More than $18 million in assets, including luxury automobiles and expensive real estate, have been seized through federal forfeiture complaints. Those affidavits allege that conspirators reaped about $30 million in profits from customers who paid about $90 million for the pirated software.

 

The federal investigation, which originated in Kansas City, Mo., resulted in several criminal cases being filed within the past week.

 

Reza Davachi, 41, of Damascus, was charged in a criminal complaint filed under seal in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, June 17, 2015. The complaint, which was unsealed and made public today following Davachi’s arrest and initial court appearance, charges him with participating in a conspiracy to commit the crimes of wire fraud; unauthorized solicitation of access devices; trafficking in illicit labels, counterfeit labels and counterfeit documentation and packaging; and trafficking in counterfeit goods.

 

In separate but related cases, Casey Lee Ross, 28, of Kansas City, Mo., and Matthew Lockwood, 37, of Denver, each pleaded guilty to their roles in this same conspiracy on June 11, 2015.

 

Within an hour of his attorney being notified of Ross’s and Lockwood’s guilty pleas last week, Davachi purchased an airline ticket departing Baltimore-Washington International Airport for London (United Kingdom) Heathrow Airport. Davachi was arrested last night when he arrived at the airport to board the plane. Davachi remains in federal custody following his initial court appearance earlier today in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Md.

 

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, the investigation began when federal agents in Kansas City, Mo., learned in 2013 that Ross had purchased (and redistributed) tens of thousands of illegitimate and unauthorized Microsoft product key codes and counterfeit product key cards from suspect sources in China. Microsoft product key codes are used to obtain full access to unlocked, licensed versions of various Microsoft copyrighted software programs.

 

Ross admitted that he purchased approximately 30,159 product key codes and counterfeit product key cards. Ross purchased these product key codes at prices well below that of the estimated retail price. In many cases, the affidavit says, they were distributed on counterfeit card stock intended to make it appear as if they were genuine Microsoft products.

 

Ross (doing business as Software Slashers) distributed large quantities of these product key codes and counterfeit Microsoft product key cards to Davachi and other co-conspirators in the United States, the affidavit says, who in turn sold the product key codes and counterfeit product key cards through their respective Web sites as well as on e-commerce sites such as eBay or Amazon.

 

Davachi allegedly obtained these products through various sources, including Ross and known counterfeiters in the China. Davachi allegedly sent numerous wire transfers totaling approximately $672,300 to this suspect source of supply in China. The affidavit details communication between Davachi and these known counterfeiters in China where the design and manufacture of these counterfeit product key cares is discussed.

 

Davachi, in turn, allegedly supplied other individuals with these counterfeit, illicit and/or unauthorized software products. The affidavit alleges that Davachi received millions of dollars in revenue through these illicit sales.

 

According to the affidavit, Davachi used a charitable organization called The Sixth Man Foundation, doing business as Project Contact Africa (an eBay charity store) and several businesses (including Rez Candles, Inc., digitaldeliverydownloads.com and checkus1st.com) to sell unauthorized product key codes and counterfeit software product key cards at prices that ranged from a third to a half of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price or estimated retail price.

 

Davachi allegedly sold millions of dollars of unauthorized product key codes and counterfeit software product key cards through the eBay charity store for Project Contact Africa, a formally registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The primary exempt purpose for this charity, according to publicly-available tax filings, is “to support a medical clinic in Africa for needy families and children.” The 501(c)(3) organization relates back to a charity originally formed in the state of Oregon to provide “money, goods, or services to the poor,” and to “provide aid to the Portland (community) Trailblazer fans.”

 

Davachi allegedly sold thousands of Microsoft products through his Project Contact Africa eBay charity store, which claimed that proceeds from software sales went “100% to charity.” Since its creation in 2004, the affidavit says, the Project Contact Africa eBay charity account has received in excess of $10.4 million in payments and deposits. Publicly-available tax filings filed on behalf of the charity claim a total of $865,972 in contributions over this same period of time.

 

Microsoft fraud investigators advised federal agents that they were aware of dozens of infringement reports related to Davachi and Rez Candles and that they had sent numerous cease and desist letters. In August of 2010 another software developer, Adobe, sued Davachi and Project Contact Africa for willful copyright and trademark infringement.

 

According to the affidavit, Davachi engaged in at least 15 transactions with Lockwood (doing business as Discount Mountain, Inc.) for these suspected counterfeit, illicit, and/or unauthorized software and software components, from March 25, 2013, to Feb. 15, 2014, totaling $1,243,570.

 

In addition to his purchases from Davachi, Lockwood admitted that he paid Ross $1,127,190 for unauthorized product key codes and counterfeit product key cards. Lockwood also admitted that he paid $1,574,054 to unidentified persons in the state of Washington for various software items. Lockwood admitted that he obtained approximately 6,165 certificates of authenticity, 4,996 “Lenovo” product key cards and approximately 11,000 unauthorized product key codes.

 

Federal agents executed search warrants at Davachi’s residence and principal place of business on Dec. 10, 2014. Agents seized approximately $72,391 in cash, 2,716 mint coins, 665 Canadian mint coins, 164 silver pieces and a 2013 Tesla Model S valued at approximately $71,640. Contraband and counterfeit evidence included thousands of items of counterfeit, illicit, and unauthorized software and software components. There were in excess of 5,000 standalone certificates of authenticity recovered at Davachi’s business and personal residence that were not affixed to, enclosed with, or accompanying their associated copies of the copyrighted Microsoft computer programs.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in the complaint against Davachi is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Daly; Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Curt Bohling is responsible for the civil proceedings. They were investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Warrensburg, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for distributing and possessing hundreds of thousands of images of child pornography.

 

Richard Alan Sigsbury, 52, of Warrensburg, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.

 

On Oct. 30, 2014, Sigsbury pleaded guilty to four counts of distributing child pornography, four counts of advertising child pornography, one count of possessing child pornography and one count of possessing child obscenity.

 

According to court documents, Sigsbury actively advertised the contents of his collection to other like-minded pedophiles and distributed images of the sexual abuse of children to these individuals.

 

Sigsbury admitted that he was in possession of more than 500,000 images of child pornography and more than 600 videos of child pornography, including images of prepubescent children in bondage. Sigsbury admitted that he was involved in child pornography for more than a decade.

 

Federal agents in Texas identified Sigsbury’s e-mail address during an undercover investigation into online child pornography distribution. Agents executed a search warrant at Sigsbury’s residence on April 17, 2012, and seized computers, recording devices and electronic storage devices.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the FBI.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for a nearly $3 million fraud scheme that forced her employer out of business.

 

Irene Marie Brooner, 52, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to five years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Brooner to pay $2,963,914 in restitution and to forfeit to the government a 2004 Lexus and numerous assorted jewelry.

 

On Oct. 22, 2014, Brooner pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Brooner, a certified public accountant, worked at Galvmet, Inc., a sheet metal fabrication facility and steel service center located in Kansas City, from 2001 until her termination in February 2014. At its peak in 2008, the company had 26 employees and $14 million in annual sales. Galvmet filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations in 2014. At the time of closing, the company had 18 to 20 employees and $10 million in annual sales.

 

Brooner’s duties as controller included managing payroll, accounts receivable and payable, and maintaining the ledger at Galvmet.

 

Brooner admitted that, over a period of more than 10 years (January 2004 until February 2014), she created a total of 389 unauthorized Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions from Galvmet’s bank account to her personal bank accounts. (An ACH is a batch-oriented funds transfer system that includes direct deposits of payroll from companies.) Those unauthorized ACH transactions included 148 payments to her checking account and 133 payments to her savings account. Brooner also defrauded Galvmet by inflating her salary. From March 2004 to December 2011, Brooner manipulated the payroll account to increase her net pay on approximately 108 payroll checks.

 

Brooner’s fraud scheme resulted in a loss of at least $1,863,914 to Galvmet. As a result, Galvmet ceased operations. While reviewing bank records during the filing of Galvmet’s Chapter 13 bankruptcy in February 2014, the company’s president noticed unauthorized transfers from Galvmet’s payroll account to Brooner’s personal account.  He reported the apparent embezzlement to the FBI.

 

To keep the scheme going, Brooner also falsified documents to support Galvmet’s operating loan with Missouri Bank & Trust, causing an additional loss to the bank of $1.1 million. The total loss from Brooner’s fraud scheme was $2,963,914.

 

Brooner spent the embezzled funds on personal items. Brooner spent some of the proceeds to remodel, stock, furnish and decorate the ornately-finished bar in the basement of her new home. The bar, which she called “the Dirty Duck,” includes seating for approximately 15, a granite bar top, four or five tap lines, a refrigeration system, three flat-screen televisions, a smoke machine at the entrance, two couches and stained wainscoting around the room approximately eight feet tall. Mannequins, positioned throughout the bar, are outfitted with authentic U.S. and German uniforms and weaponry from the World War II era, including a Thompson sub-machine gun and multiple M-1 Garands with attached bayonets. Brooner told FBI agents that her husband, a carpenter, remodeled the bar in 2003 and 2004. From 2004 to 2014, Brooner spent $18,383 on alcohol.

 

Brooner’s spending included paying off her mortgage for $289,290, buying $81,686 in jewelry, and spending at least $400,392 on clothing and other retail, $97,180 on restaurants, $78,439 on vehicles, $169,389 on furniture and home decor, $62,003 on travel, $38,317 on electronics, $21,346 in ATM withdrawals, $59,571 on spa visits and beauty items, $68,745 on tuition for her children, $18,383 on alcohol, $104,060 to her children, $216,377 in assorted checks under $500, $64,557 in donations, $254,168 in other credit cards, and by purchasing other items.

 

Brooner purchased a 2004 Lexus R33 sport utility vehicle, on which she made 64 payments totaling $51,813. Brooner also bought 69 pieces of jewelry and accessories from Meierotto’s Midwest Jewelers totaling approximately $29,701 and 82 pieces of jewelry and accessories from Tivol Jewelers totaling approximately $51,984.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel M. Nelson. It was investigated by the FBI.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Weatherford, Texas man was sentenced in federal court today for a mail fraud scheme in which he embezzled nearly $1 million from Herzog Contracting Corporation in St. Joseph, Mo.

 

Daniel Reif, 49, of Weatherford, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to three years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Reif to pay $1,318,042 in restitution and forfeit to the government $105,000 seized from his TD Ameritrade account and a 2010 Tige boat and trailer. Reif made a $225,000 payment prior to today’s hearing as settlement of civil and criminal forfeiture.

 

On Jan. 22, 2015, Reif pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of filing a false income tax return. Reif admitted that he engaged in a scheme to defraud Herzog from January 2006 through Aug. 26, 2011.

 

Herzog, which constructs railroads, highways, bridges, and airports, has a regional office in Irving, Texas. Reif began working for Herzog in the Irving office in August 2005. Reif was the manager of signals for Herzog and responsible for procuring materials and services from vendors in order to fulfill the needs of existing jobs; he was also responsible for oversight of the installation and performance of those services and materials. Reif was authorized to approve payments to vendors under his supervision and responsibility.

 

Reif founded his own company, Railway Signal Solutions, LLC (RSS), in February 2005. Reif began ordering project materials and services from supply vendors through RSS, then re-selling those products and services to Herzog at inflated prices. The RSS invoices made it appear as though the materials and services were being provided directly by RSS, an ostensibly independent supply vendor.

 

In the scheme, Reif established a fictitious character named “Gene Schmitt” who purportedly worked at RSS and communicated with Reif via e-mail. Over 100 emails between Reif and Reif, acting as Schmitt, were found by Herzog during the company’s internal investigation.

 

Reif, on behalf of RSS, paid the original, true vendors with a personal credit card or cashier’s check. Reif then, through RSS, invoiced Herzog for a higher price. The difference between the true price and Reif’s inflated price varied from 10 percent to over 100 percent. After RSS invoiced Herzog, Reif actually authorized payment of the inflated invoices himself.

 

Herzog reported that RSS invoiced $2,821,180.19, while the true cost of materials was $1,932,417, resulting in a difference of $888,762. Herzog paid Reif/RSS an additional $91,845 for products with no real customers identified, which establishes the total loss of $980,608. This loss figure is conservative, as it does not include $346,175 which Reif/RSS invoiced to Herzog but which could not be matched or estimated.

 

The plea agreement cites one instance of a $292,241 check from Herzog made payable to RSS that was mailed on March 10, 2010. The check was sent as payment for two invoices, one of which was sent by RSS to Herzog for a signal material package in the amount of $246,856. Reif, through his company RSS, had paid $152,686 for this same part, thus marking up the part by $94,170 and defrauding Herzog that same amount.

 

Reif also admitted that he filed a false federal income tax return for the year 2008. According to the plea agreement, Reif claimed $990,159 in business expenses, although $498,301 of his business expenses had already been reimbursed by Herzog, his employer. The return materially understated his taxable income, resulting in a tax loss to the government of $192,230.

 

According to court documents, Reif claimed substantially inflated and fraudulent expenses on federal income tax forms for travel and entertainment, depreciation, shipping and supplies. The total tax loss for tax years 2008 to 2011 is $337,434.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Potosi, Mo., man and a Neosho, Mo., man have been indicted by a federal grand jury in separate and unrelated cases related to child pornography and exploitation.

 

USA v. Nosser

 

Kevin Michael Nosser, 37, of Potosi, Mo., was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., today.

 

The federal indictment alleges that Nosser used the Internet and a cell phone to entice a minor in Lawrence County, Mo., to engage in illicit sexual activity on May 22 and 23, 2015.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the FBI, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Lawrence County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

 

USA v. Hilburn

 

Larry Don Hilburn, 28, of Neosho, Mo., was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, June 16, 2015. The federal indictment charges Hilburn with one count of receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet on Sept. 8, 2014, and with one count of possessing child pornography on Oct. 1, 2014.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the FBI and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that the owner of a Kansas City, Mo., scrap metal business has been sentenced in federal court for tax evasion.

 

Nellie Brown Boxx, 62, of Kearney, Mo., was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Tuesday, June 16, 2015, to 18 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Boxx to pay $366,846 in restitution to the IRS and the Missouri Department of Revenue. Boxx paid $50,000 of that restitution amount prior to yesterday’s hearing.

 

Boxx, the owner of Frank Metal Company in Kansas City, pleaded guilty to tax evasion on Feb. 19, 2015. Boxx admitted that she assisted tax preparers to prepare tax returns that contained false information. For example, Boxx classified purchases such as food items, drinks, jewelry, dry cleaning, household items and high-end clothing as business expenses for her scrap metal company.

 

According to the plea agreement, Boxx received $320,345 in taxable income in 2008, and owed $87,123 in federal income tax. The court-ordered restitution includes that tax loss as well as additional relevant conduct.

 

Boxx also admitted that she submitted a false 2008 Form 1040 to a bank in order to receive a financial loan. Boxx also admitted that she made false statements to IRS agents, such as falsely claiming that business documents had been destroyed by water damage from a leak in the roof.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roseann A. Ketchmark. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Marionville, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to child sexual exploitation.

 

Darren Eugene Schaefer, 36, of Marionville, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to using the Internet and cell phone to attempt to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity.

 

A task force officer with the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force investigated a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in May 2014 that Schaefer was contacting underage females on the social networking site MeetMe, asking them if they wanted to meet for sexual acts. Schaefer sent messages indicating that he was interested in sexual contact with seven underage females. After contacting the females using the instant message feature on MeetMe, Schaefer would attempt to move the conversations to cell phone text messages.

 

During the on-line communications between Schaefer and the underage female victims, Schaefer admitted to the victims that he was 35 years old, and stated that he preferred younger females. In one instance, one of the victims asked Schaefer why he posted his age on MeetMe as 14 years old if he was really 35. Schaefer replied that was the only way he could see underage females on this Web site and communicate with them. One victim asked him if he knew he could get in trouble for what he was doing. He replied he knew he could get in trouble but hoped he would not.

 

A federal search warrant was executed at Schaefer’s residence on June 17, 2014. Schaefer told officers that he talked to hundreds of girls on various social networking Web sites and that he had contacted underage girls several other times using MeetMe. Schaefer also admitted to meeting at least three underage girls for sexual intercourse over a 10-year period. He reported that he had met all three of them from social networking sites on the Internet. He met two of the girls in Nixa and one at Hood's Truck Stop on 1-44.

 

Officers seized two laptop computers, two external hard drives and Schaefer’s cell phone. The laptops contained 103 images of child pornography. A total of 474 images of child erotica were located on the multiple electronic media.

 

Under federal statutes, Schaefer is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an inmate of the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to assaulting another inmate.

 

Dean Kinningham, 52, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to assault with the intent to commit murder.

 

Kinningham admitted that he assaulted another inmate, Gary Brown, by stabbing and slashing him with a razor blade on June 4, 2014. Prison officials responded to an emergency call in the prison ward and discovered Brown with multiple lacerations on his face and neck. Kinningham, who had blood on his shirt, was also present. Kinningham stated that “this is all me,” referring to the blood in the hallway and on his clothes. Brown was treated on the scene and transported to a local Springfield hospital for treatment.

 

Kinningham is currently serving a 262-month sentence for armed pharmacy robbery, with a release date of March 31, 2030. Brown is currently serving a 170-month sentence for conspiracy to possess crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, with a release date of Feb. 25, 2015.

 

Under federal statutes, Kinningham is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that two southern Missouri men were indicted by a federal grand jury today in separate and unrelated cases related to child pornography.

 

Both of the indictments were returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.

 

USA v. Darst

 

Dustin L. Darst, 25, of Lebanon, Mo., was charged with one count of possessing child pornography on Aug. 13, 2014.

 

Today’s indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Darst to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offense, including two desktop computers, a laptop computer, two hard drives, two iPhones, two USB drives and two SD cards.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull, II. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Laclede County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the FBI and the Camden County, Mo., Prosecutor’s Office.

 

USA v. Sartin

 

David Dean Sartin, 47, of Lockwood, Mo., was charged with one count of possessing child pornography on Feb. 4, 2015.

 

Today’s indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Sartin to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offense, including an LG smart phone and a Nokia smart phone.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull, II. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Cassville, Mo., Police Department, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department, the Barry County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former wastewater treatment plant operator for the city of Granby, Mo., was indicted by a federal grand jury today for submitting false reports in violation of the Clean Water Act.

 

Charles Loren Ranslow, 48, of Neosho, Mo., was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. Ranslow was the wastewater treatment plant operator for the city of Granby.

 

Today’s indictment alleges that Ranslow submitted false information in state reports that are required under the Clean Water Act.

 

According to the indictment, Ranslow conducted wastewater sampling at the facility and submitted Wastewater Discharge Monitoring Reports to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources from June 2013 through March 2014. The indictment charges Ranslow with two counts of making false and fraudulent statements in those reports. Ranslow allegedly submitted monitoring reports that contained false data, for example, with regard to the levels of ammonia.

 

The indictment also charges Ranslow with one count of making false and fraudulent statements in a Domestic Sludge Report that was submitted to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Ranslow allegedly represented sludge monitoring results to be indicative of the Granby Wastewater Treatment Facility sludge, which data he knew to be false.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull, II. It was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Columbia, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm.

 

Victor Lee McNeary, Jr., 39, of Columbia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner on Friday, June 12, 2015, to 15 years in federal prison without parole. McNeary was sentenced as an armed career offender due to his prior felony convictions.

 

On Oct. 23, 2013, McNeary was convicted at trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

 

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that McNeary was in possession of a Smith & Wesson .380-caliber handgun on Dec. 11, 2011. According to court documents, Columbia police officers responded to a disturbance at Swan Lake Restaurant, 10 Southampton Drive, at approximately 1 a.m. on that day. An officer was informed that McNeary had been in possession of a handgun but had left the scene. Officers found McNeary at a McDonald’s restaurant and questioned him about the disturbance. When an officer searched McNeary and found the handgun in his coat pocket, McNeary was arrested.

 

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. McNeary has six prior felony convictions for robbery, two prior felony convictions for armed criminal action, two prior felony convictions for tampering and a prior felony conviction for attempted burglary.

 

According to a witness, McNeary started a fight inside the club and was escorted out. He started another fight in the parking lot that was broken up, and McNeary was told to leave. Instead, McNeary tried to run back into the club and tried to pick a fight with one of the security members. McNeary started walking towards his Cadillac that was parked across the street and continued to yell and scream. As McNeary got closer to his car he started yelling that he was going to get a gun. McNeary entered the vehicle through the passenger side and pulled a small black semi-automatic handgun from the vehicle. McNeary left shortly after by himself and the police were called.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller. It was investigated by the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Georgia man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for using stolen identities to file fraudulent state and federal income tax returns.

 

Jalen Ortez Gude, 22, of Hillsboro, Ga., was charged in an 11-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo., on June 10, 2015. That indictment was unsealed and made public today following Gude’s initial court appearance.

 

The federal indictment alleges that, between January 2014 and March 13, 2015, Gude used the identity information of others (including their names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth) to file fraudulent tax returns and receive tax refunds from both the federal government and the state of Missouri. Gude allegedly opened bank accounts in the names of his identity theft victims so that the IRS and the Missouri Department of Revenue would transfer the refunds to bank accounts he controlled. This process permitted Gude to remain anonymous, the indictment says, and to conduct his scheme, in part, from outside Missouri.

 

Gude also allegedly used the stolen identity information to submit fraudulent online credit applications at banks and credit card companies.

 

The federal indictment charges Gude with seven counts of wire fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Missouri Department of Revenue – Compliance and Investigation Bureau and the Missouri Department of Revenue – Criminal Investigation Bureau.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Hartville, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to using a minor to produce child pornography.

 

Chelese Penn, 25, of Hartville, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to both counts contained in a Jan. 20, 2015, federal indictment.

 

Penn admitted that she used a minor, identified as Jane Doe #1, to produce child pornography between July 1, 2012, and Oct. 3, 2014. Penn also pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet during that time.

 

Under federal statutes, Penn is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 50 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Greene County, Mo., man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in assisting co-conspirators to avoid paying $585,000 they owed in federal taxes.

 

Alton Louis Vaughn, Sr., 58, of Greene County, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, to participating in a conspiracy from February 2009 to Sept. 30, 2014, to defraud the United States by impeding the lawful government functions of the Internal Revenue Service in the ascertainment, computation, assessment, and collection of federal taxes.

 

Vaughn, who is self-employed, derived a portion of his income from assisting in the preparation of federal income tax returns, advising taxpayers regarding their dealings with the IRS, and representing others in their dealings with the IRS.

 

Vaughn admitted that he assisted a co-conspirator in an attempt to avoid paying taxes on approximately $4.7 million in business receipts. Vaughn advised and assisted the co-conspirator’s attempts to avoid IRS efforts to ascertain, compute, assess, and collect federal income taxes, and sometimes acted as his representative in dealings with the IRS.

 

Vaughn admitted that he attempted to impede a federal criminal investigation by falsely reporting to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration that an IRS revenue officer and an IRS criminal investigator had coerced, intimidated and threatened this co-conspirator. Vaughn also attempted to impede a federal grand jury in its investigation by refusing to comply with federal grand jury subpoenas for tax and business records and by sending correspondence to the U.S. Attorney’s Office falsely stating that an IRS revenue officer had personally seized and collected documents. Vaughn admitted that he falsely testified before the grand jury that an IRS revenue officer had seized those records.

 

Vaughn further attempted to impede a federal grand jury in its investigation by counseling another person to refuse to testify before the grand jury, and by providing her with a written statement (which contained an inaccurate statement of the law) to read to the grand jury in lieu of complying with her legal obligation to testify.

 

Vaughn also admitted that he assisted another couple to impede IRS efforts to collect the taxes the couple owed. They refused to comply with IRS requests and summonses for documents and records. Instead, they presented an explanation they knew to be false when they claimed their documents and records had already been provided to an IRS revenue officer. Vaughn told them that, because this IRS revenue officer had died, there was no way the IRS could prove the statement was untrue. This client also testified in a summons enforcement hearing in federal court and falsely stated that he had provided all of the personal tax records to the IRS revenue officer.

 

Additionally, while not admitting the allegations, Vaughn acknowledges the government could prove that he engaged in a scheme to defraud another taxpayer, who was his client. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the government will not separately charge Vaughn for this conduct, and Vaughn must pay the client $3,595 in restitution, which is the amount Vaughn received from the client as compensation for his services.

 

            Under the terms of the plea agreement, Vaughn must pay the government approximately $585,710 in restitution, which is the amount of taxes he attempted to aid his co-conspirators to avoid.

 

Under federal statutes, Vaughn is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that four Mexican nationals were indicted by a federal grand jury today, in two separate but related cases, for their roles in distributing large amounts of methamphetamine in Jackson County, Mo., and elsewhere.

 

The indictments, returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., are the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into the distribution of large quantities of methamphetamine. In the course of the investigation, ATF agents seized nearly eight kilograms of methamphetamine.

 

The indictments replace separate federal criminal complaints that were filed on May 21, 2015.

 

USA v. Santana-Martinez, et al.

 

Artemio Santana-Martinez, 26, of Oakland, Calif., and Antonio Aguilar-Reyes, 39, of Boulevard, Texas, both of whom are citizens of Mexico, are charged with aiding and abetting each other to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute on May 20, 2015.

 

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, a cooperating defendant (who is not identified in court documents) told agents that one of his/her suppliers, later identified as Santana-Martinez, was a kilogram-level methamphetamine dealer and that the cooperating defendant had been purchasing large quantities of methamphetamine from this source for several months.

 

On May 20, 2015, the cooperating defendant (working under the direction of ATF agents) contacted Santana-Martinez and ordered a kilogram of methamphetamine to be delivered to an Independence, Mo., residence. That afternoon, the affidavit says, Santana-Martinez and Aguilar-Reyes arrived at the Independence residence and were arrested. Agents searched their vehicle and seized two kilograms of methamphetamine, four cell phones and a small bound composition book which appeared to be a drug ledger (in Spanish). Agents also seized $800 from Aguilar-Reyes and $89 from Santana-Martinez.

 

USA v. Garcia-Miranda, et al.

 

Jorge Garcia-Miranda, 29, and Abel Gonzalez-Jimenez, 44, both of whom are Mexican nationals with unknown addresses, were charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Jackson County and elsewhere between Dec. 14, 2014, and May 1, 2015.

 

Garcia-Miranda and Gonzalez-Jimenez were arrested on May 20, 2015, in their room at a Mission, Kan., hotel, where federal agents seized approximately 5.7 kilograms of methamphetamine.

 

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, a cooperating defendant (working under the direction of ATF agents) placed an order for a kilogram of methamphetamine from one of his/her suppliers (who is not identified in court documents). Agents had previously observed the cooperating defendant purchase approximately 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine from this supplier.

 

Agents followed the supplier to the Mission hotel, then pulled him over in a traffic stop after he/she left the hotel. He/she allegedly told officers that Gonzalez-Jimenez, who had a room at the hotel, was supposed to obtain methamphetamine for him to sell to the cooperating defendant. However, the affidavit says, Gonzalez-Jimenez was “cleaning” the methamphetamine so it wouldn’t be available until the following day. “Cleaning” methamphetamine involves using dangerous and flammable chemicals, including acetone.

 

When agents knocked on the door of the hotel room, Garcia-Miranda opened the door but attempted to slam it shut as soon as he realized they were law enforcement officers. Agents prevented the door from being shut and detected a strong acetone odor coming from inside the room. A large quantity of methamphetamine was in the process of being “cleaned” in the hotel room, the affidavit says. Agents also observed acetone being heated on the stove and a lit candle. Certified decontamination agents removed the toxic fumes from the room to protect the agents and hotel guests.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stefan C. Hughes. They were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a father and son in northern Missouri were indicted by a federal grand jury today for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud farmers in 10 states of nearly $862,000.

 

Mark Henry, Sr., 50, of Cameron, Mo., and his son, Mark Henry, Jr., 28, of Lucerne, Mo., were charged in a 15-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.

 

According to today’s indictment, the Henrys represented themselves as farmers and advertised on Craigslist and other places to sell hay to farmers throughout the United States who were experiencing drought conditions between January 2010 and October 2012. They sold more than $3.2 million of hay, which was advertised as “excellent brome, orchard and timothy hay . . . big heavy bales.” According to the indictment, however, most of the hay consisted of weeds, sticks, bushes, small trees, briars, thistles and woody stems; some of it was moldy and of very poor feed quality.

 

Today’s indictment also alleges that the Henrys purposely shorted farmers and failed to provide all or a portion of the hay to their customers in Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Wyoming and New Mexico. They allegedly demanded farmers prepay for the hay and failed to refund the prepayment to farmers who did not receive hay or who received poor quality hay. The Henrys also allegedly failed to pay for hay they had purchased from other farmers for resale.

 

In one incident cited by the indictment, a customer from Colorado prepaid $5,000 for 60 bales of hay. On Aug. 11, 2012, she arrived at a field and began testing the bales as they were being loaded.  Because some bales tested for high moisture content, they were set aside. Mark Henry, Sr., arrived at the field, the indictment says, and began to yell at them. He told her she could not pick and choose what bales she wanted. He told her, if you take one; you take them all. She told Henry, Sr. the bales she set aside would mold, but he responded he was not going to put up with them picking and choosing the bales and ordered them off his property. She asked for her money back, but he told her he did not have his checkbook with him and his son was in Columbia, Mo. The customer’s son told Henry, Sr., they were not leaving until they got their hay bales or their money back. Henry, Sr. allegedly went to his pickup and obtained a claw hammer and advanced towards the son, threatening to bash his head in.  They got into their trucks and left without loading the 60 bales she purchased.

 

Another victim from New Mexico signed a contract for 6,000 bales and wired $195,000 for 3,000 bales in advance. The customer received 90 bales of very poor quality hay, according to the indictment, for a total loss of $195,975 (including trucking and other expenses).

 

The hay hauling was advertised at $2.50 per load mile to deliver the hay, which was much less than normally charged. According to the indictment, however, those farmers who contracted with the Henrys to haul the hay were charged almost 40 percent more than the advertised price, and the Henrys failed to pay two trucking companies for the hauling: Glaser Trucking Service ($53,400) and Action Transit Company ($4,400), even though the money was collected from the farmers.

 

In addition, the indictment says, the Henrys advertised the sale of cattle on Craigslist between December 2012 and February 2013. The cattle were advertised as “front pasture” young cows, from the age of four to six. According to the indictment, however, most of the cows were much older and worth less than younger cows. The Henrys sold 389 head of cattle to farmers from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Iowa for approximately $538,700. The indictment alleges that approximately $59,700 was fraudulent because the cows were much older and worth less than charged.

 

According to the indictment, a licensed veterinarian examined 221 of the cows and determined that the age and/or condition of 199 cows was misrepresented. The majority of the cows were worth less than the price charged, the indictment says. The price on the majority of the cows allegedly was overinflated approximately $300 to $400 each.

 

In addition to the conspiracy, the Henrys are charged together in seven counts of wire fraud and seven counts of mail fraud.

 

Today’s indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require both defendants to forfeit to the government any property obtained as a result of the alleged violations, including a money judgment of $861,932.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by the FBI, the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, the Putnam County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Putnam County, Mo., Prosecutor’s Office.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Delaware man with a prior conviction for child sexual abuse was indicted by a federal grand jury today for using the Internet to entice a Richmond, Mo.-area teenager to engage in illicit sexual activity, and for producing and possessing child pornography.

 

Aaron T. Fletcher, 39, of Seaford, Del., was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Fletcher was convicted in Delaware in 2000 of raping a victim under 16 years of age.

 

Today’s indictment alleges that Fletcher enticed a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity between Feb. 1, 2015, and March 30, 2015.

 

Fletcher is also charged with one count of using a minor to produce child pornography between March 27 and 30, 2015, and one count of possessing child pornography on March 30, 2015.

 

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the Richmond, Mo., Police Department, the Ray County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Jackson County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lampe, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for producing child pornography and for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

 

Jeffrey D. Manley, 38, of Lampe, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Manley to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration.

 

On Sept. 10, 2014, Manley pleaded guilty to using a minor to produce child pornography and to receiving and distributing child pornography from Nov. 1, 2012, to Feb. 26, 2013.

 

In January 2013, law enforcement authorities identified Manley’s computer as using peer-to-peer file-sharing software to download child pornography over the Internet and to make child pornography available to other users. Officers executed a search warrant at Manley’s residence and seized computers, cell phones and other items. Investigators found child pornography on Manley’s laptop computer. Investigators also discovered a video of child pornography on Manley’s cell phone that he had taken while engaged in sexual acts with a minor victim.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Nixa, Mo., Police Department, the Stone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Tri-lakes Cybercrime Task Force and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

 

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that an employee for a Kansas City, Mo., accounting firm has been sentenced in federal court for embezzling more than $366,000 from one of the firm’s clients.

 

Julie A. Hughes, 45, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple on Tuesday, June 2, 2015, to two years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hughes to pay $425,250 in restitution.

 

On Feb. 12, 2015, Hughes pleaded guilty to receiving stolen money that had crossed state lines and to making a false statement on a tax return.

 

Hughes worked as an accountant for Professional Accounting Systems. As part of her job, Hughes was assigned to prepare and distribute payroll for Pathfinder Systems, a client of the firm. Hughes embezzled $366,453 from Pathfinder Systems by directing payroll to a fictional employee she created on a bank account she controlled. Hughes conducted 167 fraudulent transactions from October 2011 to November 2013 and transferred most of the funds to other bank accounts she controlled for her personal use.

 

According to court documents, a bookkeeper found discrepancies in bookkeeping records in November 2013 and brought them to the attention of the company’s president. They showed the discrepancies to the company’s owner and Hughes, who appeared nervous and could not answer questions as to where the money had gone. Hughes was confronted by the owner about the missing money again on a later date, and she admitted to stealing from the company’s client, Pathfinder Systems. Her employer repaid Pathfinder Systems. He reported that her thefts had a significant impact on his small business.

 

Hughes also admitted that she did not report the embezzled money as income on her federal income tax returns, resulting in a tax loss to the government of $58,797.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Mahoney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to producing child pornography after recording videos of two minor victims, including a teenager who responded to his online advertisement for modeling and a minor who was secretly filmed in the shower.

 

Marcus S. Clarke, 43, a citizen of Jamaican residing in Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to one count of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child pornography.

 

According to court documents, a 15-year-old girl, identified as Jane Doe #1, had been sending and receiving text messages on a borrowed cell phone. The cell phone’s owner notified a Prairie Village, Kan., police detective when she noticed a text conversation about a modeling photo shoot.

 

MV told law enforcement officers that she responded to a Craigslist advertisement for models for a photo shoot. Clarke picked her up at a park in Prairie Village on Oct. 3, 2014, and drove her to his apartment in the Northland. When they arrived at the apartment, Clarke put a flash drive in his television to display photos of nude females to MV. MV described the images to law enforcement officers as “disturbing” because the women were nude and engaged in sexual activity. Clarke took both nude and non-nude photos and videos of MV using a digital camera and digital recorder.

 

According to court documents, Clarke had been advertising online for lingerie and nude modeling as far back as September 2012.

 

An FBI agent used the same cell phone that MV had used to contact Clarke. Several text messages were exchanged in which Clarke made arrangements to meet MV again for another photo shoot. When Clarke arrived at the Prairie Village park to meet MV on Oct. 22, 2014, he was placed under arrest. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Clarke’s residence and seized computers and computer storage devices that contained sexually explicit videos of MV.

 

Clarke also admitted today that he secretly recorded video of a second victim, identified as Jane Doe #2, to produce child pornography between Jan. 1, 2007, and Dec. 13, 2010. According to court documents, investigators discovered an SD card in Clarke’s apartment that contained video recordings in which Clarke appeared to secretly film a minor female while she took a shower.

 

Under federal statutes, Clarke is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole for each count, up to a sentence of 60 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore. It was investigated by the FBI and the Prairie Village, Kan., Police Department.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former postal worker in Warrensburg, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to stealing thousands of pieces of mail that were not delivered.

 

David Thompson, 54, of Warrensburg, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to the delay and destruction of mail by a postal employee.

 

Thompson, who began his career with the U.S. Postal Service in 1990, was the regular mail carrier assigned to a delivery route from the Warrensburg post office on 201 E. Gay Street. He was placed on off-duty status on Jan. 21, 2014, and he is no longer in the employment of the Postal Service.

 

By pleading guilty today, Thompson admitted that he stole at least 20,000 pieces of mail addressed to 5,571 recipients from May 2012 to Jan. 18, 2014. Thompson admitted that he threw the mail into a dumpster or kept it in his house and personal vehicle rather than delivering the mail to its recipients. The mail was unopened and no specific monetary loss was identified.

 

Thompson’s supervisors suspected in late 2013 that he was drinking alcohol while on duty and while delivering mail on his official route. During their investigation, a covert camera was installed in his delivery vehicle. Thompson was observed pulling mail already sorted for delivery and placing the mail in a white tub, which he hid in a carport at his personal residence. The next two days, he also pulled mail already sorted for delivery, and each day he bundled it and put it into his personal vehicle. On Jan. 11, 2014, Thompson was recorded throwing a bundle of mail into a trash container, and later placing a tub of mail underneath the carport at his residence. On Jan. 13, 2014, he placed his coat over a tub of mail and placed the mail into his personal vehicle. On Jan. 15, 2014, he took a tub of mail and placed it under the carport at his residence. The next two days, he did the same thing. He took more mail on Jan. 18, 2014. On Jan. 17, 2014, a federal agent recovered four black plastic trash bags of mail from Thompson’s route from the dumpster behind the Elk’s Lodge (where Thompson was a member and served as Exalted Ruler)  located at 822 E. Young Avenue in Warrensburg.

 

Under federal statutes, Thompson is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel M. Nelson. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former employee of the Internal Revenue Service pleaded guilty in federal court today to using stolen identities in a scheme to receive $326,000 in fraudulent tax refunds.

 

Demetria Michele Brown, 38, of Birmingham, Ala., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth to two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

 

By pleading guilty today, Brown admitted that she engaged in a scheme to submit hundreds of false and fraudulent state and federal income tax returns in order to generate refunds from 2008 to 2011. Brown, formerly of Fairview Heights, Ill., worked at an IRS office in St. Louis, Mo., during the fraud scheme.

 

Brown filed more than 120 fraudulent federal tax returns, resulting in a loss of approximately $211,000. Brown filed at least 236 fraudulent state tax returns, resulting in a loss of approximately $115,000, for an aggregate loss amount of approximately $326,000.

 

The scheme involved Brown obtaining personal identification information, including names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth of other persons without their knowledge or consent. Brown completed U.S. individual income tax returns and Missouri state income tax returns for persons using the personal identification information she had obtained, adding other information which was false and fraudulent, including the address, place of employment, wages earned, taxes withheld and the fact that a refund was due.

 

Under federal statutes, Brown is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole for each wire fraud count and a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison without parole for aggravated identity theft, plus a fine up to $750,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Missouri Department of Revenue – Compliance and Investigation Bureau and the Missouri Department of Revenue – Criminal Investigation Bureau.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for the attempted sex trafficking of a child as the result of an undercover investigation in which he thought he was meeting a 12-year-old victim for illicit sex.

 

Jeremy Ryan Bappert, 30, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 15 years in federal prison without parole.

 

Bappert, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 27, 2014, admitted that he sent a text to a confidential informant, who then notified the Columbia, Mo., Police Department. Bappert asked the confidential informant to find a young girl, “around 9 to 11 years old,” and asked what $100 would get him. A police detective instructed the informant to send a response to Bappert that a person named “Julie” had a child available.

 

The police detective assumed the role of “Julie” and had a number of text conversations with Bappert. Bappert asked how old the child would be and said he was looking for “very young.” The undercover detective told Bappert that “Julie’s” daughter was 12 years old.

 

On July 19, 2013, Bappert sent a text to “Julie” seeking to arrange a meeting. He offered to pay $150 and provide a gram of hash in exchange for meeting at a hotel room in Jefferson City. Bappert, whose driver’s license was suspended, wasn’t able to find a ride on that day. He sent another text on July 24, 2013, saying that he had arranged a ride to Columbia but would have to pay $50 to the driver. He offered to pay “Julie” $100 but promised to pay $200 the next time. He also offered to bring “Julie” a gram of hash.

 

On July 25, 2013, Bappert agreed to meet at a restaurant in Columbia. When Bappert entered the restaurant, he was arrested. Investigators searched Bappert’s cell phone and recovered 246 images and six videos of child pornography.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the FBI and the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

 

Christopher Eugene Ronimous, also known as “Rodney,” 39, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to five years in federal prison without parole.

 

On Nov. 5, 2014, Ronimous pleaded guilty to being in possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute on July 7, 2014.

 

According to court documents, Jefferson City police officers stopped a vehicle for improper registration. Ronimous, a passenger in the vehicle, got out of the car while officers conducted a search. While standing outside the vehicle, an Altoids can fell from Ronimous’s shorts. Inside the can was approximately five grams of methamphetamine and three “hits” of LSD.

 

Ronimous was arrested and transported to the police station, where he was observed reaching into his crotch area while inside an interview room. An officer conducted a more thorough search of Ronimous and discovered two bags containing approximately 50 additional grams of methamphetamine.

 

This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart J. Zander. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that eight St. Joseph, Mo., residents are among 11 defendants who have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a $1 million conspiracy to distribute at least 25 kilograms of methamphetamine.

 

James Michael Watts, 24, Alan Curtis Mace, 33, Robert R. Atkinson, 37, Jason Scott Valentine, 33, Walter James Kerns, 37, Courtney W. Martin, 32, Daryl Ray Watts, 40, and Kevin Martin Crossfield, 52, all of St. Joseph; Eric Scott Graham, 33, of Savanah, Mo.; and Jack Daniel Loos, 35, and Mark Alan Edmundson, Jr., 40, both of Kansas City, Mo., were charged in an indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on May 19, 2015. That indictment was unsealed and made public following the arrests and initial court appearances of several defendants on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.

 

The federal indictment alleges that each of the defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Jan. 1, 2010, to May 19, 2015.

 

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require all of the defendants, jointly and severally, to forfeit to the government any proceeds obtained as a result of the alleged violation, including a money judgment of $1,059,600. According to the indictment, this amount is based on a conservative average street price of $1,200 per ounce of 50 percent pure methamphetamine and the total distribution of at least 25 kilograms of methamphetamine during the conspiracy.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the owner of two stores in Springfield, Mo., and Joplin, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy that involved the distribution of more than $1.6 million in synthetic cannabinoids, also known as K2.

 

Donald P. Parrett, 43, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to five years in federal prison without parole.

 

Parrett owned Head Kase stores in Springfield and Joplin. Parrett oversaw and managed the wholesale and retail distribution of synthetic cannabinoids from Head Kase. Co-defendants Clyde Hicks, 53, of Aurora, Mo., and Lola Hall, 44, Ozark, Mo., were employees of Head Kase and worked as sales clerks. They were sentenced to probation in separate court appearances today.

 

Parrett, Hicks and Hall each pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud. They admitted that they conspired to defraud the Food and Drug Administration and the general public by selling synthetic cannabinoids under false representations that the products were “incense” or “potpourri” and “not for human consumption,” when in fact these substances contained synthetic cannabinoids and were intended for human consumption as a drug.

 

Parrett attempted to conceal his drug distribution by marketing the synthetic cannabinoids as “incense” that was “not intended for human consumption.” Nevertheless, he obtained private laboratory reports which purported to show that the substances for sale did not contain controlled substances. These steps attempted to create a legal fiction that buyers of the synthetic cannabinoids could obtain a “legal” high, since the substances were not sold for human consumption and were purported not to contain controlled substances.

 

Between November 2010 and July 2012, Parrett’s business generated at least $1,654,410 from the sale of synthetic cannabinoids. Parrett paid at least $570,439 to at least nine separate distributors for his supply of synthetic cannabinoids.

 

This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jasper County Drug Task Force, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department and IRS-Criminal Investigation.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that five Mexican nationals were sentenced in federal court today for their roles in a Mexico-based drug-trafficking organization that smuggled large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico to distribute in the Kansas City, Mo., area.

 

Alejandro Valencia, 32, Eric Octavio Rangel-Ortega, 33, and Alfredo Avitia, 34, all of whom are citizens of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., and Juan Rodriguez-Ponce, 62, and his son, Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Maynez, 36, both of Mexico, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple.

 

Valencia was sentenced to 24 years and four months in federal prison without parole. Octavio Rangel-Ortega was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Valencia and Rangel-Ortega to forfeit to the government $376,000 that was seized by law enforcement officers and represents the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking, and a 2001 Silverado that was used to commit the offenses.

 

Avitia was sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison without parole. Rodriguez-Maynez and Rodriguez-Ponce were each sentenced to nine years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered them to forfeit to the government a 2002 Honda Odyssey van.

 

Law enforcement officers initially purchased methamphetamine from Rangel-Ortega on five separate occasions from October 2012 to January 2013 during an undercover storefront operation. On three occasions, those transactions occurred near the Mores Early Childhood Center and Elementary School in Kansas City, Kan. The undercover officer purchased a total of 256.9 grams of methamphetamine from Rangel-Ortega during this time period, until Rangel-Ortega left the United States and returned to Mexico. Rangel-Ortega then told the undercover officer that his cousin, Valencia, would continue to sell methamphetamine.

 

The undercover officer purchased a total of 345.4 grams of methamphetamine from Valencia on five separate occasions from February to April 2013. The undercover officer contacted Rangel-Ortega before every deal and Rangel-Ortega made contact with Valencia to ensure he would sell to the undercover officer. After one of the buys, Valencia told the undercover officer that he sent Rangel-Ortega the money while he was in Mexico.

 

Investigators learned of additional members of the drug-trafficking conspiracy. Investigators also learned that Valencia was expecting a shipment of cocaine from Mexico to Kansas City, Mo., and planned to ship $330,000 in cash back to Mexico.

 

Investigators conducted surveillance and on April 19, 2013, saw Valencia meet with Rodriguez-Maynea and Rodriguez-Ponce, who had driven their vehicle across the border from Mexico a few days earlier.

 

After observing the transaction between Valencia and the other men, law enforcement officers later stopped the Honda Odyssey driven by Rodriguez-Maynez and Rodriguez-Ponce. Officers found 33 bundles of cash, each containing $10,000 for a total of $330,000, stashed in a hidden compartment.

 

On the same day, officers executed a search warrant at Valencia’s residence and seized approximately five kilograms of cocaine, $20,400 and Valencia’s truck.

 

On Aug. 22, 2013, a confidential informant working under the direction of law enforcement arranged to purchase one ounce of cocaine from Avitia for $1,000. On Aug. 27, 2013, the same confidential informant again working under the direction of law enforcement arranged to purchase two ounces of cocaine from Avitia. This transaction did not occur after it appeared that Avitia had observed law enforcement surveillance.

 

Valencia pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine from Sept. 1, 2012, to April 19, 2013. Valencia also pleaded guilty to bulk cash smuggling, to participating in a conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine and to participating in a money-laundering conspiracy.

 

Rangel-Ortega pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, to distributing methamphetamine and to his role in the money-laundering conspiracy.

 

Avitia pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy to distribute cocaine and to participating in the money-laundering conspiracy.

 

Rodriguez-Maynez and Rodriguez-Ponce both pleaded guilty to bulk cash smuggling and to their roles in a conspiracy to import cocaine.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Kansas State Highway Patrol.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that four Mexican nationals have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a conspiracy that produced and sold thousands of false identification documents to illegal aliens.

 

Eriberto Moises Medina-Aranda, 40, of Rayville, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple on Wednesday, May 20, 2015, to 10 years in federal prison without parole. Cesar Mujica-Aranda (Medina-Aranda’s half-brother),  also known as “Oscar Gomez,” 25, a citizen of Mexico residing in Liberty, Mo., was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole.

 

Bernardino Bautista-Hernandez, 33, also known as “Brujo,” a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison without parole. Ulises Montiel-Lazcano, also known as “Loco”, 35, a citizen of Mexico residing in Merriam, Kan., was sentenced to 11 months in federal prison without parole.

 

They must also forfeit to the government $403,700, which represents the total proceeds from the sale of counterfeit identification documents – criminal investigators estimate that the criminal enterprise manufactured and sold at least 7,122  fraudulent identification documents.

 

Each of the co-defendants pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy to produce false Social Security cards, false Lawful Permanent Resident cards and false driver’s licenses from various states within the United States as well as Mexican states between Sept. 1, 2013, and Feb. 21, 2014. Conspirators produced and sold thousands of false identification documents to illegal aliens so that the illegal aliens could stay and work within the United States. Conspirators sold the counterfeit identification documents for at least $100.

 

Medina-Aranda admitted that he oversaw the production and distribution of false identification documents. There were numerous street level dealers involved in the conspiracy. The street dealers would typically pay $50 for each counterfeit identification document sold and the street dealers would keep the excess proceeds they were able to obtain from the sale of the counterfeit documents.

 

Medina-Aranda also pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of firearms. Medina-Aranda admitted that in February 2014 he was in possession of a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic rifle, a Marlin rifle and ammunition, all of which were found in his residence by federal law enforcement agents. Medina-Aranda is illegally residing in the United States. His spouse, a citizen of the United States, purchased the Smith & Wesson semi-automatic rifle for him as a birthday gift at the Excelsior Springs, Mo., Wal-Mart store. His plea agreement contains a photograph of Medina-Aranda posing with the semi-automatic assault rifle next to a painting of Al Pacino in his “Scarface” role, who is holding a rifle in a similar pose.

 

Mujica-Aranda admitted that he managed the production of counterfeit identification documents at his Liberty apartment. He managed the production of the false identification documents and sold the documents to numerous street level dealers, such as Bautista-Hernandez and Montiel-Lazcano. Mujica-Aranda produced fraudulent Lawful Permanent Resident cards, counterfeit Social Security cards, and false driver’s licenses from various states within the United States as well as Mexican states.

 

On Jan. 30, 2014, Mujica-Aranda threw away a white plastic bag containing shredded pieces of fraudulent identity documents in a trash can at a gas station at St. John Avenue and Belmont in Kansas City, Mo. Early the next morning, a federal agent located the bag in the trash can. The bag contained shredded pieces of fraudulent identification documents, and weighed approximately two pounds. Each piece was approximately the size of a small paper clip, and the shredded pieces were immediately recognizable as fraudulent Lawful Permanent Resident cards, Social Security cards, Missouri non-driver’s licenses and Kansas identification cards. The agent also discovered two reels of depleted color card printer ribbon within the shredded pieces. One reel had images of fraudulent Lawful Permanent Resident cards.

 

Investigators secured a total of 16 reels of depleted color card printer ribbons weighing a total of 24 pounds, which were seized from a dumpster located at a gas station, a residence in Liberty, Mo., and a storage unit in Excelsior Springs, Mo. A United States Secret Service forensic testing lab evaluated these ribbons and was able to ascertain that the ribbons contained front and back images of 3,185 Lawful Permanent Resident cards.

 

Luis Daniel Cabrera-Guzman, also known as “Driver,” 30, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, was sentenced on March 24, 2015, to two years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty in a separate but related case to his role in the conspiracy. The court also ordered Cabrera-Guzman to forfeit $403,700 to the government, including $9,376 that was seized by law enforcement officers at the time of his arrest. According to court documents, Cabrera-Guzman has been illegally living in the United States periodically since 2001. He was deported in May 2009 and June 2009 and illegally reentered the country.

 

These cases were prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. They were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, the Kansas Department of Revenue – Office of Special Investigations, the Missouri Department of Revenue – Compliance Investigation Bureau and the Clay County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Globe, Ariz., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a $10.2 million securities fraud conspiracy that victimized more than 12,000 investors across the United States and Canada who bought shares in Petro America Corporation, which was purported to be a profitable company with $284 billion in assets.

 

Brian Langenbach, 46, of Globe, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to three years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Langenbach to pay $696,660 in restitution.

 

Langenbach, the final defendant to be sentenced in this case, pleaded guilty on June 22, 2012. Five co-defendants were convicted at trial and Langenbach is among nine co-defendants who pleaded guilty.

 

Langenbach admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. Contrary to the fraudulent representations Langenbach and others made to victim-investors, Petro America had no oil, no realistic prospects for obtaining, transporting or storing large amounts of oil, no significant assets, no revenue and no employees other than the CEO.

 

Langenbach, a major figure in the Petro America scheme, was not licensed to sell securities. Langenbach admitted that he sold Petro America stock to at least 180 investors, receiving at least $400,000 in proceeds, from Aug. 20, 2009, to March 2, 2010. Although Langenbach became aware of red flags with the company, including the existence of cease and desist orders in Missouri and Kansas, he continued to sell shares anyway. When he sold shares, he relayed inflated expectations, and he did not disclose material negative information to investors, including the existence of the cease and desist orders.

 

Langenbach personally spoke on behalf of Petro during business dealings, and he personally attended at least one investor meeting and one update meeting in Arizona. Langenbach spoke on behalf of the company in negotiating business deals, and on multiple occasions entered into purported deals on behalf of his own company in partnership with Petro. Langenbach frequently spoke for Petro and sought out deals in order to bring purported assets into Petro so as to inflate the value of the stock.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel M. Nelson and Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Office of the Missouri Securities Commissioner.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the elected sheriff of Christian County, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to embezzling county funds and to his role in laundering the proceeds of a political supporter’s investment fraud scheme.

 

 “This elected sheriff stole taxpayers’ money and treated the county coffers as his own personal piggy bank,” Dickinson said. “Sheriff Kyle took money that was supposed to be for firearms and other supplies needed by his deputies. But his greed wasn’t limited to public dollars or to the taxpayers whose trust he betrayed. He also abused his position to promote a political supporter’s investment fraud scheme, and even used the criminal profits from the scheme to help bankroll his reelection.

 

“The shameful actions of this defendant shouldn’t cast a shadow on the integrity and dedication of the vast majority of honest law enforcement officers,” Dickinson said. “No one is above the law. This disgraced law enforcement officer will be held accountable for his actions.”

 

Joseph “Joey” Edward Kyle, 53, of Ozark, Mo., waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to a federal information that charges him with one count of embezzling from Christian County and one count of participating in a money-laundering conspiracy.

 

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Kyle must immediately resign his office as sheriff of Christian County. Kyle was elected to the sheriff’s office in 2008 and reelected in 2012.

 

 

 

Christian County Embezzlement

 

By pleading guilty today, Kyle admitted that he embezzled $50,290 from Christian County. Kyle submitted 22 fraudulent invoices and purchase orders to the county for goods and services that were never provided between Jan. 1, 2011, and Oct. 14, 2014.

 

Kyle submitted those requisitions on behalf of EDI Plus, LLC, in Nixa, Mo. EDI was awarded a contract by the county to provide equipment – including firearms and ammunition – for the sheriff’s department from 2011 to 2014. Kyle received cash from EDI for his personal use then submitted fraudulent requisitions for goods and services purportedly supplied by EDI. In reality, no goods or services were provided; instead, these requisitions repaid EDI for the money Kyle personally received.

 

Money Laundering Conspiracy

 

Kyle also admitted today that he received $21,350 from another person, identified as “Subject #2” in court documents, for his role in promoting an investment fraud scheme.

 

According to the plea agreement, Subject #2 owned and operated various companies and, from January 2008 to October 2014, engaged in an investment fraud scheme. Subject #2 solicited Kyle to assist him as a promoter of the scheme, to take advantage of the authority and prestige of Kyle’s position as county sheriff. Kyle referred potential investors, distributed promotional materials, served as a personal reference and recommended that victims invest money in Subject #2’s companies.

 

In order to persuade potential investors, Subject #2 falsely informed them that Kyle had personally invested funds and that Kyle had assembled an investment group, comprised of deputy sheriffs and others, to invest in Subject #2’s companies. In reality, Kyle did not invest his personal funds in Subject #2’s companies. Instead, Subject #2 gave Kyle 50,000 shares in one of his companies, which Subject #2 normally sold to investors at the rate of one dollar per share.

 

Kyle founded Five Rivers Management, LLC, purportedly as a law enforcement training company in 2011. He deposited the money he received from Subject #2 into the company’s bank account in order to conceal the source and nature of the payments, and to make them appear to be receipts from Kyle’s law enforcement training company.  Subject #2 also made a $3,000 contribution, using victim investor funds, to Kyle’s political campaign on July 1, 2012.

 

Between June 2012 and January 2014, Subject #2 received investment funds totaling approximately $952,670. At the time he promoted the investment fraud scheme, Kyle states that he believed Subject #2’s companies were legitimately engaged in efforts to bring their products to market. However, Kyle admitted the United States could prove he knew checks written to Five Rivers were the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity. Further, Kyle acknowledged that, at the very least, he deliberately closed his eyes to the fraud, which should have been obvious to him.

 

Sentencing

 

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Kyle will be sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison without parole. Kyle must pay $50,290  in restitution to Christian County and must forfeit to the government a money judgment of $71,640, representing the proceeds he received from his criminal conduct. Kyle must disclose and surrender any and all property that was purchased with county funds, including firearms, ammunition, vehicles, equipment, preserved food (meals-ready-to-eat) and other supplies. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys  James J. Kelleher and Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for using a child victim to produce child pornography.

 

Morgan Littleton, 33, of Independence, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 60 years in federal prison without parole, which is the maximum statutory penalty. The court also ordered Littleton to pay $5,350 in restitution to his victim.

 

On Jan. 5, 2015, Littleton pleaded guilty to two counts of using a 12-year-old victim to produce child pornography on two separate occasions in January 2013.

 

On April 29, 2013, an Independence police officer responded to a call related to a domestic assault. The officer contacted a woman who told him Littleton had grabbed and squeezed her throat, slammed her against the wall, and slapped her three times in the face because there was no sugar for his coffee. She also told the officer that several hours before the assault she had accidentally discovered evidence that Littleton was having a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old female, identified as Jane Doe.

 

The woman reported that she found several SD memory cards in a black canvas bag that belonged to Littleton. One of the cards contained a video of Littleton engaged in illicit sexual activity with the child victim. She did not report this immediately because Littleton did not allow her to use the phone or leave the residence. After the domestic assault, she convinced Littleton to allow her to walk to the store for more sugar. He agreed to let her go and she took Jane Doe with her to a convenience store. Once at the store she asked the store manager to contact the police.

 

Police officers executed a search warrant at Littleton’s residence, where he resided with three adult women, who referred to him as “Master,” in a polygamous BDSM relationship, as well as with Jane Doe and another minor female. Officers seized computers, cameras and digital media. They found 12 video segments on a memory card, some of which appeared to have been filmed in a hotel room between Jan. 18 and March 25, 2013. The videos depicted Littleton engaging in illicit sexual activity with Jane Doe.

 

In a forensic interview, the child victim reported that Littleton had been molesting her once or twice a week since November 2012. He sometimes promised her food if, or would not allow her to see her friends unless, she engaged in illicit sexual activity.

 

Littleton has been charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with four counts of deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 14 years old, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and four counts of domestic assault.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department.

 

Project Safe Childhood

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