Western District of North Carolina

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. ordered today Bryant Riyanto Budi, 28, of Matthews, North Carolina, to serve 78 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, for attempted possession of radioactive material with intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to another person.  

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina, John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Charlotte Division, and Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas made the announcement.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from April 22, 2018, to June 1, 2018, Budi attempted to possess radioactive material, and did so with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to another person. Court documents show that Budi contacted an FBI online covert employee via the internet to purchase a lethal dose of a radioactive substance.  In his communications with the covert employee, Budi expressed his intent to use the radioactive substance to kill an unnamed individual.  On May 31, 2018, a package containing an inert substitute for the radioactive material ordered by Budi was delivered to an address in Charlotte as instructed by Budi.  Budi was arrested on June 1, 2018, after he came into possession of the package, and pleaded guilty on Nov. 30, 2018. Separately, Budi also contacted an HSI undercover agent (UCA) via the internet and hired the UCA to murder a specified victim.

In making today’s announcement Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI in Charlotte and supporting FBI field offices; the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate in Washington, D.C.; HSI in Buffalo, New York and Charlotte; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. ordered today Bryant Riyanto Budi, 28, of Matthews, North Carolina, to serve 78 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, for attempted possession of radioactive material with intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to another person.  

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina, John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Charlotte Division, and Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas made the announcement.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from April 22, 2018, to June 1, 2018, Budi attempted to possess radioactive material, and did so with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to another person. Court documents show that Budi contacted an FBI online covert employee via the internet to purchase a lethal dose of a radioactive substance.  In his communications with the covert employee, Budi expressed his intent to use the radioactive substance to kill an unnamed individual.  On May 31, 2018, a package containing an inert substitute for the radioactive material ordered by Budi was delivered to an address in Charlotte as instructed by Budi.  Budi was arrested on June 1, 2018, after he came into possession of the package, and pleaded guilty on Nov. 30, 2018. Separately, Budi also contacted an HSI undercover agent (UCA) via the internet and hired the UCA to murder a specified victim.

In making today’s announcement Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI in Charlotte and supporting FBI field offices; the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate in Washington, D.C.; HSI in Buffalo, New York and Charlotte; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Gleason of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is in charge of the prosecution, assisted by Trial Attorney Bridget Behling, of the National Security Division.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A criminal indictment was unsealed this week in federal court in Charlotte, following the arrest of Arlando M. Henderson by the FBI in San Diego, California.  Henderson, 29, of Charlotte, is charged with financial institution fraud and related charges, for stealing more than $88,000 in cash from the vault of the bank where he was employed, and then committing a separate loan fraud in connection with the purchase of a luxury automobile.

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, Henderson was employed by a financial institution in Charlotte, and had access to the cash vault. The indictment alleges that on at least 18 occasions in 2019, Henderson stole cash from deposits made by bank customers from the bank vault, and used the money to pay for personal expenses and to make a large cash down payment on a luxury vehicle. On numerous days on which Henderson stole money, he also made cash deposits at an ATM near his worksite, the indictment alleges. It is further alleged in the indictment that Henderson destroyed certain documents and made, or caused others to make, false entries in the bank’s books and records to cover up the theft. According to the indictment, Henderson stole more than $88,000 from the bank vault.

The indictment also alleges that throughout July and August 2019, Henderson used a social media account to post several pictures of him holding large stacks of cash.  On or about July 2019, after Henderson had allegedly stolen more than $70,000 in cash from the bank vault, Henderson made a $20,000 cash down payment on a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, and obtained a car loan for the remaining balance from another financial institution, by providing false information and falsified documents, including falsified bank statements. 

FBI agents arrested Henderson in San Diego on December 4, 2019.  Henderson had his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gallo, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Henderson is charged with two counts of financial institution fraud, 19 counts of theft, embezzlement and misapplication, and twelve counts of making false entries, which carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, per count; and transactional money laundering, which carries a penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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

The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced that two brothers convicted of shooting a U.S. Postal Carrier were sentenced to prison today. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced Rashawn Donnell Williams, 31, of Charlotte to 28 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $$3,396 as restitution.  Judge Conrad ordered Dion Lamar Williams, 28, also of Charlotte, to serve 15 years in prison, and three years of supervised release. Both defendants previously pleaded guilty to attempted murder of a federal employee.  Rashawn Williams also pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm during, in relation to, and in furtherance of a crime of violence.

David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

“The Williams brothers knowingly and intentionally attempted to kill an innocent U.S. postal carrier while he was performing his official duties.  This was a reprehensible crime and the punishment reflects the severity of the violent act. I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their thorough investigation of this case, which has led to the federal convictions,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.

"Protecting the employees of the Postal Service is a top priority of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. When someone attempts to take the life of one of our employees, we stop at nothing to identify those responsible,” stated Inspector in Charge McGinnis.  We extend our appreciation to all our law enforcement partners for their assistance and would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their continued support in the prosecution of those who assault postal employees.”

According to filed court documents, on August 31, 2017, Rashawn Williams and Dion Williams conspired to kill a U.S. Postal Carrier. As part of the conspiracy, Dion Williams picked up Rashawn Williams at a location on Executive Street in Charlotte.  The two men traveled to the Days Inn located at 4924 Sunset Road in Charlotte, where Rashawn Williams obtained a firearm. Then, the defendants traveled to Archer Avenue in Charlotte, where they located the victim, and attempted to kill the victim while he was delivering mail on his mail route.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended USPIS for their investigation of the case.  U.S. Attorney Murray and Inspector McGinnis thanked the FBI, ATF, the U.S. Probation Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for their invaluable assistance with this case.

 Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Dillon, of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case. 

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Late yesterday, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced an Albuquerque, New Mexico man to 180 months in prison for transporting a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  Judge Reidinger also ordered Jacob Gardea, 24, to serve 10 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison. 

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, beginning in August 2018, Gardea met the minor on the internet.  Court records show that Gardea, who knew the victim was a 13-year-old female residing in Rutherford County, initially told the victim he was 16 years old.  Also according to court records, in November 2018, Gardea traveled 1,500 miles, from New Mexico to North Carolina, picked up the minor, and traveled west toward New Mexico with her. Following an intense four-day search by law enforcement, Gardea was arrested by the FBI in Oklahoma.

Gardea is currently in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.  All federal sentencings are served without the possibility of parole. 

The FBI, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Marshals Service led the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced eight defendants today on drug conspiracy charges for their involvement in a narcotics distribution ring operating in Mecklenburg County. 

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearings, from 2015 until the 2018, the 10 defendants operated as a drug conspiracy responsible for trafficking methamphetamine and heroin in Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas.  Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that the conspiracy trafficked hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine to the greater Charlotte area.  Those sentenced to date are:

• Angelo Mejia, 28, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 235 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Rodolfo Felix Medina, 49, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 188 months in prison and five years of supervised release (sentenced on 9/30/19).
• Julio Cesar Sanchez, 28, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Emilio Mejia, 30, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 168 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
• Jose Javier Reyes, 21, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 78 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Mauco Contreras, 22, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 72 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
• Alejandro Jose Lopez Ceballos, 20, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
• Kevin Eliezer Velasquez Melendez, 23, of Concord, N.C., was sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
• Edgar Jesus Magana, 26, of Charlotte was sentenced to 41 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
• Martha Olivia Placencia Beltran, 39, of Mexico, was sentenced to 14 months in prison (sentenced on 5/1/19).

 

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray praised the outstanding efforts of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Charlotte Field Office (IRS-CI); the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department; the Gastonia Police Department; the Monroe Police Department; and the Union County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Eddie Cathey.  U.S. Attorney Murray also noted the invaluable assistance provided by the North Carolina National Guard Counterdrug Program.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Dillon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Lindahl of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Federal criminal complaints were unsealed today in federal court, following the arrest of eight individuals involved in a drug trafficking organization operating in and around Union County, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

Agents and officers with the FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE-ERO, the Monroe Police Department, the Union county Sheriff’s Office, and the Wadesboro Police Department executed the arrest warrants yesterday, during an early morning round-up.

According to allegations contained in the criminal complaints, the eight individuals arrested are members of the Garcia Family drug trafficking organization (DTO).  Over the course of the investigation, which began in April 2019, the defendants operated as a drug conspiracy and allegedly trafficked narcotics, including heroin and methamphetamine, in Union County and surrounding areas.  The complaints charge the eight defendants with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  Those arrested and charged are:

• Elio Garcia Godinez, 30, of Monroe, N.C.
• Ivan Jardon Trujillo, 47, of Monroe, N.C.
• Ivan Trujillo Garcia, 21, of Monroe, N.C.
• Eleonel Castrejon Garcia, 23, of Monroe, N.C.
• Estefani Garcia Sandoval, 25, of Monroe, N.C.
• Luis David Bravo, 36, of Monroe, N.C.
• Miguel Benitez Castrejon, 39, of Monroe, N.C.
• Matilde Isaias Cruz Portillo, 35, of Atlanta, Georgia.

 

The defendants had their initial appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer.  Their next court appearance is scheduled for December 11, 2019.

The penalty associated with the drug conspiracy charge carries a minimum term of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine.

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

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI, ATF, DEA, the Monroe Police Department and the Union County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation which led to the federal charges.  U.S. Attorney Murray also noted the assistance provided by ICE – Enforcement & Removal Operations and the Wadesboro Police Department.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Lindahl of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A federal jury in Asheville has convicted Joseph Cecil Vandevere, 53, of Black Mountain, N.C. for using social media to communicate interstate threats, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney Office for the Western District of North Carolina.

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

“Using social media to communicate threats does not qualify as free speech,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “A threat is a threat, whether it’s communicated face-to-face, in writing, or online. My office will hold accountable those who use any online form of communication to transmit threats.”

“Social media allows you to share your views with the world in seconds, but it does not give you the right to threaten violence against others.  The FBI stands ready to investigate whenever threatening language crosses the line to a crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Strong.  

According to filed court documents and evidence presented at trial, on March 13, 2018, Twitter user @DaDUTCHMAN5, later identified as Vandevere, used his social media account to send a message that contained a threat to injure an individual identified in court records as Q.R.    In the message, Vandevere sent Q.R. a picture of a lynching accompanied by a death threat. According to trial evidence, FBI agents interviewed Vandevere on July 18, 2018, at which time he admitted to using social media under pseudonyms to send threatening messages. Trial evidence further established that Vandevere sent the death threat to Q.R. because he did not agree with Q.R.’s beliefs.

Vandevere was convicted of making a threatening communication to injure another person through interstate commerce, which carries a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date has not been set. 

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI for their investigation of this case.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case for the United States.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced that Gregory Doneal Mack, 56, of Charlotte, appeared in federal court today and pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns while working for a tax return preparation business.  The owner of the tax preparation business, Sean Dalton Williams, 48, of Charlotte, previously pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return.

U.S. Attorney Murray is joined by Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), in making today’s announcement.

“Tax preparers are the gatekeepers of our tax system, tasked with safeguarding its integrity and complying with our nation’s tax laws, not using their expertise to help clients evade their tax obligations at the expense of honest taxpayers. My office’s tax prosecutors are dedicated to uncovering tax fraud and holding cheats accountable for their actions,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.

“Taxpayers should choose carefully when hiring a tax return preparer.  While most return preparers are honest and provide excellent service, a few unscrupulous tax preparers file false returns to defraud the government and their clients.  All taxpayers should know that IRS Criminal Investigation will vigorously pursue those dishonest tax return preparers and hold them accountable for their illegal actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Line.

According to filed plea documents and today’s plea hearing, from 2012 to 2017, Mack worked as a tax return preparer at SW Financial Group (SWFG), a Charlotte-area tax preparation business owned and operated by Williams.  According to court records, while working at SWFG, Mack and Williams prepared fraudulent U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, and related IRS Schedules and Forms, that contained fabricated and/or fraudulent items on Schedules A and C. As a result, the defendants’ clients’ tax liabilities were reduced, resulting in inflated refunds. 

According to court records, the tax loss to the government associated with the inaccurate tax returns prepared by Mack for tax years 2012 to 2017 is approximately $282,967.  The tax loss associated with the fraudulent tax returns prepared by Williams for tax years 2012 to 2015 is $276,540.  Court records show that during the time that Williams perpetrated the tax fraud, he was also on pretrial release on federal charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing date for Mack and Williams has not been set. 

* * *

  In a separate case, Cletise Hammonds, 48, of Charlotte, has pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns.  Court documents filed in this case show that, from 2011 to 2017, Hammonds owned and operated Accurate Tax and Bookkeeping LLC (Accurate Tax), a tax preparation business located in Charlotte.  As Hammonds previously admitted in plea documents, through Accurate Tax, Hammonds prepared and filed false tax returns for clients that included fraudulent Schedule C income expenses, education credits, and dependents, among other things.  The false and fraudulent items resulted in the fraudulent reduction of the clients’ tax liabilities, and the receipt of fraudulently inflated refunds. According to court records, Hammonds charged between $200 to $700 for preparation of tax returns, and his tax preparation fees were taken directly from the clients’ tax refunds. According to court records, the tax loss associated with the fraudulent returns prepared and filed by Hammonds is $329,568. Hammonds has pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and is currently awaiting sentencing.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended IRS-CI for handling these investigations. 

Assistant United States Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the cases. 

 

 

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Late yesterday, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Frank Michael Lucas, 33, of Sylva, N.C. to 160 months in prison on drug trafficking charges, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  Judge Reidinger also ordered Lucas to serve five years under court supervision and to pay a $10,000 fine.

Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office; Sheriff Chip Hall of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office; Sheriff Curtis Cochran of the Swain County Sheriff’s Office; Chief Chris Hatton of the Sylva Police Department; and Chief Doug Pheasant of the Cherokee Indian Police Department join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to information contained in filed court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, on June 28, 2018, deputies with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office were responding to a domestic call at the defendant’s camper located in Sylva. While there, law enforcement observed a firearm inside the camper.  Lucas, who was at the time on probation for a state conviction, was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Subsequently, a North Carolina probation officer conducted a warrantless search and recovered from inside the camper several grams of methamphetamine, which Lucas possessed with the intent to distribute, four firearms, one of which was loaded, ammunition, and $7,468 in cash.   Court records also show that on October 11, 2018, Lucas was also found to be in possession of a kilogram of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it to others, and on October 25, 2018, Lucas possessed an additional firearm.  In May 2019, Lucas pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. 

Lucas is currently in custody.  He 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. 

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the DEA, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Swain County Sheriff’s Office, the Sylva Police Department and the Cherokee Indian Police Department for their investigation of this case.

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

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The United States Attorney’s Office partnered with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to host a youth engagement summit for high school students, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  The one-day summit was co-sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America, the Beasley Media Group, and Atrium Health. 

Approximately 200 students selected from Charlotte-Mecklenburg High Schools attended the summit, which was held on the campus of UNCC-Charlotte.  The goal of the summit was to encourage high school students to discuss the culture and climate within their schools, to share their experiences with classmates, and to develop solutions for creating a positive school environment for all students. 

“All students deserve the opportunity to excel within their schools, without the fear of harassment or violence,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Schools need to be safe places, where skillsets are honed, knowledge is expanded, futures are shaped, and today’s dreams become tomorrow’s accomplishments.  Empowering students to proactively address conflict within their schools can foster a more positive school experience, so all students can strive and thrive to be their best.”

During the one-day summit, students discussed their concerns about their school’s current environment, and developed strategies to address social pressures, including bullying.  Over the course of the summit, students participated in student-led discussions, brainstormed on ways to help support their classmates have a positive school experience, and will utilize the information gained today to develop action plans to address the needs of their schools. 

In addition to the interactive workshops, students also heard from Professor Michelle Horton of Wake Forest University and Founder & CEO of YOUniversity; Dr. David Jacobs, Medical Director of Trauma Services for Atrium Health; Reginald Coles, Director of Student Discipline and Behavior Support for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools; Charles Whitfield, Director of Live Events & Community Outreach at Beasley Media Group in Charlotte; and Lambert Guinn, Assistant United States Attorney, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked UNCC-Charlotte for hosting the summit and giving the students an opportunity to gather, and the Boy Scouts of America, the Beasley Media Group, and Atrium Health for their support of this very important initiative. 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Laurence A. Sessum, 46, of Matthews, N.C., and Jacqueline Dianne Okomba, 51, of Salisbury, N.C., were sentenced to 135 months and 72 months in prison, respectively, for defrauding victims throughout the United States of at least $5.7 million through their fraudulent Charlotte-based debt collection company, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered the defendants to serve two years under court supervision after they are released from prison.

In April 2019, a federal jury convicted Sessum and Okomba of wire fraud conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Sessum was also convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and wire fraud.

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Division, joins the U.S. Attorney’s Office in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents, trial evidence and witness testimony, and today’s sentencing hearing, from October 2013 to January 2017, Sessum was the owner and operator of Direct Processing LLC (Direct Processing) a fraudulent debt collection company with offices in Mecklenburg County.  Sessum was also the leader and organizer of the debt scheme.  Okomba, was the registered agent and member-owner of Direct Processing, who also worked as a manager in charge of overseeing other company collectors and managed the finances and bank accounts of Direct Processing.

As part of the scheme, Sessum purchased lists of purportedly outstanding accounts, which the codefendants used to make fraudulent debt collections.  Sessum intentionally sought out lists of old and unenforceable debts.  Direct Processing used a dialer service to leave automated messages for victims, many of whom were elderly, directing them to contact the company to resolve the purported debts.  To induce victims to call back, the automated messages often contained fraudulent and misleading information, including that there was “possible pending litigation” against the victims, or that there was a “process server” attempting to locate them.

When the victims returned the calls, they were connected with collectors working for Direct Processing.  The collectors made similar threats and fraudulent statements about the purported debts and regularly used prepared scripts, including scripts handed out by Direct Processing management, that were designed to scare and intimidate victims to pay the purported debts.  The defendants’ scheme harmed many elderly and retired victims, several of whom testified at trial about the lies and threats they were told to induce them to make payments.

Direct Processing also sent victims fraudulent documents, prepared to look like legal documents that had been filed in court, demanding restitution.  Using threats and other intimidating tactics, company collectors regularly collected amounts that were not owed or they were not authorized to collect. One victim testified during trial that Direct Processing’s aggressive and fraudulent collections tactics made her feel “devastated” out of concern that she would be sent to jail if she failed to pay.  That victim lost $1,250 in the scheme.

To disguise the fraudulent nature of the business, collectors often used fake company names when communicating with victims.  In addition, Sessum directed others to establish nominee bank accounts, which were used to pay operational and other expenses associated with the fraudulent debt collection company.

When Sessum learned the FBI had seized funds held in an account associated with Direct Processing, Sessum, Okomba, and others removed Direct Processing computers, documents, and records from a location associated with the company in order to impede the federal investigation.  When FBI agents arrived at the location to execute a search warrant, they found computer accessories, such as monitors, at collectors’ cubicles but no desktop units.  When FBI agents questioned Okomba about the computers that had been removed, Okomba falsely told the agents that Direct Processing did not own any computers.

At today’s sentencing hearings, Judge Conrad said that the conduct was “heinous,” and the collection calls were “wicked.” He also stated that this was “a criminal spree that involved great deception.”

The FBI investigated the case.  Assistant United States Attorneys William M. Miller and Maria Vento, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

In March 2019, Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the Office’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: /usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Quinton Oshumond Littlejohn, 31, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 135 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release on drug and gun charges.  U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. presided over the hearing.

Vincent C. Pallozzi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents, evidence presented at trial, and today’s sentencing hearing, Littlejohn had been previously convicted in federal court of possession of a firearm by a felon, and was sentenced to 37 months in prison, and two years of supervised release.  On September 21, 2017, officers with the U.S. Probation Office and the North Carolina Department Public Safety were conducting a routine check at Littlejohn’s residence. While searching the premises, probation officers discovered marijuana, a violation of Littlejohn’s conditions of release. CMPD officers obtained a search warrant for Littlejohn’s residence and vehicle. While executing the search warrant, the officers seized various items from the vehicle and the residence, including crack cocaine, digital scales, drug paraphernalia, $4,095 in cash, and a stolen firearm, loaded with five rounds of ammunition.

In February 2019, a federal jury convicted Littlejohn of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the ATF and CMPD for their investigation of this case, and the U.S. Probation Office and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for their invaluable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Hess and Erik Lindahl, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.        

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Zerrell Ross Fuentes, 24, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking three minor females, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ordered Fuentes to serve a lifetime under court supervision after he is released from prison.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between April 28, 2016 and May 8, 2016, Fuentes, his wife, Brianna Wright, and his mother, Tanya Marie Fuentes, engaged in the sex trafficking of three minor victims.  Court records show that, while he was in jail on state charges, Zerrell Fuentes devised a scheme to involve three underage girls in prostitution so that they could earn money for his bond.  Zerrell Fuentes arranged for his wife to transport the minor victims from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts while they were in Myrtle Beach.

According to court records, Wright, accompanied by Zerrell Fuentes’ mother, Tanya Fuentes, drove the three minors from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach.  While in Myrtle Beach, Tanya Fuentes paid for lodging. Brianna Wright drove the minors to meet clients for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts for money, and her phone was used to post prostitution advertisements for the minor victims on the Internet.  While in Myrtle Beach, at least two minor victims committed sexual acts.

“Zerrell Fuentes, his wife, and his mother ran a depraved family business engaged in the sex trafficking of young girls for profit,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Children are not commodities to be advertised and traded for the financial benefit of wicked adults. The protection of helpless and impressionable minors should be an adult’s priority. Anyone who violates the trust of children for their financial gain deserves to spend three decades behind bars, if not longer, where they can no longer destroy young lives.”

Zerrell Fuentes is currently in federal custody. He 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.

On August 26, 2019, Wright was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Tanya Fuentes was ordered to serve 24 months in prison, for their involvement in the case.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray commended the law enforcement agents and officers from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department who are members of the FBI’s Human Trafficking Task Force for their investigation.  He also thanked the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their assistance in this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case. 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Matthew Stacks, 45, of Charlotte, was sentenced late yesterday to 15 years in prison for transportation of child pornography, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. also ordered Stacks to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to court documents and information introduced at the sentencing hearing, on January 3, 2018, Stacks was using a peer-to-peer network to access and transport multiple files containing child pornography. During a subsequent search of Stack’s residence, law enforcement seized electronic and storage devices. Forensic analysis of the items seized revealed that Stacks possessed over 27,000 images and 32 videos of child pornography, some of which depicted children as young as toddlers being sexually abused.  

Stacks has prior convictions in North Carolina, including Second Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in 2012.  He was also convicted in 2013 for a sex offender registry violation.

Stacks pleaded guilty on May 15, 2019, to transportation of child pornography. 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.  All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole. 

The FBI led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cortney Randall 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.

Today, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Project Guardian, a new initiative designed to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws across the country. Specifically, Project Guardian focuses on investigating, prosecuting, and preventing gun crimes.

Reducing gun violence and enforcing federal firearms laws have always been among the Department’s highest priorities. In order to develop a new and robust effort to promote and ensure public safety, the Department reviewed and adapted some of the successes of past strategies to curb gun violence. Project Guardian draws on the Department’s earlier achievements, such as the “Triggerlock” program, and it serves as a complementary effort to the success of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In addition, the initiative emphasizes the importance of using all modern technologies available to law enforcement to promote gun crime intelligence.

“Gun crime remains a pervasive problem in too many communities across America. Today, the Department of Justice is redoubling its commitment to tackling this issue through the launch of Project Guardian,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Building on the success of past programs like Triggerlock, Project Guardian will strengthen our efforts to reduce gun violence by allowing the federal government and our state and local partners to better target offenders who use guns in crimes and those who try to buy guns illegally.”

“As U.S. Attorney, reducing gun violence and addressing violent crime throughout the Western District are among my highest priorities,” said Andrew Murray.  “One of the key elements of Project Guardian is using modern day tools and technologies to identify and prevent felons and prohibited persons from accessing firearms that can be used to commit gun crimes.  Building upon best practices we’ve developed to date to reduce violent crime, this new initiative ensures that our investigative and prosecutorial resources are focused in areas where they will have the greatest impact in reducing the threat of gun violence in our communities.”

“ATF has a long history of strong partnerships in the law enforcement community,” said Acting Director Regina Lombardo. “Make no mistake, the women and men of ATF remain steadfast to our core mission of getting crime guns off of our streets. ATF and U.S. Attorneys nationwide will leverage these partnerships even further through enhanced community outreach initiatives and coordination with local, state, and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors to cut the pipeline of crime guns from those violent individuals who seek to terrorize our communities. Project Guardian will enhance ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence, to include identifying, investigating and prosecuting those involved in the straw purchases of firearms, lying on federal firearms transaction forms, and those subject to the mental health prohibition of possessing firearms.” 

Project Guardian’s implementation is based on five principles:

1. Coordinated Prosecution. Federal prosecutors and law enforcement will coordinate with state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors to consider potential federal prosecution for new cases involving a defendant who: a) was arrested in possession of a firearm; b) is believed to have used a firearm in committing a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime prosecutable in federal court; or c) is suspected of actively committing violent crime(s) in the community on behalf of a criminal organization.
    
2. Enforcing the Background Check System. United States Attorneys, in consultation with the Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in their district, will create new, or review existing, guidelines for intake and prosecution of federal cases involving false statements (including lie-and-try, lie-and-buy, and straw purchasers) made during the acquisition or attempted acquisition of firearms from Federal Firearms Licensees.
    
   Particular emphasis is placed on individuals convicted of violent felonies or misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, individuals subject to protective orders, and individuals who are fugitives where the underlying offense is a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence; individuals suspected of involvement in criminal organizations or of providing firearms to criminal organizations; and individuals involved in repeat denials.
    
3. Improved Information Sharing. On a regular basis, and as often as practicable given current technical limitations, ATF will provide to state law enforcement fusion centers a report listing individuals for whom the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) has issued denials, including the basis for the denial, so that state and local law enforcement can take appropriate steps under their laws.
    
4. Coordinated Response to Mental Health Denials. Each United States Attorney will ensure that whenever there is federal case information regarding individuals who are prohibited from possessing a firearm under the mental health prohibition, such information continues to be entered timely and accurately into the United States Attorneys’ Offices’ case-management system for prompt submission to NICS. ATF should engage in additional outreach to state and local law enforcement on how to use this denial information to better assure public safety. 
    
   Additionally, United States Attorneys will consult with relevant district stakeholders to assess feasibility of adopting disruption of early engagement programs to address mental-health-prohibited individuals who attempt to acquire a firearm. United States Attorneys should consider, when appropriate, recommending court-ordered mental health treatment for any sentences issued to individuals prohibited based on mental health.
    
5. Crime Gun Intelligence Coordination. Federal, state, local, and tribal prosecutors and law enforcement will work together to ensure effective use of the ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGICs), and all related resources, to maximize the use of modern intelligence tools and technology. These tools can greatly enhance the speed and effectiveness in identifying trigger-pullers and finding their guns, but the success depends in large part on state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners sharing ballistic evidence and firearm recovery data with the ATF.

Federal law enforcement represents only about 15% of all law enforcement resources nationwide. Therefore, partnerships with state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the communities they serve are critical to addressing gun crime. The Department recognizes that sharing information with our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners at every level will enhance public safety, and provide a greater depth of resources available to address gun crime on a national level.   

For more information on Project Guardian, see the Attorney General’s memorandum at: https://video.ibm.com/doj.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Evelyn P. Mack, the owner and principal of a Charlotte-area private school, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of conspiracy to harbor aliens, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. also ordered Mack, 65, of Charlotte, to serve one year under court supervision upon completion of her prison term.

Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Charlotte, and Edwin Guard,  Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from March 2011 to December 2016, Mack was the owner, operator and principal of the Evelyn Mack Academy (EMA), a private school located in Charlotte.  Court records show that EMA was approved and authorized by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to enroll foreign national students in grades nine through twelve, with Mack as the school’s Primary Designated School Official (PDSO).

According to court records, as the school’s PDSO, Mack had the authority to issue I-20 forms for foreign national students to enroll in and attend EMA on a full-time basis. The I-20 forms are necessary for potential foreign national students to obtain their F-1 student visas.   In addition to preparing immigration forms and other necessary documents for incoming foreign students, Mack was also responsible for creating and maintaining student records for new and existing students in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, used by DHS to ensure that foreign national students in the United States are in compliance with the terms and conditions of their F-1 visa status.

Court records show that Mack conspired with other individuals, many of whom were basketball coaches and recruiters with organizations in the United States and other countries, to use Mack’s status as PDSO to admit foreign national students without complying with the terms of the F-1 student visa program. As part of the scheme, Mack falsely represented that approximately 75 foreign students were full-time students at EMA, when in fact the majority of the students, who were minors, were mostly recruited as athletes by the co-conspirators.  Mack was paid by her co-conspirators an administrative enrollment fee of $1,000 per student and other benefits, in exchange for her participation in the scheme.

On June 25, 2018, Mack pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor aliens.  She will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility to begin serving her sentence. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the ICE-HSI, and Greensboro Resident Office of the Diplomatic Security Service, for their investigation of this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Smith, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

 

 

A Charlotte, North Carolina, man was sentenced to 46 months in prison today for conspiracy, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina.

​In September 2018, a jury convicted Arthur Joseph Gerard, III, of conspiring to defraud the United States. According to the evidence presented at trial, between October 2007 and May 2016, Gerard conspired with his client, Reuben DeHaan, to hide from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over $2.7 million in gross receipts DeHaan earned through his holistic medicine business. 

To conceal DeHaan’s income from the IRS, Gerard helped DeHaan funnel his income through multiple layers of straw companies and bank accounts held by nominees. Gerard devised the scheme, caused the organization of straw companies in several states, recruited his friend to serve as a nominee on DeHaan’s bank accounts, and at times, cashed checks for DeHaan. Gerard charged DeHaan a fee of between $1,000 and $2,500 for each straw company.

Gerard also assisted DeHaan in preparing and filing false documents with the IRS. Gerard helped DeHaan file false 2005 and 2006 tax returns that fraudulently reported more than $200,000 in withheld federal income taxes. Gerard also assisted DeHaan in creating and filing false liens against DeHaan’s property to give the appearance that there was no equity in DeHaan’s property for IRS debt collection purposes. In total, Gerard’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $560,000.

In addition to the term of imprisonment imposed, Gerard was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $567,665 to the IRS.

​​Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Murray commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Miller and Trial Attorney Mara Strier of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.  

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

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – John Francis Hanzel, 70, of Cornelius, North Carolina, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer today and pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Division joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to the filed indictment, plea documents, and today’s plea hearing, Hanzel was an attorney with the law firm John F. Hanzel, P.A. whose law practice included, among other things, counseling his clients to set up offshore corporations and offshore bank accounts to purportedly protect income and assets from creditors, including the IRS. From at least 2011 through 2014, Hanzel did not have a personal bank account and did not pay himself a salary from his law firm. Instead, Hanzel wrote checks from his law firm account to pay for personal expenses including utility bills, mortgage payments, and credit cards. Hanzel fraudulently deducted personal expenses paid out of his law firm bank account as business expenses, including by falsely categorizing such as expenses as costs of goods sold and other deductions.

According to the filed indictment, plea documents, and today’s plea hearing, from 2011 through 2014, Hanzel reported minimal income on his Federal Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, fraudulently reporting total income of less than $73,000, total, for those four years and paying total federal income tax of less than $5,500 during that time period. However, Hanzel actually received substantial income that he hid from the IRS by falsely deducting personal expenses as business expenses and by living out of his business bank account. Hanzel’s substantial personal expenditures during the time period include payments of more than $297,000 on luxury vehicles and a boat, and payments for numerous other large personal items such as jewelry and plastic surgery. The tax loss associated with Hanzel’s filing of fraudulent tax returns was more than $100,000 but less than $250,000.

Hanzel is currently released on bond. The filing a false tax return charge carries a maximum prison term of 3 years and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing date has not been set.

IRS-CI led the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Jenny G. Sugar, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tony Garrett Taylor, 39, formerly of Charlotte, N.C. and currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty today to health care fraud conspiracy and tax evasion, for his role in a scheme that defrauded the North Carolina Medicaid (Medicaid) of more than $6.1 million, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer presided over the plea hearing. 

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, who oversees the North Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division (MID), joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to the bill of information and plea documents filed with the court, from June 2015 to December 2017, Tony Garrett Taylor conspired with his brother, Jerry Lewis Taylor, and others, and defrauded Medicaid of millions of dollars, by submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims for services that were never provided, and by submitting claims that misrepresented the services actually provided to Medicaid beneficiaries in order to receive greater reimbursement. 

Court documents show that the brothers perpetuated the fraud through series of entities they owned and/or operated, which purported to provide outpatient behavioral health services to at-risk youth in North Carolina and elsewhere.  Among the entities involved in the fraudulent scheme were Taylor Behavioral Health Center, LLC (TBHC) and Options Drive LLC, both located in Monroe, N.C.; Design for Change (DFC) located in Raleigh, N.C.; and SHG Consultants, Inc. (SHG), located in Gastonia, N.C. and elsewhere.

According to court documents, as the leader of the conspiracy, Tony Taylor was responsible for recruiting other co-conspirators to participate in the fraudulent scheme. He also obtained prospective patient lists that contained identifying information for Medicaid beneficiaries, some of which was used to perpetrate the fraud. As a result of the fraudulent scheme, Tony Taylor and Jerry Taylor and their co-conspirators received approximately $6.1 million in fraudulent reimbursement payments from Medicaid.

In addition to defrauding Medicaid, Tony Taylor also failed to file timely U.S. individual Income Tax Return Form 1040 for tax years 2015, 2106, and 2017, even though he received and deposited a total of over $4.1 million in fraudulent receipts from Medicaid into bank accounts he controlled.  Tony Taylor also admitted to taking steps to willfully evade and defeat his income tax obligations for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017, by, among other things, diverting fraudulent receipts from Medicaid to nominee entities and individuals, and making personal expenditures from business entity accounts he controlled. 

To date, four other defendants have been charged in connection with this conspiracy:

Jerry Lewis Taylor, 54, of Wingate, N.C. pleaded guilty on June 19, 2019, to health care fraud conspiracy and tax evasion. Together with Tony Taylor, he owned and/or operated entities that defrauded Medicaid.  He is currently awaiting sentencings.

Ameera Ali, 40, of Columbus, Ohio, previously admitted to filing fraudulent reimbursement claims with Medicaid on behalf of companies owned and operated by Tony Taylor, Jerry Taylor and others.  She pleaded guilty on April 22, 2019, to health care fraud conspiracy and is currently awaiting sentencing.

Devon Rambert-Hairston, 41, of Huntersville, N.C. and a licensed as a nurse practitioner, previously admitted to falsifying patient records used by Tony Taylor and Jerry Taylor to submit fraudulent reimbursement claims to Medicaid. Rambert-Hairston pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy on April 16, 2019, and is currently awaiting sentencing.

Christine Yvette Knight., 50, of Clermont, Florida, allegedly prepared fraudulent treatment notes and billing spreadsheets for companies owned and operated by Tony Taylor and Jerry Taylor. She is charged with health care fraud conspiracy and is currently awaiting trial.

Tony Taylor was released on bond following the plea hearing. The health care fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.  The tax evasion charge carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the actual gain, or both.  A sentencing date for Tony Taylor has not been set yet.

The investigation was handled by MID.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Dallas Kaplan and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Rodgers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

The investigation and charges are the work of the Western District’s joint Health Care Fraud Task Force.  The Task Force is multi-agency team of experienced federal and state investigators, working in conjunction with criminal and civil Assistant United States Attorneys, dedicated to identifying and prosecuting those who defraud the health care system, and reducing the potential for health care fraud in the future. The Task Force focuses on the coordination of cases, information sharing, identification of trends in health care fraud throughout the region, staffing  of  all  whistle  blower  complaints,  and  the  creation  of  investigative  teams  so  that individual agencies may focus their unique areas of expertise on investigations.  The Task Force builds upon existing partnerships between the agencies and its work reflects a heightened effort to reduce fraud and recover taxpayer dollars.

To report Medicaid fraud in North Carolina, call the North Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division at 919-881-2320

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte has indicted Erice Lemond Blyther, 46, of Hoffman, N.C., for smuggling a controlled substance at Lanesboro Correctional Institution while employed as a correctional officer.  The indictment was unsealed today in federal court, following Blyther’s arrest by the FBI.

Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making the announcement.

According to charges contained in the federal indictment, Blyther worked as a correctional officer at the Lanesboro Correctional Institution (LCI), since renamed Anson Correctional Institution, a state prison located in Polkton, North Carolina. The LCI housed medium and close-security inmates and was one of the state’s largest prisons. As alleged in the indictment, as a correctional officer, Blyther’s duties included the supervision of inmates, and ensuring safe, secure and orderly prison operations.  Inmates within the LCI were prohibited from possessing controlled substances and are permitted to use controlled substances only when prescribed by a medical professional and under the direct supervision of LCI staff. Correctional officers were also prohibited from accepting gifts from inmates, performing favors for inmates, or providing inmates with narcotic drugs or any other item forbidden by LCI rules.

According to the indictment, between August and September 2018, while employed at LCI as a correctional officer, Blyther accepted a bribe to smuggle a controlled substance into the LCI on behalf of an inmate housed at the facility. Blyther was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday, October 29, 2019, and had his initial appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer.

Blyther is charged with use of interstate facility to facilitate bribery, which carries a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine; extortion under color of official right, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine; and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. 

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

The FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Washington, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is in charge of the prosecution.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina and the FBI, in partnership with the AARP NC in the Mountain Region, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office and the Land of Sky Regional Council, hosted an informational seminar today in Asheville, to educate veterans and those who serve about financial scams and how to prevent becoming victims of fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray. 

Scammers are targeting veterans at an alarming rate. According to a 2017 study conducted by the AARP, U.S. military veterans are twice as likely as nonveterans to fall victims of financial fraud. Of those surveyed, 80 percent of veterans reported being the target of a scam related to their military service.

Examples of financial fraud targeting veterans which were discussed during this morning’s informational session are:

• Benefits fraud and scams promoting secret” government benefits programs.
• Scams related to military records.
• Fundraising for fake military/veterans charities.
• Scams involving Veterans Affairs (VA) loans.
• Bogus investment schemes targeting older veterans to help “boost” their pensions.
• Identity theft.
   

“As a Coast Guard veteran, I am enraged that scammers are looking to get rich at the expense of our veterans and those currently serving our country. We have a responsibility to protect our brave servicemen and women and their families from financial exploitation and financial peril caused by scam artists.  I want to thank the FBI, the AARP, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, and Land of Sky Regional Council for partnering with us in this important mission. It’s time to take action and stop the fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.

“AARP has a long history of safeguarding Americans’ financial security.  We are proud to work with partners to empower those who have protected our country with the knowledge that they can use to protect themselves from frauds and scams that target veterans and their loved ones from their guaranteed benefits,” said Rebecca Chaplin, Associate State Director with AARP.

“The Area Agency on Aging at Land of Sky Regional Council was happy to partner with the Department of Justice/U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, the FBI, and AARP to host this event.  One of our goals is to reduce the criminal victimization of older adults and caregivers, including veterans.  We want to decrease unwarranted fear and crime and improve the safety and quality of life for all.  We do this through outreach opportunities as education is the key to prevention,” said LeeAnne Tucker, Director of the Area Agency on Aging.

Below are some tips shared with participants during the seminar on how to avoid falling victim to a financial scam:

• Don’t share personal information such as your social security number, with anyone you don’t know.
• Don’t pay a fee for obtaining your military records.
• Don’t be lured by “special deals” available only to veterans.
• Delete phishing emails and ignore harassing phone calls.
• Don’t give cash upfront in exchange for future pension payments.
• 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 other service members, or a family
  member.

• Keep in mind that if you send money once, you’ll be a target for life.
• A good rule of thumb is, if it’s too good to be true, it’s likely a scam.

* * *

In March 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced the Western District’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid getting ripped off by scammers; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. 

U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI, the AARP, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, and the Land of Sky Regional Council for their assistance in organizing today’s seminar.

For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office Elder Justice Initiative, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative. 

To view our Public Service Announcement, please visit: https://youtu.be/qBGGAA7Mxbo

A federal jury convicted four North Carolina members of the United Blood Nation (UBN or Bloods) street gang of charges including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy involving multiple murders.  In May of 2017, 83 UBN gang members were indicted in the Western District of North Carolina for crimes including RICO conspiracy.  This trial resulted in the convictions of the last four defendants in the active case.

Dricko Dashon Huskey, aka Drizzy, 27, of Shelby, North Carolina, Renaire Roshique Lewis Jr., aka Banz, 25, of Shelby, North Carolina, Alandus Montrell Smith, aka Kadafia, 29, of Shelby, North Carolina and Jonathan Wray, aka Jon Jon/Yungin, 28, of Lawndale, North Carolina, were convicted by a federal jury sitting in Charlotte following a nearly three-week trial.  The evidence at trial showed that Huskey, Lewis and Wray each shot and killed a different victim.  The jury also convicted Lewis of murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, attempted Hobbs Act robbery and using a firearm during and in relation to crimes of violence.  Smith was also convicted of possessing methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to sell, possessing a firearm in furtherance of those drug trafficking crimes and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, in addition to racketeering conspiracy.

“These Bloods members terrorized communities by committing murders and robberies on behalf of the gang. Today’s convictions provide a measure of justice to residents of North Carolina,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “With 82 defendants now found guilty, the Department of Justice’s prosecution of the Bloods continues to disrupt and weaken this violent gang, and serves as a testament to the effectiveness of federal, state and local law enforcement cooperation.”

“These gang members made a living committing robberies and dealing drugs, and tried to gain respect, reputation and rank within the Bloods by shooting and murdering victims,” said U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray of the Western District of North Carolina.  “With today’s guilty verdict, we have successfully put 82 violent offenders behind bars, as we continue our mission to dismantle criminal enterprises operating in Western North Carolina and protect our communities from violent street gangs.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Lewis and four other UBN members attempted to rob an 18-year-old victim of marijuana and money.  Lewis and another UBN member then shot and killed the victim and attempted to murder the victim’s friend, who survived a gunshot wound to his arm.  Also, according to evidence presented at trial, Wray shot and killed a member of the Crips, a rival gang, at a party with other Bloods in Shelby, North Carolina.  Evidence at trial also proved that Huskey murdered an unarmed man during an argument by shooting the victim multiple times and continuing to shoot while he was on the ground.  The jury’s verdict indicated that Lewis, Wray and Smith participated in the UBN knowing and agreeing that Bloods commit acts of murder.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the UBN is a violent criminal street gang operating throughout the east coast of the United States since it was founded as a prison gang in 1993.  UBN members are often identified by their use of the color red, and can also often be identified by common tattoos or burn marks.  Examples include: a three-circle pattern, usually burned onto the upper arm, known as a “dog paw”; the words “damu,” or “eastside”; the number five; the five-pointed star and the five-pointed crown.  UBN members have distinct hand signs and written codes, which are used to identify other members and rival gang members, as well as to try to thwart law enforcement efforts against them.

Members of the UBN are expected to conduct themselves and their illegal activity according to rules and regulations set by their leaders.  Prominent among these is a requirement to pay monthly dues to the organization, often in the amounts of $31 or $93.  UBN gang dues are derived from illegal activity performed by subordinate UBN members including narcotics trafficking, robberies, and wire fraud, among other forms of illegal racketeering activity.

In all, 82 defendants have been adjudicated guilty in this case.  Three top leaders of the UBN were convicted of racketeering conspiracy by a jury in May 2018, and one defendant was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy at trial in July 2019.  Seventy-eight defendants have pleaded guilty in this investigation, and 69 defendants have been sentenced.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office; the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department; the Shelby Police Department; the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; the Gastonia Police Department; the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office; the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Adult Corrections and Juvenile Justice; North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles; Scotland Neck Police Department; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office; the U.S. Federal Probation; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the IRS Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Office of Special Investigations.  Trial Attorney Beth Lipman of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Warren and Christopher Hess for the Western District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

 

Charlotte, N.C. – A federal jury convicted four North Carolina members of the United Blood Nation (UBN or Bloods) street gang of charges including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy involving multiple murders.  In May of 2017, 83 UBN gang members were indicted in the Western District of North Carolina for crimes including RICO conspiracy.  This trial resulted in the convictions of the last four defendants in the active case.

Dricko Dashon Huskey, aka Drizzy, 27, of Shelby, North Carolina, Renaire Roshique Lewis Jr., aka Banz, 25, of Shelby, North Carolina, Alandus Montrell Smith, aka Kadafia, 29, of Shelby, North Carolina and Jonathan Wray, aka Jon Jon/Yungin, 28, of Lawndale, North Carolina, were convicted by a federal jury sitting in Charlotte following a nearly three-week trial.  The evidence at trial showed that Huskey, Lewis and Wray each shot and killed a different victim.  The jury also convicted Lewis of murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, attempted Hobbs Act robbery and using a firearm during and in relation to crimes of violence.  Smith was also convicted of possessing methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to sell, possessing a firearm in furtherance of those drug trafficking crimes and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, in addition to racketeering conspiracy.

“These Bloods members terrorized communities by committing murders and robberies on behalf of the gang. Today’s convictions provide a measure of justice to residents of North Carolina,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “With 82 defendants now found guilty, the Department of Justice’s prosecution of the Bloods continues to disrupt and weaken this violent gang, and serves as a testament to the effectiveness of federal, state, and local law enforcement cooperation.

“These gang members made a living committing robberies and dealing drugs, and tried to gain respect, reputation and rank within the Bloods by shooting and murdering victims,” said U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray of the Western District of North Carolina.  “With today’s guilty verdict, we have successfully put 82 violent offenders behind bars, as we continue our mission to dismantle criminal enterprises operating in Western North Carolina and protect our communities from violent street gangs.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Lewis and four other UBN members attempted to rob an 18-year-old victim of marijuana and money.  Lewis and another UBN member then shot and killed the victim and attempted to murder the victim’s friend, who survived a gunshot wound to his arm.  Also, according to evidence presented at trial, Wray shot and killed a member of the Crips, a rival gang, at a party with other Bloods in Shelby, North Carolina.  Evidence at trial also proved that Huskey murdered an unarmed man during an argument by shooting the victim multiple times and continuing to shoot while he was on the ground.  The jury’s verdict indicated that Lewis, Wray and Smith participated in the UBN knowing and agreeing that Bloods commit acts of murder.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the UBN is a violent criminal street gang operating throughout the east coast of the United States since it was founded as a prison gang in 1993.  UBN members are often identified by their use of the color red, and can also often be identified by common tattoos or burn marks.  Examples include: a three-circle pattern, usually burned onto the upper arm, known as a “dog paw”; the words “damu,” or “eastside”; the number five; the five-pointed star and the five-pointed crown.  UBN members have distinct hand signs and written codes, which are used to identify other members and rival gang members, as well as to try to thwart law enforcement efforts against them.

Members of the UBN are expected to conduct themselves and their illegal activity according to rules and regulations set by their leaders.  Prominent among these is a requirement to pay monthly dues to the organization, often in the amounts of $31 or $93.  UBN gang dues are derived from illegal activity performed by subordinate UBN members including narcotics trafficking, robberies, and wire fraud, among other forms of illegal racketeering activity.

In all, 82 defendants have been adjudicated guilty in this case.  Three top leaders of the UBN were convicted of racketeering conspiracy by a jury in May of 2018, and one defendant was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy at trial in July of 2019.  Seventy-eight defendants have pleaded guilty in this investigation, and 69 defendants have been sentenced.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office; the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department; the Shelby Police Department; the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; the Gastonia Police Department; the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office; the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Adult Corrections and Juvenile Justice; North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles; Scotland Neck Police Department; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office; the U.S. Federal Probation; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the IRS Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Office of Special Investigations.  Trial Attorney Beth Lipman of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Warren and Christopher Hess for the Western District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

          

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On October 22, 2019, United States Attorney Andrew Murray testified at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Sanctuary Jurisdictions: The Impact on Public Safety."  U.S. Attorney Murray's oral remarks, as prepared, are below:

 

Chairman Graham, Ranking Member Feinstein, and other distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today regarding the challenges faced by law enforcement in jurisdictions with sanctuary policies.

Over the past several decades, lawmakers in a number of states and municipalities have enacted laws intended to limit police involvement in federal immigration enforcement activities. These sanctuary policies protect known criminal aliens who have been arrested for committing crimes unrelated to their immigration status.

I currently serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina which encompasses the City of Charlotte. As U.S. Attorney, and previously as the District Attorney for Charlotte, I’ve witnessed firsthand the devastating impact that sanctuary policies can have on the community. I’ve seen how these policies destroy the lives of innocent victims and their families.

There are two very recent cases in Charlotte that serve as unfortunate examples of the clear threat to public safety that such policies pose. In May, Mr. Pineda-Anchecta was arrested not once, but twice, by local law enforcement for assaulting a female, strangulation, and kidnapping, among other offenses. Each time Pineda-Anchecta was arrested, ICE filed a detainer with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office requesting that he be held in custody so that immigration officers could have a reasonable period of time to determine his true identity and immigration status. Each time, the federal detainer was ignored by the Sheriff’s office, and Pineda-Anchecta was released without ICE being notified. Prior to his second arrest by the police, Pineda-Anchecta engaged in an hours-long standoff at an apartment complex with a Charlotte police SWAT team, potentially exposing many innocent bystanders and law enforcement officers to serious harm. After Pineda-Anchecta was released from state custody a second time, he allegedly strangled, restrained and kidnapped the same victim from the first crime. He was eventually located and arrested by ICE, following an intensive and exhaustive search. At the time of his arrest by ICE, Pineda-Anchecta and another individual were sitting in a vehicle, with a readily available pistol and ammunition.

A second example is Leonardo Pacheco, a Honduran citizen and a repeat immigration violator, who was arrested in June by local law enforcement, for the alleged first degree rape of an eleven-year-old child. Once again, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office ignored an ICE detainer and the defendant was released from jail the day after his arrest. Nearly two months later, during a targeted enforcement operation, ICE was able to take the defendant into federal custody. For nearly two months, as a result of the Sheriff’s reckless sanctuarypolicy, the defendant was free to potentially harm other innocent and helpless children.

Over a recent nine-month period, there were at least 23 other foreign nationals who had been released back to the community as a result of the local Sheriff’s refusal to comply with ICE detainers. Among those released are individuals charged with serious criminal offenses, such as sex offenses, serious assaults, kidnappings and attempted murder, to name a few. Some of these individuals are still at-large despite law enforcement’s best efforts to locate and arrest them.

This is just part of a growing list of unlawfully present criminal aliens who could have been arrested and removed from the United States. Yet, current sanctuary policies allow them to remain in this country, at the expense of the safety of our communities and our law enforcement.

Unfortunately, what I have witnessed in North Carolina is not unique - innocent men, women and children are becoming victims of preventable crimes across the country every day due to sanctuary policies.

The American people deserve a lawful immigration system that keeps us safe and serves our national interest. The Department of Justice is committed to supporting all of our nation’s state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and to working with anyone who seeks to protect our communities from violent criminals.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for holding this hearing on such an important issue. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

 

Download remarks in PDF format: 

USA Murray 10.22 Sanctuary Hearing Oral Remarks

STATESVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Tevin Jerome Gaither, 29, of Hickory, N.C., was sentenced to 123 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on drug trafficking and firearms offenses, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell presided over the sentencing hearing.

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 Thurman Whisnant the Hickory Police Department, join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from at least August 2017 until the day of his arrest in March 2019, Gaither was involved in a drug conspiracy operating in Hickory, NC and elsewhere in Catawba County.  Gaither sold cocaine and crack cocaine primarily out of his residence in Hickory. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Gaither’s residence, and seized narcotics, cash, ammunition, and multiple firearms, some of which were loaded.

“Each time an armed drug dealer is sent to prison, it is a win in our fight to keep our communities safe,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Thanks to the investigative work and coordination between the DEA and the Hickory Police Department, Gaither will be serving a 10-year prison sentence.”

“Citizens of Catawba County can feel safer knowing that this crack and cocaine trafficker was removed from their community. This defendant dealt illegal drugs and protected his ill-gotten gains with weapons. He will now spend well-deserved time in prison. This investigation was a success because DEA, its law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office presented a united front to protect and serve,” said Special Agent in Charge Murphy.

"We greatly appreciate the continued partnership with the DEA and the U.S. Attorney's Office to help keep Hickory safe," said Chief Whisnant.

On July 22, 2019, Gaither pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Gaither is currently detained 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.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray commended the DEA and the Hickory Police Department for their investigation of this case.

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

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Suleman Alhassan, 37, a Ghanaian national residing in Charlotte, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler today and pleaded guilty to wire and mail fraud conspiracy, for perpetrating romance and precious metal scams against older victims, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and John Eisert, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Charlotte join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to filed plea documents and today’s plea hearing, beginning in or about March 2016, Alhassan and his unindicted co-conspirators operated a romance scheme based, in part, in Ghana and in Charlotte.  Using fake identities, Alhassan and his co-conspirators used online dating websites and other methods to target potential fraud victims, who were frequently elderly, with false promises of a romantic relationship.  As part of the scheme and in addition to developing fake romantic relationships with the victims, Alhassan and others falsely claimed to own large quantities of gold located in Ghana, and falsely told victims that the victims needed to send money to Alhassan and his co-conspirators to pay for shipping the gold from Ghana to the United States and other countries where it could be sold.  As Alhassan admitted in court today, he and his co-conspirators falsely told the victims that they would receive a share of the profits when the gold was sold or brought into the United States.

Alhassan and his co-conspirators further induced victims to send funds under the guise of securing travel documents for the person with whom the victims believed to be in a romantic relationship. To convince victims to send even more money, Alhassand and his co-conspirators used fictitious problems, including problems with travel visas and customs related issues, and continued to call, text, and e-mail the victims and insist that additional money was needed, until the victims either ran out of money or discovered the fraudulent nature of the scheme. The total loss associated with the scheme exceeds $1 million.

Alhassan is currently detained. The mail and wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing date has not been set.

USPIS and HSI led the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Jenny G. Sugar, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.

In March 2019, Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the Office’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: /usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative

 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On October 22, 2019, United States Attorney Andrew Murray will testify at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Sanctuary Jurisdictions: The Impact on Public Safety,” scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.

Can be viewed via this link: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/sanctuary-jurisdictions-the-impact-on-public-safety-and-victims

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte has returned a criminal indictment against Hal H. Brown Jr., 69, of Asheville, N.C., charging him with securities fraud, wire fraud and transactional money laundering, for orchestrating a $13.7 million investment scheme, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, from at least 2012 through September 2019, Brown fraudulently obtained more than $13.5 million from at least 23 victims, some of whom were at, or near, retirement age, by engaging in an investment scheme through his company Oodles Inc. and its various affiliates (collectively “OODLES”).  As alleged in the indictment, to induce victims to invest their money, Brown falsely represented that OODLES owned hundreds of millions of dollars in intellectual property, namely family entertainment shows and movies. As part of the scheme, Brown repeatedly lied to victims about the imminent sale of those intellectual properties to various well-known media companies. To perpetuate the fraud, the indictment alleges that Brown developed marketing material seeking investments or loans for OODLES that claimed large returns on funds invested or lent to the company.

As alleged in the indictment, to convince victims the scheme was legitimate and to appease investors who sought an explanation about delays in payouts, Brown provided victims with a number of fraudulent and misleading statements and fictitious information, including fake bank statements and falsified company agreements, among others.

Brown used a substantial part of victim money on personal expenses unrelated to purported OODLES transactions, and to perpetuate the fraud by making payments to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors, commonly referred to as “Ponzi” payments.

The securities fraud charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $5 million fine. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. The transactional money laundering charge carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a fine of not more than twice the amount of criminally derived property in the transaction or $250,000.

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

The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is leading the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Ryan and Mark Odulio of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.

In March 2019, Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the Office’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: /usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative.

STATESVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Ricardo Cervantes-Sanchez, 40, of Mexico, residing in Hickory, N.C., to 188 months in prison and five years of supervised release on drug conspiracy charges, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  Cervantes-Sanchez was a multi-kilogram level distributor of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana, operating mainly out of North Carolina and Tennessee. 

Cervantes-Sanchez’s co-defendant, Raymundo, Villarreal, 22, of Newton, N.C. was also sentenced to eight years in prison and 5 years of supervised release for his role in the drug conspiracy.

According to today’s sentencing hearings and filed court documents in this and related cases, from 2014 until August 2018, Cervantes-Sanchez and Villarreal were part of a drug distribution ring responsible for trafficking methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana in Western North Carolina, centered in and around Catawba County.  The conspiracy extended well beyond North Carolina to Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, California, Illinois, Mexico and elsewhere, and involved the trafficking of multi-kilogram quantities of narcotics.  Several defendants received sentencing enhancements for their possession of firearms during the conspiracy. 

In addition to Cervantes-Sanchez and Villarreal, to date, 15 additional defendants involved in the poly-drug conspiracy have been sentenced to prison, as follows:

• Tommy Boyett was sentenced to 198 months in prison.
• Martin Santillan was sentenced to 156 months in prison.
• Joey Carroll was sentenced to 150 months in prison.
• Robert Long was sentenced to 144 months in prison.
• Ricky Moses was sentenced to 132 months in prison.
• Juan Villarreal was sentenced to 125 months in prison.
• David McIntosh was sentenced to 120 months in prison.
• Jamie Sigmon was sentenced to 114 months in prison.
• Rogelio Santillan was sentenced to 101 months in prison.
• Jesus Bedolla was sentenced to 81 months in prison.
• Ivan Garcia-Arcos was sentenced to 70 months in prison.
• Samuel Ibarra was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
• Jose Villagomez was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
• Manuel Martinez was sentenced to 46 months in prison.
• Clayton Rivera-Trejo was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Secret Service; the United States Probation Office; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office; the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office; the Hickory Police Department; the Newton Police Department; the Lincolnton Police Department; the Maiden Police Department; and the Cornelius Police Department.  U.S. Attorney Murray also thanked the DEA’s offices in McAllen, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Knoxville Tennessee, and the 9th Judicial Drug Task Force in Tennessee for their assistance in this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

            STATESVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell handed down the statutory maximum prison sentence of 10 years to Antonio Carnell White, for illegally possessing multiple firearms, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. White, 29, of Hickory, N.C., was also ordered to serve two years under court supervision after he is released from prison.

           Vincent C. Pallozzi, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Thurman Whisnant of the Hickory Police Department join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

           According to filed court documents and court proceedings, on August 2, 2018, officers with the Hickory Police Department executed a search warrant at White’s residence and a vehicle on the premises. Law enforcement recovered from the vehicle a stolen handgun and multiple narcotics, including cocaine, methamphetamine and XANAX pills. An additional 18 firearms were found inside the residence.  White previously admitted to possessing more than eight but less than 24 firearms. White has multiple prior felony convictions and he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

          “Guns do not belong in the hands of felons,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Working with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, we will identify for federal prosecution violent criminals and armed felons who continue to break the law, and threaten the safety and stability of our neighborhoods.”

          “ATF is proud to have been a part of a collaborative effort to remove this repeat offender from our streets,” said Special Agent in Charge Pallozzi. “Keeping firearms out of the hands of felons is a priority and plays a big part in addressing area gun violence and keeping our communities safe.”

          “The Hickory Police Department appreciates the continued partnership with the ATF and with U. S. Attorney Andrew Murray’s office.  This case is a great example of our combined commitment to ensure that violent offenders are held accountable for their actions and kept out of our community,” said Chief Whisnant.

         White pleaded guilty on June 20, 2019, to possession of a firearm by a 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.  All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

         In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the ATF and the Hickory Police Department for their investigation of the case.

         Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

 

This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.

 

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Jonathan Cody Alexander, 31, of Asheville, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for enticement of a minor, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. also ordered Alexander to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and today’s court proceedings, from March 24 to April 10, 2017, Alexander engaged in multiple communications with a Homeland Security Investigations special agent posing as a 14-year-old female. During the exchanges, Alexander discussed his interest in engaging in sexual contact with the “minor,” and repeatedly requested suggestive pictures of the minor.  Court records show that after the minor told Alexander she would not be able to send pictures, Alexander began urging her to meet him at a motel, to engage in sexual activities with him.  When the minor seemed reluctant, Alexander promised money if she agreed to engage in sex with him and another woman. On April 6, 2017, Alexander made arrangements to meet the minor at a restaurant in Hendersonville. On April 10, 2017, law enforcement arrested Alexander when he arrived to meet the minor at the agreed-upon location for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities. Alexander pleaded guilty in May 2019 to one count of enticement of a minor.

* * *

In a separate case, Judge Cogburn sentenced Christopher Patrick Tanfield, 46, of Asheville, to 72 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for receiving child pornography. Court records in this case show that on Oct. 8, 2016, Tanfield used a peer-to-peer network to access and download child pornography. A forensic analysis of Tanfield’s electronic devices revealed that he possessed more than 3,182 images and videos of prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  On March 26, 2019, Tanfield pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography.

Both Alexander and Tanfield are currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.  Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

Alexander’s case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Hendersonville and the Hendersonville Police Department.  The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations led the investigation into Tanfield. 

Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) Alexis Solheim prosecuted both cases.  Ms. Solheim is a state prosecutor with the office of the 30th Prosecutorial District, and was assigned by District Attorney Ashley Welch to serve as a SAUSA with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.  Ms. Solheim is duly sworn in both state and federal courts.  The SAUSA position is a reflection of the partnership between the office of the 30th Prosecutorial District and the United States Attorney’s Office.  The SAUSA position helps ensure the effective and vigorous prosecution of federal court cases that impact the counties within the 30th Prosecutorial District. 

Both cases were 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 the U.S. Attorney’s Office 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.

 

A Star, North Carolina, medical doctor was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for evading the payment of his income taxes, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and United States Attorney R. Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to documents and information provided to the court, from May 2012 to December 2015, Dr. David Russell, 66, took several actions to evade payment of federal income taxes, interest, and penalties he accrued over six previous tax years. Russell ignored a duly-issued Internal Revenue Service (IRS) summons to appear before an IRS collections officer with his pertinent financial records.  After the IRS sought and received a court order compelling Russell to comply with the summons, he provided minimal information and omitted records related to any financial accounts and assets he may have had. Russell also hid his assets from the IRS by depositing his paychecks on a reloadable debit card and having wages issued in the name of a company he controlled rather than directly to himself.  He also used a business to pay personal expenses.  In addition to evading the payment of these taxes, Dr. Russell failed to timely pay the taxes due for the years 2013 through 2015.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Conrad ordered Dr. Russell to serve one year of supervised release and to pay a $10,000 fine. Restitution will be ordered at a later date.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and United States Attorney Murray thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Kevin Schneider and Assistant Chief Todd Ellinwood of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

The former chairman of a North Carolina state political party pleaded guilty today to making a false statement to the FBI in connection with a federal investigation into the attempted bribery of a North Carolina elected official.  U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer presided over the plea hearing.  

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI Charlotte Field Office made the announcement.

On March 18, 2019, a criminal indictment was filed in the Western District of North Carolina, charging Robert Cannon Hayes, 74, of Concord, North Carolina, who at the time was Chairman of a state political party in North Carolina; Greg E. Lindberg, founder and Chairman of Eli Global LLC (Eli Global) and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG); John D. Gray, a consultant for Lindberg; and John V. Palermo, an Eli Global executive, for allegedly attempting to make improper campaign contributions to the elected Commissioner of Insurance (Commissioner) of the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI), in exchange for official personnel action favorable to Lindberg’s company, GBIG. 

According to admissions Hayes made in connection with his guilty plea, on or about Aug. 28, 2018, Hayes falsely stated to FBI agents that he had never spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about personnel or personnel problems at NCDOI or about Lindberg or Gray.  At the time that Hayes made the false statements, the FBI was investigating matters related to the attempted bribery of the Commissioner, therefore the defendant’s false statements were material to the investigation.

As Hayes admitted in court today, at the time he made the materially false statements, Hayes knew that it was unlawful to lie to the FBI, and knew that his statements were false because Hayes had in fact spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about Lindberg and Gray, and about Lindberg’s request that the Commissioner move certain personnel within NCDOI.  

Lindberg, Gray, and Palermo are each charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and aiding and abetting. Their charges are still pending.  The details contained in the indictment are allegations.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is leading the investigation.

Trial Attorney James C. Mann of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Stetzer and Dana Washington of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.

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UPDATE

John V. Palermo, a defendant in this case, was acquitted of the charges alleged in the indictment as described in the press release below.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The former chairman of a North Carolina state political party pleaded guilty today to making a false statement to the FBI in connection with a federal investigation into the attempted bribery of a North Carolina elected official.  U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer presided over the plea hearing. 

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI Charlotte Field Office, made the announcement.

On March 18, 2019, a criminal indictment was filed in the Western District of North Carolina, charging Robert Cannon Hayes, 74, of Concord, North Carolina, who at the time was Chairman of a state political party in North Carolina; Greg E. Lindberg, founder and Chairman of Eli Global LLC (Eli Global) and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG); John D. Gray, a consultant for Lindberg; and John V. Palermo, an Eli Global executive, for allegedly attempting to make improper campaign contributions to the elected Commissioner of Insurance (Commissioner) of the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI), in exchange for official personnel action favorable to Lindberg’s company, GBIG. 

According to admissions Hayes made in connection with his guilty plea, on or about Aug. 28, 2018, Hayes falsely stated to FBI agents that he had never spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about personnel or personnel problems at NCDOI or about Lindberg or Gray.  At the time that Hayes made the false statements, the FBI was investigating matters related to the attempted bribery of the Commissioner, therefore the defendant’s false statements were material to the investigation.

As Hayes admitted in court today, at the time he made the materially false statements, Hayes knew that it was unlawful to lie to the FBI, and knew that his statements were false because Hayes had in fact spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about Lindberg and Gray, and about Lindberg’s request that the Commissioner move certain personnel within NCDOI.  

Lindberg, Gray, and Palermo are each charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and aiding and abetting. Their charges are still pending.  The details contained in the indictment are allegations.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is leading the investigation.

Trial Attorney James C. Mann of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Stetzer and Dana Washington of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Robson Gustavo Morales Santos, 31, was sentenced on Monday, September 30, 2019, to 96 months in prison on child pornography charges, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Santos, who is a citizen of Guatemala residing illegally in the United States, was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release and was ordered to register as a sex offender. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. presided over the sentencing hearing.

According to information contained in filed court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, law enforcement received a cybertip that Santos was uploading child pornography to a cloud application.  A forensic analysis of Santos’ cell phone, and a subsequent search of his cloud account by law enforcement, revealed that Santos possessed more than 600 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, some of whom were prepubescent minors as young as infants.  Santos pleaded guilty on April 29, 2019, to receiving child pornography.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and the FBI for their investigation of this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa, 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.

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced late today Diane McKinny, 66, of Rutherfordton, N.C., to three years of probation, ten months of which she will spend in home confinement, for her role in an unemployment benefits scheme while working as a payroll clerk and corporate secretary for Diverse Corporate Technologies, Inc. (DCT), announced U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray. 

In July 2017, the United States Attorney’s Office issued a statement acknowledging the opening of a federal criminal investigation into alleged criminal activities of certain members of the Word of Faith Fellowship (WoFF).  As a result of the investigation, in addition to McKinny, her co-conspirator, Marion “Kent” Covington, was previously sentenced to 34 months in prison for orchestrating the fraudulent scheme. Two other WoFF members, Dr. Jerry Gross and Jason Lee Gross, received probationary sentences for executing a similar unemployment benefits scheme at the Foot & Ankle Center of the Carolinas, P.A., a podiatry clinic located in Forest City, N.C. At today’s sentencing hearing, Judge Reidinger ordered McKinny to pay $466,960.30 as restitution, jointly and severally with Covington, Dr. Jerry Gross and Jason Lee Gross.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray said, “I want to thank Homeland Security Investigations, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Labor, and the SBI for their outstanding investigation of this matter.  I also want to thank Rutherford County District Attorney Ted Bell for his continued coordination and assistance throughout this investigation. Following an exhaustive review and evaluation of all of the available information, the United States Attorney’s Office has concluded its investigation into this matter.”

“Diane McKinny conspired with her co-defendant to defraud the State of North Carolina in an unemployment insurance (UI) fraud scheme by placing DCT’s employees on UI benefits while those employees continued to work at the business in excess of program eligibility requirements.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the UI system from those who exploit these benefit programs,” said Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent-in-Charge, Atlanta Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

“Unemployment insurance benefits are intended as a safety net for the state’s residents who truly find themselves out of work. Thanks to the investigative work of our law enforcement partners, we were able to expose the benefit fraud committed by this defendant,” said Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Charlotte.

“While it takes coordination to pull off a fraud scheme like this one, it takes even greater coordination to investigate and prosecute individuals who think it’s okay to take advantage of North Carolina taxpayers.  I am grateful for the work of our agents, Homeland Security Investigations Charlotte, the Department of Labor - Office of the Inspector General and U.S. Attorney Murray in working together to ensure justice is served,” said SBI Director Robert Schurmeier.

According to court documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court, Covington was the president, owner, and registered agent of DCT, a plastics manufacturing company located in Rutherford County, N.C., where McKinny was employed.  In late 2008, DCT was struggling financially.  Covington, with the assistance of McKinny, orchestrated a scheme to defraud the State of North Carolina by placing DCT employees on Unemployment Insurance Benefits (UI Benefits) while those employees continued to work at DCT in excess of what was permitted by the program eligibility requirements. The scheme allowed DCT to reduce the cost-of-labor component of its cost-of-goods-sold, thereby increasing its net profitability.    

According to court records, in November or December 2008, in order to accomplish the scheme, Covington “laid off” nearly all of the employees at DCT.  Some employees were provided with separation notices and were instructed on how to file their own claims for UI Benefits.  Those employees received UI Benefits based on their asserted “totally unemployed” status.  Next, as court records show, Covington called a business meeting at DCT and informed the remaining DCT employees that the company could no longer afford to pay their wages, and that they therefore would be placed on UI Benefits, but that Covington expected the employees to continue to work at DCT, just as they had before they were laid off, in order to help the business survive.  Around the same time, McKinny filed claims for UI Benefits on behalf of the employees whom Covington had required to continue working at DCT while they received UI Benefits.  In filing the necessary information for UI Benefits, McKinny certified the claimants’ initial and continuing eligibility to receive those benefits.  

At Covington’s direction, at least five of the employees for whom McKinny made claims for UI Benefits then continued to work at DCT on a full-time or near-full-time basis while collecting UI Benefits every week.  Through the operation of the scheme outlined above, the co-defendants obtained more than six months of free labor for DCT, paid for by the government, instead of by the business itself. 

By September 2009, other businesses run by members of the Word of Faith Fellowship, the church community with which Covington and McKinny were affiliated, were facing their own financial struggles related to the economic downturn.  Court records show that Covington, McKinny, and others began to promote the scheme that they had devised at DCT to those businesses, and several additional businesses implemented versions of the scheme. In total, between November 2008 and March 2013, these various implementations of the scheme resulted in well over $250,000 in fraudulent claims for UI Benefits.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray commended the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the SBI for their thorough investigation of this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Bradley, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the cases related to this investigation.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Brady Raymond Frick, Jr., 39, and Timothy Ray Canon, Jr., 27, both of Charlotte, were sentenced to prison today by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. for executing a bank fraud scheme involving stolen mail, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  Frick was sentenced to 61 months in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Canon was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.  Both Frick and Canon were also ordered to serve terms of supervised release and to pay $81,322.14 in restitution.

David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, joins the U.S. Attorney’s Office in making today’s announcement. 

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from April 2017 to November 2017, Frick and Cannon carried out a bank fraud scheme using stolen mail to defraud financial institutions.  Court records show that the co-conspirators obtained the stolen mail by targeting high-end neighborhoods in the Charlotte area.  In order to avoid detection, Frick rented luxury vehicles to drive around the targeted neighborhoods, while Canon collected the mail. As part of the criminal scheme, Frick and Canon stole mail that contained the victims’ bank checks, credit card convenience checks, credit cards, and other bank account information, and used the information to steal money from the victims and to make unauthorized transactions at the expense of federally-insured financial institutions. 

In addition to Frick’s 61-month sentence, Judge Conrad also imposed an additional two years in prison for Frick’s supervised release violation related to a 2009 conviction for theft of mail and possession of a firearm by a felon.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the USPIS for leading the investigation, and commended the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department for their invaluable assistance.  This case is the result of the Charlotte Financial Crimes Task Force (CFCTF), which was formed in 2016 by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and comprises over 25 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies located in the Western District of North Carolina. The goal of the task force is to focus on the identification and development of financial fraud investigations in the Charlotte area. Based on crime trends in the area, the task force began to focus its efforts on violent offenders with lengthy criminal histories who are committing fraud.  Assistant United States Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte has returned criminal indictments against five defendants, for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking in the Statesville area.   

The five defendants named in the indictments and the charges they face are:

• Charles Mills, 34, of Statesville, is charged with nine counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
• Dorey Joyner, 34, of Statesville, is charged with five counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
• Myles Foote, 25, of Statesville, is charged with four counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.  
• Lashon Maurice, Gaither, 40, of Statesville, is charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
• Terry Barringer, 61, of Statesville, is charged with four counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Each charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and distribution of cocaine carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison and $1,000,000 fine per count.

The details contained in the indictments are allegations.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office for handling the investigation that led the federal charges. U.S. Attorney Murray also thanked Iredell County District Attorney Sarah M. Kirkman for her office’s continued coordination and support of the PSN initiative. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lambert Guinn, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting these cases.

These case have been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime.  In May 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, announced the revitalization of PSN in Statesville, as part of a law enforcement initiative to drive down criminal activity in the area. Including today’s indictments, the Statesville-area PSN initiative has led to the prosecution of 18 defendants on federal narcotics and/or firearms offenses, and the seizure of 25 firearms, six of which had been reported stolen.

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Oscar Orlando Navarro-Melendez, 31, a Honduran national residing in Asheville, N.C. to 135 months in prison and five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

U.S. Attorney Murray is joined in making today’s 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; Interim Chief Robert C. White of the Asheville Police Department; and Sheriff Quentin Miller of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office.

According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, in July 2017, law enforcement became aware that Oscar Orlando Navarro-Melendez and his co-defendant, Linda Liceth Prada-Ardilla, were trafficking methamphetamine in and around Buncombe County.  Court records show that law enforcement recovered from an Asheville-area hotel a suitcase which belonged to Navarro-Melendez and his co-defendant.  Inside the suitcase, law enforcement located methamphetamine, cocaine, drug paraphernalia, a firearm and 25 rounds of ammunition.  Law enforcement also searched the hotel room shared by Navarro-Melendez and Prada-Ardilla, where they found additional quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine, a firearm and more ammunition.  

Navarro-Melendez 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.  Prada-Ardilla was previously sentenced to 135 months in prison.

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In a separate case, Judge Reidinger sentenced Terrell Thomas, 23, of Asheville, and Angelia Neris, 28, of Fort Myers, Florida, each to 210 months and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to documents filed in this case, from July 2017 to October 2017, Neris and Thomas trafficked large amounts of methamphetamine in and around Buncombe County.  Court records show that, each week, the co-conspirators bought between half a kilogram to a kilogram of methamphetamine from a supplier located in Atlanta.  As Neris previously admitted in court, in a span of three months, the pair trafficked approximately 12 to 15 kilograms of methamphetamine.  Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement recovered more than 650 grams of methamphetamine, a pump shotgun, an assault rifle, and a 9mm handgun.

 In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the DEA and the Buncombe County Anti-Crime Task Force (B-CAT) for leading these investigations.

Assistant United States Attorney John Pritchard, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the cases.

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Zachary Jorden Childers, 22, of Gaffney, S.C., was sentenced to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release for involuntary manslaughter, after causing a car accident on the Blue Ridge Parkway that left one passenger dead.  U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger presided over Childers’ sentencing.

Neal Labrie, Chief Ranger of the Blue Ridge Parkway, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, on September 1, 2018, Childers traveled with several other individuals to North Carolina, to drive his modified Subaru WRX on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Childers’ vehicle was one of four similar cars to make the trip.  Childers and his friends had modified their cars for both style and performance, and their intent was to test out their vehicles on the curvy, mountainous roads of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Childers had three passengers in his car, including the victim, a 16-year-old female.

According to court documents, both during the trip and while on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Childers operated his motor vehicle recklessly and well in excess of the posted legal speed limits, and passed other vehicles in no-passing zones. Court records show that at approximately 10:30 p.m., Childers was driving northbound on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Buncombe County, when he attempted to pass a vehicle driven by one of his friends while driving approximately 80 miles-per-hour in a 45 miles-per-hour zone.  As a result, Childers lost control of his vehicle, and his car skidded off the road, and flipped and rolled several times down a steep embankment. The victim was ejected from the vehicle and was later pronounced dead on the scene.  According to court records, Childers’ driver’s license has been previously revoked due to numerous traffic violations, including reckless driving.

On February 27, 2019, Childers pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.  Childers will report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole. 

The National Park Service led the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Don Gast, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Rudolph Carryl, 68, formerly of Oyster Bay, N.Y., was sentenced today to 74 months in prison and two years of supervised release for executing an investment scheme that defrauded retired victims of more than $440,000.  U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. also ordered Carryl to pay $444,500 in restitution.

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Office joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to plea related documents and today’s sentencing hearing, Carryl held himself out as an investment advisor to his victims and operated Carryl Capital Management (CCM), an investment management firm with offices in New York City.  CCM maintained a website that purported the firm adhered to rigorous risk control measures, and was dedicated to achieving the investment goals for its clients.

In or about February 2015, Carryl induced a victim identified as “M.G.” to hand over money which he promised to invest in stocks. Over the course of two years, M.G., who was Carryl’s childhood friend and a retired nurse living in North Carolina, wired more than $90,000 to an account controlled by Carryl, based on Carryl’s misrepresentations that M.G.’s money would be used to purchase stocks on M.G.’s behalf. Similarly, in or about May 2015, Carryl solicited victims “W.B.,” a retired, decorated United States Air Force veteran, and his wife “A.B.,” both of North Carolina, to invest approximately $350,000 in a purported investment fund that was managed by Carryl. To induce the retired couple to part with their money, Carryl claimed that he was a successful investment adviser who managed investments for the country of Saudi Arabia and that he was friends with wealthy celebrities.  

According to court records, rather than invest the victims’ funds as promised, Carryl used the money to pay for personal and other expenses, to repay his other victims other misconduct, and to make substantial cash withdrawals.

Unbeknownst to his victims, Carryl was being investigated and ultimately was convicted of federal wire fraud charges related to a separate investment scheme at the same time he was defrauding his victims in North Carolina. Carryl was sentenced in August 2017 by a federal judge in New York to 12 months and one day in prison for the other fraud.  After his sentencing but before he reported to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence, Carryl continued to be in contact with W.B., assuring W.B. that his investments were doing ok, all the while failing to disclose any information about his conviction or his impending report date to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.   

Carryl previously pleaded guilty to securities fraud, and he is currently detained. In sentencing Carryl today, Judge Cogburn emphasized the tremendous impact that Carryl’s “avarice and greed” had on his victims and the fact that Carryl continued to lie to his victims while being prosecuted in New York for his previous crime. 

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI for leading the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel Ryan and William Bozin, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case. 

In March 2019, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced the Office’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: /usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative

 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Pierre Buissereth, 37, of Indian Land, South Carolina, to 14 years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for his leadership role in a cross-country drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  Buissereth was also ordered to pay a money judgment of $1 million for the value of the marijuana involved in the conspiracy.

U.S. Attorney Murray is joined in making today’s announcement by Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Charlotte, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, beginning as early as August 2014 to February 2015, Buissereth was the leader of a marijuana trafficking conspiracy.  Court records show that, during the relevant time period, Buissereth utilized a network of couriers who transported tens of thousands of dollars in luggage via commercial aircraft to San Francisco, California, where they purchased approximately one ton of high-grade marijuana.  The couriers then transported the marijuana to Charlotte on commercial flights. 

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized 10 pounds of marijuana from a local drug distributor in November 2014; 46 pounds of marijuana at the Charlotte airport in February 2015; and $96,950 in cash at the San Francisco airport in February 2015.  Flight records also show that the couriers made more than 100 trips to San Francisco with quick turnaround flights.  In addition, law enforcement determined that the conspiracy laundered more than $460,000 in drug proceeds. 

Buissereth is currently in 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. 

This prosecution is part of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray commended HSI and CMPD for their investigation of this case, and thanked the Pineville Police Department, the Huntersville Police Department, and the York County, South Carolina, Sheriff’s Office. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Kaufman coordinated the investigation and prosecution of this OCDETF operation.

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Adolfo Figueroa-Almanza, 32, of Mexico, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and illegal reentry by an aggravated felon.  U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. presided over the sentencing.

According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on April 27, 2018, law enforcement in Union County attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle Figueroa-Almanza was driving.  Figueroa-Almanza did not stop, and sped away in an attempt to evade law enforcement.  Figueroa-Almanza was arrested shortly thereafter, after he tried to flee on foot. Court records show that, at the time of his arrest, Figueroa-Almanza was found to be in possession of approximately 898 grams of methamphetamine. Court records also show that Figueroa-Almanza was previously deported or removed from the United States on December 8, 2015, and again on March 24, 2017.

* * *

In a separate case, Judge Conrad also sentenced today Marco Pimentel De La Cruz, 33, of Mexico, to 24 months in prison.  According to court records, on September 4, 2018, law enforcement determined that De La Cruz illegally possessed a SCCY Industries LLC model CPX-2 9 mm caliber handgun, and that he produced or attempted to produce a false identification document. In December 2018, De La Cruz pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and production of a fraudulent identification document.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Charlotte for their investigation of both cases, and commended the Union County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance with the investigation of Figueroa-Almanza. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Kaufman is prosecuting the case against Figueroa-Almanza.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Smith is handling the prosecution against De La Cruz.

Two North Carolina members of the United Blood Nation (UBN or Bloods) street gang have pleaded guilty to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy involving multiple murders. 

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office, made the announcement.

Tyquan Ramont Powell, aka Savage, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Lamonte Kentrell Lloyd, aka Murda Mo and Moo, 25, of Scotland Neck, North Carolina, both admitted their membership in the UBN and participation in the racketeering enterprise through acts involving murder and robbery.

According to court documents, Powell and Lloyd committed two murders and three attempted murders over the course of less than a month.  Powell and Lloyd committed the first murder in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, in January 2016 by shooting into a car with three occupants because they believed that one of the occupants was cooperating with law enforcement and intended to testify in a criminal case against a close associate of the defendants.  Bullets struck all three occupants and the intended target of the shooting was killed.  The Defendants then fled to, among other places, Charlotte, North Carolina, where they sought and received refuge and resources from UBN members and associates while attempting to evade arrest.

Also according to court documents, Powell and Lloyd committed murder in Gastonia, North Carolina, in February 2016.  The Defendants attempted to rob four victims using handguns. When the victims resisted the defendants’ robbery attempt, Powell fired his firearm and killed one of the victims.  Also in February 2016, according to court documents, Powell and Lloyd attempted to rob another victim.  Lloyd shot the victim in the back of the head, but the victim was effectively treated for his injuries at the hospital and lived. 

According to court documents and evidence presented at a May 2018 trial against the godfathers of the UBN, the UBN is a violent criminal street gang operating throughout the east coast of the United States since it was founded as a prison gang in 1993.  UBN members are often identified by their use of the color red, and can also often be identified by common tattoos or burn marks.  Examples include: a three-circle pattern, usually burned onto the upper arm, known as a “dog paw”; the acronym “M.O.B.,” which stands for “Member of Bloods”; the words “damu,” or “eastside”; the number five; the five-pointed star and the five-pointed crown.  UBN members have distinct hand signs and written codes, which are used to identify other members and rival gang members.

Members of the UBN are expected to conduct themselves and their illegal activity according to rules and regulations set by their leaders.  Prominent among these is a requirement to pay monthly dues to the organization, often in the amounts of $31 or $93.  UBN gang dues are derived from illegal activity performed by subordinate UBN members including narcotics trafficking, robberies and wire fraud, among other forms of illegal racketeering activity. 

In May 2017, 83 members of the UBN were indicted in the Western District of North Carolina for crimes including RICO conspiracy.  Seventy-eight defendants have now either pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial due to this investigation, and 68 have been sentenced.  A jury convicted three top leaders of the UBN of racketeering conspiracy in May 2018, and one defendant was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy at trial in July 2019.  Seventy-four defendants have pleaded guilty in this investigation, including four who participated in the racketeering conspiracy by, among other crimes, committing a murder in July 2016 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI; the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department; the Shelby Police Department; the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; the Gastonia Police Department; the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office; the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice; the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles; Scotland Neck Police Department; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office; the U.S. Federal Probation; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the IRS Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Office of Special Investigations. 

Trial Attorney Beth Lipman of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Warren and Christopher Hess for the Western District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Two North Carolina members of the United Blood Nation (UBN or Bloods) street gang have pleaded guilty to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy involving multiple murders. 

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI’ Charlotte Field Office, made the announcement.

Tyquan Ramont Powell, aka Savage, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Lamonte Kentrell Lloyd, aka Murda Mo and Moo, 25, of Scotland Neck, North Carolina, both admitted their membership in the UBN and participation in the racketeering enterprise through acts involving murder and robbery.

According to court documents, Powell and Lloyd committed two murders and three attempted murders over the course of less than a month.  Powell and Lloyd committed the first murder in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, in January 2016 by shooting into a car with three occupants because they believed that one of the occupants was cooperating with law enforcement and intended to testify in a criminal case against a close associate of the defendants.  Bullets struck all three occupants and the intended target of the shooting was killed.  The Defendants then fled to, among other places, Charlotte, North Carolina, where they sought and received refuge and resources from UBN members and associates while attempting to evade arrest.

Also according to court documents, Powell and Lloyd committed murder in Gastonia, North Carolina, in February 2016.  The Defendants attempted to rob four victims using handguns. When the victims resisted the defendants’ robbery attempt, Powell fired his firearm and killed one of the victims.  Also in February 2016, according to court documents, Powell and Lloyd attempted to rob another victim.  Lloyd shot the victim in the back of the head, but the victim was effectively treated for his injuries at the hospital and lived. 

According to court documents and evidence presented at a May 2018 trial against the godfathers of the UBN, the UBN is a violent criminal street gang operating throughout the east coast of the United States since it was founded as a prison gang in 1993.  UBN members are often identified by their use of the color red, and can also often be identified by common tattoos or burn marks.  Examples include: a three-circle pattern, usually burned onto the upper arm, known as a “dog paw”; the acronym “M.O.B.,” which stands for “Member of Bloods”; the words “damu,” or “eastside”; the number five; the five-pointed star and the five-pointed crown.  UBN members have distinct hand signs and written codes, which are used to identify other members and rival gang members.

Members of the UBN are expected to conduct themselves and their illegal activity according to rules and regulations set by their leaders.  Prominent among these is a requirement to pay monthly dues to the organization, often in the amounts of $31 or $93.  UBN gang dues are derived from illegal activity performed by subordinate UBN members including narcotics trafficking, robberies and wire fraud, among other forms of illegal racketeering activity. 

In May 2017, 83 members of the UBN were indicted in the Western District of North Carolina for crimes including RICO conspiracy.  Seventy-eight defendants have now either pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial due to this investigation, and 68 have been sentenced.  A jury convicted three top leaders of the UBN of racketeering conspiracy in May 2018, and one defendant was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy at trial in July 2019.  Seventy-four defendants have pleaded guilty in this investigation, including four who participated in the racketeering conspiracy by, among other crimes, committing a murder in July 2016 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI; the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department; the Shelby Police Department; the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; the Gastonia Police Department; the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office; the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice; the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles; Scotland Neck Police Department; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office; the U.S. Federal Probation; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the IRS Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Office of Special Investigations. 

Trial Attorney Beth Lipman of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Warren and Christopher Hess for the Western District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that New Hampshire-based North American Specialty Insurance Company (NAS IC) has agreed to resolve allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by bonding a South Carolina general contractor that submitted false claims to the United States for services performed under fraudulently obtained contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  These contracts had been set aside for companies that qualified for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Section 8(a) Business Development Program.  NAS IC has agreed to pay $1,040,035.20 to resolve the government’s allegations. 

The 8(a) Business Development Program was created to help provide a level playing field for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people or entities. A business owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals can apply for certification from the SBA as an 8(a) business.  An 8(a) business can obtain certain preferences during the contracting process, and can bid on contracts that the government has set aside for qualified 8(a) businesses.  A business can remain in the 8(a) program for up to nine years, but during that time, must provide information to the SBA, which is used to determine continuing program eligibility. 

The United States alleges that, among other things, South Carolina general contractor Claro Company, Inc. made materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations, or material omissions, to gain entry into and to continue participation in the 8(a) program.  The United States also alleges that NAS IC knew or should have known that Claro was not eligible for 8(a) set-asides.  Specifically, the United States alleges that NAS IC knew or should have known that Claro Company was in violation of the regulations governing the 8(a) Program and the government’s contracting requirements.  Specifically, the United States contends that NAS IC knew or should have known, among other things, that: Claro Company was not controlled by a socially and economically disadvantaged individual, and that it was affiliated with and controlled by another entity and/or individuals that did not meet the SBA’s definition of being socially and economically disadvantaged; that neither the affiliation nor control were disclosed to the SBA; and that Claro Company made material false misrepresentations regarding its financial status to the SBA in order to avoid early graduation from the 8(a) program.  The United States contends that NAS IC nonetheless continued to do business with Claro Company, bonding its projects and therefore allowing it to continue to fraudulently bid for contracts under the preferences in the 8(a) program. 

“By enabling fraudsters, these companies play a key part in unlawfully usurping government contract opportunities from socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who the 8(a) Program is intended to assist,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “My office will pursue vigorously bonding companies and other entities that, by turning a blind-eye or willfully ignoring blatant indicia of program fraud or abuse, enable the submission of these false claims and cause harm to the government program.”

This settlement resolves allegations investigated by the government pursuant to the False Claims Act.  The settlement is the result of the coordinated effort between the Defense Criminal Investigative Service of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina.

The claims resolved in this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability against NAS or any other entity. 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte indicted Michael Filipidis, 24, of Mint Hill, N.C., on wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, for stealing more than $800,000 from an elderly victim, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  The criminal indictment was unsealed in federal court today, following Filipidis’s initial appearance.

Reginald A. DeMatteis, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office joined U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, beginning in or about December 2018, Filipidis engaged in a scheme to defraud an elderly individual, by falsely representing to the victim that Filipidis was a financial advisor with a financial institution, and that he could manage and invest the victim’s monies.  Filipidis was employed by the financial institution, but worked at a call center.  The indictment alleges that, based on Filipidis’s fraudulent claims, the victim provided Filipidis with access to the victim’s financial accounts, and authorized Filipidis to transfer funds to new brokerage accounts.  Filipidis then fraudulently diverted funds from the victim’s new brokerage accounts, as well as from the victim’s life insurance annuities and the victim’s other bank accounts, to bank accounts under Filipdis’s control.  Filipidis then used and attempted to use the victim’s funds for Filipidis’s personal benefit. 

According to allegations in the indictment, in order to carry out the scheme, when Filipidis opened the new brokerage accounts he used his own phone number and email address for the contact information.  He also named himself the beneficiary of one of the new brokerage accounts without the knowledge and consent of the victim. Further, Filipidis fraudulently changed the mailing address, email address, and phone number associated with the victim’s bank accounts at the financial institution to Filipidis’s personal information, so the victim stopped receiving phone calls, correspondence, and statements for his bank accounts.

The indictment alleges that between December 2018 and February 2019, Filipidis diverted more than $800,000 of the victim’s funds, intended for Filipdis’s own benefit.

“This is a case of financial exploitation perpetrated by someone who posed as a trusted financial expert.  Criminals who target seniors are shameful opportunists who prey upon the vulnerable. My office will help investigate, punish and deter crimes against our seniors, and teach financial predators the hard lessons they deserve,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.

“These types of cases often result in a devastating financial loss to victims,” said Special Agent in Charge DeMatteis.  “This is particularly true for seniors who are at risk of losing the financial security that they have worked a lifetime to build.  The U.S. Secret Service will work tirelessly to protect our seniors from those who wish to exploit them.”  

Filipidis made his initial appearance in federal court this morning, before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed. 

The details contained in this indictment are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the U.S. Secret Service’s Charlotte Field Office for leading the investigation. 

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

In March 2019, Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the Office’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: /usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced that former Buncombe County Manager, Wanda Greene, three former County employees, and a County contractor involved in embezzlement schemes that defrauded the County of hundreds of thousands of dollars were sentenced to prison today by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr.

Wanda Skillington Greene, 68, of Arden, N.C. was sentenced to 84 months in prison and one year of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.  On January 16, 2019, Wanda Greene pleaded guilty, in three separate indictments, to embezzling public funds and aiding and abetting such embezzlement; federal program fraud; making and subscribing a false federal tax return; and receipt of bribes and kickbacks and aiding and abetting. 

Amanda (Mandy) Louise Stone, 60, of Black Mountain, N.C., was sentenced to 33 months prison and one year of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.  On January 2, 2019, Stone pleaded to conspiracy to commit federal program fraud through the receipt of bribes and kickbacks.

Jon Eugene Creighton, 68, of Asheville, was ordered to serve 18 months in prison followed by one year under court supervision, and to pay a $25,000 fine.  On October 30, 2018, Creighton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program fraud through the receipt of bribes and kickbacks. 

Michael Gene Greene, 48, of Arden, was ordered to serve six months in prison, one year of supervised release, and to pay a $5,000 fine. On July 27, 2018, Michael Greene pleaded guilty to conspiracy to embezzle Buncombe County funds. 

Judge Conrad also sentenced Joseph F. Wiseman, Jr., 59, of Roswell, Georgia, to 37 months in prison and one year of supervised release.  Wiseman was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.  Wiseman pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge on February 7, 2019, for his role in a bribery scheme involving Wanda Greene, Creighton, and Stone.

Wanda Greene, Michael Greene, Creighton, and Stone have already entered into legal agreements with Buncombe County to pay the County for the amounts they misappropriated, therefore the Court did not impose any additional restitution as part of their sentences. The final restitution amount against Wiseman will be determined by the Court at a later date.

In announcing today’s sentences, U.S. Attorney Murray said, “This is a reprehensible group of individuals, whose ethical obligation to their community took a back seat to personal gain.  As the ringleader, Wanda Greene exploited her vast knowledge of the county’s operations to orchestrate various financial schemes, and solicited willing co-conspirators to carry out the fraud. These five defendants repeatedly and egregiously plundered County funds, stealing thousands of public dollars, while they operated with utter impunity, believing they were beyond the law.  Even worse, each of them did more than take public money.  Their actions destroyed the public’s trust in those whose ethical standards should have been beyond reproach.  But today is their day of reckoning. Today, justice was served, as prison time is in their future for their deliberate violations of the law – a law that applies equally to everyone regardless of stature or position.” 

“The prison sentences handed down today serve as a reminder that there are consequences for robbing communities of the honest government they deserve. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will pursue anyone, including public officials who treat government funds like their own personal piggy bank,” said John Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina.

“No matter the source of income, all income is taxable,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Division.  “The prosecution of individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes is a vital element of the IRS’ enforcement strategy.  Today’s sentencing is a direct result of the excellent partnership IRS, FBI, SBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has in combating violation of the federal law. This sentence should serve as a deterrent to those who might contemplate similar fraudulent actions.”

“The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is grateful to have contributed to this important investigation.  We commend U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray, his staff and our colleagues at the FBI and IRS-CI for sending an unambiguous message to corrupt public officials that justice will triumph,” said SBI Director Robert Schurmeier.

According to the filed indictments, plea documents, and today’s sentencing hearings:

Wanda Greene was appointed as County Manager for Buncombe County (the County) in 1997, and remained in that position until her retirement in June 2017.  As County Manager, Wanda Greene was responsible for directing and supervising the administration of all county offices, departments, boards, commissions and agencies controlled by the Board of Commissioners. She also had the authority to approve the awarding of certain contracts between the County and private contractors, including contracts for engineering and consulting services.

Creighton began working for the County in March 1982.  From 1985 until he retired in December 2017, Creighton was the Director of the County’s Department of Planning and Development.  As part of his duties, Creighton negotiated contracts between the County and private contractors, and was responsible for signing such contracts on behalf of the County.  From 1997 until his retirement, Creighton also had a dual appointment as Assistant County Manager.

Stone began working for the County in the 1980s.  In 1994, she became the Assistant Director of the County’s Department of Social Services, and became the Department’s Director in 2001.  Beginning 2005, Stone also had a dual appointment, along with Creighton, as Assistant County Manager.  She held both positions until she became County Manager upon Greene’s retirement.  Stone retired from the County in June 2018.

Wiseman was a licensed Professional Engineer.  From the mid-1980s through 2018, Wiseman was the agent and contractor for three businesses, and, during the relevant time period, Wiseman obtained a combined total of more than $15 million in contracts with Buncombe County for consulting and engineering services. 

Wanda Greene, Creighton, and Stone (the County Officials) engaged in a bribery scheme with Wiseman and used their official positions to enrich and benefit themselves by soliciting and accepting all-expense paid vacations, gifts, payments, and other things of value, totaling more than $75,000 from Wiseman, in exchange for awarding Wiseman and the companies he represented with lucrative county contracts and projects.  Wiseman understood and agreed that providing the trips, gifts, and other things of value to the three County Officials was a necessary condition for his companies to continue to obtain contracts with the County.

Wanda Greene orchestrated a separate scheme with her son, Michael Greene, who was employed by the County as an Information Systems Security Officer, by which they embezzled public funds by misusing their County-issued government credit cards and the government credit cards of other employees, to make approximately $200,000 worth of improper purchases.   

Wanda Greene also misappropriated more than $2.3 million of the County’s money to fund a fraudulent life insurance policy scheme involving the purchase of whole life insurance policies for herself and other County employees. Upon her retirement from her County employment, Wanda Greene fraudulently obtained $396,000 by cashing out her two life insurance policies. 

Wanda Greene also failed to report to the IRS the additional income she received through her embezzlement schemes as well as whole life insurance policies schemes, and filed false federal tax returns with the IRS for years 2012 through 2017.

Following their sentencing hearings, the defendants were released on bond, and will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prison upon designation of a federal facility to begin serving their sentences.  All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI, IRS-CI and the SBI for their outstanding investigative work, and noted that the investigation into allegations of criminal activities within the Buncombe County Government is ongoing.

Assistant United States Attorney Richard Edwards, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, is in charge of the prosecution.

STATESVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that a federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte has returned a 21-count superseding indictment against Frank Darrell Cromwell, 23, of Boone, N.C., charging him with enticement of a minor, production of child pornography, communicating threats, cyberstalking, and related offenses. 

Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Charlotte, and Chief Dana Crawford of the Boone Police Department, join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

“This individual allegedly tried to gain access to children by obtaining employment in places where he could embed himself with underage boys, including a high school, a summer camp, a middle school, and a behavioral healthcare facility.  Protecting our children from predators is one of our highest priorities. I urge parents to have a conversation with their children about the dangers of online communications and social media, where predators can use fake names and profiles to weave a heinous web of lies to lure young and innocent children,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.

According to allegations contained in the charging documents, including a previously filed criminal complaint, as early as March 2018, Cromwell used a cell phone app and other means to contact and entice minor male victims to produce and send to Cromwell sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.  Court documents further allege that Cromwell misled the minors to believe that he was a female, by, among other things, using female names and images to entice the minors to produce and send to him child pornography, and to engage in sexual activity. To date, law enforcement have identified 10 victims. Cromwell met some of the victims through his Appalachian State University internship as an athletic trainer at Watauga High School.

As the superseding indictment alleges, Cromwell used the following names online and on social media to contact the young victims: “Savannah,” “princesssav222,” “lickmeup5020,” “Sav,” “frankie5020,” “Lauren,” “Sydney,” “Sarah,” “Lily,” “Kaylee,” and “Stephanie.” 

If you believe that you or someone you know may have been a victim or have information related to the conduct referenced this case please contact the Boone Police Department at (828) 268-6938.

The specific charges against Cromwell are: nine counts of production of child pornography, which carry a minimum of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison per count; four counts of distribution and receipt/attempted receipt of child pornography which carry a minimum of five years and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count; three counts of enticement of a minor, which carry a minimum penalty of 10 years and maximum penalty of life in prison per count; two counts of cyberstalking which carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison per count; interstate communication of threats which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison; advertising of child pornography which carries a minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison; and one count of possession of child pornography which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.  Each of these counts also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 per count.

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

 In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray credited ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the Boone Police Department for their investigation which led to federal charges.  

Assistant United States Attorney Emily Wasserman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is in charge of the prosecution. 

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.