Eastern District of North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. – Calvin McKinley Hughes, 39, of Garysburg, Northampton County, was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Hughes pled guilty to the charges on January 4, 2022. 

According to court records and statements made during hearings, on August 11, 2018, a Northampton County Sheriff’s Office detective was on patrol in Garysburg, NC, when he observed a black Chrysler sedan stopped in the middle of Maple Street, near the intersection of Peach Street.  Two people were standing by the car.  The detective initiated a traffic stop for impeding traffic, and the two people walked away.  The driver identified himself as defendant Calvin Hughes but said that he did not have a license or any identification.  Central communications advised that Hughes had a suspended license. 

Hughes denied that he had anything illegal in the car and told deputies that they could search his car.  After being instructed to stand at the front of the patrol car with another deputy, Hughes took off running into a neighborhood.  Deputies chased Hughes around several residences before they were able to apprehend him. 

A search of Hughes’ car revealed a black M&P Shield 40 caliber pistol with a loaded magazine under the driver’s seat.  They also found 14 plastic bags containing crack cocaine. 

Hughes made bond on state charges but was arrested again on a firearm charge on May 14, 2019, when Halifax County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a drug complaint and recovered a shotgun from Hughes’ bedroom in a Weldon, North Carolina, residence where he had been staying. 

Prior to his federal conviction, Hughes accrued ten North Carolina felony offenses, including multiple convictions for possessing and distributing cocaine, as well as larceny offenses.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Northampton County Sheriff’s Office and Halifax County Sheriffs Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-0021-BO.

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NEW BERN, N.C. – A Bladen County woman who helped a former doctor operate a “pill mill” in Columbus County, where opioids and other controlled substances were improperly prescribed, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for unlawfully distributing Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Methadone, and Marijuana.

“The defendant helped to illegally distribute opioids, jeopardizing the safety of the community,” said Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “My office will continue to collaborate with law enforcement at all levels to dismantle criminal organizations that are contributing to the drug problems in eastern North Carolina.”

According to court documents, Tammy Lynn Thompson, 57, and co-defendant and former doctor, Jong Kim, were charged with violating federal drug trafficking laws.  The co-defendant, Kim, pled guilty to multiple counts and was sentenced earlier this year to 78 months.  On July 12, 2021, Thompson pled guilty to Conspiracy to Unlawfully Distribute Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Methadone, and Marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §846; multiple counts of Distribution of Marijuana and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. §2; Distribution of Hydrocodone, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1); and Unlawful Dispensation and Distribution of Hydrocodone and Marijuana and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. §2.

In 2017, Thompson helped Kim—who had previously been forced to resign from an area medical practice due to concerns over his opioid prescribing practices—to open his own clinic in Tabor City, NC. From October 2017 to June 28, 2018, Thompson helped Kim unlawfully and improperly prescribe opioids and other controlled substances by bringing in “patients” who paid $200 cash at each appointment. The investigation revealed that Kim wrote controlled substance prescriptions to virtually every patient he saw and often failed to meet the basic standards of legitimate medical care. Word spread quickly and the pill mill drew people from across Eastern North Carolina and other states. The volume of patients and associated activity in the parking lot of the clinic created safety concerns for the adjacent Tabor City Elementary School, which was forced to restrict outdoor activities for students until a privacy fence was constructed. Additionally, Thompson sold marijuana and hydrocodone on multiple occasions at both the clinic and the residence she shared with Kim.

In January 2018, a confidential source began conducting a series of controlled purchases from Kim and Thompson, which were audio and video recorded.  On June 29, 2018, search warrants were executed at Kim’s clinic and residence and Kim and Thompson were arrested.  A medical expert who reviewed Kim’s records found no evidence that Kim was providing real medical care and concluded that Kim was merely exchanging prescriptions for money.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Charlotte Tactical Diversion Squad, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, DECU investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nick Miller, Tim Severo, and Bryan Stephany prosecuted the case. 

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:18-CR-00200-FL.

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RALEIGH, N.C. – Three defendants were sentenced today for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in connection with a fraudulent invoicing scheme that targeted Baker Roofing Company (BRC).  Defendants were ordered to pay restitution of $1,850,442 to the company and received the following sentences:

• George William Garven, of Clemson, South Carolina, was sentenced to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
• Robert Andrew Helms, of Indian Trail, North Carolina, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. 
• William Russell Davis, of Waxhaw, North Carolina, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. 

“These defendants, all of whom are well-educated, successful businessmen, used their positions of privilege to enrich themselves at the victim’s expense,” commented United States Attorney Michael Easley.  “Like many white collar offenders, their choices were not born of desperation, but of greed.  They thought they were above the law—but today the law caught up with them.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners work tirelessly to ensure that those who cheat Eastern North Carolina businesses face consequences in federal court.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, the victim, BRC, hired Garven in 2011 to serve as the Vice President and General Manager of its Charlotte branch office.  In 2014, Helms and Davis partnered together to provide roofing subcontracting services to BRC through Davis’s business, R&K Davis Holdings (R&K).  Between 2015 and 2020, R&K was used as a vehicle to fraudulently bill BRC for subcontracting work that was never performed.  Among other things, Garven obligated BRC to pay R&K by generating fake invoices and subcontracts in R&K’s name.  The criminal proceeds, were funneled into business bank accounts controlled by Helms and Davis and then disbursed to Garven in various forms, including gift cards and checks.  The checks included fraudulent memo lines to make it appear they were related to legitimate business.  Garven also directed Helms and Davis to use the embezzled funds to pay contractors to perform work on Garven’s residential properties.  In furtherance of the scheme, Garven paid Helms and Davis each approximately $140,000 in cash. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Field Office, investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam F. Hulbig  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-CR-393-D.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh man was sentenced today to 264 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base (crack) and 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and distribution of crack. 

Gregory Warren Daniels, 32, was a member of the Nine Trey Gangster Bloods, a violent street gang that engages in distribution of controlled substances.  According to court documents and other information presented in court, Daniels conspired with others to distribute large amounts of crack and cocaine over a two-year period in the Raleigh area.  On five separate occasions, law enforcement conducted controlled purchases of crack from Daniels.   The Court also received evidence regarding violent assaults by Daniels at the direction of other gang members.  On February 24, 2021, Daniels plead guilty to the charges.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Federal Bureau of Investigations and Raleigh Police Department investigated the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Lemons  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00355-D-1.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – A federal jury convicted Craig Wayne Simpson, 53, of Como, North Carolina, yesterday on multiple drug charges. Simpson will be sentenced on July 11, 2022, and is facing a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison.

“This conviction was a result of a coordinated effort by federal, state and local law enforcement officers to put those responsible for producing and peddling dangerous drugs behind bars and keep our communities safe,” said Michael Easley, United States Attorney for the Eastern District.

Simpson was convicted of the following charges:

• Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Fifty grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a Detectable mount of Methamphetamine;
• Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fifty grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine;
• Possession of Equipment, Chemicals, Products and Material with the intent to Manufacture a Controlled Substance; and
• Using and Maintaining a place for the purpose of Manufacturing Methamphetamine.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Simpson, conspired with others to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine from 2013 to 2019. In 2016, Simpson was stopped at a Hertford County checkpoint and law enforcement discovered a bag containing materials for making methamphetamine along with 170 grams of liquid methamphetamine. In 2019, Simpson’s property was searched, and powder methamphetamine and more liquid methamphetamine were seized. Law enforcement also recovered all the chemicals, materials, and tools for manufacturing methamphetamine. These were stashed throughout the residence and vehicles present on the property. Records presented to the jury showed an extensive pseudoephedrine purchase history by Simpson at local pharmacies from 2013 to 2019. Pseudoephedrine is a required ingredient for manufacturing methamphetamine the way Simpson did.

This investigation is part of operation “Speed Bump” which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. Operation Speed Bump targeted individuals engaged in the dangerous and hazardous production of methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories throughout Eastern North Carolina. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the verdict. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, Hertford County Sheriff’s Office, and the Ahoskie Police Department  are investigating the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Lemons and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Duffy are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.2:20-cr-00018-BO-1.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Jacksonville man pleaded guilty yesterday to using identities of family members, drug addicts and homeless people to steal over a quarter of a million dollars in federal student aid funds, as well as possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

“The defendant exploited homeless people, trafficked drugs and took over a quarter of a million dollars intended to support education,” said Michael Easley, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “My office is working with law enforcement to uncover and stop those who traffic drugs, steal from taxpayers, and prey on the most vulnerable in our communities.”  

According to court documents, Duane Montrik Burton, age 47 of Jacksonville pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Student Aid Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense.  Burton conspired with others to defraud the United States Department of Education by fraudulently obtaining federal student aid funds.  Between 2014 and 2020, Burton sought nearly $300,000 in federal student aid funds in the names of 28 individuals. According to the Government’s statement during the plea hearing, Burton tricked homeless people at a shelter into giving him their personal information by falsely claiming he was collecting information for the census.  Burton also got names and personal information in exchange for illegal narcotics, which he used to fraudulently obtain student aid funds.

“Federal student aid exists so that individuals can make their dream of a higher education a reality. Ensuring those who steal student aid – through identity theft or any other means – are stopped and held accountable for their criminal actions is a big part of our mission,” said Terry Harris, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Eastern Regional Office. 

Additional Case Information

Burton submitted false information on the Free Application for Student Aid, commonly referred to as a FAFSA, provided fabricated documents and recruited others to take General Equivalency Exams and Placement tests for the named students.  Burton profited by obtaining the refunds issued by Cape Fear Community College to these straw students, which represented the difference between the costs of tuition and the student aid funds disbursed.  

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.  The aggravated identity theft charge requires the Court to impose a mandatory sentence of two-years imprisonment consecutive to any other sentence relating to the student aid conspiracy.

Based upon items seized in July 2020 from his residence, Burton pleaded guilty to Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense.  Law enforcement found various amounts of cocaine, marijuana and opiates as wells as items indicative of drug trafficking, including a scale, cutting agent, packaging material, $9,000 cash, and a loaded firearm.  For this charge, Burton faces a mandatory sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the plea. The United States Department of Education Office of the Inspector General is investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan B. Menzer is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-00013-M.

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WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Battleboro, North Carolina man was sentenced today to 160 months in prison for Distribution of a Quantity of Heroin and a Quantity of Fentanyl.  

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, Dwight Harmon, also known as “Jersey,” 54, was named in an Indictment filed on May 4, 2021 charging him with Distribution of a Quantity of Heroin (Counts One and Two), Distribution of a Quantity of Fentanyl (Count Three), and Distribution of a Quantity of Heroin and a Quantity of Fentanyl (Counts Four, Five, and Six). On December 7, 2021, Harmon entered a plea of guilty to Count Four.

In May 2020, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office received information that Harmon was distributing various controlled substances in the area of Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Over the next several months, agents investigated the Defendant, and from May through February 2021, a confidential source conducted controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl from the Defendant.

During the course of the investigation, agents also interviewed several witnesses who explained that Harmon was a high-volume distributor of heroin, as well as other drugs.

The witnesses stated that Harmon was frequently armed with a handgun, and that he threatened to harm others who he believed were cooperating with authorities. According to one witness, Harmon once bragged that he had beaten a murder charge, and that he was not afraid to shoot the police. Another witness stated that Harmon once offered to pay $2,000 to have a potential cooperator killed.

Harmon was determined to be a Career Offender based on prior convictions for Common Law Robbery and Distribute, Dispense, and Possess Controlled Dangerous Substances with Intent to Distribute Within 1,000 Feet of a School. Harmon also had prior convictions for drug offenses, as well as convictions for Aggravated Assault and Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury.

Two related defendants have previously been sentenced:

• James Otis Davis, Jr. (5:20-CR-538-M-1): sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment.

• Tony Pittman (5:21-CR-274-M-1): sentenced to 150 months’ imprisonment.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Lemmon prosecuted the case.

 Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for case number 5:21-CR-00198-M-1.

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WILMINGTON, N.C. A Cameron man pleaded guilty in federal court today to a charge of bank fraud arising out of a scheme to defraud financial institutions in the Eastern District of North Carolina and elsewhere.

According to court documents and information presented at the hearing, Edward Wheeler is a staff sergeant assigned to Pope Army Airfield.  From January 2019 to September 2021, Wheeler defrauded multiple financial institutions by filing account fraud claims that were themselves fraudulent.  To execute the scheme, Wheeler opened bank accounts and conducted financial transactions for his personal benefit.  The transactions included: EFT and wire transfers to accounts Wheeler held with other banks; purchases of cryptocurrency; purchases of gold and other precious metals, and purchases of goods from Amazon and Ebay. 

After the transactions were completed, Wheeler filed fraud claims with the banks wherein Wheeler falsely stated that the transactions were unauthorized, knowing that he had conducted the transactions himself and for his own benefit.  Through the filing of the fraud claims, Wheeler induced the banks to refund his accounts with provisional credits in the amount of the claimed loss.  After the accounts were refunded, Wheeler promptly transferred the funds to other accounts so that the money could not be recouped by the victim banks.  Wheeler executed or attempted to execute the scheme against at least six financial institutions.

Wheeler pleaded guilty to bank fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced during the August 2022 term of court.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby Lathan is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. 

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Wilson man was sentenced today to 110 months in prison after stealing a firearm, robbing a man at gunpoint, and shooting at another man all on one day.  On September 2, 2021, Gregory Antawn Joyner pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm as a Convicted Felon.  

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on the morning of September 25, 2020, the Wilson Police Department received information from an eyewitness who observed Joyner, 32, steal a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine from a parked vehicle on Emory Street in Wilson, North Carolina.

That afternoon, as Wilson Police were investigating the firearm theft from Emory Street, they received a call of an armed robbery at the Jubair Mart on Tarboro Street in Wilson. After interviewing witnesses, Wilson Police reviewed the store’s surveillance footage, which showed Joyner robbing a man of $20 at gunpoint and threatening to kill him. Joyner fled the store on foot.

Several hours after the robbery, Wilson Police officers responded to a Shots Fired call on Dewey Street. When officers arrived, they observed Joyner still at the scene. Joyner was armed and again attempted to flee. Ultimately, Wilson Police officers detained Joyner and placed him into custody. On Joyner’s person, officers recovered the stolen .40 caliber handgun. The extended magazine was loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition. Officers also recovered a spent shell casing. 

Multiple witnesses on scene informed police they observed Joyner initiate an armed struggle with a male victim. During this struggle, Joyner discharged his firearm at the male victim, but did not strike him. Joyner attempted to fire a second shot, but the gun jammed and failed to eject the round. At that point, another witness joined the struggle to subdue Joyner and assisted in wrestling the gun away from Joyner. The first male victim successfully secured the firearm from Joyner and attempted to leave in his vehicle. Joyner jumped onto the victim’s vehicle and refused to let go as the victim drove off. Eventually, the victim tossed the handgun back out the window to Joyner, who let go of the vehicle and retrieved the firearm. Joyner attempted to flee the area moments before Wilson Police arrived and apprehended him.

U.S. Attorney Easley commented: “Gregory Joyner was a one-man crime wave. The sentence the Court imposed today was just and fair. Every day that Joyner spends in federal prison is a safer day for the people of Wilson. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina stands ready to assist our local law enforcement partners in protecting the community from violent offenders like Joyner.”

Michael F. Easley, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Wilson Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-CR-160-BO.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Rocky Mount man was sentenced today to 52 months in prison for possessing a handgun as a convicted felon.  On November 16, 2021, Raekwon Laderek Briggs pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Raekwon Briggs, 26, possessed two handguns during a high-speed chase in Edgecombe County.  On March 21, 2019, a deputy pulled Briggs over for an expired registration. Briggs stopped his car and then accelerated when the deputy opened the door to his patrol car.  Several law enforcement officers pursued Briggs.  During the chase, Briggs sped through two school zones, ran a stoplight, and crossed the center line into oncoming traffic several times, which forced one car off the road.  Briggs eventually stopped, and deputies observed two handguns on the dashboard.  Both firearms were loaded with 28 rounds each.  After his arrest, Briggs told the deputies that he knew the firearms were in the vehicle.  Briggs also said he would have ended the chase in a shootout if Rocky Mount police officers had been involved in the chase.

Briggs had previously been convicted of several felonies, including robbery with a dangerous weapon and attempted possession of a firearm as a felon.  Briggs was also validated by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety as a member of the Bloods street gang. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parris  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:20-CR-00010-FL.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A former doctor who operated a “pill mill” in Columbus County, where he improperly prescribed opioids and other controlled substances was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for unlawfully distributing Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Methadone, and Marijuana.

According to court documents, John Whan Kim, 75, and co-defendant Tammy Thompson, were charged with violating federal drug trafficking laws in a Second Superseding Indictment.  The co-defendant, Thompson, pled guilty to multiple counts and is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.  On December 28, 2021, Kim pled guilty to Conspiracy to Unlawfully Distribute a Quantity of Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Methadone, and Marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §846, multiple counts of Unlawful Dispensation and Distribution of Oxycodone, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1), and Distribution of Marijuana and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. §2.  Kim was also required to surrender all medical licenses and is prohibited from ever practicing medicine again.

In March of 2017, Kim was forced to resign from the medical practice where he was previously employed due to concerns over his prescribing practices, particularly opioids.  Kim proceeded to establish his own clinic in Tabor City, NC and from October 2017 to June 28, 2018, Kim unlawfully and improperly prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to “patients” who paid $200 cash at each appointment.  The investigation revealed that Kim often failed to meet the basic standards of legitimate medical care.  Kim wrote controlled substance prescriptions to virtually every patient he saw, often despite not having a patient’s prior medical records, not conducting a real physical examination or considering alternative treatments, and often despite having evidence of patient misuse and diversion. 

Word of Kim’s willingness to improperly prescribe controlled substances spread quickly and people came from across Eastern North Carolina, and even other states to get prescriptions from Kim.  The volume of patients and associated activity that often took place in the parking lot of Kim’s clinic created safety concerns for the adjacent Tabor City Elementary School, which was forced to restrict outdoor activities for students until a privacy fence was constructed. In January 2018, a confidential source began conducting a series of controlled purchases from Kim and Thompson, which were audio and video recorded.  On June 29, 2018, search warrants were executed at Kim’s clinic and residence and Kim and Thompson were arrested.  A medical expert who reviewed Kim’s records found no evidence that Kim was providing real medical care and concluded that Kim was merely exchanging prescriptions for money.

“The defendant abused his position as a doctor to illegally distribute opioids, jeopardizing the safety of the community and the school adjacent to his office,” said Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “My office will continue to collaborate with law enforcement at all levels to dismantle criminal organizations that are contributing to the drug problems in eastern North Carolina.”

“When Dr. Kim dispensed nearly 2 million doses of addictive prescription medications under the guise of a doctor’s care, it was not about the good of the community or an individual’s specific health needs – it was about his selfishness and greed,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “DEA and its law enforcement partners will continue to stem the tide against the growing opioid epidemic. Dr. Kim will now serve a lengthy sentence in federal prison.”

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Charlotte Tactical Diversion Squad, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, DECU investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nick Miller, Bryan Stephany and Tim Severo prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:18-CR-00200-FL.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Henderson, North Carolina man was sentenced today to 90 months in prison and three years of supervised release for Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.  

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, Seikeidrick Antwon Williams, 36, was named in a six-count Superseding Indictment filed on March 3, 2021, charging him with Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Fentanyl, ANPP, and Marijuana (Count One); Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Counts Two and Five); Possession of a Firearm by a Felon (Counts Three and Six); and Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin (Count Four).  On August 31, 2021, Williams pled guilty to Counts Two and Three.

On August 7, 2020, the Henderson Police Department (HPD) was conducting an operation in the area of the Fiddlestix Convenience Store in Henderson, when Williams approached an undercover officer and offered to sell her heroin.  This encounter ultimately resulted in a search of Williams and his vehicle, at which time officers found a bag containing 8.5g of marijuana and a bag containing 243 dosage units of heroin mixed with fentanyl and ANPP.  Officers also found United States currency, a set of digital scales, and wax paper with rubber bands, commonly used to package heroin.  In the vehicle’s glovebox, officers found a loaded SCCY CPX-1 9mm pistol with an extended magazine.  The gun had been reported stolen from Granville County.

On December 2, 2020, while on bond for state charges related to this incident, Williams was stopped by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office for travelling 73 mph in a 55-mph zone.  During the stop, a K9 unit conducted an open-air sniff around Williams’s vehicle and alerted to the presence of narcotics.  Deputies searched the car and found a Glock pistol, a SCCY pistol, approximately 145 bindles of heroin, and multiple empty wax paper heroin bags with small rubber bands, consistent with heroin packaging. 

Williams is a convicted felon, having been convicted of Second-Degree Murder in Vance County Superior Court in 2005, for which he was sentenced to 180 to 225 months in prison. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Henderson Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Dodson and Lori B. Warlick prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for case number 5:20-cr-451-D.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Fayetteville woman was sentenced today to 108 months in prison.  On September 30, 2021, Stephanie Dianna Elliott pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of wire fraud and money laundering arising out of schemes to defraud the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and businesses in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

According to court documents, from 2011 to 2020,  Stephanie Dianna Elliott, aka “Stephanie Wilson,” aka “Stephanie Moore,” aka “Stephanie Russell,” aka “Stephanie Hanchett,” aka “Vicki Marsh,” aka “Monica Allen,” aka “Melissa Standford,” aka “Jennifer Taylor,” aka “Heidi Litchford,” aka “Sandy Morehead,” aka “Randy Morehead” aka “Katie Jones,” aka “Sharon Mitchell,” aka “Sharon Miller,” aka “Sarah James,”  and aka “Janet Harrington,”  45, used aliases and more than a dozen business entities to obtain more than 1,000 federal defense contracts valued at more than $2.2 million.  According to the allegations in the indictment, Elliott defrauded the Department of Defense by obtaining contract payments after falsely certifying that she had shipped supplies to the U.S. military, when, in fact, the goods were not shipped.  It is alleged that Elliott and/or businesses under her control were debarred from federal contracting on four occasions.  Elliott circumvented the terms of her debarments by using aliases and various business names to continue bidding on federal contracts. 

Elliott also executed fraud schemes in connection with contracts with the State of North Carolina and other state governments.  Elliott bid on contracts to supply food products and other goods.  After winning the contracts, Elliott defrauded third party vendors by inducing them to deliver the goods to the state in satisfaction of Elliott’s contractual obligations.  In so doing, Elliott obtained payment from state governments for these contracts but failed to pay the victim vendors.

“We are committed to protecting our business community and military from unscrupulous contractors. We will vigorously pursue anyone who seeks to victimize the fine men and women of the United States Armed Forces,” said United States Attorney Michael Easley, Jr. 

Special Agent in Charge of the General Service Administration Office of Inspector General Floyd Martinez stated, "Individuals are expected to be honest in their dealings with the government. GSA OIG and our investigative partners are committed to holding accountable those who misrepresent themselves in order to obtain federal contracts."

“Stephanie Elliot spent over a decade defrauding the Department of Defense. She evaded safeguards designed to ensure our warfighters receive the high-quality products and services they depend on to effectively meet their global mission,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office. “This outcome demonstrates the results of strategic coordination between DCIS and our partners to investigate corruption and bring those who commit fraud against the Government to justice.”

Michael Easley, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General are investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby Lathan is prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00142-D.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation resulted in the charging and arrest of 20 defendants for various offenses, including drug trafficking and firearms offenses.

An OCDETF investigation is a coordinated federal, state, and local strategy to combat drug trafficking and organized crime, and it is the nation’s primary tool to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations. 

This investigation was spearheaded by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and assisted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the United States Marshals Service, the Brunswick, Bladen, and Duplin County Sheriffs’ Offices, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).

ATF utilized agents from North and South Carolina as well as Task Force Officers from the New Hanover and Brunswick County Sheriffs’ Offices and the Jacksonville, Goldsboro, and Wilmington Police Departments.

This initiative speaks to the multi-agency commitment to fight crime in Brunswick, New Hanover, Duplin, and Bladen counties in partnership with United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the District Attorney’s Offices, as well as other federal, state, and local law enforcement.

The following individuals were charged by way of Criminal Indictment or Criminal Complaint.  The individual charges for each defendant are contained in the parenthesis following each listed defendant.

• Jiani Tomaz Alston, 26, of Raleigh, NC (Conspiracy to Distribute Five Hundred (500) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Possess With the Intent to Distribute Five Hundred (500) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; and Aiding and Abetting)
• Demetrius Sonaz Alston, Jr., 25, of Charlotte, NC (Conspiracy to Distribute Five Hundred (500) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Possess With the Intent to Distribute Five Hundred (500) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; and Aiding and Abetting)
• Kenneth Brown, 40, of Wilmington, NC (Conspiracy to Possess With the Intent to Distribute Twenty-Eight (28) Grams or More of Cocaine Base (Crack); Distribute a Quantity of Cocaine Base (Crack); Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon)
• Massimo Campana, 30, of Wilmington, NC (Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime)
• Kawshie Chapman, 48, of Wilmington, NC (Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Fifty (50) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribute 50 Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribute a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Cocaine; Possession of a Firearm by Convicted Felon; Receiving and Possessing a Short-Barreled Rifle)
• Ronesha Greene-McNeil, 35, of Leland, NC (Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Five Hundred (500) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribute a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribute a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine and Cocaine; Distribute 50 Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; Distribute Five Hundred (500) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine)
• David Hedge, 21, of Wilmington, NC (Distribution of a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine and Quantity of Cocaine; Distribution of a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; Distribution of Five (5) Grams or More of Actual Methamphetamine)
• Anthony Jackson, 31, of Wilmington, NC (Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine)
• Naulege Johnson, 23, of Wilmington, NC (Distribution of a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribution of Fifty (50) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine)
• Shamar Keaton, 32, of Riegelwood, NC (Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine)
• Devonte Lewis, 26, of Navassa, NC (Distribution of a Quantity of Cocaine Base (Crack); Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Distribution of a Quantity of Marijuana; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; Possession of a Machine Gun; Distribution of a Quantity of Cocaine Base (Crack))
• Juan Martinez, 22, of Wilmington, NC (Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon)
• Erving Muse, 39, of Wilmington, NC (Distribute a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; Distribute Fifty (50) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon)
• Dwayne Nixon, 46, Wilmington, NC (Distribute a Quantity of Cocaine)
• David Pigford, 36, of Clinton, NC (Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute and Distribute Five Hundred (500) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribute Fifty (50) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine)
• Ernest Robinson, 34, of Currie, NC (Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon)
• Rodna Robinson, 34, of Currie, NC (Distribute a Quantity of Cocaine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; Distribute a Quantity of Cocaine Base (Crack); Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime)
• Anthony Smith, 39, of Clarkton, NC (Conspiracy to Distribute Fifty (50) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribute Fifty (50) Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; and Aiding and Abetting)
• Tyquawn Washington, 28, of Wilmington, NC (Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin)
• Oscar Williams, 38, of Leland, NC (Conspiracy to Distribute a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; and Aiding and Abetting; Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine; Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin)

“We are grateful to the ATF, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Marshals, and all the other agencies involved for their partnership and willingness to participate in this investigation,” stated Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram. “We can always achieve more when working together as a team; this operation is a great example of that. I believe this sends a strong message to anyone thinking they can conduct criminal business in Brunswick County.”

“Our work today will have an immediate impact on this community,” said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Mein. “This collaborative investigation, and the arrests made this week, will ensure that many of those responsible for criminal activity in our community remain behind bars.”

The charges and allegations contained in the Indictments and Criminal Complaints are merely accusations.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Severo and Gabriel Diaz are prosecuting the case.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Wilmington woman was sentenced today by United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan to 12 months and one day and two years of supervised release for Fraud in Connection with Visas, Permits, and other Documents. 

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Roydera Hackworth, 63, was an attorney licensed to practice in North Carolina and in 2012 was suspended by the North Carolina State Bar (NCSB) from practicing law.  In 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals suspended her from practicing in immigration matters before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (i.e., the Board of Immigration Appeals and the immigration courts) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

In 2019, evidence based on information DHS Disciplinary Counsel discovered in USCIS records disclosed that Hackworth violated her suspension and continued to practice, prepare, and submit Form G-28s (Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative), petitions, and applications with USCIS on behalf of client petitioners and applicants for immigration benefits.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) reviewed documents and interviewed persons that Hackworth “represented” which revealed that Hackworth impersonated another licensed attorney, submitted various immigration related documents which she signed under penalty of perjury representing that she was the other attorney, and averred that she was not suspended and was in fact authorized to practice law.

The review by HSI and FDNS revealed that between 6 and 24 clients were represented by Hackworth with no knowledge that Hackworth was submitting their immigration petitions and application under the name of the other attorney.

The DHS Disciplinary Counsel said: “Hackworth’s disregard of the Board of Immigration Appeals suspension order caused harm to her clients and to the immigration system.  Her unscrupulous behavior required further action to protect the public and the immigration system. We are thankful the U.S. Attorney’s Office took the information we discovered and prosecuted Hackworth.”

Complaints regarding immigration attorneys appearing before DHS can be sent to DisciplinaryCounsel@uscis.dhs.gov or for attorneys appearing before the immigration courts or the Board of Immigration Appeals to EOIR.Attorney.Discipline@usdoj.gov.

“Hackworth not only violated the oath of her profession and the laws of the US immigration system, but she also violated her client’s trust when she fraudulently represented them,” said Special Agent in Charge Ronnie Martinez, who oversees HSI operations in North Carolina and South Carolina. “Preventing the exploitation of people and protecting the integrity of the US immigration system are hallmarks of HSI’s mission.”

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. HSI and USCIS FDNS conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sebastian Kielmanovich prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:21-CR-93-FL.

WHEN:        Monday, March 21, 2022 at 10:00 AM

WHERE:     Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office

                     70 Stamp Act Drive

                     Bolivia, NC 28422                  

Re:               Arrests of Multiple Armed Drug Traffickers in Brunswick County

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office announces a press conference concerning multiple arrests for narcotic distribution and firearms. We will also highlight the important partnerships between all levels of law enforcement in this investigation. 

In addition to United States Attorney Michael Easley, Brian Mein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), United States Marshal Michael East, and Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram will be present at this event.

Credentialed members of the media are invited to attend. For additional information, please e-mail Don Connelly at usance.PublicInfoOfficer@usdoj.gov.  Please RSVP your intentions to attend the event.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina is pleased to announce that the Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of North Carolina Chapter, has awarded Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer P. May-Parker the 2022 Judge David Daniel Award for Excellence in the Legal Community.  Today’s announcement coincides with May-Parker’s assumption of her new role as Chief Counsel for Litigation.

The Judge David Daniel Award for Excellence in the Legal Community was created by the Federal Bar Association in memory of Magistrate Judge Daniel to honor lawyers who exemplify integrity, commitment, and service to the legal community. The award honors one attorney each year who has shown a commitment to the legal profession, to the Eastern District of North Carolina, to the clients they serve, and to their community.  To qualify, a nominee must practice in the Eastern District of North Carolina and exemplify the ideals of the legal profession and further the goals of equal justice under the law.

May-Parker has a lengthy record of success as a prosecutor and has shattered barriers in her career.  She is the first woman, the first lawyer of color, and first federal prosecutor to receive this award.  She began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York City (Manhattan) District Attorney’s Office.  She then served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Environmental Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice.  In 2013, May-Parker was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as a United States District Judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina. This year will mark May-Parker’s 23rd with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

During her tenure in the Office, May-Parker has been a criminal trial attorney, an appellate attorney, the Chief of the Appellate Division, the First Assistant United States Attorney, the Diversity Chairperson, and a HOPE Court Team member.  She has tried numerous cases to jury verdict, written hundreds of briefs (and reviewed hundreds more) and argued many cases before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.   May-Parker also served as a member of DOJ’s Appellate Chief’s Working Group, which provides advice to the Department on legal strategy and key issues.

May-Parker recently assumed the role of Chief Counsel for Litigation at the United States Attorney’s Office, a senior leadership role.  In this role she will lead the Litigation Support and Victim-Witness Assistance Sections, lead the office’s training and mentorship programs for AUSAs, and take on special litigative projects in the areas of economic crimes and civil rights.   

U.S. Attorney Easley stated, “We are all inspired by Jennifer’s accomplished career and dedication in serving others.  Jennifer is always so willing to share her time, talent, and expertise to see justice done and to support her colleagues in the legal community.  She is a great team player, and I am honored that she continues to work so hard for the people of Eastern North Carolina.”

NEW BERN, N.C. – Elmer “E.J.” Holmes, Jr., 38, of Pender County, was sentenced to 175 months in prison for (1) Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of Cocaine and 100 grams or more of Heroin and (2) Distribution of a quantity of Heroin and Cocaine and aiding and abetting another.  

According to court documents, evidence presented in court and other documents, law enforcement was able to determine that E.J. Holmes received large amounts of narcotics at the Pender County home of his cousin Johnny Holmes in 2019. E.J. would leave drugs for Johnny to distribute and have the remainder transported to another location.  Between April and September 2019, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms conducted several controlled purchases from Johnny Holmes of ounce amounts of heroin and cocaine in Pender County.  On April 29, 2019, following a controlled purchase of cocaine and heroin from Johnny Holmes’ house, a Highway Patrol Officer conducted a traffic stop on a car being driven by E.J. with Johnny as a passenger.   The officer found the buy money from the earlier controlled purchase.

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement uncovered that E.J. Holmes was responsible for distributing more than 3 kilograms of cocaine and more than 100 grams of heroin from December 2018 until the time of his arrest.  Following his federal arrest on these charges E.J. tried unsuccessfully to have Johnny Holmes write a letter to law enforcement saying that E.J. was not involved in the drug trafficking organization.

EJ Holmes had two prior federal convictions at the time of his arrest on these charges for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (2004) which he received a 21 month active sentence, and Possession with Intent to Distribute more than 500 grams of Cocaine (2006) in which he received an active sentence of 76 months in prison. 

Johnny Holmes received a sentence of 56 months in federal prison for distributing heroin and cocaine.

This is part of operation “Ahab’s Harpoon” which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigations, North Carolina Highway Patrol, the Pender, New Hanover, Onslow, and Duplin County Sheriff’s Offices, and the Jacksonville Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:19-cr-00191-FL.

NEW BERN, N.C. – Elias Johnson, 21, of Jacksonville, was sentenced today to 62 months in prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possessing a firearm as a felon.  Johnson pled guilty to the charges on September 14, 2021. 

According to court records and statements made during hearings, the Jacksonville Police Department, using a confidential informant (CI), conducted three controlled buys of crack cocaine from Johnson in Jacksonville in June and July of 2019.  The third controlled buy took place on July 5, 2019, at an apartment complex on Wilmington Highway.  When the CI arrived at the apartment, Johnson greeted the CI and led them into the living room.  There, the CI saw a second man sitting on the couch, weighing crack cocaine on a digital scale with a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol sitting on the couch beside him.  The CI asked to look at the pistol and then offered to buy it.  Johnson responded with a price, and the CI continued to negotiate with both Johnson and the third man, eventually agreeing to pay $300 for the handgun.  As they negotiated, Johnson stated that he sometimes has “problems out here” and needed a commitment that the CI would bring back the pistol if Johnson needed it.  The CI left with the firearm and turned it over to police.  Later the same day, the CI returned to the apartment, and Johnson provided him crack cocaine in a plastic bag.

Prior to his federal conviction, Johnson had been convicted of four felony drug distribution offenses under North Carolina law, as well as two misdemeanor charges related to his unlawful possession of firearms.  

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Jacksonville Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:21-cr-0013-FL.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Smyrna, Georgia man, Oluwadamilare Kolaogunbule, was sentenced today to 71 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit money laundering.  On October 21, 2021, Kolaogunbule pleaded guilty to the charge.  As part of sentencing, Kolaogunbule was further ordered to pay criminal restitution totaling $2,307,020 to the victims of his offense.  A forfeiture money judgment was also entered against him. 

According to court documents and other information presented in court, between 2014 and 2018, Kolaogunbule opened, maintained, and controlled approximately 20 different bank accounts at multiple financial institutions that were used to receive approximately $2.5 million in romance scam proceeds.  Romance scammers exploit victims who are looking for companionship by creating fake profiles on online dating websites that include false personal details, such as the death of a spouse or military service.  After creating the illusion of a romantic relationship to gain the victim’s trust, the scammer will typically solicit the victim for money to alleviate some fabricated crisis, such as a medical or business emergency. 

More than 60 victims were directed to send money to Kolaogunbule’s accounts, many of which were titled in the names of purported export companies, including DSC Exports and Belmont Integrated Logistics.  In fact, these companies were fronts for Kolaogunbule’s money laundering business. 

“Romance scammers use dating apps and social media to prey upon lonely, vulnerable, and often elderly victims looking for love,” stated US Attorney Michael Easley.  “These swindlers target the most vulnerable in our society, inflicting tragic financial and psychological tolls, and are facilitated by professional money launders like the defendant, who move illicit gains to co-conspirators offshore.  Our office will identify and prosecute those who profit from these crimes.” 

Easley provided several tips to ensure safety online: “We have an obligation to look after our seniors.  People should check in on their elderly friends and family members.  Ensure they know to never send money or financial information to people they meet online and don’t know in person.  Scammers are sophisticated.  Be sure our seniors know they should never be embarrassed to speak up to report suspicious behavior.”     

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Field Office, investigated the case.  The South African Police Service provided valuable assistance to the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam F. Hulbig  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-CR-27-BO-2.

RALEIGH – A North Carolina man was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.7 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents, Tristan Bishop Pan, 40, of Garner, submitted numerous fraudulent PPP loan applications to federally insured banks, including on behalf of entities named Pan Insurance Agency, White Walker, Khaleesi, and The Night’s Watch. In support of the fraudulent PPP loan applications, Pan made false statements about the companies’ employees and payroll expenses. The PPP loan applications were supported by fake documents, including falsified tax filings. According to court documents, Pan submitted at least 14 PPP loan applications seeking over $6.1 million and received more than $1.7 million in benefits. Pan pleaded guilty to wire fraud in August 2021.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina; Special Agent in Charge Mark Morini of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) – Southeast Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG) – Atlanta Region; and Special Agent in Charge Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office made the announcement.

The TIGTA, FDIC-OIG, and the FBI, with the assistance of the SBA Office of Inspector General, investigated the case. 

Assistant Chief Justin M. Woodard of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ethan A. Ontjes and John Harris for the Eastern District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

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

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

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Clinton man was sentenced today to 165 months in prison and five years of supervised release for a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana that began in 2012 and extended into 2019. On December 7, 2020, Edward Neil Corbett pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Corbett, 42, was responsible for distributing over 2,000 grams of methamphetamine, over 3,500 grams of cocaine, and 34 kilograms of marijuana. The investigation revealed that Corbett provided drugs to several violent gang members in Sampson County. Corbett was also held accountable for possessing dangerous weapons during his drug trafficking and maintaining a house in Clinton to distribute his drugs.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, Clinton Police Department, and ATF investigated the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Lemons prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:21-CR-17-M.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that today in federal court, Billy Efrain Penaranda, age 39, a naturalized citizen of the United States, born in Bolivia and residing in Pitt County, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II to two years’ probation following a guilty plea to using a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate. Moreover, Penaranda was civilly denaturalized as a U.S. citizen.

According to court records, on June 20, 2019, Penaranda knowingly used a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate to apply for a North Carolina driver’s license.  On August 31, 2009, Penaranda fraudulently acquired U.S. citizenship and a certificate of naturalization by making materially false statements under oath on his naturalization application.  In response to the question “Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?” he answered “No.”

On November 14, 2012, in the Superior Court of North Carolina in Craven County, Penaranda was convicted of indecent liberties with a child.  He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of between 16 and 20 months and ordered to register as a sex offender.  According to the indictment to which he pled guilty, Penaranda committed the crime between January 1, 2008, and December 29, 2009.  The victim was 12 years old.   Prior to his arrest, Penaranda provided police with a written confession in which he admitted to molesting and photographing the naked victim multiple times over a nearly two-year period.  Penaranda was not arrested until after he naturalized, thus immigration officials were unaware of his crime.   

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. Agents with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations, assigned to the Document Benefit Fraud Task Force, investigated the case as part of Operation False Haven (OFH), in conjunction with the Department of Justice’s Office of Immigration Litigation.  OFH is an initiative designed to purpose-built to identify and prosecute child molesters and other egregious felons who fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sebastian Kielmanovich prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00445-M-1. 

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – A federal jury convicted an Orangeburg, South Carolina man on Tuesday on charges of distribution of heroin and fentanyl, along with associated firearms violations including possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Anthony Cyquan Herring, 40, was stopped by Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone on I-95 southbound for speeding.  Sheriff Stone smelled marijuana coming from the SUV, which other Deputies confirmed.  The ensuing search of Herring’s SUV resulted in Deputies finding over thirty-six grams of heroin and fentanyl, fifty grams of cocaine, marijuana, distribution paraphernalia, $2,200.00 cash, and a loaded firearm.  Deputies discovered Herring’s young children in the back of the SUV, sleeping and urinating in bottles as their dad drove through the night from Connecticut on the way to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Herring faces a guideline range of 360 months to life imprisonment when sentenced in June 2022.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the verdict. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney J.D. Koesters and Special Assistant United States Attorney Tyler Lemons is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:20-cr-00347-BO-1.

RALEIGH, N.C. – An Arizona man pled guilty yesterday to assaulting a federal law enforcement officer at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina (“FMC Butner”).    

According to court documents, Michael Anthony Mata, 47, an inmate at FMC Butner at the time of the offense, struck the law enforcement officer in the face after the officer told him he was in an unauthorized area and asked him to return to his assigned housing unit.  As a result of the contact, the officer suffered a fracture to his left orbital wall and required further medical care.

Mata pled guilty to the sole count of the Superseding Indictment, 18 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1) and (b), and faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison when sentenced in the June 2022 term of court.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after United States Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers, II accepted the plea. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is investigating the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory Brooks Storus is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-cr-00507-BR.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Pamlico County man was sentenced yesterday to 120 months in prison for possessing a firearm as a felon while on supervised probation.  On December 1, 2021 Demario Tyair Himbry pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Himbry, 35, was on post-release supervision in February 2020 after completing his prison sentence for possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver heroin near a school in Pamlico County.  During a search of his residence, deputies and probation officers found a loaded handgun and ammunition near his bedroom.  Law enforcement investigated how Himbry was able to obtain the handgun and found that Himbry had traded a gram of heroin for the firearm a few days before the search of his home. 

Himbry had previously been convicted of several felonies including selling cocaine in 2005, common law robbery in 2011, and possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver heroin in 2016.  Himbry was also validated as a member of the Bloods street gang by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety in 2017.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office, North Carolina Probation and Parole, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives  investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parris prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:21-CR-45-D-1.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Herman Felton, 52, of Wendell, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for possessing a stolen firearm.  Felton pled guilty to a single-count criminal information on December 1, 2021. 

According to court records and statements made during hearings, on January 14, 2019, an Elizabeth City Police Department detective interviewed Felton at the police department regarding an ongoing homicide investigation.  Felton denied being involved.  He admitted to having a gun but said it was not the one from the shooting and offered to bring it in to be checked.  Felton, who as a felon could not lawfully possess a firearm, returned the same afternoon with a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver. 

Felton’s criminal record spans four decades and includes over three dozen misdemeanor and felony convictions.  His 12 felony convictions include habitual assault, possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine, and a prior federal conviction for conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine.

Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Elizabeth City Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-0006-D.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release for robbing a bank in Ayden, North Carolina.  On December 7, 2021, Alexis Baez Morales, 40, pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Circe Nena Baez, Morales’s co-conspirator, entered the Southern Bank in Ayden on July 24, 2019, and handed a note to the bank teller demanding money.  The note also threatened that that Baez’s children were being held hostage.  The bank teller gave $2,494 to Baez who then left the bank.  After leaving the bank, Baez met with Morales who was the get-away driver for the robbery.  Law enforcement agents later verified that no children were held hostage as part of the robbery. 

Baez and Morales also robbed three other banks in the same manner during July 2019.  Those robberies occurred in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Hamlet, North Carolina.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation and local police departments were able to track Baez and Morales to Charlotte, North Carolina and arrested them.

Baez previously pled guilty to the bank robbery and was sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by three years on supervised release. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ayden Police Department, the Hamlet Police Department, the Delaware State Police, the Carlisle Borough Police and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Stephany and John Parris prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:20-cr-00072-M.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Fayetteville woman was captured and arrested by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges on Monday, February 28, 2022.

According to court documents, Erica Andrea Monique Johnson, Age 27, devised a scheme and artifice to engage in a scheme colloquially known as “card-cracking”, where she made check deposits, often via Automated Teller MachineS (“ATM”), into checking accounts opened using the personal identifying information of unsuspecting victim accountholders.  After the deposits were made, Johnson made point of sale (“POS”) purchases and cash withdrawals against the deposit credit to obtain money during the “float” period before the financial institution recognized the fraud.  The documents allege that between March 2018 and June 2020, Johnson and her coconspirators withdrew and received over $430,000 from the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. 

Johnson is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A. She faces a maximum penalty of 240 months in prison if convicted.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The Department of Treasury - Office of Inspector General and the Fayetteville Police Department are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Ontjes is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:20-cr-334-BO-1.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

NEW BERN, N.C. – Greer Old also known as “Ghost”, 26, and Daniel Reaves also known as “Goon”, 22, both of New Hanover County, were sentenced to 240 months and 144 months in federal prison respectively.  Old pled guilty to discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (aiding and abetting) and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Reaves pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery, Hobbs Act Robbery (aiding and abetting) and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (aiding and abetting).

According to court documents, other evidence and information presented in court, on August 9, 2018, Old, Reaves and Brittany Moses planned to rob a former boyfriend of Moses of heroin in a parking lot in Wilmington.  Moses lured him into her car.  Old and Reaves then entered the car with firearms and demanded the heroin. He only had a small amount of heroin but Old, Moses and Reaves believed that he had more heroin and demanded that he give it to them. When he did not provide the heroin, he was pistol whipped several times.  A struggle ensued in the car; Moses’ former boyfriend was shot in the arm.  He was then pushed out of the car, bleeding from the gunshot wound, and abandoned on Klein Road in Wilmington.  The assault in the car was so violent that another car followed them and provided aid to Moses’ former boyfriend until the police arrived.  The pistol whipping was so severe that it left an imprint of the gun in the victim’s forehead. 

On August 11, 2018, the Wilmington Police Department received a tip that Old and Reaves were driving the same car used in the robbery near the Travel Inn Motel in Wilmington.  Officers observed the car and attempted to stop it.  Old refused to stop for law enforcement, instead driving at a high rate of speed and running a stop light before losing control of his car.  Both men fled on foot.  During the foot chase of Old, he discharged a firearm at a Wilmington Police Officer who was attempting to arrest him.  This forced the officer to return fire.  Law enforcement then deployed a K-9 in an effort to apprehend Old.  Old was found hiding in some bushes on the property of St. John’s Episcopal Church.  Old refused to come out of the bushes and another Wilmington Police Officer dislocated his shoulder removing Old from the bushes.  A gun that had been reported stolen earlier that day was found in close proximity to Old.  During a search of their car by law enforcement the following items were found: a .25 caliber handgun, a .380 caliber handgun, 16 grams of methamphetamine and 438 doses of Xanax. Following his arrest, Old told the police the reason that he ran was because he believed that the mother of his child had taken a warrant out on him for shooting at her residence.  Old denied having a gun but said that if he had one, he would have shot the K-9 and the officer.  According to law enforcement, Old is a validated member of the Folk Nation gang.  Old was on probation for Conspiracy to Commit Common Law Robbery at the time that he committed these offenses. 

Reaves was not apprehended at the time; however, he was apprehended in Kentucky by the United States Marshal on August 29, 2018.  According to law enforcement, Reaves is a validated member of the Folk Nation gang. Reaves was also on probation for a North Carolina State Felony.

Moses previously received a sentence of 105 months in federal court for Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery, Hobbs Act Robbery (aiding and abetting) and Discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (aiding and abetting).

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Wilmington Police Department  investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo and Charity Wilson prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:19-cr-00010-FL.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Shawn Franklin, Sabrina Wiggins Branch and Anthony Maryland were each sentenced today to terms of imprisonment for conspiring with one another to commit bank and wire fraud.  Franklin, currently residing in Georgia, was sentenced today to 126 months in prison for organizing and leading a multi-year conspiracy to defraud financial institutions and lenders of more than one million dollars.  Branch was sentenced to 24 months in prison and Maryland to one day followed by eight months of home detention.  On September 30, all three pleaded guilty to the Conspiracy.  Franklin also pleaded guilty to Aggravated Identity Theft. All three were ordered to pay restitution and forfeit their fraud proceeds to the United States in the form of money judgements.    

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Franklin, age 48, Branch, age 39, and Maryland, age 49, used synthetic identities to apply for credit and financing.  Branch and Maryland used their real names coupled with nine-digit-numbers that were not issued to them by the social security administration on credit and loan applications.  Franklin also used his real name, variations of his name or his ex-wife’s name coupled with nine-digit-numbers that were never issued or issued to others by the social security administration. To build the creditworthiness, these illegal synthetic identities, often referred to as “CPNs” or “credit privacy numbers,” were added as authorized users to credit cards belonging to other individuals who have positive credit scores.   

In addition to using synthetic identities in his name or variations of his name to obtain credit, Franklin used the real names and social security numbers of 10 NC Medicaid recipients to obtain credit cards, consumer loans and vehicle financing.  Franklin previously had access to this personal information when he operated Wayne County Day Treatment, a NC Medicaid mental health provider.   Franklin also rented an apartment in Raleigh in the name of one of the Medicaid recipients without permission.  Maryland resided in the apartment. To rent the apartment and obtain the loans, Franklin provided fictitious NC driver’s licenses in these individuals’ names that bore his image.      

Franklin maximized the fraud proceeds on the credit cards by making bogus payments, often by telephone or online.  This caused the banks to reinstate the credit limits.  Before the credit issuer received notification that the payments were bogus, additional charges were incurred, resulting in significant losses. 

Franklin used the cards to pay many personal expenditures for himself and his family, including his stepdaughter’s tuition to Spelman College and associated living expenses, his other adult daughters’ orthodontist bill and his ex-wife’s dental and plastic surgery procedures. 

To generate cash, Franklin conspired with Branch to charge more than $600,000 on fraudulently obtained credit cards through Branch’s various merchant accounts associated with her retail store in Wilmington’s Independence Mall.  Franklin and Wiggins split the proceeds: 85% to Franklin and 15% to Branch.  After the merchant account processor deposited the illegal proceeds into a Branch’s bank account, she withdrew Franklin’s share in cash.  Branch kept her withdrawals under $10,000 to avoid the filing of a currency transaction report.      

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The United States Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan B. Menzer prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00315-D.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Raleigh man was sentenced today to 48 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for possessing a large amount of child pornography.  On December 14, 2020, Joshua Dominique Grisson pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Grisson, 24, possessed 3,804 images and 432 videos of child pornography.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation first discovered Grisson’s crime in North Carolina while investigating another person linked to distribution of child pornography in Wisconsin in 2018.  Through that investigation, FBI agents were able to monitor the online activities of several people engaged in the sharing of images and videos of child pornography.  The evidence collected by the agents led them to Grisson’s home in North Carolina. 

On June 18, 2019, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Grisson’s home in Raleigh.  The agents found child pornography on several computer devices owned by Grisson.  A forensic analysis of those devices uncovered 3,804 images and 432 videos of child pornography.    

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Raleigh Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parris prosecuted the case.

This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level.  For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00051-FL.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh Police Officer had his initial appearance today on charges of distributing cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was arrested yesterday on these charges.

According to court documents, Keven Rodriguez, 33, a Field Operations Division Officer with the Raleigh Police Department, distributed cocaine while on duty in his patrol car. 

The complaint alleges that the investigation began when members of the Raleigh Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration received information that Rodriguez was distributing controlled substances in the Raleigh area, and that Rodriguez was a police officer.

The complaint also alleges that a confidential source arranged to meet with Rodriguez on January 24, 2022. Rodriguez drove to the meeting location in his marked Raleigh Police Department patrol car and was carrying his duty firearm. The confidential source met with Rodriguez and gave Rodriguez $2,600 in cash.  Rodriguez then gave suspected cocaine to the confidential source. The drugs were later tested by a lab and confirmed to be approximately 56 grams of cocaine.

The complaint charges Rodriguez with two counts: (1) distribution of a quantity of cocaine; and (2) possession of a firearm in furtherance of, and using and carrying a firearm during, a drug trafficking crime.

He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison if convicted, and a maximum of life in prison.

Michael Easley, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Raleigh Police Department are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Sandling is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Raleigh man was sentenced today to 48 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for possessing child pornography.  On October 14, 2021, Bryan Cameron Haywood Hawkins pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Hawkins, 37, possessed 1,274 videos and 1,931 images of child pornography when law enforcement searched his home in June 2020.  Law enforcement began investigating Hawkins in 2020 after receiving a cybertip that Hawkins had stored suspected child pornography in his internet cloud storage account.  Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Hawkins’s home in Raleigh and found child pornography on several devices, including cellphones and tablets, owned by Hawkins.  Hawkins admitted to possessing the child pornography when he was interviewed by agents.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Raleigh Police Department, and the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated the case with assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parris prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00125-FL.

NEW BERN, N.C. – Antonio Rashon Quarles, 33, of Oriental, Pamlico County, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Quarles pled guilty to the single-count indictment on March 9, 2021. 

According to court records and statements made during hearings, in November 2019, Quarles was on North Carolina state probation, with curfew and electronic monitoring, following a series of felony convictions.  On November 2, 2019, probation officers received a tip that Quarles had been distributing drugs and had a firearm.  They reviewed GPS data from Quarles’ electronic monitoring device and saw that he had violated his curfew and entered high-crime areas that he had previously been directed to avoid. 

On the morning of November 3, 2019, state probation officers, with assistance from Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office, conducted a search of Quarles’ residence in Oriental, North Carolina—a condition of his probation agreement.  Inside Quarles bedroom, deputies located a Star .25 caliber, semiautomatic pistol.  It was loaded with eight rounds and the serial number was partially scratched off.

Quarles’ federal prosecution followed fourteen prior state felony convictions.  His criminal record includes common law robbery, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and multiple larceny convictions. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-cr-0511-FL.

NEW BERN, N.C. – An ex-soldier assigned to 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) was sentenced today to 18 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $110,948.29 in restitution to the U.S. Army.  On July 2, 2021, Samuel Manu Agyapong was found guilty by a Federal Jury of theft of government property, tampering with a witness, visa fraud, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, and aiding and abetting naturalization fraud. 

According to court documents and other information presented at trial in February of 2019, a tipster alerted Fort Bragg U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) that Agyapong, 34, a naturalized U.S. citizen and soldier, was engaged in a sham marriage with Barbara Oppong, a citizen of Ghana who was unlawfully present in the U.S.  Agyapong agreed to engage in the sham marriage in order to obtain Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for him and a lawful permanent resident card, commonly known as a green card, for Oppong.  Agyapong and Oppong were married in New York in January 2015.

Thereafter, Agyapong and Oppong submitted fraudulent applications to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requesting Oppong’s adjustment of status as a lawful permanent resident in the United States, which she received. Based on the fraudulent marriage Agyapong filed for BAH with the U.S. Army and over the course of the scheme he illegally profited over $110,000. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The investigation of these cases is ongoing and being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Criminal Investigation Detachment at Fort Bragg and the EDNC Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel Diaz  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. .5:19-CR-00423-FL.

NEW BERN, N.C. – Carlos Green, 34, of Craven County was sentenced today to 360 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, 280 grams or more of cocaine base (crack) and 500 grams or more of cocaine, distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, distribution of a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, distribution of a quantity of cocaine and cocaine base (crack) and possession of firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, and possession of a firearm by a felon.  A Jury convicted Green on these counts on September 1, 2020.

According to court documents, evidence presented at trial, other evidence and information presented in court on July 17, 2019, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made a controlled purchase of 28 grams of methamphetamine from Green at a sweepstakes business in Cove City, North Carolina.  On July 23, 2019, the United States Postal Inspector intercepted a package that was to be delivered to the same business.  The package contained 889 grams of crystal methamphetamine.  On July 24, 2019, Craven County and ATF made a controlled purchase of 56 grams of crystal methamphetamine from Green at the same sweepstakes building in Cove City.  On August 21, 2019, law enforcement was doing surveillance on Green’s residence in Chocowinity, North Carolina.  A Beaufort Police Officer conducted a traffic stop on Green’s car after he left the residence.  Law enforcement conducted a search of the residence following the stop.  The search led to the discovery of 112 grams of cocaine, 9 grams of heroin, a loaded Kel-tec PLR-22 with a high-capacity magazine and items used to cook cocaine into crack cocaine.  On December 10, 2019, Craven County Detectives and ATF agents attempted to locate Green at a residence in New Bern, North Carolina.  Agents heard running within the house.  Green answered the door shortly after that.  A search of Green uncovered a ½ an ounce of crack cocaine on his person and another 80 grams of cocaine in a backpack.  The investigation uncovered that Green had been involved in the distribution and possessing with the intent to distribute more than 2 kilograms of methamphetamine and 4 kilograms of cocaine.   On November 23, 2020, while Green was awaiting sentencing in this case, Green assaulted another inmate.  He was convicted of assault in state court on July 2021.

Green has prior federal convictions for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base and 500 grams or more of cocaine.

This is part of operation “Fighting Jelly Fish” which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Craven, Lenoir, and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Offices and the New Bern, Beaufort, Kinston, Holly Ridge and Goldsboro Police Departments and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:20-cr-00005-FL.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A  Greenville man was returned to custody after violating the terms of release pending service of his prison sentence.

In May of 2021, Shawn Allen Farmer, 53, of Greenville, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining Covid-19 disaster loans, and for engaging in bank fraud using stolen Social Security numbers.  Although initially held in custody, Farmer was released to seek medical care before reporting to prison.  While on release, Farmer was under the supervision of the United States Probation Office and was not permitted to travel.

In January of 2022, members of the Covid Fraud Benefits Task Force discovered that Farmer had travelled to Hawaii without permission and obtained a Hawaii driver’s license.  Agents further learned that Farmer had cashed out as much as $92,000 at casinos in Las Vegas.  Significantly, when identifying himself for tax purposes, Farmer utilized a Social Security number that did not belong to him.  At the time of these events, Farmer still owed more than $42,000 on his federal criminal judgment.

Farmer was arrested following the discovery of these events. Last Friday in federal court, United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle revoked Farmer’s release and directed that he be sent to prison to serve his sentence.

The defendant previously pled guilty to False, Fictitious, and Fraudulent Claims, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287; and Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344 and 2.

The Covid Fraud Benefits Task Force is a collection of law enforcement agencies assembled by the United States Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute individuals and companies that defrauded government programs providing financial relief in the midst of the Covid crisis.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after the defendant’s release was revoked. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Gilmore served as the prosecutor. 

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-526-BO.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Whitakers, North Carolina man was sentenced today to 150 months in prison and three years of supervised release for Distribution of a Quantity of Heroin and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.  

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, Tony Darrel Pittman, 42, was named in an Indictment filed on June 23, 2021 charging him with Distribution of a Quantity of Fentanyl and a Quantity of Cocaine Base (Crack) (Count One); Distribution of a Quantity of Heroin (Counts Two and Three); and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Count Four). On September 21, 2020, Pittman entered a plea of guilty to Counts Three and Four.

In May 2020, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office received information that Pittman was distributing various controlled substances in the area of Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Over the next several months, agents investigated the Defendant, and from May through September 2020, a confidential source conducted controlled purchases of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base (crack) from the Defendant. The Defendant also sold a .22 caliber revolver to the confidential source.

On July 13, 2021, when officers attempted to arrest the Defendant, he attempted to flee and attempted to assault the officer with a broom handle.

Based on information from various sources, the Defendant was held responsible for distributing a quantity of fentanyl, almost two kilograms of heroin, more than two kilograms of cocaine, and more than 700 grams of cocaine base (crack).

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Lemmon prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for case number 5:21-CR-00274-M-1.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A New Bern, North Carolina woman was sentenced today to 166 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, Antoinette Charmane Becton, 41, was named in an Indictment filed on February 19, 2020. On January 27, 2021, Becton entered a plea of guilty to a Criminal Information.

In October 2018, the Greenville Regional Drug Task Force received information that Alterick Wallisima Boyd was distributing large quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin in Pitt County, North Carolina.  Over the next several months, agents conducted an investigation into Boyd and his co-conspirators.  Boyd is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5, 2022.

From December 2019 through February 2020, a confidential source conducted controlled purchases of cocaine, cocaine base (crack), and more than one kilogram of crystal methamphetamine from Becton.

A search warrant was executed at Becton’s residence on February 20, 2020, and agents seized $2,680 in currency from prior controlled drug purchases; a money counter; a digital scale; two smoking pipes; suspected fake ID cards and bank cards; and suspected cocaine base (crack).

In a separate investigation, agents with the Internal Revenue Service determined that over the course of several years, Becton ran a business called Carolina Tax Service. Through that business, Becton filed large numbers of false tax returns in which she listed fabricated information to fraudulently obtain tax refunds. In total, from 2014 to 2018, Becton and her employees filed false tax returns with intended losses of more than $1,000,000.

“Crystal methamphetamine is a highly addictive and destructive controlled substance. It destroys minds, bodies, and communities,” said United States Attorney Michael Easley. “The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate and prosecute those who would sell these substances for personal profit.”

“When those we trust to prepare our taxes take advantage of their clients for their own greed, everybody is harmed,” said Donald “Trey” Eakins, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge, Charlotte Field Office. “Today's sentencing again emphasizes that the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and U.S. Attorney’s office will continue their aggressive pursuit of those who would attempt to defraud America's tax system.”

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Greenville Regional Drug Task Force, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the cases and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott A. Lemmon and Susan Menzer prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for case number 4:20-CR-0016-M-3.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Howard Jones, 50, of Craven County was sentenced today to 188 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of 100 grams or more of heroin, distribution of a quantity of heroin, possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and possession of a firearm by a felon.

According to court documents, other evidence and information presented in court, on June 15, 2020, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on Jones as he travelled back from Chicago.  A K-9 alerted on the car and $15,000 was located.  On June 24, 2020, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office and New Bern Police Department made a controlled purchase of an ounce of heroin from Jones at the Kensington Park Apartments in New Bern.  On June 25, 2020, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office, New Bern Police Department, and North Carolina SBI assisted by ATF served a search warrant at the same apartment.  Law enforcement found a secret compartment in the kitchen which contained a loaded stolen handgun, digital scales and 7 ounces of heroin.  They also found $16,000 and a key to a safe deposit box in Georgia in the apartment.   Jones was arrested at the scene.  On July 1, 2020, Jones called a family member from jail and advised them to get a key and attempt to retrieve money for him.  Law enforcement went to the bank and seized $10,000 before they could arrive.

Jones has prior convictions for Felony Aggravated Battery with a firearm, Armed Home Invasion, Manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance and Burglary.

This is part of operation “Fighting Jelly Fish” which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Craven, County Sheriff’s Office and the New Bern, Kinston, Holly Ridge and Goldsboro Police Departments and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:20-cr-00067-M.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Tarboro man was sentenced today to 114 months in prison for possessing a handgun as a convicted felon.  On September 22, 2021, Bernard Eugene Phillips pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Phillips, 43, pulled a loaded handgun during an argument at Brown’s Grocery Store located in Tarboro, North Carolina.  When Tarboro police officers responded and attempted to arrest Phillips, Phillips fought with the officers and spit on them.  Even after he was in handcuffs, Phillips continued to physically resist the officers.  After they were able to secure Phillips, the officers recovered the handgun which was found in Phillips’s waistband.  The handgun was determined to be stolen after officers secured it from Phillips.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Tarboro Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parris prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:21-cr-00007-D.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Rashad Jerrod Taylor, 34, of Ahoskie, was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for interference of commerce by robbery.  The October 2020 indictment charged Taylor with three robbery offenses: the February 26, 2019, robbery of Food Mart in Aulander, Bertie County; the November 14, 2019, robbery of Speedway and the November 30, 2019, robbery of Citi Trends both located in Ahoskie, Hertford County.  On November 19, 2021, he entered a guilty plea to robbing Citi Trends. 

According to court records and statements made during hearings, on November 30, 2019, at around 6:30 p.m., Taylor entered the Citi Trends clothing store in Ahoskie with a hunting knife.  The manager was present with one employee and four customers.  Taylor told the manager to give him everything and led her behind the counter to the register.  He told her to hurry up and thrust the knife at her in a stabbing motion before holding it near her neck.  Taylor took $475 and walked calmly out of the store.    

Hertford County Sheriff’s Office responded and gathered written statements and video surveillance of the robbery.  A short time later, an officer detained Taylor a fifth of a mile from Citi Trends.   His clothing matched the description from the robbery.  A pat down for weapons revealed $454 in Taylor’s pockets.

Taylor was transported to the City Trends parking lot, and the manager identified him as the robber.  After Taylor became upset and began speaking, the manager also noted that she recognized his voice.  During processing, officers seized from Taylor a small baggie containing cocaine.  Officers estimated that the cocaine would have cost $20 on the street, accounting for all but $1 of the difference in recovered and stolen money.

Taylor’s federal prosecution followed nine prior state felony convictions.  His criminal record includes common law robbery, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, two convictions for being a felon in possession of firearms, and multiple drug-related felonies. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Aulander Police Department, Ahoskie Police Department, Bertie County Sheriff’s Office, Hertford County Sheriff’s Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-0042-D.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania woman was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for robbing a bank in Ayden, North Carolina.  She was also ordered to pay restitution for all the banks.  On November 2, 2021, Circe Nena Baez pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Baez, 38, entered the Southern Bank in Ayden on July 24, 2019, and handed a note to the bank teller demanding money.  The note also threatened that Baez’s children were being held hostage.  The bank teller gave $2,494 to Baez who then left the bank.  After leaving the bank, Baez met with her co-conspirator, Alexis Morales, who was the driver for the robbery.  Law enforcement agents later verified that no children were held hostage as part of the robbery. 

Baez and Morales also robbed three other banks in the same manner during July 2019.  Those robberies occurred in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Hamlet, North Carolina.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation and local police departments were able to track Baez and Morales to Charlotte, North Carolina and arrested them.

Morales also pled guilty to the robbery and is awaiting sentencing. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ayden Police Department, the Hamlet Police Department, the Delaware State Police, the Carlisle Borough Police and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Stephany and John Parris prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:20-cr-00072-M.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Wilmington woman pleaded guilty yesterday to Theft of Government Property.

According to court documents, Antoinette Andrea Colbert, 49, of Wilmington, pled guilty to theft of government property in connection with the ongoing receipt and use of her deceased mother’s Social Security benefits for more than a decade.  The investigation showed that the defendant’s mother passed away in 2007, but her death was never reported to the Social Security Administration by family.  Then, in 2008, after her mother’s death, Social Security mailings were rerouted to the defendant’s address in Wilmington, North Carolina.  Various benefit card replacements were also routed to the defendant’s address.  The defendant was also identified on bank footage utilizing her deceased mother’s Social Security benefits. 

Colbert pleaded guilty to a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641 and faces a maximum of up to ten years in prison when sentenced in May of this year.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the plea. The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Gilmore is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:21-CR-136-M.

RALEIGH – United States Attorney Michael Easley announced that yesterday in federal court, an initial appearance was held for Michael Aaron Ganter after being charged with Interference with a Flight Crew and Flight Attendants by criminal complaint.  A probable cause and detention hearing is scheduled for Friday.

As described in the criminal complaint affidavit, on February 9, 2022, Ganter flew on a Frontier Airlines flight departing from LaGuardia Airport, New York.  The flight was scheduled to fly to Orlando International Airport, Florida.  According to statements from passengers and flight attendants, Ganter began making statements threatening violence to those on the flight and became increasingly disruptive during the flight.  Flight attendants requested assistance from other passengers, who restrained Ganter.  Due to Ganter’s conduct, the pilots diverted the flight to Raleigh-Durham International Airport, and Ganter was taken to WakeMed for evaluation.  Upon his release from WakeMed, Ganter was arrested by special agents with the FBI.

Mr. Easley stated, “Passengers who threaten violence in the close confines of a commercial aircraft put everyone in danger.  My office will continue to aggressively prosecute federal crimes in the skies and ensure the safety of the flying public.  Safe air travel is essential to our economy and keeping families connected.  No passenger, flight crew, or flight attendant should have to fly in fear.”

 This arrest is part of an ongoing commitment by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina to do its part to prevent violence, intimidation, threats of violence, and other criminal behavior that endangers the safety of passengers, flight crews, and flight attendants on commercial aircraft.  The Attorney General’s press release about the Department of Justice’s guidance concerning criminal conduct on commercial airctaft is located here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-addresses-rise-criminal-conduct-commercial-aircraft.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in coordination with the Raleigh-Durham International Airport Police, conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Brad DeVoe represented the government.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Fayetteville man pleaded guilty today for receiving bribes in his role as a flooring technician while employed at Ft. Bragg.

According to court documents, Calvin Alfonza Jordan was a procurement agent assigned to the Operations and Maintenance Division, Directorate of Public Works (DPW), at Fort Bragg, NC.  To obtain services, a Ft. Bragg facilities user submits a request for a repair or service of a facility, such as a roof leak, damaged floor, or plumbing issue to the DPW.   The request creates a Demand Maintenance Order (DMO) that is forwarded to the appropriate commodity section.  The DMO is assigned to a DPW technician that specializes in a certain trade, such as roofing, flooring, plumbing, or carpentry. 

The DPW technician assesses the issue to determine if they can complete the repair or service themselves within the time allotted, or certifies that because of manpower, needed expertise, or particular equipment needs, a contractor should undertake the work.  If a contractor is to be used for the work, the technician submits a request for a contract to the work leader.  If the work is estimated to cost under $2,500, the approved contract is forwarded to a DPW procurement agent who hires a contractor to complete the work. The technician who requested the contract would inspect and certify the work upon completion.  Once the technician inspected and certified the contractor’s work, the procurement agent would pay the contractor using a government purchase card. 

From 2011 into 2019, Jordan used his position as a procurement agent to receive bribes of approximately $200 per DMO from various vendors contracting with DPW, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, in return for increasing the amount of federal contracts given the vendor.  Jordan received approximately $1 million in illegal bribes.

“As I have earlier announced, the ‘pay-to-play’ culture encouraged by government employees at Ft. Bragg stops now,” Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, said.  “The taking of bribes by employees of the United States will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

"Our country places great trust and responsibility in our public officials. Calvin Jordan repeatedly chose greed over integrity as he orchestrated a nearly decade long bribery scheme to line his own pockets," said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office.  "Today's guilty plea is a direct result of the hard work and dedication DCIS and our law enforcement partners put into stamping out corruption that threatens the U.S. Military and its installations."

"The defendant made a bad choice to engage in a bribery scheme," said Frank Robey, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. "MPFU, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to use every available tool to combat and prevent people from exploiting the government contracting system for their personal benefit."

“Participating in a long-term scheme to defraud the government to line your pockets is a losing proposition,” said Michael Curran, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Southeast Fraud Field Office. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud, wherever we find it.”

Jordan pleaded guilty to receiving bribes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201.  Tentatively set for sentencing in May 2022, Jordan faces a maximum penalty of 180 months in prison. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Chief United States Judge Richard E. Myers II, accepted the plea. Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, are investigating the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-CR-328-FL.

NEW BERN, N.C. – Victor Gonzales, 35, of Duplin County, was sentenced to 176 months in prison for (1) Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 50 grams or more of a substance containing Methamphetamine, (2) Distribution of 50 grams or more of a substance containing Methamphetamine and (3) Possession of destructive device pipe bombs not registered to the defendant in the National Registration and Transfer Records.  

According to court documents, evidence presented in court and other documents, on April 7, 2021, the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office conducted a controlled purchase of two ounces of methamphetamine from Gonzales at his residence on Albert Grady Road in Mount Olive.  A second controlled purchase of approximately two ounces of methamphetamine was completed on April 12, 2021, from the same location.

On April 13, 2021, Duplin County Detectives served a search warrant on two addresses on Albert Grady Road associated with Gonzales.  Gonzales was arrested during the serving of the search warrants.  In a van in the yard, law enforcement found a box with digital scales and 146 grams of methamphetamine.  A safe inside of the residence contained a homemade pipe bomb.  Law enforcement found a loaded AR-15 in a car parked in the driveway.   During a search of the property at the second residence, the following items were found: 6 homemade pipe bombs, a .22 caliber pistol and .25 caliber pistol.  Following his arrest, Gonzales stated that he was going to find out who was “snitching” and that it was not going to be pretty.  ATF neutralized the explosive devices.

According to law enforcement, Gonzales is associated with the SUR 13 gang.   The investigation revealed that Gonzales was involved in the distribution of more than a kilogram of methamphetamine from October 2019 until the time of his arrest in April 2021.

This is part of operation “Fighting Jelly Fish” which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office and the Wilmington Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:21-cr-00061-FL.

RALEIGH, N.C. – February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month (TDVAPM), a time to raise awareness about this all-too-common issue, focus efforts on ending the violence, and share resources for teens experiencing violence, survivors, and their communities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern District of North Carolina is proud to stand with survivors and share a new resource funded by the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), the Teens and Technology Resource Series. There is a significant intersection of technology and teen dating violence, and misuse of technology is an increasingly common tactic on the part of harmful partners. The Teens and Technology resources aim to help adults who teach, work with, and care for teenagers understand technology from their perspective to empower teenagers to safely navigate relationships and technology use. These resources include examples of technology abuse, uses and misuses of social media applications, and five ways to engage with young people.

“The pandemic has made everything more challenging – for children and youth, advocates across the country have reported an uptick in online abuse as younger folks spend more time online,” said OVW Principal Deputy Director Allison Randall. “The Teens and Tech Resource Series can help adults meaningfully engage with young people, empowering them to recognize abuse and unhealthy relationships, prevent future violence, and use technology safely. Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month gives us the opportunity to put a spotlight on these projects, as well as OVW’s year-round commitment to ending dating violence.”

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) Safety Net Project developed the Teens and Tech Resource Series in partnership with eleven24, a teen violence prevention program dedicated to reducing the prevalence of relationship abuse and sexual violence through media literacy and identity affirmation.

The Office on Violence Against Women provides leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act and subsequent legislation. Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. In addition to overseeing federal grant programs, OVW undertakes initiatives in response to special needs identified by communities facing acute challenges. Learn more at www.justice.gov/ovw.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or stalking, there are many services available to help, including: 

• Teen Dating Abuse Hotline, 1-866-331-9474, text ‘LOVEIS’ to 22522, or visit loveisrespect.org; 
• State, territory and tribal sexual assault and domestic violence coalitions, which can direct you to local resources and services, as well as opportunities to get involved; and
• The StrongHearts Native Helpline, which offers online chat on their website and a hotline – at 1-844-7NATIVE (or 1-844-762-8483) and provides culturally-appropriate services and advocacy to American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and sexual violence.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a Johnston County man Monday on two counts of aiding and abetting robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during those robberies.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on December 20, 2017, the defendant, James “Silky” Hall, rode with his girlfriend, Teresa McDougald, and his friend, Frenchie Hooks to the Short Stop in Selma, NC.  About 9:10 p.m. that night, Hall and McDougald went into the store to scope it out.  McDougald bought a few small items, and they left.   

After leaving, they told Hooks that now is a good time for the robbery.  Frenchie, wearing a gray and black hooded sweatshirt, a mask, and latex gloves took the gun provided by Hall and headed into the store.  He pointed the gun at the clerk and demanded the money.  He got the money out of the cash register and “pulled a bunch” of unsold scratch off lottery tickets. 

Hooks fled the store and met back up with Hall and McDougald.  They went to Hall’s father’s apartment, and Hall divvyed up their loot.  Hall and McDougald then went to three different stores and cashed the winning scratch offs. 

On January 15, 2018, the trio decided to rob Sweet Dreams in Wilson, NC.  McDougald again drove Hall and Hooks to the robbery.  Hooks, wearing a brown jacket, a mask, and latex gloves, went inside.  He pulled out the gun provided by Hall, pointed it at the clerk, and demanded money from the cash register.  After taking the money, the trio fled.  Hall again divided the money.

The jury found Hall guilty of all four counts as well as an enhancement for brandishing the firearm.

Hall faces a mandatory fourteen-year imprisonment term with the possibility of up to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for the May 9 term of court.

Michael Easley, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the verdict. The case was investigated by the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office and the Selma Police Department with support from the Benson Police Department and Johnston County Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:19-CR-00423-FL.