Western District of North Carolina

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced Juan Octavio Iribe Laveaga, 35, of Norwalk, California, to 292 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, investigators identified Laveaga as a California-based trafficker, in charge of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing multiple kilograms of methamphetamine from California into North Carolina. Court records show that agents working in an undercover capacity made arrangements to purchase multiple kilograms of methamphetamine from Laveaga’s DTO. During the investigation, Laveaga’s couriers transported approximately 20 kilograms of methamphetamine from California to the Charlotte area. On other occasions, Laveaga’s DTO mailed packages containing methamphetamine from California. After seizing approximately 23 kilograms of methamphetamine from Laveaga’s DTO during the investigation, in February 2022, agents arrested Laveaga and executed a search warrant at his residence in California, seizing an additional 10 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly four kilograms of fentanyl, and two firearms.

On May 9, 2022, Laveaga pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.

Laveaga is in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the DEA, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and the Riverside County (California) Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor G. Stout of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The former president of a Charlotte high school Booster Club and his wife were sentenced to prison today for stealing more than $239,000 from the organization. The husband was also sentenced for obtaining over $236,000 in COVID-19 relief funds to cover up the theft, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

Anthony Sharper, 42, was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a money judgement of $310,832.80. Deana Sharper, 47, also of Charlotte, was ordered to serve 21 months in prison and two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a money judgment of $239,742.80.

Michael C. Scherck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) which oversees Charlotte, and Donald “Trey” Eakins, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Charlotte Field Office (IRS-CI) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing between 2017 and June 2020, Anthony Sharper and Deana Sharper executed a scheme to defraud and embezzle at least $239,000 from a Charlotte-area high school Athletic Booster Club by writing checks to themselves for purported reimbursement, wiring funds directly to their personal bank account, and using the Booster Club’s debit cards and credit card to pay for personal expenditures. Court documents show that, Anthony Sharper, who is a certified public accountant, also committed tax fraud by failing to report any of the embezzled funds on the couple’s joint 2018 and 2019 tax returns filed with the IRS.

According to court records, to cover up the theft and to enrich himself, between March and May 2020, Anthony Sharper submitted three fraudulent applications for federal COVID-19 relief funds, including two fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications, one in the name of the Booster Club and one in the name of his accounting firm, A. Sharper CPA, PLLC, and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on behalf of his CPA firm. All three applications contained false information, including fake revenues and fake payroll and employment data. As a result of the fraudulent applications, Anthony Sharper obtained more than $236,000 in COVID-19 relief funds intended for existing businesses harmed by the coronavirus pandemic. After receiving the loan proceeds, Anthony Sharper used the funds to pay for personal expenditures and to cover up the couple’s theft of the Booster Club’s funds.

Anthony Sharper previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud, making a false statement to a financial institution, engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property, and tax fraud. Deana Sharper pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Both defendants were released on bond and will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving their sentence upon designation of a federal facility.

The FBI, USPIS, and IRS-CI investigated the case. The prosecution is handled by Assistant United States Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Members of the public in the Western District of North Carolina are also encouraged to call 704-344-6222 to reach their local Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury in Charlotte has indicted three individuals for conspiring to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which oversees Charlotte, and Mark H. Morini, Special Agent in Charge of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Southeast Field Division, join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to allegations in the federal indictment, between March and November 2021, Tamakia Elizabeth Harris, 43, Shavondra Michelle White, 39, and Cedric Lee Benton, 47, all of Charlotte, conspired with each other to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds, by submitting fraudulent PPP loan applications to financial servicing companies outside North Carolina. The indictment alleges that the PPP loan applications contained false and misleading information and fraudulent supporting documentation, including fake federal tax filings and payroll reports.

As alleged in the indictment, Harris, who was employed by a nationally chartered bank in Charlotte, generally charged fees between $2,000 and $5,000 for her assistance in filing false and fraudulent PPP loans. Harris allegedly created counterfeit IRS forms for nonexistent businesses and inflated income to qualify the borrower for the highest amount of PPP loan. Harris then allegedly submitted the fraudulent PPP loan applications and supporting documents to the financial servicing companies. The indictment alleges that, in total, Harris assisted in creating and submitting over 30 fraudulent PPP loan applications totaling more than $900,000.

According to allegations in the indictment, White, who was also employed by a nationally chartered bank in Charlotte, electronically filed two PPP loans in her own name using forged and fictitious federal income tax documents prepared by Harris. arris The indictment alleges that White, Benton, and another individual received more than $100,000 in PPP loans that they were not entitled to receive.

The indictment further alleges that Benton, who is White’s boyfriend and has a prior criminal conviction, also submitted two fraudulent PPP loan applications with fictitious and forged IRS forms, or income he purportedly lost while in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

The defendants are each charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. One or more of the defendants are also charged in 16 separate counts of wire fraud – each relating to a specific PPP loan – which also carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count.

The charges in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the USPIS and TIGTA for their investigation of this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.

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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Members of the public in the Western District of North Carolina are also encouraged to call 704-344-6222 to reach their local Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal jury returned a guilty verdict late yesterday against John Henry Moore, 59, of Charlotte, for the robbery of two area businesses, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. presided over the two-day trial, which ended on Tuesday.

Michael C. Scherck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and evidence presented at trial, on December 1, 2018, Moore robbed a Spectrum store located at 2222 South Boulevard, in Charlotte. Trial evidence established that Moore entered the store at approximately 8:00 p.m. and brandished a firearm to employees who were working at the time. Moore then ordered the employees to hand over cash from the registers and Moore fled the scene. Trial evidence established that Moore left behind an umbrella which he had used to prop the door open during the robbery. That umbrella was later tested by the FBI and found to contain DNA which was a match to Moore’s DNA.

According to trial evidence and witness testimony, on December 10, 2018, Moore returned to the same area and robbed the Publix Super Market also located at 2222 South Boulevard, in Charlotte. Trial evidence shows that Moore walked into the store, approached a store employee and demanded cash. During the robbery, Moore kept his hand in his pocket and threatened the employee, warning the victim to not “get shot.” The employee handed Moore cash and Moore fled the scene.

According to trial evidence, law enforcement identified Moore as the person who committed the two robberies. On December 12, 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Moore’s residence, seizing a loaded firearm with an obliterated serial number and clothing that matched the description of the items Moore wore during the robberies. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that Moore had previously robbed two banks in Georgia and South Carolina and was on supervised release for those convictions when he carried out the robberies in Charlotte. As a convicted felon, Moore is prohibited to own a firearm or ammunition.

The jury convicted Moore of two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Moore remains in federal custody. A sentencing date has not been set.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence Cameron and Lambert Guinn of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are in charge of the prosecution.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – United States Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) Michael Savage in Charlotte, and Don Gast in Asheville, will lead the efforts of their Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election. 

AUSAs Michael Savage and Don Gast have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEOs) for the Western District of North Carolina, and, in that capacity, they are responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election,” said U.S. Attorney King. “Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.

Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).  

U.S. Attorney King stated that, “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.”

In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSAs/DEOs Savage and Gast will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. AUSA Savage can be reached by the public in Charlotte at 704-344-6222, and AUSA Gast can be reached in Asheville at 828-271-4661.

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 704-672-6100.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.

U.S. Attorney King said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”

Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - U.S. Attorney Dena J. King joins the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), community organizations, and law enforcement partners in observing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM).

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship, used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. According to OVW, domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, sex, or gender identity. Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and educational levels and occurs in both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships. It can also happen to intimate partners who are married, living together, dating or share a child.

Speaking this morning in Asheville at Helpmate’s Inc.’s annual domestic violence awareness event, U.S. Attorney King addressed an audience of more than 300 service providers and victim advocates, business leaders, community members, and law enforcement partners about the pervasiveness of domestic violence, and expressed her gratitude to the individuals and organizations that offer services, critical care, and protection to victims and survivors of domestic abuse.

“We have a shared responsibility to combat all forms of domestic violence and use all the tools at our disposal to ensure that victims and survivors have a viable path to safety and justice,” said U.S. Attorney King. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to holding accountable domestic violence offenders who violate federal firearms laws, and enhancing victims’ and survivors’ access to justice by providing much-needed federal resources to organizations that work with individuals and families who have experienced domestic abuse.”

Today, U.S. Attorney King also announced the allocation of more than $2.8 million in federal grants to Safe Alliance, Inc. and Safelight, Inc., two non-profit organizations in the Western District of North Carolina. The federal grants will be used to fund existing projects and new initiatives developed to prevent domestic violence and to support victims and survivors who have experienced domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual assault.

“The deployment of much-needed resources through federal grants is critical in our mission to support community organizations that combat domestic violence and assist victims, survivors, and their families as they recover and rebuild their lives,” said U.S. Attorney King. “The grant awards will be used to improve access to legal services, expand economic support for survivors in underserved communities, and provide training and technical assistance for professionals who work with survivors every day.”

OVW 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 ARE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER, CALL 911

You can also find local help here or by calling the national hotline:

National Domestic Violence Hotline

1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

Advocates are available 24/7

National Center for Victims of Crime

1-855-4-VICTIM (1-855-484-2846)

 

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has awarded Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Alexis I. Solheim the agency’s “Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Year” award, for her exemplary work in child exploitation cases investigated and prosecuted in the Western District of North Carolina. HSI’s recognition ceremony was held on Friday, October 7, 2022.

“The protection of the most vulnerable among us is a priority for my Office and the Justice Department,” said U.S. Attorney King. “AUSA Solheim is tasked with bringing to justice individuals who harm innocent children, which are often some of the most difficult and challenging cases handled by federal prosecutors. Through her legal work and advocacy, AUSA Solheim has demonstrated exemplary legal skill and professionalism, advocating for crime victims and holding offenders accountable for their actions. I am proud of AUSA Solheim’s achievement and I commend her for her legal successes and her work focusing on prevention and intervention.”

AUSA Solheim is a federal prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville and serves as the Western District’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator. In this capacity, AUSA Solheim is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of cases involving the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors. Launched by the Department of Justice in 2006, Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual abuse and exploitation. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

The HSI award recognizes AUSA Solheim for her outstanding work in numerous federal criminal prosecutions involving the production, receipt and distribution of child pornography, “traveler” or enticement crimes, and online child exploitation cases, among others. In addition to prosecuting federal matters, as the District’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, AUSA Solheim conducts trainings of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies on how to investigate and prosecute computer-facilitated crimes against children. AUSA Solheim also participates in community education programs, in order to raise awareness about the threat of online sexual predators and to provide the tools and information to children and parents on how to protect children and report possible violations.

AUSA Solheim began her career in public service in 2014, when she joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA), working on criminal and civil matters in federal court. Ms. Solheim then became an Assistant District Attorney in Buncombe County, where she prosecuted state criminal offenses. In 2018, Ms. Solheim returned to federal prosecution as a SAUSA with North Carolina’s 43rd Prosecutorial District until 2021, when she was hired to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

AUSA Solheim received her undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and her law degree from the Campbell University School of Law.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Salvador Barrera, Jr., 27, and Ricardo Jonathan Gomez, 27, both of Charlotte, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler today and pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to filed documents and statements made in court, Barrera and Gomez were leaders of a large drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for the distribution of substantial quantities of narcotics in Charlotte and surrounding areas. According to court documents, over the course of the multi-agency investigation into the DTO, law enforcement seized large quantities of narcotics, including approximately 328 kilograms of cocaine, 26 kilograms of fentanyl, and a kilogram of heroin. In addition to the narcotics, law enforcement seized approximately 60 firearms, 18 high capacity magazines, more than $2.4 million in cash drug proceeds, over $300,000 in jewelry, two residences, ten vehicles, a boat, and two tractor-trailers with hidden compartments for smuggling narcotics.

Barrera and Gomez are currently in federal custody. The drug trafficking charge to which they pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a fine of up to $10 million. A sentencing date for the defendants has not been set.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Mint Hill Police Department, the Cornelius Police Department, the Pineville Police Department, the Monroe Police Department, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office, the Salisbury Police Department, the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office, the Albemarle Police Department, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Anderson County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Office, and the York County (South Carolina) Drug Enforcement Unit for their coordination and investigation of the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte federal jury has convicted Lance Richardson Pagan, 52, of Gastonia, N.C., of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and powder cocaine and possession of a firearm by convicted felon, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. presided over the two-day trial, which ended on Tuesday.

Michael C. Scherck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Travis Brittain of the Gastonia Police Department (GPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and evidence presented at trial, on January 12, 2022, law enforcement investigating Pagan’s drug distribution activities executed a search warrant at his residence. Trial evidence established that law enforcement seized from Pagan’s bedroom a trafficking amount of cocaine base and powder cocaine, and three handguns. Pagan was previously convicted of a federal drug trafficking offense and sentenced to seven years in prison. As a convicted felon, Pagan is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Pagan is currently in federal custody. At sentencing, Pagan faces a sentence of up to 30 in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

U.S. Attorney King credited today’s outcome to investigations led by the Western District’s OCDETF team, which have resulted in the conviction of more than 70 individuals, and the seizure of over 567 kilograms of cocaine, more than six kilograms of cocaine base, more than 17 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than four kilograms of heroin, over 30 kilograms of fentanyl, 127 firearms, and more $437,000 in cash and other property.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI and GPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.

# # #

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Statesville-based Iredell Physician Network, LLC (IPN) has agreed to pay $138,612 to resolve the allegations that it knowingly avoided an obligation to repay money owed to the Medicare and Medicaid programs, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

IPN is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iredell Health System, which operates a hospital and multiple medical practices in and around Statesville, North Carolina. The settlement resolves allegations that IPN knowingly retained overpayments, or payments to which it was not entitled, obtained as the result of its billing for evaluation and management services performed by one of its providers during the time period of January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2019. 

The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act. Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery. The act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action. The government conducted the investigation and intervened in this action to effectuate the settlement.

The lawsuit resolved by this settlement is United States ex rel. Jill Reid v. Iredell Physician Network, LLC and Ruby Grimm, M.D., Case No. (5:20-cv-73), filed in the Western District of North Carolina. The claims resolved in this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

Assistant United States Attorneys Julia Wood and Katherine Armstrong of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are in charge of the civil proceedings. 

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Joshua Andrew Phillips, 33, of Burnsville, N.C., was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. Upon his release from prison, Phillips will be subject to a lifetime of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Sheriff Shane Hilliard of the Yancey County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

On May 20, 2022, Phillips pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. According to filed documents and statements made in court, in February 2020, the Yancey County Sheriff’s Office received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that an individual was using social media to share child pornography. Law enforcement identified Phillips as the person sharing the child pornography. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement retrieved Phillips’s cellular phones and computer. An HSI Computer Forensic Analyst conducted a forensic review of Phillips’s devices and located the child pornography images of the minors Phillips had produced. In addition, law enforcement also discovered on the defendant’s devices more than 8,400 images and videos that depicted children being sexually abused.

Phillips is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended HSI and the Yancey County Sheriff’s Office for their joint investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Solheim, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice, aimed at combating the growing online sexual exploitation of children. By combining resources, federal, state and local agencies are better able to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue those victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov .

 

                       

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King joins the Justice Department in announcing today the results of the Department’s efforts over the past year to protect older adults from fraud and exploitation. During the past year, the Department and its law enforcement partners tackled matters that ranged from mass-marketing scams that impacted thousands of victims to bad actors scamming their neighbors. Substantial efforts were also made over the last year to return money to fraud victims. Today, the Department also announced it is expanding its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force to amplify efforts to combat scams originating overseas.

“We are intensifying our efforts nationwide to protect older adults, including by more than tripling the number of U.S. Attorneys’ offices participating in our Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force dedicated to disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting foreign-based fraud schemes that target American seniors,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This expansion builds on the Justice Department’s existing work to hold accountable those who steal funds from older adults, including by returning those funds to the victims where possible.”

“Financial predators view older adults as a target rich environment,” said U.S. Attorney King. “The increased presence of elderly individuals online offers ample opportunities for fraudsters to perpetrate financial scams on older victims and steal their hard-earned money. Investigating and prosecuting bad actors who engage in the financial exploitation of older Americans is a priority for my office. I also urge older adults, family members, and caretakers to be on the lookout for schemes targeting the elderly. Prevention and education is the best way to ensure older adults are protected from this appalling criminal activity. Reporting financial scams is equally important. If you are the victim of a scam or suspect an older individual is being financially victimized take action and report the fraud,” King added.  

During the period from September 2021 to September 2022, Department personnel and its law enforcement partners pursued approximately 260 cases involving more than 600 defendants, both bringing new cases and advancing those previously charged. During that time frame, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of North Carolina has taken federal action through the filing of criminal or civil cases involving financial schemes that targeted or largely affected seniors.

In August 2022, a Liberian national was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in an online romance scam that targeted older adults. In June 2022, a home health provider was ordered to serve 45 months in prison for stealing more than $1 million from two elderly clients. In March 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the successful forfeiture and return of stolen cryptocurrency to an elderly individual victimized by a government imposter scam.  Additionally, in May 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office obtained a final forfeiture order for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cryptocurrency, which will be returned to an elderly victim of a romance/investment scheme. Furthermore, in December 2021, the Court ordered the forfeiture of a property purchased with the fraud proceeds perpetrated by the purported caregivers of an elderly victim. In addition to securing prison sentences for the perpetrators of the fraud, the Justice Department agreed to return the forfeited assets to the victim’s estate.

As part of its efforts to stem the tide of elder financial fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to engage in outreach to the community to raise awareness about financial scams. Last week, U.S. Attorney King hosted a scam alert seminar at the Rutherford County Senior Center, during which participants were presented important information about financial fraud. Following the presentation, the participants engaged in a game of “Fraud Bingo,” a fun activity designed to deliver information and practical tips on how to prevent the financial exploitation and victimization of older adults by scammers.

The Department also highlighted three other efforts: expansion of the Transnational Elder Fraud Task Force, success in returning money to victims and efforts to combat grandparent scams. 

The Department announced that as part of its continuing efforts to protect older adults and bring perpetrators of fraud schemes to justice it is expanding the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, adding 14 new U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Expansion of the Strike Force will help to coordinate the Department’s ongoing efforts to combat largest and most harmful fraud schemes that target or disproportionately impact older adults.

In the past year, the Department has notified over 550,000 people that they may be eligible for remission payments. Notifications were made to consumers whose information was sold by one of three data companies prosecuted by the Department and were later victims of “sweepstakes” or “astrology” solicitations that falsely promised prizes or individualized services in return for a fee. More than 150,000 of those victims cashed checks totaling $52 million, and thousands more are eligible to receive checks. Also notified were consumers who paid fraudsters perpetrating person-in-need scams and job scams via Western Union. In the past year, the Department has identified and contacted over 300,000 consumers who may be eligible for remission. Since March of 2020 more than 148,000 victims have received more than $366 million as a result of a 2017 criminal resolution with Western Union for the company’s willful failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and its aiding and abetting of wire fraud.

Over the past year, the Department pursued cases against the perpetrators of “grandparent scams,” otherwise known as “person-in-need scams.” These scams typically begin when a fraudster, often based overseas, contacts an older adult and poses as either a grandchild, other family member or someone calling on behalf of a family member. Call recipients are told that their family member is in jeopardy and is urgently in need of money. When recently sentencing one of eight perpetrators of a grandparent scam indicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal judge described such scams “heartbreakingly evil.” The Department is working with government partners and others to raise awareness about these schemes.

Reporting from consumers about fraud and fraud attempts is critical to law enforcements efforts to investigate and prosecute schemes targeting older adults. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-866 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice Hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting or connect them with agencies, and provide resources and referrals on a case-by-case basis. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available. More information about the Department’s elder justice efforts can be found on the Department’s Elder Justice website, www.elderjustice.gov.

Some of the cases that comprise today’s announcement are charges, which are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A Cherokee, N.C. man convicted of second degree murder was sentenced to 168 months in prison today, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Yalegwo Ki Sadongei, 21, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.

Michael C. Scherck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Carla Neadeau of the Cherokee Indian Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court records and court proceedings, on December 13, 2019, Sadongei and the victim were at the residence of a family member of the victim, located on the Qualla Boundary within Indian Country. Over the course of the evening, Sadongei and the victim argued before Sadongei shot the victim in the chest and the victim died as a result of the gunshot wound. Court records show that, after shooting the victim, Sadongei fled the scene, then visited the home of another member of the victim’s family to explain his version of what happened. On the way, he attempted to dispose of the firearm. Law enforcement later recovered the firearm Sadongei used to shoot the victim, a Hi-Point 9mm handgun, and a magazine. 

Sadongei is in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI and the Cherokee Indian Police Department for their investigation of the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pritchard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn sentenced today Victoria Kerrigan Irby, 26, of Brevard, North Carolina, to 15 years in federal prison for trafficking narcotics, including fentanyl that resulted in an overdose death, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Asheville Post of Duty, and Chief David Zack of the Asheville Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between January 2018 and June 2019, Irby was involved in the distribution of narcotics in and around Buncombe County. Court records show that Irby was trafficking various types of narcotics but primarily engaged in the distribution of fentanyl. According to court documents, Irby distributed pure or uncut fentanyl knowing that it was causing her customers to overdose. As discussed in court today, Irby had to revive multiple customers that had overdosed on fentanyl she was distributing. On May 23, 2019, Irby sold fentanyl to a victim identifed in court documents as D.F., which resulted in the victim’s overdose death. Irby continued to sell fentanyl even after the victim’s overdose death.

On April 4, 2022, Irby pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a quantity of heroin, a quantity of marijuana, a quantity of fentanyl, a quantity of methamphetamine, and a quantity of buprenorphine, and distribution of a quantity of heroin, a quantity of marijuana, a quantity of fentanyl, a quantity of methamphetamine, and a quantity of buprenorphine. As part of her plea, Irby also admitted to knowingly and intentionally distributing a mixture or substance that contained fentanyl to D.F. on May 23, 2019, and that D.F.’s death resulted from his use of the fentanyl supplied by Irby.

In imposing Irby’s 15-year prison sentence, Judge Cogburn stated that Irby’s conduct of continuing to sell fentanyl she knew was causing her customers to overdose and her continuing to sell fentanyl even after the fentanyl death occurred was particularly troubling.

Irby is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. 

The DEA in Asheville and the Asheville Police Department handled the investigation. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Kent, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Lawrence Jeffrey Brooks, 41, of Mount Holly, N.C., to 396 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, and Dustin Blair Henry, 39, of Charlotte, to 235 months in prison and five years of supervised release for drug trafficking and firearms offenses, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to filed documents and information introduced at the sentencing hearings,

Brooks was the leader of a large drug trafficking organization operating in Mecklenburg County, of which Henry was a member. Court records show that, over the course of the drug conspiracy, the defendants conducted multiple drug transactions involving the sale of methamphetamine and illegally possessed firearms.

According to court documents, on January 29, 2019, law enforcement learned that Henry, who at the time was on post-release supervision stemming from a state drug conviction, sold methamphetamine to an individual. As a result, law enforcement conducted a search of Henry’s residence and seized four firearms, which Henry was prohibited from possessing. In February 2019, Brooks and Henry robbed at gun point two individuals over the course of a drug transaction. And, on May 14, 2019, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of Brooks’s vehicle, from which they seized one kilogram of methamphetamine and two handguns that belonged to Brooks. As a convicted felon, Brooks is prohibited from possessing firearms. During a subsequent search of Brooks’s storage unit, law enforcement seized eight kilograms of methamphetamine.

On April 28, 2022, Brooks pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Henry pleaded guilty on February 26, 2020, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Both men are currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation, which to date has led to the federal prosecution of more than 60 individuals for drug trafficking. Law enforcement have also seized more than 49 kilograms of methamphetamine, 29 kilograms of fentanyl, 27 kilograms of cocaine, 3.5 kilograms of heroin, 70 firearms, more than $385,000 in cash, and over $800,000 in other property. 

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, the Huntersville Police Department, the Gastonia Police Department, and the Mount Holly Police Department for their coordination and investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Steven R. Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Michael Wayne Noblitt, 43, of Marion, N.C., to 160 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to court documents and today’s court proceedings, in November 2019, an individual contacted law enforcement to report that Noblitt was trafficking methamphetamine in Rutherford County. Over the course of the investigation into Noblitt’s drug trafficking activities, law enforcement learned that Noblitt was also responsible for shooting at a dwelling, which Noblitt admitted to during a telephone conversation with the individual who reported him to law enforcement. According to court records, on November 25, 2019, law enforcement arrested Noblitt on outstanding warrants. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement seized from Noblitt more than 70 grams of methamphetamine and a Ruger .380 caliber pistol.

On June 6, 2022, Noblitt pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rutherfordton Police Department for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pritchard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Jose Francisco Vasquez-Rico, 22, and Andrew Estiben Reyna-Rodriguez, 23, both of Charlotte, were sentenced to 168 months and 51 months in prison, respectively, for trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell also ordered the defendants to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of their prison terms.

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, between September 2020 and January 2021, Vasquez-Rico and Reyna-Rodriguez conspired with each other and other individuals to traffic narcotics, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, in Mecklenburg, Gaston, and Cleveland Counties. Court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing showed that Vasquez-Rico was the head of the local drug ring. Over the course of the investigation, undercover agents posing as customers purchased fentanyl and methamphetamine on multiple occasions from Vasquez-Rico and Reyna-Rodriguez.

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, on one occasion, Vasquez-Rico arranged to sell a kilogram of fentanyl to an undercover agent and agreed to meet the undercover agent in Asheville. While Vasquez-Rico and Reyna-Rodriguez were driving to Asheville to deliver the fentanyl, a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper conducted a traffic stop of their vehicle. The defendants initially stopped their car, but then sped off soon when the trooper exited his police vehicle. After speeding away, the pair briefly pulled over to the side of a country road and attempted to hide in the woods a bag and a loaded firearm, which law enforcement subsequently recovered.

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, on January 8, 2021, Vasquez-Rico lured a courier who worked for another drug trafficker to a parking lot in Charlotte. The courier and his three small children arrived in a vehicle at the agreed-upon location. Vasquez-Rico and another individual proceeded to kidnap the courier and his children, demanding a vehicle and a kilogram press (which is a machine used to form narcotics into kilogram-sized “bricks”) in exchange for their release. Vasquez-Rico released the hostages after he took possession of the vehicle and the kilogram press.

Vasquez-Rico and Reyna-Rodriguez both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, and distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Both defendants are currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Gastonia Police Department, the Gaston County Police Department, the Lincolnton Police Department, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for their coordination and investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dino Crnalic, 36, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 51 months in prison for a bank and wire fraud scheme that defrauded the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and others of more than $800,000, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. also ordered Crnalic to pay more than $910,000 as restitution and to serve two years under court supervision after he is released from prison.

According to information contained in filed documents and court proceedings, from July 2017 through November 2019, Crnalic executed multiple fraudulent schemes and obtained more than $800,000 in SBA-backed loans and attempted to obtain an additional loan from federally-insured financial institutions. Crnalic also fraudulently obtained other forms of financing through other entities. Crnalic claimed that the loans would be used to fund various businesses in Charlotte, including a restaurant, Suki Akor, and Surge Fitness Centers, LLC (Surge). Court records show that, to secure the SBA-backed loans and other financing, Crnalic submitted fraudulent loan documents and made various false statements regarding the purpose of the loans and financing and the involvement of other individuals. In reality, Crnalic lied about the involvement of other individuals in the businesses and, rather than using the loans to finance his business ventures, Crnalic used a significant portion of the proceeds to pay for personal expenses, including trips to various casinos.

On April 13, 2021, Crnalic pleaded guilty to two counts of financial institution fraud, concealment money laundering, making a false statement to a bank in connection with a loan, and wire fraud.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King credited the Charlotte Division of the FBI and the SBA’s Office of the Inspector General for the investigation of this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Yesterday, Michael A. Kennedy, 56, of Wichita, Kansas, was sentenced to 50 months in prison for his role in an extensive bribery and kickback scheme that defrauded Cargill, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, Kennedy was ordered to serve a year under court supervision and to pay restitution in the amount of $33.7 million.

Michael C. Scherck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division and Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which oversees Charlotte, join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, Kennedy was a senior Cargill employee within the Strategic Sourcing Function. Choung “Shawn” Nguyen was a Cargill procurement manager within the same division and reported to Kennedy. Brian Ewert was co-owner and primary sales representative of WDS, Inc., also known as Women’s Distribution Services, Inc. (WDS), a South Carolina-based company that provided non-raw materials and services to Cargill and its affiliates.

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, from 2009 to 2016, Kennedy conspired with Ewert, Nguyen, and others to carry out a fraudulent bribery and kickback scheme. During the course of the scheme, Ewert provided Kennedy and Nguyen and other Cargill employees with more than a $1 million in cash, gifts, and vacations, in exchange for putting the interests of WDS, and other companies Ewert controlled ahead of Cargill’s, including by helping to conceal the fact that WDS was overcharging Cargill. For example, as part of the conspiracy, Ewert provided Kennedy and his family with lavish trips that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, including trips to the Caribbean on Ewert’s private jet and luxury yacht rentals to entertain Kennedy and his family. Ewert also paid for Kennedy and his family to go to Disney World and took them on ski trips. Kennedy and others concealed from Cargill the fact that they had received from Ewert the illicit bribes and kickbacks, in breach of their fiduciary duties to Cargill.

According to court records, in early 2016, after others within Cargill began questioning the relationship between WDS and Cargill, Kennedy, Ewert, and others took numerous steps to conceal from Cargill significant overcharging of Cargill by WDS. Cargill eventually discovered the scheme and terminated its relationship with WDS and Ewert and fired Kennedy and Nguyen.

In December 2021, Kennedy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. He will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence upon designation of a federal facility.

Ewert and Nguyen were previously sentenced to 60 months and 41 months in prison, respectively. They were each also ordered to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $40.4 million in restitution. Jennifer Maier, the co-owner and Chief Executive Officer of WDS, was sentenced 24 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release and was ordered to pay $3.2 million as restitution.

The FBI and USPIS investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Ryan and Graham Billings, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

 

 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte man convicted of straw purchasing firearms for two individuals was sentenced to two years in prison today, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Thomas Evans Kelly, 29, was also ordered to serve two years under court supervision after he is released from prison.

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to court records and today’s sentencing hearing, in August 2019, Kelly purchased three firearms from a licensed firearms dealer in Charlotte. Over the course of the transaction, Kelly made false and fictitious statements to the firearms dealer and falsely certified on federal forms associated with the purchase of the firearms that he was the actual buyer/transferee of the firearms. Court records show that, contrary to Kelly’s statements, he purchased the firearms for two other individuals, Walter Jackson and Jalen Jackson. Kelly then filed false police reports alleging that the firearms were stolen. In total, law enforcement seized eight firearms that were originally purchased by Kelly during criminal activity committed by Walter and Jalen Jackson.

Kelly is currently released on bond and will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence upon designation of a federal facility.

Walter Jackson previously pleaded guilty to dealing in firearms without a license and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and was sentenced to 90 months in prison. Jalen Jackson was sentenced to 72 months in prison, after pleading guilty to dealing in firearms without a license and transfer of a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act.

The ATF led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Lindahl of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte was in charge of the prosecution.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Rashawn William Coleman, 24, of Charlotte, to 22 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for the armed robbery of two cell phone retail stores, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Michael C. Scherck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina, Chief Chad Hawkins of the Belmont Police Department, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to court documents and the sentencing hearing, on June 27, 2020, the Belmont Police Department responded to a service call for an armed robbery at the Cricket Wireless store located at 617 Park Street, in Belmont, North Carolina. Upon arriving at the location, a store employee told law enforcement that an individual, later identified as Coleman, entered the store posing as a customer and inquired about purchasing a cell phone. Over the course of their exchange, Coleman asked if there were any lower priced phones available. While the employee was in the back of the store looking through the cell phone inventory, he saw Coleman standing in the doorway pointing a gun at him. Coleman then ordered the employee to hand over all of the iPhones and other high valued cell phones. Court records show that Coleman also ordered the employee to load the store’s safe in Coleman’s vehicle before fleeing the scene.

On July 29, 2020, the Belmont Police Department responded to a service call regarding the armed robbery of an AT&T Wireless store located at 6509 Wilkinson Boulevard in Belmont. Responding officers investigating the robbery interviewed a store employee who said she had been robbed at gun point. The employee explained that at approximately 7:37 p.m., an individual later identified as Coleman entered the store and began to inquire about purchasing a cell phone. While the employee was at the computer looking through available inventory, Coleman came around the counter and pointed a firearm at her. Coleman then ordered the store employee to place all the cell phones from the safe in his bag. Coleman then fled the scene in his vehicle.

Following the robbery, CMPD officers located Coleman driving his vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Coleman did not obey and attempted to evade the police before he was arrested. Inside Coleman’s vehicle, law enforcement located the stolen cell phones, a firearm, and a magazine that contained 15 bullets.

On December 13, 2021, Coleman pleaded guilty to two counts of possession and brandishing of a firearm during, in relation to, and in furtherance of a crime of violence. He is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI, the Belmont Police Department, and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Jesse Lynn Williams, 34, of Asheville, was sentenced to 235 months in prison today for his role in the burglary of an Asheville gun store, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger also ordered Williams to serve three years under court supervision after he is released from prison.

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief David Zack of the Asheville Police Department (APD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, Williams organized the burglary of Carolina Guns and Gear West, LLC (Carolina Guns and Gear), a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) located at 3106 Sweeten Creek Road, in Asheville. Williams recruited his two co-defendants, Lyron Deshawn Greenlee and Alexa Rae Basillo, to assist him with the burglary. Court records show that on January 7, 2022, Williams broke into the gun store and stole 33 firearms, while Greenlee and Bassillo served as lookouts or drivers during the burglary.

As part of the planning and preparation for the burglary, Williams and Bassillo customized satellite map imagery of the area surrounding the gun store, which diagrammed the location of the store and avenues of approach and escape near the store. The maps also identified where co-conspirators would be stationed as lookouts. Court records also show that Williams, assisted by Bassillo, acquired tools and equipment for the break-in, including two-way radios which co-conspirators used to communicate over the course of the burglary.

According to court documents, immediately after the burglary, Williams, Greenlee, and Bassillo traveled to Greenlee’s residence, where they divvied up the stolen firearms. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that Williams received 15 or 16 of the stolen firearms. To date, law enforcement have recovered eight of the 33 stolen firearms.

On January 10, 2022, law enforcement arrested Williams and Bassillo while the two were in Bassillo’s parked vehicle. At the time of the arrest, law enforcement recovered from the vehicle a firearm stolen from the gun store, a crowbar, bolt cutters, and other items used in the burglary, a homemade silencer, a loaded pistol, and a loaded SKS rifle that belonged to Williams.

On April 13, 2022, Williams pleaded guilty to theft of firearms from an FFL and aiding and abetting, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Greenlee was sentenced last week to eight and a half years in prison. Bassillo is currently awaiting sentencing.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the ATF and APD for their investigation of the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville is handling the prosecution.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The leader of a $3 million bank fraud scheme involving stolen checks and two co-conspirators were sentenced to prison today, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) which oversees Charlotte, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

Terrell Devon Freeman, 35, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 150 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Joshua MacDavid Monteith, 32, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. And Yanalise Simone Hodge, 23, also of Charlotte, was ordered to serve 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

According to filed court documents and statements made in court, from October 2020 to September 2021, Freeman was the mastermind of a bank fraud scheme involving stolen mail. The defendants executed the fraud scheme in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia and defrauded at least seven financial institutions.

According to court documents, Freeman and his co-conspirators used a stolen U.S. Postal Service key to open USPS collection boxes in the Charlotte area, from which they stole business and personal checks.  The USPS key was obtained following the armed robbery of a postal worker in November of 2020. 

The co-conspirators then used fraudulent identifications and straw bank accounts to cash the stolen checks. Over the course of the scheme, Freeman and his co-conspirators deposited or attempted to deposit funds from approximately 86 stolen checks totaling over $3 million.

On September 26, 2021, Monteith was arrested after he used the stolen USPS key to open a collection box in the Ballantyne area. Law enforcement located in Monteith’s vehicle 58 stolen checks totaling more than $19,000. On October 4, 2021, Freeman was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia. Law enforcement recovered from Freeman’s vehicle approximately 1,500 stolen checks, totally over $1.5 million.

Freeman, Monteith, and Hodge each pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy. In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered Freeman to pay more than $394,000 as restitution.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked USPIS and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Bozin, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte federal jury has convicted Josue Aldana, 28, of Charlotte, of two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney presided over the two-day trial, which ended today.

According to filed court documents and evidence presented at trial, on the evening of April 19, 2021, officers with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) responded to a service call that an individual, later identified as Aldana, was causing a domestic disturbance. Trial evidence established that officers responding to the service call recovered from Aldana’s vehicle his cell phone, a pistol, and ammunition for a different caliber firearm. Aldana is a convicted felon, and he is not permitted to possess firearms.

According to evidence presented at trial, two days later, on April 21, 2021, investigators searched Aldana’s residence in Matthews, N.C. Investigators found a revolver in Aldana’s bedroom, which was loaded with the same type of ammunition found in Aldana’s vehicle two days prior. Law enforcement identified Aldana’s fingerprint on the revolver. Investigators also seized nearly a quarter kilogram of marijuana and a digital scale inside a backpack located in Aldana’s bedroom.  On Aldana’s cell phone, investigators found photographs of marijuana being weighed on digital scales for distribution.

According to statements made in court during a related proceeding in August 2021, when the aforementioned events occurred, Aldana was on federal supervised release after serving a prison sentence for murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit the same from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Whitney revoked Aldana’s supervised release based on the above-described events and ordered Aldana serve three years in federal prison.

Aldana now faces a separate sentencing hearing for today’s trial convictions, which will be set at a later date. Aldana currently remains in custody.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended CMPD, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Probation Office for their investigation of the case, and thanked the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor G. Stout, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.

 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced Timothy Herron, 48, of Charlotte, to 235 months in prison and six years of supervised release for drug trafficking, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to filed documents and court proceedings, on January 7, 2021, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) received information through its Crime Stoppers system that an individual was storing firearms and selling narcotics from his hotel room near the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Officers investigating the complaint determined that the individual was Herron. Subsequently, CMPD officers conducted a search of Herron’s hotel room, seizing heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, and digital scales. The officers also seized two handguns, one of which had been reported stolen, and approximately $5,000 in cash.

On July 9, 2021, Herron pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine. At today’s sentencing hearing, Herron’s sentence was enhanced due to his classification as a “Career Offender” based on multiple prior convictions, including Possession with Intent to Sell/Deliver Cocaine in 1994, three charges of Robbery with Dangerous Weapon in 2000, federal Hobbs Act robbery in 2012, and Possession with Intent to Sell/Deliver Cocaine in 2018.

This case is the result of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation which has led to the federal prosecution of more than 60 individuals for drug trafficking. Law enforcement have also seized more than 27 kilograms of cocaine, 3.5 kilograms of heroin, 29 kilograms of fentanyl, 49 kilograms of methamphetamine, 70 firearms, more than $385,000 in cash, and over $800,000 in other property. 

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, CMPD, the Huntersville Police Department, and the Gastonia Police Department for their coordination and investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Steven Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Lyron Deshawn Greenlee to 102 months in prison, for his role in the burglary of a gun store in Asheville, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Greenlee, 35, of Asheville, was also ordered to serve three years under court supervision upon completion of his prison term.

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief David Zack of the Asheville Police Department (APD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, Greenlee conspired with his co-defendants, Jesse Lynn Williams, and Alexa Rae Bassillo, to organize and plan the burglary of Carolina Guns and Gear West, LLC (Carolina Guns and Gear), a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) located at 3106 Sweeten Creek Road, in Asheville. Court records show that on January 7, 2022, Williams broke into the gun store and stole 33 firearms, while Greenlee and Bassillo served as lookouts or drivers during the burglary.

According to court documents, immediately after the burglary, Greenlee, Williams and Bassillo traveled to Greenlee’s residence, where they divvied up the stolen firearms. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that Greenlee received eight of the stolen firearms, two of which Greenlee sold to his co-defendant, Bernard Eugene Carson, a prohibited person who is not permitted to own a firearm due to prior criminal convictions. To date, law enforcement have recovered eight of the 33 stolen firearms.

On April 25, 2022, Greenlee pleaded guilty to theft of firearms from an FFL and aiding and abetting. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Williams, Bassillo, and Carson have entered guilty pleas and are currently awaiting sentencing.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the ATF and APD for their investigation of the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville is handling the prosecution.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that $946,892 in federal grants has been allocated to Safe Alliance in Charlotte by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), to expand access to legal services and improve the coordination of justice systems for victims of violence and sexual assault and their families.

OVW awarded more than $35 million to grantees under the Legal Assistance for Victims Program (LAV), which focuses on the legal needs of survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Charlotte-based Safe Alliance, an organization that provides services and advocacy to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, was awarded $596,892 as part of the LAV grant program, to enhance its comprehensive direct legal services in matters relating to or arising out of that abuse or violence. In addition, earlier this month, OVW’s Justice for Families Program awarded over $14 million to projects that aim to improve the response of the civil and criminal justice systems to families with a history of domestic violence. Safe Alliance was awarded a $350,000 grant under this program, which also supports supervised visitation and the safe exchange of children.

“The deployment of federal resources through grants is critical in our mission to support community organizations that combat gender-based violence and assist victims, survivors, and their families as they recover and rebuild their lives. From increasing access to legal services to improving the response of the civil and the criminal justice systems, federal funding ensures continuity of services and expansion into areas that address the integral needs and unique challenges faced by victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault,” said U.S. Attorney King.  

Karen Parker, President and CEO of Safe Alliance, said, “Safe Alliance is deeply grateful for our partnership with OVW and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to help survivors of domestic violence build safer lives for themselves and their children. Legal services and support for children are two of the most requested services as survivors work to extricate themselves from a violent relationship. These tools will help victims address immediate safety needs as well as ensure longer term interventions to break the cycle of violence.”

“Legal services and systems, including family courts, have a tremendous impact on survivors’ and their families’ livelihood, wellbeing, and freedom,” said OVW Acting Director Allison Randall. “Meaningful representation for survivors is vital but can be difficult to attain in the aftermath of violence, or when someone is still trying to find safety. Grantees under OVW’s Legal Assistance for Victims and Justice for Families Programs help survivors navigate complicated processes and potentially dangerous points along the way, including supervised visitation, protection orders, and divorce.”

OVW 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.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell handed down a 20-year sentence to the leader and organizer of a cocaine trafficking and money laundering organization operating in the Carolinas and across the country, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, Jervonta Antonio Walker, also known as Bruce Hudson and Stunna, 39, of Los Angeles, California, was ordered to serve five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney King is joined in making this announcement by Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office; Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), which oversees Charlotte; Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina; and Donald “Trey” Eakins, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Charlotte Field Office (IRS-CI).

According to filed documents and court proceedings, between 2014 and September 2020, Walker led a drug conspiracy responsible for trafficking approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from California into North Carolina and South Carolina and laundered the criminal proceeds. During the investigation, law enforcement seized 30 kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, and approximately $500,000 in cash. Walker previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, money laundering conspiracy, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Judge Bell has previously sentenced Walker’s co-defendants as follows:

• Jared Shemaiah Jones, 39, of Alphaetta, Georgia, was sentenced to 360 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
• Jasneko Marquell Wright, 35, of Newberry, S.C., was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and money laundering conspiracy.
• Joel Mark Walker, 36, of Columbia, S.C., was sentenced to 84 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for money laundering conspiracy.
• Jarmel Brownlee, 31, of Charlotte, N.C., was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and money laundering conspiracy.
• Nathasha Lawes, 33, of Clover, S.C., was sentenced to 36 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
• Phonesavanh Phonesavang, 39, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
• Marlaina Nashae Smoot, 27, of Newberry, S.C., was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
•  Judiet Vontella Cooper, 36, of Charlotte, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, money laundering conspiracy, and possession with intent to distribute heroin.
• Marquita Andrea Hunter, 48, of Columbia, S.C., was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

An additional defendant indicted in this case, Yannick Anderson, 26, of New York, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, money laundering conspiracy, three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possession of firearm by felon, and remains a fugitive.

Today’s lengthy sentence stems from an investigation led by one of the Western District of North Carolina’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigations.  The OCDETF program identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the DEA, USPIS, HSI, and IRS, as well as the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, the Rock Hill Police Department, the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Lexington County, S.C., Sheriff’s Department, the Richland County, S.C., Sheriff’s Department, the York County, S.C., Sheriff’s Office, and the City of Columbia, S.C., Police Department for their investigative efforts.

Assistant United States Attorney Steven Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte-based BSN Medical Inc. (BSN) has agreed to resolve allegations that it marketed and promoted various products that did not meet the Medicare or Medicaid program’s reasonable and necessary requirements, thereby causing the submission of false claims for payment to the health care programs, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. BSN agreed to pay $785,672.14 to resolve the allegations.  

Tamala Miles, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) for the region including North Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

BSN is a medical device and equipment manufacturer located in Charlotte, that specializes in the areas of compression therapy, wound care and orthopedics. The settlement resolves allegations that from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2017, BSN marketed and promoted various products that were not reimbursable because BSN had either not obtained approval from the Medicare Pricing, Data Analysis and Coding (PDAC) contractor, or for which PDAC approval had expired, in connection with three Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System (HCPCS) Codes, specifically, E2607, L0625 and L0626.

The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act and multiple state false claims act statutes. Under the federal False Claims Acts, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery. The act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action.  The government conducted the investigation and intervened in this action to effectuate the settlement.

The settlement is a result of the coordinated effort between the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, a National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU) Team, which included representatives from the Offices of Attorneys General from the states of North Carolina and Indiana, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. 

The lawsuit resolved by this settlement is United States et al. ex rel. Bruce Carroll v. BSN Medical, Inc., et al. (3:17-CV-480), filed in the Western District of North Carolina. The claims resolved in this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A repeat offender on federal supervised release was sentenced to prison today for illegally possessing a loaded firearm, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Corey Donnell Jenkins, 37, of Gastonia, N.C., was ordered to serve 112 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty in December 2021 to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed documents and statements made in court, Jenkins has a criminal history that includes state convictions for possession with intent to sell or deliver drugs and assault on a female, and a federal conviction for illegal possession of a firearm. On January 16, 2021, a CMPD officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle Jenkins was driving for a license plate violation. Jenkins failed to stop his vehicle and instead sped away. Law enforcement followed Jenkins and continued to attempt to pull over the vehicle. Jenkins eventually crashed into another car and then fled on foot into a nearby fast food restaurant. Court records show that, while inside the restaurant, Jenkins attempted to dispose of his loaded firearm. When CMPD officers entered the fast food restaurant, Jenkins escaped through the drive through window. He was apprehended shortly thereafter outside of the restaurant and was taken into custody. Officers also retrieved the firearm Jenkins was carrying, which was a loaded .38 special revolver that had been reported stolen. At the time of the incident, Jenkins was on supervised release stemming from a 2013 federal gun conviction and was not permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition.

 U.S. Attorney King thanked the ATF and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Regina Pack of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

* * *

In July 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina launched Think Again, an informational campaign to educate the public on

how to prevent illegal firearms from getting into the wrong hands. The U.S. Attorney’s Office partnered with the ATF in this initiative, in a joint effort to reduce gun-induced violence and to increase reporting of illegal firearms. The campaign encourages the public to submit an anonymous tip about illegal firearms and other criminal activity to the ATF by calling 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), via text at 63975, or online at WWW.ATF.GOV/ATF-TIPS.

For additional information about our Think Again initiative, please visit our website. You can view our Think Again Public Service Announcements here.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Donte O’Neill Clements, 33, of Charlotte, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler on August 19, 2022, and pleaded guilty to participating in a COVID-19 fraud scheme, drug distribution, and illegal gun possession, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Clements’s co-conspirator, Kaila Leaann Shanteau-Jackson, 30, also of Charlotte, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in July 2022 for her role in the scheme.

Jason Byrnes, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed plea documents and statements made in court, from June 2020 to September 2021, Clements engaged in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Labor and the State of Arizona by fraudulently receiving and cashing COVID-19 unemployment insurance (UI) payments that Jackson diverted to Clements. During the relevant time frame, Jackson was employed as a vendor-contractor for a financial institution that serviced the UI benefit program in Arizona through the mailing of pre-paid debit cards to qualified recipients. Jackson held the position of Pre-Paid Claims Initiation Agent with the financial institution and, as part of her employment, Jackson had access to the financial institution’s Pre-Paid Administration System (PAS).

According to court documents, Jackson used her employment credentials to divert and re-route UI benefits payments intended for 138 victims to Clements, herself, and others. To effectuate the scheme, Jackson changed in the PAS database the rightful recipients’ address information to addresses in Charlotte to which Clements and others had access. Once Clements and others received the re-routed pre-paid debit cards, they either withdrew the benefits in cash from ATMs or conducted retail purchases with the stolen funds. During the scheme, Jackson diverted approximately $993,000 in UI benefits to her co-conspirators, of which Clements obtained over $800,000 of the stolen funds.

In addition to pleading guilty to wire fraud for the COVID-19 fraud scheme, Clements pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

A sentencing date for Clements has not been set. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum term of 30 years in prison, and a $1 million fine. The charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base carries a prison term of up to 20 years and a $1 million fine. The statutory maximum prison term for felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the U.S. Secret Service and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Warren of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is in charge of the prosecution.  

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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Members of the public in the Western District of North Carolina can also call 704-344-6222 to reach their local Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator.

 

 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that a former Colorado sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to 262 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for coercion and enticement of a minor. Vincent Ryan Potter, 38, formerly of Colorado, was also ordered to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.

U.S. Attorney King is joined in making today’s announcement by Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Sheriff Eddie Cathey of the Union County Sheriff’s Office.

“Potter is an online predator who contacted vulnerable children via social media and used deception, pressure, and threats to coerce his young victims into sending him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. Potter was a sworn officer of the law which makes this case particularly disturbing,” said U.S. Attorney King. “I commend the law enforcement agencies that investigated this case for working closely across state lines to locate Potter and put a stop to his predatory behavior.”

“As a former law enforcement officer, this defendant betrayed the public trust placed in him by preying on children rather than protecting them, as he was sworn to do. HSI is committed to holding those who seek to exploit children fully accountable, regardless of the position they may hold,” said Special Agent in Charge Martinez.

“A child predator has been arrested and held accountable for his actions due to the joint investigative and prosecution efforts of UCSO detectives, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Union County Sheriff’s Office is proud to partner with our federal law enforcement partners in order to safeguard the children in our community from anyone who would try and cause them harm,” said Sheriff Cathey.

According to filed documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between January and April 2021, Potter used Snapchat to entice and coerce two minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. At the time of the offense, Potter was a Deputy with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado. Court documents show that, in early 2021, Potter began communicating via Snapchat with a 14-year-old female located in

Union County. At the time Potter was communicating with the minor he knew the victim was a teenager. Over the course of their communications, Potter, who created multiple Snapchat accounts and pretended to be both a 15-year-old and a 23-year-old male, enticed and pressured the minor victim to send him images and videos of herself engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Potter continued to ask the minor to produce child pornography and threatened the minor that he would release her explicit images to her friends and the internet if she did not comply.

According to court documents and court proceedings, during the same time period, Potter initiated communications via Snapchat with a second teenage female also located in Union County. During those communications, Potter enticed and coerced the minor to send him sexually explicit images and videos of herself.

On March 4, 2022, Potter pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. Potter remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended HSI in Charlotte and in Colorado and the Union County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick J. Miller of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ordered Daron Quashawn Wright, 29, of Charlotte, to serve 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for mail theft, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

U.S. Attorney King is joined in making today’s announcement by Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which oversees Charlotte, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.

According to filed documents and information presented in court, between November 2019 and February 2021, Wright and two co-conspirators, Shermar Isaiah Walker and Haleem Gilliland, targeted apartment complexes in Charlotte and in other states in the Southeast and stole the mail of more than 540 victims. Court records show that the defendants generally used a crowbar to break into clusters of mailboxes located at apartment complexes, and stole hundreds of pieces of mail, including individual and business checks, credit cards, and packages. The estimated loss the victims incurred as a result of the mail theft scheme is over $172,400.

According to court records, on March 3, 2020, CMPD received a 911 call regarding a break-in in progress of the mailboxes at an apartment complex in Charlotte. Officers responding to the call identified Walker as the mail thief and Walker was arrested in connection with the incident. At the time of the arrest, law enforcement also located a crowbar and multiple bags of mail sitting by the mailboxes that had been broken into. Law enforcement also found at the same location a cargo van and another vehicle, both filled with mail from at least two other mail thefts. Court records show that the investigation led to Wright and Gilliland, who were staying at an area hotel. When law enforcement entered the hotel room, they observed it was filled with stolen mail. Law enforcement retrieved from the hotel room hundreds of additional pieces of stolen mail, including credit and debit cards, business and vendor payments, and other mail.

Wright and Walker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail theft, and Gilliland pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Walker and Gilliland were sentenced to time-served.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked USPIS and CMPD for their investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced a serial bank robber to 63 months in prison and three years of supervised release late Wednesday, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, Sheriff Eddie Cathey of the Union County Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Chad Hawkins of the Belmont Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to information to which David Plyler, 62, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty, other documents filed in this case, and statements made in court, between December 2019 and February 2020, Plyler robbed four banks in Gaston and Union Counties. On December 18, 2019, Plyler robbed a BB&T bank located at 601 Hawley Avenue in Belmont, North Carolina. On that date, at approximately 2:17 p.m., Plyler walked in the bank and handed the teller a note demanding money. The teller told Plyler she was unable to read the note, at which point Plyler began to yell and demand money. The teller complied, handed Plyler $2,630 in cash, and Plyler fled the scene.

The second robbery occurred on January 7, 2020, when Plyler entered a SunTrust Bank located at 118 N. Main Street in Belmont. As with the previous robbery, Plyler entered the branch and handed a teller a note that said, “Give me your 20s, 50s, and 100s.” As the teller was gathering the money, Plyler told the teller to hurry up and that he had a bomb in his pocket. After taking the cash, Plyler approached another teller to demand money. Plyler repeated to the second teller that he had a bomb in his jacket. The second teller complied with Plyler’s demand for money and then Plyler left the bank.

On February 3, 2020, officers with the Belmont Police Department responded to a service call for a bank robbery at the aforementioned BB&T branch on Hawley Avenue in Belmont. Court records show that, upon entering the bank, once again Plyler approached a teller and demanded money. When the teller told Plyler she did not have a lot of cash, Plyler told her, “Open the drawer, I know you have money in there.” Plyler took approximately $1,600 in cash from the teller and he fled the scene.

The final robbery occurred on February 20, 2020, at a SunTrust Bank located at 307 Unionville Indian Trail Road, in Indian Trail, North Carolina. According to court records, Plyler entered the branch, approached a bank teller station and handed the teller a note that stated, “This is a robbery, give me all the money.” The teller gave Plyler approximately $10,000 in cash and Plyler left the bank in a gray Nissan vehicle. As described in court documents, a vehicle matching the bank robber’s Nissan was located and deputies with the Union County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Plyler did not comply and proceeded to attempt to flee the police. Plyler was eventually pulled over and arrested after he entered into South Carolina. Inside Plyler’s vehicle, law enforcement found $10,685 in cash, various items including fake moustaches and wigs Plyler wore during the bank robberies, and a handwritten demand note.

On December 29, 2021, Plyler pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robbery. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

The FBI, the Union County Sheriff’s Office, and the Belmont Police Department handled the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick J. Miller of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte handled the sentencing hearing.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jermaine Lee Moss, 21, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to seven years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release for possession and brandishing of a firearm during a carjacking, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

U.S. Attorney King is joined in making today’s announcement by Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

According to filed documents and information presented in court, on September 18, 2020, at approximately 8:00 a.m., Moss carjacked a victim at gunpoint. The victim initially contacted CMPD to report that two males were stealing packages from his neighbor’s porch. While CMPD officers were enroute to investigate the incident, they were advised by dispatchers that the service call had been changed to an armed robbery. According to court documents and the victim’s statement, Moss saw the victim and walked up to his vehicle. Moss then pointed a gun at the victim and told him to get out the car. Moss also ordered the victim to reset his phone. When the victim told Moss he did not know how to do that, Moss threatened to kill him if he did not comply. Moss then drove off in the victim’s vehicle with the victim’s phone.

Court documents show that law enforcement located the stolen vehicle parked at a convenience store while Moss was standing nearby. A CMPD officer approached Moss who did not comply with the officer’s commands. During the arrest, law enforcement recovered a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol from Moss’s pants pocket. At the time of the carjacking, Moss was on probation with the state of North Carolina for a Common Law Robbery conviction.

Moss is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The ATF and CMPD handled the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Waxhaw, North Carolina, man was sentenced today for producing child pornography, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney ordered Jason Lance Thrower, 43, to serve 27 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison term. Thrower was also ordered to pay $55,100 in special assessments.

Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Sheriff Eddie Cathey of the Union County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney King in making this announcement.

According to filed court documents, court proceedings, and Thrower’s admissions in court, on October 29, 2020, a concerned individual contacted the Union County Sheriff’s Office to report that Thrower possessed sexually explicit images of minors. Law enforcement initiated an investigation into Thrower and determined that the defendant had used a hidden camera to secretly record two minor females while they were undressing and showering. Over the course of the investigation, Thrower’s cell phone and other electronic devices were seized. HSI conducted a forensic analysis of the seized items which revealed multiple images and videos of the minor victims in the bathroom while nude and at various stages of undress, images of the children posing in their underwear, and other sexually suggestive images of the minors.

According to information filed in court documents and statements in court, Thrower also sexually molested a minor victim on multiple occasions. At the sentencing hearing today, the government argued that Thrower’s sexual abuse of the minor was an aggravating factor the Court should consider in determining its punishment.  In handing down the sentence of 27 years imprisonment, Judge Whitney noted that the victims in this case would carry their pain for life.

Thrower has been in federal custody since February 2021. He will remain in federal custody until he is transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. 

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King commended HSI and the Union County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark T. Odulio of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte handled the sentencing hearing. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Cortney S. Randall handled the investigation and prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice, aimed at combating the growing online sexual exploitation of children. By combining resources, federal, state and local agencies are better able to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue those victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1- 800-843-5678), or https://report.cybertip.org

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A South Carolina man was sentenced to 13 years in prison today for trafficking nearly a kilogram of fentanyl, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, Lawrence Robinson, 32, of Wellford, South Carolina, was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release.

According to filed documents and court proceedings, on August 3, 2020, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) received a report that a backpack possibly containing narcotics was found at a short-term rental property in Charlotte. CMPD officers responding to the service call located the backpack which contained a substance later identified as 774.74 grams of fentanyl. The backpack also contained marijuana, ammunition, a digital scale, and other drug paraphernalia commonly used to package narcotics for distribution. Court records show that CMPD officers obtained video footage from the rental property which showed Robinson carrying various bags from his parked vehicle to the rental property, including the recovered backpack. While officers were conducting their investigation at the rental property, they observed Robinson driving by in his vehicle. The officers proceeded to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle and Robinson was arrested at the scene. Officers executed a search warrant for Robinson’s vehicle and the rental unit, from which they recovered a loaded firearm with a round of ammunition in the chamber, $10,000 in cash, and a money counter. When investigators arrested Robinson at an apartment in Asheville on the federal arrest warrant stemming from this case, they also recovered an assault rifle and ammunition, narcotics, and more than $10,000 in cash.

On March 25, 2022, Robinson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and marijuana.

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In a separate case, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced Lynnard Fleming, 30, of Charlotte, to eight years in prison and three years of supervised release for drug and firearms offenses. Court records in this case show that on April 11, 2020, CMPD officers located a stolen vehicle parked at a residence in Charlotte and observed Fleming walking away from the car’s driver’s side. Court records show that, when Fleming saw the officers, he attempted to flee the scene. When officers caught Fleming shortly thereafter, they found a mixture containing fentanyl and heroin in his pocket. Inside the stolen vehicle from which Fleming had run, the officers seized additional mixture containing fentanyl and heroin, digital scales, an assault rifle loaded with 21 rounds of ammunition, 20 additional rounds of ammunition, a stolen loaded semiautomatic pistol, and a suppressor/barrel extender.

On March 29, 2022, Fleming pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin and carrying a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime.

“Fentanyl is a killer drug. A small dose can lead to an overdose death,” said U.S. Attorney King. “From street dealers, to crooked doctors, to bulk traffickers, anyone who distributes this potentially lethal substance is a threat to public health safety and can be subject to a federal investigation and prosecution. We must and will do all we can to save lives and protect our communities from this dangerous drug,” said U.S. Attorney King.

Both Robinson and Fleming are currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and CMPD for their investigations into both cases and thanked the Asheville Police Department for their assistance with the investigation of Robinson.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor G. Stout of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted both cases.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Chukwudi Michael Okwara, 42, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 13 years in prison and three years of supervised release for his role as a money mule in a Business Email Compromise scheme. In June 2021, a federal jury convicted Okwara of multiple counts of money laundering, making a false statement to a financial institution, and aggravated identity theft.

A Business Email Compromise scheme, or BEC, is a sophisticated scam often targeting businesses involved in wire transfer payments. The fraud is carried out by compromising and/or “spoofing” legitimate business email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques, to cause employees of the victim company (or other individuals involved in legitimate business transactions) to transfer funds to accounts controlled by scammers.

According to trial evidence, witness testimony, documents filed with the court, and today’s sentencing hearing, beginning in November 2018, Okwara, who also goes by “Collins Bird” and “Larry Eugene Coleman,” used fake documents to open multiple money mule bank accounts. Money mule bank accounts are accounts used by fraudsters as a pass-through means of moving ill-gotten funds. As trial evidence established, Okwara used the money mule accounts to receive and launder the proceeds of several BEC scams totaling $2 million, perpetrated on six victim companies. The victim companies, which were located throughout the United States, were tricked into wiring large amounts of money into the bank accounts controlled by Okwara. Within days of receipt of the fraudulent wires, Okwara used false and stolen identities and conducted financial transactions in order to conceal the fraud, including making large cash withdrawals and sending wires to other bank accounts under his control. 

Okwara is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the investigating efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Warren and Mark T. Odulio, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte man was sentenced today to 87 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Timothy Lamont Johnson, 55, of Charlotte, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his sentence. 

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on January 10, 2020, at approximately 8:50 p.m., CMPD officers responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting at the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a male victim who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. After questioning several witnesses, CMPD officers determined that Johnson had shot the victim before fleeing the scene in his vehicle. Based on information gathered at the scene of the crime and the victim’s statement, law enforcement issued an arrest warrant for Johnson. The next day, CMPD officers located Johnson’s vehicle in Charlotte and he was arrested on the outstanding warrant. At the time of Johnson’s arrest, officers recovered a loaded firearm from under the driver’s seat of Johnson’s vehicle. A forensic analysis of the firearm determined that it was the weapon that fired the bullet casings recovered from the scene of the shooting. At sentencing today, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. applied a sentencing enhancement for attempted murder. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement also determined that the firearm was stolen.

On June 26, 2020, Johnson pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Johnson has multiple prior violent convictions, including Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill, Assault with a Deadly Weapon Resulting in Serious Injury, Discharging a Weapon into an Occupied Property, and Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon. He is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the ATF and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

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In July 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina launched Think Again, an informational campaign to educate the public on how to prevent illegal firearms from

getting into the wrong hands.The U.S. Attorney’s Office partnered with the ATF in this initiative, in a joint effort to reduce gun-induced violence and to increase reporting of illegal firearms. The campaign encourages the public to submit an anonymous tip about illegal firearms and other criminal activity to the ATF by calling 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), via text at 63975, or online at WWW.ATF.GOV/ATF-TIPS.

For additional information about our Think Again initiative, please visit our website. You can view our Think Again Public Service Announcements here.

 

 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Santuron Cureton, 40, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and four years of supervised release for illegal gun possession and drug offenses.

According to filed documents and court proceedings, between April and July 2019, Cureton met on multiple occasions with undercover law enforcement agents in Union County, during which he sold the agents narcotics and illegal firearms. For example, court records show that on June 18, 2019, Cureton met with an undercover law enforcement agent in Monroe, North Carolina. During that meeting, the agent bought from Cureton a rifle and a pistol with an obliterated serial number. On July 16, 2019, Cureton met with an undercover agent in Union County and sold the agent 30 purported Oxycodone pills, crack cocaine, and two loaded firearms, one of which had an obliterated serial number. Over the course of the investigation into Cureton, undercover agents bought from the defendant 10 illegal firearms. Cureton has prior convictions for drug and gun possession and he is prohibited from possessing firearms.

On March 4, 2021, Cureton pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Twelve additional defendants have been sentenced as a result of joint investigations carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Union County Sheriff’s Office, and the Monroe Police Department, into drug and gun offenders operating in and around Union County. Over the course of the investigations, law enforcement seized methamphetamine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, and 56 firearms.

The 12 defendants were previously sentenced as follows:

Princeton Patterson, 30, of Wadesboro, N.C., was sentenced to 188 months in prison and four years of supervised release for distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Patterson has previously been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, multiple common law robberies, and cruelty to animals. (Docket No. 3:20-cr-221).

Rico Lorodge Brown, 34, of Monroe, N.C., was sentenced to 180 months in prison and four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon.  Brown has been twice convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon. Brown has also been convicted of common law robbery, assault inflicting serious bodily injury, and cruelty to animals. (3:20-cr-223) 

Diante Ramon Brown, 23, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, was sentenced to 123 months in prison and four years of supervised release for distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. (3:20-cr-222) 

Markiel Tyson, 31, of Pageland, South Carolina, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Tyson has previously been convicted in South Carolina for distributing drugs.  (3:20-cr-221) 

Cameron Jamal McManus, 30, also of Pageland, was ordered to serve 120 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. McManus has previously been convicted in South Carolina for distributing drugs, unlawfully carrying a pistol, and multiple burglaries. (3:20-cr-221)

Alvin Thomas, Jr., 42, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and four years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Thomas has previously been convicted of possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine, selling cocaine, twice assaulting a female, and twice driving while impaired. (3:20-cr-278) 

Chareo Demarcus Johnson, 23, of Lancaster, South Carolina, was sentenced to 105 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a felon and distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Johnson has previously been convicted of firearm and drug offenses in South Carolina. (3:21-cr-66)  

Jamorris Demonte Sanders, 23, of Chester, South Carolina, was sentenced to 104 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release for distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, dealing firearms without a license, and distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Sanders has previously been convicted of firearms and drug distribution offenses in South Carolina.  (3:20-cr-218) 

Timothy Antonio Flanagan, 35, of Lancaster, South Carolina, was sentenced to 84 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release after pleading guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and to conspiracy to traffic crack cocaine. Flanagan has previously been convicted in South Carolina of pointing and presenting a firearm at a person, distributing drugs, and financial identity fraud. (3:20-cr-218)  

Bridget Cherie Chambers, 33, of Monroe, was sentenced to 66 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release for distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Chambers has previous convictions for possession of stolen goods, drug possession, identity theft, and other fraud offenses. (3:20-cr-279)   

Elliot Carmel Fincher, 33, of Marshville, N.C., was sentenced to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a felon.  During the investigation, Fincher sold five firearms on five dates to undercover law enforcement officers.  Fincher was previously convicted in Union County for second-degree murder and discharging a weapon into occupied property in Union County.  (3:20-cr-217) 

Larry Eddie Crowder Jr., 33, of Waxhaw, N.C., was sentenced to 36 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release for distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Crowder has previously been convicted of driving while impaired and twice assaulting a female. (3:20-cr-219)

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the ATF, FBI, DEA, the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe Police Department for their investigative efforts.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Spaugh and David Kelly of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Charlotte prosecuted the cases.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced Michael Moore, 40, a Liberian national, to 10 years in prison for his role in an online romance scheme that targeted older adults, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Conrad also ordered Moore to pay more than $1.7 million as restitution to the victims of the fraud.  

Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Barry Chastain, Port Director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Area in Charlotte join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement. 

According to court documents and court proceedings, including evidence presented at Moore’s October 2021 trial, beginning in January 2016, Moore and others engaged in a fraudulent scheme to defraud unsuspecting victims, many of whom were in or near retirement, by perpetrating an online romance scam. According to court records, Moore and his co-conspirators generally targeted victims through Facebook, senior dating websites, and other social media platforms, convincing victims through online communications that they were romantically interested in the victims. The fraudsters, who often claimed they were located overseas for work, would start requesting gift cards or small amounts of money, often falsely telling the victims they needed the money to pay for airfare or other travel expenses to visit the victims. Generally, the fraudsters would then up the ante and request more money to supposedly pay for additional fictitious fees or costs in order for the visits to take place or for packages to clear customs. Evidence at trial showed that Moore and his co-conspirators would continue to take the victims’ money until there was no more money left. 

Trial evidence showed that Moore served as the scheme’s “money man” or “bagman.” As part of the scheme, Moore purchased one-way tickets and flew around the country to meet with and pick up money from unsuspecting victims located in multiple cities. Moore was caught trying to fly out of Charlotte with $75,000 in cash, which he had collected from a victim. During the trial, the government presented evidence of pictures and videos that depicted Moore with piles of cash, bragging about the money he had taken from victims. In total, Moore and his co-conspirators stole over $1.5 million from at least 30 victims through this romance scheme. 

In addition, evidence at trial further established that Moore lied to CBP officers and HSI agents when he was questioned at Charlotte Douglas International Airport after he was caught attempting to carry $75,000 in cash through airport security. Instead of telling law enforcement the truth – that he had received the cash from a romance scam victim – Moore told law enforcement that he had received the money from a Liberian government official to buy used cars. Later, Moore made similar false statements and representations on a federal form in an attempt to have the $75,000 returned to him. 

A federal jury convicted Moore of wire fraud and two counts of making a false statement to an agency of the United States. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In determining today’s sentence, the Court highlighted the heinous nature of the crimes and Moore’s callous cruelty toward his victims, which caused the victims tremendous financial and emotional hardships.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked CBP and HSI for handling the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Vento and Daniel Ryan, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office Elder Justice Initiative aims to combat elder financial exploitation by investigating and prosecuting financial scams that target seniors; educating older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promoting greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative

Examples of financial scams targeting seniors are:

• Lottery Phone Scams – Callers convince seniors that a large fee or taxes must be paid before they can receive lottery winnings.
• Grandparent Scams – Fraudsters convince seniors that their grandchildren are in trouble and need money to make rent, repair a car, or even money for bail.
• Romance scams – Victims believe they are in an online relationship and their love interest needs money to visit them in the U.S. or some other purpose.
• Federal Agent Imposter Scams – Scammers pose as federal agents, including IRS agents, claiming the victim owes a debt for a crime committed, or for unpaid taxes.
• Sham business opportunities – Fraudsters convince victims to invest in sham business opportunities or investments.

To avoid falling victim to a financial scam:

• Don’t share personal information with anyone you don’t know.
• Don’t pay a fee for a prize or lottery winning.
• Don’t click on pop-up ads or messages.
• Delete phishing emails and ignore harassing phone calls.
• Don’t send gift cards, checks, money orders, wire money, or give your bank account information to a stranger.
• Don’t fall for a high-pressure sales pitch or a “lucrative” business deal.
• If a scammer approaches you, take the time to talk to a friend or family member.
• Keep in mind that if you send money once, you’ll be a target for life.
• Remember, it’s not rude to say, “NO.”
• A good rule of thumb is, if it’s too good to be true, it’s likely a scam.

If you have been contacted by a scammer or believe you have fallen victim to a scam, please contact the Justice Department’s Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-Fraud-11 (1-833-372-8311). The National Elder Fraud hotline was created for the public to report fraud against individuals who are age 60 or older. For more information about the hotline, please visit https://stopelderfraud.ovc.ojp.gov/.
 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte man involved in three shooting incidents was sentenced to 10 years in prison today for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. As part of his sentence, Ulondis Raquan Edwards, 23, will also serve three years under court supervision after he is released from prison.

Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to court documents and court proceedings, between December 2020 and January 2021, Edwards was involved in three shooting incidents. The first incident occurred on December 12, 2020, during which Edwards fired two shots at a vehicle occupied by two adults and three young children, including an infant, following an altercation between Edwards and one of the adults. After that shooting, Edwards illegally obtained another handgun which he used on December 29, 2020, to shoot and injure a male victim. According to court records, the victim was crossing the street near the parking of a strip plaza in Charlotte when he was cut off by a vehicle. A man later identified as Edwards leaned out of the passenger side window of the vehicle and fired one shot in the victim’s direction, striking the victim in the leg.

According to filed documents and information presented in court, the third shooting incident occurred on January 18, 2021, a little after 4:30 p.m., at the parking lot of the same strip plaza as the previous shooting. In this incident, the male victim was standing in the parking lot when a vehicle drove toward the victim and a passenger in the vehicle fired multiple shots at the victim. The victim suffered six gunshot wounds and sustained life threatening injuries. Law enforcement arrested Edwards on January 28, 2021, after he was identified as the individual responsible for the shooting. A search warrant was executed at Edwards’s residence and three firearms were seized, including a handgun. According to court records, an analysis by the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) forensically identified the seized handgun as the firearm Edwards used to shoot and injure the two victims.

On February 18, 2022, Edwards pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. Edwards is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

This case is a result of an investigation conducted by CMPD’s Crime Gun Suppression Team which includes HSI.

Assistant United States Attorney Regina Pack of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Da Lee, 38, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Paul Mark James, 52, of Gastonia, North Carolina, to 168 months and 54 months in prison, respectively, for trafficking methamphetamine and marijuana, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to documents filed in this case and evidence introduced at Lee’s trial, from 2018 to 2020, Lee and James conspired to distribute methamphetamine in and around Catawba County. Court records show that while law enforcement investigators were investigating James’s drug distribution activities in Hickory, North Carolina, they determined that James frequently traveled out of state to purchase methamphetamine from his supplier in Georgia, later identified as Lee. On July 12, 2020, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of James’s vehicle upon his return from a trip to Georgia. During the traffic stop, law enforcement found methamphetamine and marijuana in James’s vehicle, which Lee had provided to James. Court records show that the next day, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Lee’s Georgia residence, from which they seized a firearm, four pounds of marijuana, and more than $7,900 in cash. According to court records, over the course of the conspiracy, Lee supplied James with more than two pounds of methamphetamine.

On Feburary 23, 2022, a federal jury convicted Lee of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana, and distribution of methamphetamine. Also in February 2022, James pleaded guilty to the same charges.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Hess and Taylor Stout prosecuted the case.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Ronald Keith Scronce, 65, of Lincolnton, N.C., to 168 months in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to filed documents and court proceedings, in July 2019, Scronce was on post release supervision for a state drug trafficking conviction. In accordance with the conditions of Scronce’s post release supervision, probation officers conducted a warrantless search of his residence, during which they seized methamphetamine. Between July and August 2021, law enforcement investigating the case determined that Scronce sold heroin and methamphetamine on multiple occasions. Scronce even wrote a Facebook post in which he referenced violence against “snitches” and traveling to the beach for the purpose of selling narcotics. On August 23, 2021, law enforcement arrested Scronce and executed a federal search warrant at his residence, seizing methamphetamine, cash, and two firearms.

On February 2, 2022, Scronce pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and three counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. At today’s sentencing hearing, Scronce’s sentence was enhanced due to his multiple prior convictions that led to his classification as a Career Offender, including prior convictions for Robbery with Dangerous Weapon, Sell/Deliver Morphine, Attempt Trafficking Methamphetamine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.

This case is the result of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation which has led to the federal prosecution of more than 60 individuals for drug trafficking. Law enforcement have also seized more than 27 kilograms of cocaine, 3.5 kilograms of heroin, 29 kilograms of fentanyl, 49 kilograms of methamphetamine, 70 firearms, more than $385,000 in cash, and over $800,000 in other property. 

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Huntersville Police Department, and the Gastonia Police Department for their coordination and investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Steven Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Davonte Everett, 24, of Gastonia, N.C. was sentenced today to 121 months in prison and five years of supervised release for the armed robbery of a convenience store in Charlotte, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed documents and court proceedings, on July 3, 2020, Everett entered a 7-Eleven convenience store located at 2901 Yorkmont Road in Charlotte. Upon entering the 7-Eleven, Everett, who was wearing a hat and had his face covered, walked to the back of the store, picked up an item, and approached the cash register. When the store clerk opened the register to complete the sale, Everett pulled a black semiautomatic firearm from his pocket and pointed it at the clerk. Everett then reached over the counter and took cash from the register. As he did so, Everett’s head hit the plastic barrier over the counter knocking his hat off, and revealing his hair, eyes, and top of his face. Everett fled the scene with the store’s cash.

According to court records, a CMPD officer investigating the robbery recognized Everett and identified him as the robber. Everett was subsequently arrested on state charges. On March 31, 2022, Everett pleaded guilty to a federal Hobbs Act robbery offense and to brandishing a firearm during and in relation to, and in furtherance of, a crime of violence.

Everett is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced to prison today four Texas men for trafficking more than 14 kilograms of cocaine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

Miguel Angel Mares, 35, of Dallas, Texas, David Mondragon, 38, of Houston, Texas, and Juan Carlos Mendoza, 40, of Laredo, Texas, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Milton Rivera-Cubas, 31, a Honduran national residing in Garland, Texas, was sentenced to 57 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

According to filed documents and court proceedings, from April 2021 to May 2021, the defendants conspired with each other to traffic more than 14 kilograms of cocaine. Over the course of the investigation, an undercover HSI agent made arrangements with the co-conspirators for the delivery of the cocaine from Texas to Charlotte. In May 2021, all four defendants traveled into Charlotte to facilitate the delivery.

Each defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and aid and abet the same.  They are currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended HSI for their investigation and thanked the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the Gaston County Police Department for their assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Regina Pack and Christopher Hess, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charles Morgan Harrell, 58, of Charlotte, was sentenced to five years in prison today for bank fraud, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Harrell was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release.

Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), which oversees Charlotte, and Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, from Jan. 2020 to Feb. 2021, Harrell operated a bank fraud scheme in North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and elsewhere. To execute the scheme, Harrell targeted neighborhoods in the Charlotte area and stole mail from residential mailboxes. The stolen mail included individual and business checks, and personal identifying information (PII) of victims, which Harrell used to create fake identification documents in furtherance of the scheme.

As Harrell previously admitted in court, at times, Harrell altered the names of the payees on the stolen checks to the names of the identity theft victims and used the false identification documents to open bank accounts in the identify theft victims’ names and cash the checks. Other times, Harrell obtained blank checks which she fraudulently wrote in her name and then cashed. In addition to the check cashing scheme, Harrell also used the victims’ stolen identities to rent apartments and to buy at least one vehicle. In total, Harrell obtained more than $200,000 through the fraudulent scheme.

Harrell is currently released on bond and will be ordered to report to prison upon designation of a facility by federal Bureau of Prisons.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the USPIS and the FBI for their investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Caryn Finley, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, will join residents, law enforcement, community organizations, and community

leaders to commemorate the 39th Annual National Night Out.

U.S. Attorney King and her staff will visit neighborhoods throughout the Charlotte area today hosting National Night Out events.

Established in 1984 from a Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grant, the goal of National Night Out is to strengthen relationships between communities and law enforcement. National Night Out is a community-building and crime prevention campaign that promotes collaborative law enforcement community partnerships. Each year, communities nationwide participate in neighborhood events, block parties, festivals, safety demonstrations, seminars, and activities that heighten crime and drug prevention awareness and generate support for and participation in local anticrime efforts. These events help strengthen neighborhood ties, foster police-community partnerships, and demonstrate a shared commitment for safe communities.  

“National Night Out is an opportunity for neighbors, community organizations, businesses and community leaders to join forces with law enforcement in building community-based partnerships. Bridging the gap between law enforcement and the community and promoting mutual trust is vital to increasing public safety, and that begins with getting to know the people we serve and protect,” said U.S. Attorney King.

For more information about National Night Out, please visit www.natw.org. 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Georgia man was sentenced to prison for participating in a scheme that defrauded the Medicaid programs in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia of more than $5 million, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Glenn Pair, 36, of Stonecrest, Georgia to 70 months in prison and two years of supervised release and ordered the defendant to pay a total of $5,078,444 as restitution.

U.S. Attorney King is joined in making today’s announcement by Adair Ford Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, Ryan K. Buchanan, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, and Donald “Trey” Eakins, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Charlotte Field Office (IRS-CI).

The criminal charges filed against Pair in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia and South Carolina were transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in September and October 2021, respectively. In October 2021, Pair pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud in connection with the three federal prosecutions. Pair also pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy offense in the Western District of North Carolina. Today’s sentence resolves all three federal criminal actions against the defendant.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, Pair and his co-conspirator, Markuetric Stringfellow, owned and operated an after-school and youth mentoring program known as Do-It-4-The Hood Corporation (D4H). From January 2016 through November 2018, Pair and Stringfellow paid individuals to recruit at-risk youths, in particular children who were Medicaid eligible in North Carolina, for their D4H program. Once enrolled, children were required to submit urine specimens for drug testing. Pair and Stringfellow conspired with certain laboratories to perform the drug testing of the enrolled children’s urine specimens and received kickbacks once the laboratories were reimbursed by the North Carolina Medicaid. In 2017, Pair moved to Georgia, and he and Stringfellow expanded the fraudulent scheme to defraud the state’s Medicaid program.

The South Carolina scheme involved Wrights Care Services LLC (Wrights Care), a qualified provider of Medicaid rehabilitative behavioral health services in South Carolina.  Pair and Stringfellow became owners of a Wrights Care franchise in Columbia, South Carolina.  Starting in or around 2014, Pair and Stringfellow defrauded the South Carolina Medicaid program by filing fraudulent claims for mental health counseling or other services that were either not provided, partially provided, or did not qualify for Medicaid reimbursement. Pair and Stringfellow submitted falsified patient billing records and fake medical notes to support the fraudulent reimbursement claims filed. After learning there was a Medicaid audit for Wrights Care, Stringfellow attempted to deceive South Carolina Medicaid auditors. In or about March 2015, Stringfellow met other associates of Wrights Care in Columbia for a “note party.” During this gathering and in Pair’s presence, the co-conspirators created false and fraudulent billing records to substantiate previously-submitted fraudulent Medicaid claims, forged signatures, and falsified records subject to the audit, which they then submitted to South Carolina Medicaid auditors in response to the audit.

Over the course of the scheme, Pair, Stringfellow and their co-conspirators submitted thousands of fraudulent claims to Medicaid of the three states totaling over $17 million and received over $5 million in fraudulent reimbursements. In addition, they received $1.8 million in kickbacks from the laboratories that participated in the conspiracy.

Pair is currently released on bond. He will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Stringfellow was sentenced in February 2021 to 78 months in prison and was ordered pay $5,278,550 in restitution for his role in the scheme.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in South Carolina and the Northern District of Georgia, the FBI in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, and the Medicaid Investigations Division in the three states for their investigative efforts and coordination throughout case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael E. Savage and Graham Billings of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case, assisted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jermaine Sellers with the Medicaid Fraud Investigation Division of the N.C. Attorney General’s Office.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A physician assistant is facing federal charges for his role in a genetic testing scheme that resulted in the submission of more than $10 million in fraudulent claims to the Medicare program, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Colby Edward Joyner, 34, of Monroe, N.C. is charged with one count of health care fraud and six counts of making false statements relating to health care matters.

Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Tamala Miles, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, during 2018 and 2019, Joyner was a physician assistant in the Charlotte area who worked as an independent contractor for a physician staffing and telemedicine company. During the relevant time frame, Joyner allegedly signed fraudulent prescriptions for medically unnecessary genetic testing, specifically cancer genomic and pharmacogenetic testing, for hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries residing in North Carolina.

The indictment alleges that Joyner’s prescriptions resulted in the submission of fraudulent reimbursement claims to the Medicare program in excess of $10 million. As alleged in the indictment, Joyner had never met, seen or treated these beneficiaries, and had only had brief telephone conversations with them, or no interactions with them whatsoever.

The indictment further alleges that Joyner falsified medical records in connection with these prescriptions to conceal that he was not the treating physician and that he did not conduct medical evaluations or examinations, and that he falsely certified that the genetic tests were medically necessary. According to allegations in the indictment, contrary to his claims, Joyner had neither pre-existing provider-patient treatment relationships with, nor plans to pursue further care for, the Medicare beneficiaries. Joyner allegedly did not perform medical evaluations or examinations and had little to no interaction with the beneficiaries before prescribing the genetic tests. Instead, Joyner allegedly received from the telemedicine company and its clients pre-populated prescription forms and related records for patients who were pre-selected for genetic testing, which he then electronically signed and returned, in exchange for $12—and later $15—for each purported consultation that he performed. 

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The health care fraud charge carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The charge of making false statements relating to health care matters carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, per count.

The investigation was handled by the FBI and HHS-OIG.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Armstrong and Matthew Warren of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.