District of New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J. – A Trenton man was sentenced today to 192 months in prison for committing a series of carjackings, armed robberies, and firearms offenses, U.S. Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Joshua M. Perez, 25, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner to a five-count Superseding Information, charging him with two counts of carjacking, one count of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Judge Castner imposed sentence today in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in this case:

On Oct. 10, 2020, Perez and his unidentified conspirators carjacked two individuals in Trenton. As the victims were exiting their car, Perez and his conspirators got out of a white sedan, pointed handguns at the victims and robbed them of their money, cell phones, and vehicle.

On Dec. 5, 2020, Perez and an unidentified conspirator carjacked another individual in Trenton. As the victim was sitting in his parked car, Perez and his conspirator ran up to the victim’s window, pointed handguns at the victim, and ordered the victim out of the car. They stole the victim’s money and cell phone and fled the scene in the victim’s car.

Approximately one hour later, Perez and multiple unidentified conspirators used the victim’s carjacked vehicle as the getaway car in the armed robbery of a nearby gas station. Perez and his conspirators arrived at the gas station in the victim’s vehicle. As Perez entered the gas station, one of his conspirators ordered two victims outside the station to the ground at gunpoint and pistol-whipped them. Upon entering the gas station, Perez robbed the attendant at gunpoint, emptying the cash register.

On Dec. 7, 2020, law enforcement officers responded to Perez’s residence to execute a search warrant. During the court-authorized search of Perez’s residence, Perez pointed a firearm at the officers and was placed under arrest.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Castner sentenced Perez to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution to the victims of his offense.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti, and officers of the Trenton Police Department under Police Director Steve Wilson, with the investigations leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Ramey and Ashley Super Pitts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy that targeted Asian and Asian-American small business owners for burglaries, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

James Hurt, 48, of New York, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. Judge Padin imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From Dec. 2, 2016, to March 20, 2019, Hurt and others participated in a conspiracy to burglarize the residences of certain Asian small business owners living in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware of large sums of money, valuable jewelry, and other items, and then transport the stolen goods in interstate commerce, including to residences in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Padin sentenced Hurt to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited FBI Newark’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy, in Newark, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanked the South Plainfield Police Department, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of State, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Bernards Township, Bethlehem Township, Cherry Hill, Cinnaminson, Clark, Colonial Regional, Cranford, Delaware State Police-Troop 2, Delran, Edison, East Brunswick, East Hanover, Eatontown, Elizabeth, Essex County Sheriff’s Office-Bureau of Narcotics, Evesham Township, Exeter Township, Fair Lawn, Forks Township, Fort Lee, Franklin Township, Glassboro, Gloucester Township, Hackensack, Haverstraw, Hazlet, Highland Park, Hillside, Hillsborough Township, Howell Township, Jackson, Kenilworth, Lawrence Township, Linden, Lyndhurst, Mahwah, Marlboro Township, Maywood, Middletown, Montgomery County, Montville, Morris Township, Mount Laurel, Mountainside, New Castle County, New Providence, New York Police Department’s 105th Detective Squad, North Brunswick, North Plainfield, Old Bridge, Paramus, Parsippany, Phillipsburg, Piscataway, Pocono Mountain Regional, Pocono Township, Raritan, Roselle Park, Sayreville, Somerville, South Brunswick, South River, South Whitehall Township, Spotswood, Town of Tuxedo, Tinton Falls, Toms River, Township of Ocean, Union, Upper Macungie Township, Wall Township, Warren, Washington Township, Watchung, Westfield, Whitehall Township, and Woodbridge Township police departments.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dong Joo Lee of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Jersey City attorney was sentenced today to 66 months in prison for defrauding his clients of more than $2 million dollars and other crimes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

James R. Lisa, 68, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to a superseding information charging him with one count of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of obstructing the IRS, one count of failing to file an individual income tax return, and one count of wire fraud while on pretrial release. U.S. District Judge Julien X. Neals imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

“James Lisa used his law license to execute a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme and rip off clients who placed their trust in him. Then, after being charged for that fraud, Lisa committed another when, posing as his own lawyer, he sent a bogus letter to a lender that falsely described the status of his criminal case. Lisa’s multiple criminal acts were serious violations of his oath as an officer of the court and a betrayal of his clients’ trust. The sentence imposed today is his just punishment for these crimes.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In 2014, Lisa was retained by a family to help repatriate millions of dollars that had been transferred by other family members to offshore bank accounts decades earlier. Lisa was also retained to help resolve the tax issues related to the repatriation of the funds. In 2015, Lisa successfully repatriated more than $6 million of the family’s funds, but proceeded to falsely advise the family that the funds remained offshore. In 2017, Lisa provided $4 million of the repatriated funds to the family but continued to falsely represent that the remaining $2 million remained beyond his control.

Lisa falsely told the family that he successfully resolved the tax implications of repatriating the funds. In 2016, Lisa sent the family a fraudulent IRS “closing agreement” reflecting an agreement with the IRS for the family to pay $3 million in taxes and penalties for the repatriated funds. In 2018, Lisa sent the family another fraudulent closing agreement reflecting an agreement with the IRS for the family to pay $2 million in taxes and penalties because only $4 million was purportedly repatriated. In fact, the IRS never entered into these agreements and the IRS employees who purportedly signed the documents never did so. When one member of the family was audited by the IRS, the IRS issued Lisa a summons for records related to the family’s assets. In response to the summons, Lisa produced false and fraudulent documents suggesting that the IRS had agreed to closing agreements with the family.

In January 2023, Lisa was arrested after being charged with this fraud scheme and placed on pretrial release.  One condition of his pretrial release was that he not commit another crime.  In April 2023, Lisa committed wire fraud when he applied for a $22,000 loan. In order to obtain the loan, Lisa caused the creation and submission to the lender of a fraudulent document that purported to be a letter from the attorney then representing him in his criminal prosecution. Lisa caused the letter to be sent in order to defraud the lender about the status of the criminal prosecution so that the lender would approve the loan. 

Lisa also admitted that he failed to file individual income tax returns for tax years 2015 through 2022, and as a result, caused a tax loss to the IRS of at least $550,000. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Neals sentenced Lisa to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $2.05 million in restitution to his fraud victims and $550,000 to the IRS.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents with the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Mid Atlantic Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay; and IRS - Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Morris County, New Jersey, man today admitted possessing and distributing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

William Mickel, 70, of Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner in Trenton federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From February 2022 through April 2022, Mickel, who was employed by Boy Scout camps in New Jersey, distributed and possessed images and videos of child sexual abuse. Mickel used email accounts to distribute these materials, and stored hundreds of images and videos on electronic devices in his home. Some of the videos in Mickel’s possession depicted children who were surreptitiously recorded using bathrooms in the Boy Scout camps where Mickel worked.

The count of distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000. The count of possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy; the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll; and the Chester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Ryan T. McNamee, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

mickel.indictment.pdf

CAMDEN, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for illegally possessing fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine for distribution and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and in furtherance of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Taurean Gordon, 40, of Irvington, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas to a superseding information charging him with one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Judge Bibas imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Gordon admitted that on February 11, 2021, he possessed heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine packaged for distribution with the intent to distribute. Gordon, a previously convicted felon, also admitted that he possessed a North American Arms Inc. revolver loaded with five rounds of ammunition.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Bibas sentenced Gordon to 3 years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit the weapon and ammunition he used during the commission of the offense, as well as the $526 seized from him at the time of the offense.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited officers of the Newark Police Division under the direction of Director Fritz Fragé and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys DeNae Thomas of the Health Care Fraud Unit and George Barchini of the Narcotics/Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A former branch manager of a national financial institution today admitted using his position to organize a conspiracy to help individuals obtain at least 38 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling approximately $5 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today. U.S. Attorney Sellinger also announced that a New York man admitted laundering the proceeds of one of the fraudulent PPP loans.

Tommy Hawkins, 61, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams to one count of bank fraud conspiracy. Sieff Robert Sargeant, 44, of Island Park, New York, pleaded guilty before Judge Williams to one count of money laundering.

According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying small business was required to apply and provide information on its operations, including the number of employees and expenses.  In addition, businesses generally had to provide supporting documentation.

In 2020 and early 2021, Hawkins worked as the branch manager of the Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, branch of a national bank that was accepting Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)  loan applications. Hawkins worked with Eric Rivera, Lisa Smith, and others to recruit individuals who owned companies with little or no operations to open bank accounts at Hawkins’ branch and apply for PPP loans. Hawkins helped the recruited individuals submit PPP loan applications that contained materially false representations about the companies’ number of employees and payroll expenses. The applications also included false documentation, including tax forms. Based on these applications, Hawkins’ bank approved at least 38 PPP loans and disbursed approximately $5 million. Hawkins received incentive compensation through the bank for opening business bank accounts for the companies that received fraudulent PPP loans and also had an agreement with Rivera and Smith for them to pay Hawkins $5,000 of the loan proceeds for each PPP loan that Hawkins helped to obtain.

In April 2021, Sargeant’s business received a PPP loan based on a fraudulent application that was submitted through Hawkins’ branch. Sargeant then paid another individual, James Wessels, to create fake payroll checks. Sargeant distributed fake payroll checks to a friend, who cashed the checks and returned the majority of the cash to Sargeant. This was done to conceal that the proceeds actually were being spent on non-payroll expenses.

The count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud is punishable by a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The count of money laundering is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Hawkins’ sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3, 2024;  Sargeant’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 2, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of the Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Patricia Tarasca; special agents of the FBI’s South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs in Philadelphia; special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Boston-New York Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley Parker; and special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman and Attorney-in-Charge Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.

The charges and allegations against Rivera, Smith, and Wessels are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

hawkins.information.pdf sargeant.information.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. –A Bronx, New York, man was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute and resisting his arrest with a deadly or dangerous weapon, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Miguel Nuñez, 50, of Bronx, New York, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to a superseding information charging him with one count of possessing 40 grams of fentanyl with intent to distribute and one count of resisting and impeding officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. U.S. District Judge Julien X. Neals imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On March 24, 2021, Nuñez and Jesus Higuera-Parra, 28, of Ontario, California, drove from New York City to Elizabeth, New Jersey, for the purposes of distributing fentanyl. When they arrived to meet the drug purchaser, they were approached by members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Nunez, the driver of the vehicle, put his car in reverse and attempted to elude the law enforcement personnel, which resulted in a collision with a DEA car.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Neals sentenced Nunez to four years of supervised release.

Higuera-Parra previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and is awaiting sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ray Mateo of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit and Benjamin Levin of the National Security Unit.

CAMDEN, N.J. – Four New York men were sentenced today to prison terms for conspiring to kidnap and hold for ransom a Fort Lee, New Jersey, resident, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.  

Fa Deng, 44, of Staten Island, New York, was sentenced to 144 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $200,000 fine; Chiahao Lee, 32, of Queens, New York, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and three years of supervised release; Albert Ferrelli, 52, of Queens, New York, was sentenced to 250 months in prison and five years of supervised release; and Gabriel Anthony, of Queens, New York, was sentenced to 168 in prison and three years of supervised release. All four previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit interstate kidnapping.   

According to documents filed in the cases, and statements made in court:

On April 5, 2022, the four conspirators drove to the victim’s home in Fort Lee. Anthony and Ferrelli entered the victim’s home wearing masks. They bound the victim’s hands, placed duct tape over his eyes and mouth, and forced him into a vehicle where Deng and Lee were waiting. 

Law enforcement received information that kidnappers had sent the victim’s wife a photograph of the victim bound and duct-taped, demanding a ransom of approximately $680,000. When law enforcement responded to the victim’s home, they located what appeared to be duct tape with pieces of latex gloves stuck to it. After reviewing local surveillance footage, law enforcement identified a gray minivan used in the abduction. Other surveillance footage showed the minivan crossing the George Washington Bridge shortly after the kidnapping, and subsequently crossing into the Bronx and then into Queens. 

The following day, New York Police Department personnel responded to Prince Street in Queens, where they encountered Ferrelli guarding the door to a building. When officers approached Ferrelli, they heard a man screaming for help inside the building. Officers entered the building and found the victim with his hands bound, and duct tape over his eyes and mouth.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy; the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Prosecutor Mark Musella; officers of the Fort Lee Police Department, under the direction of Chief Matthew J. Hintze; and the New York Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Edward A. Caban, with the investigation leading to the sentencings.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Silane of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

TRENTON, N.J. – An Israeli man today admitted conspiring with Eliyahu "Eli" Weinstein, whose 24-year federal prison sentence was commuted after being twice convicted of defrauding investors of a total of $230 million, and others to defraud investors of more than $35 million in a new fraud scheme, and to conspiring to engage in money laundering and obstruct justice, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Shlomo Erez, 56, of Israel, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

“Shlomo Erez admitted to helping Eliyahu ‘Eli’ Weinstein, a twice convicted fraudster whose sentence was commuted by the then President of the United States, hide his identity from investors, ripping them off  to the tune of millions of dollars and evading hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution to victims of Weinstein’s prior fraud schemes. This scheme used phony identities and false promises of access to deals involving scarce medical supplies, baby formula, and first-aid kits supposedly destined for wartime Ukraine to defraud victims. Erez will now face justice for his crimes, and we will continue to prosecute the other alleged conspirators.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

“Financial crimes like the charges Shlomo Erez pled guilty to today cause great emotional harm to the numerous victims who trusted this defendant with their hard earned money,” Jenifer L. Piovesan, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, said. “We will continue to aggressively investigate cases of people who victimize others for their own financial gain.”

Four of Erez’s conspirators – Christopher Anderson, 47, Richard Curry, 36, Alaa Hattab, 35, and Joel Wittels, 57 – previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Wittels also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and to conspiracy to engage in the unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. All are awaiting sentencing. Charges are still pending against conspirators Weinstein and Aryeh “Ari” Bromberg. 

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Weinstein was convicted two times in New Jersey federal court for defrauding investors. His first case involved a real estate Ponzi scheme, and his second case stemmed from additional fraud Weinstein committed while on pretrial release. For these crimes, which resulted in combined losses to investors of approximately $230 million, Weinstein was sentenced to serve 24 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. On Jan. 19, 2021, after Weinstein had served less than eight years, the president of the United States at that time commuted Weinstein’s term to time served, leaving intact the rest of his sentence.

Soon after being released from prison, Weinstein began orchestrating a new scheme to solicit money from investors through a company called Optimus Investments Inc. (Optimus). Using the fake name “Mike Konig,” Weinstein ran Optimus with Bromberg and Wittels.

Weinstein, Bromberg, and Wittels received the bulk of investor money through a second company, Tryon Management Group LLC, which was owned and controlled by Anderson and Curry. Tryon promised these individual investors – consisting mostly of friends and family – lucrative opportunities to invest in deals involving COVID-19 masks, scarce baby formula, and first-aid kits supposedly bound for wartime Ukraine. Posing as Mike Konig, Weinstein provided the information for these supposed deals. Based on that information, investors gave money to Tryon, believing the deals were legitimate and not knowing about Weinstein’s involvement. In turn, Tryon transferred those funds to Weinstein, through Optimus. Erez served as a purported custodian of Optimus funds for Optimus’ investors. After receiving investor money, Erez conducted numerous financial transactions at Weinstein’s direction for purposes other than what investors were promised, including investing in a penthouse apartment in Miami, Florida, and a purported land deal in Morocco.

In February 2022, almost immediately after Tryon and Optimus started receiving investor money, Tryon was unable to pay its investors. Rather than reveal this information to investors, the conspirators agreed to pool money from existing investors of both Optimus and Tryon and use it to make monthly payments to other investors in a Ponzi-like fashion. The conspirators concealed this arrangement from investors by falsely telling investors that the payments derived from legitimate investment returns, not other investors’ money.

In late August 2022, the conspirators had a series of meetings in which Weinstein revealed his true identity to Anderson and Curry. In these meetings, at least two of which included Erez, Weinstein also admitted to making various false statements about purported Optimus deals and to misappropriating Tryon investor money. Both during and after these August 2022 meetings, the conspirators agreed to continue concealing Weinstein’s identity from investors and to raise additional money to pay off existing Tryon investors, all in an effort to stop the Ponzi scheme from falling apart and to cover up the conspirators’ fraud.

In addition to defrauding investors, Erez also conspired with Weinstein and others to launder the proceeds of their crimes. Erez opened bank accounts to hold money for Weinstein that Erez knew was the proceeds of unlawful activity, including the fraud scheme, and transferred it for the benefit of Weinstein and his conspirators. Erez also created entities to invest ill-gotten funds in real estate companies for the benefit of Weinstein and his associates.

Erez also conspired with Weinstein, Bromberg, and others to obstruct justice. They helped hide Weinstein’s assets that should have been used to pay over $200 million in restitution that he still owes his previous victims. They also concealed Weinstein’s myriad business activities, which he was required to disclose to the court and which were expressly prohibited by the terms of his supervised release.

Conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice are each punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a maximum fine of either $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Conspiracy to commit money laundering is punishable by a maximum of twenty years and a statutory maximum fine equal to the greatest of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greatest. Sentencing for Erez is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Dennehy, and the IRS-Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, with the investigation leading to the charges in this case. He also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the direction of Antonia Apps, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Fayer, Carolyn Silane, Mark Pesce of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

 The charges against Weinstein and Bromberg are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

erez.information.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A South Carolina man was sentenced today to 92 months in prison for conspiring to traffic and unlawfully sell firearms and for possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Torell Brown, 49, of Orangeburg, South Carolina, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to Counts Three, Four, and Five of a superseding indictment that charged him with conspiracy to unlawfully sell firearms, possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon, and conspiracy to traffic firearms. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From April 2021 through May 18, 2021, Brown, a convicted felon, conspired to unlawfully sell firearms to at least one New Jersey resident. He trafficked six firearms and a large quantity of ammunition from South Carolina to New Jersey. From March 2021 through May 18, 2021, Brown also conspired to traffic firearms and ammunition into New Jersey, for use in connection with at least one other felony offense.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Brown to three years of supervised release. 

The investigation that led to these arrests is being conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and is part of the Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) in Newark. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.  The VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety to combat violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the DEA New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, N.J. State Board of Parole, Union County Jail, N.J. State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, N.J. Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark and special agents and task force officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti, with the investigations leading to the charges. He also thanked the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Director Fritz G. Fragé, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II, for their significant assistance with these cases.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Special Prosecutions Division, Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Fasanello of the Cybercrime Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Olta Bejleri of the Economic Crimes Unit.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Philadelphia man was sentenced to 120 months in prison for transporting victims in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution, U.S. Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Mallie M. Evans, 37, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams to a count of the indictment against him charging him with transporting any individual in interstate commerce with the intent that such individual engage in prostitution. Judge Williams imposed sentence on May 23, 2024, in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2015 through 2017, Evans recruited and coerced multiple victims to engage in prostitution for Evans’s financial benefit and transported victims across state lines between Philadelphia and central and southern New Jersey to engage in prostitution. Evans used fraud, emotional manipulation, physical violence, and threats of death and bodily injury to coerce the victims into engaging in commercial sex acts for his benefit.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Williams sentenced Evans to 10 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander E. Ramey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

NEWARK, N.J. – Daniel Hurt, who owned and/or operated Fountain Health Services LLC, Verify Health, Landmark Diagnostics LLC, First Choice Laboratory LLC and Sonoran Desert Pathology Associates LLC, has agreed to pay over $27 million to resolve allegations that he and his companies conspired with others to violate the False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting false claims to, and receiving payments from, Medicare for cancer genomic (CGx) tests that were not medically necessary and were procured through illegal kickbacks. Hurt, Fountain Health, Verify Health, Landmark Diagnostics, First Choice and Sonoran Desert Pathology also agreed to be excluded by the Department of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) from Medicare, Medicaid and all other Federal health care programs. Hurt previously pled guilty to criminal healthcare fraud for these offenses. The civil settlement is based on Hurt’s ability to pay.

The United States alleged that Hurt, his companies and others conspired to knowingly submit false claims for CGx tests that were not medically necessary to treat or diagnose a condition, and that Hurt received and paid kickbacks in exchange for Medicare referrals, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). In particular, the United States alleged that, from January 2019 to November 2021, Hurt conspired with telemarketing agents to solicit Medicare beneficiaries for “free” CGx tests; with telemedicine providers to “prescribe” CGx tests that were not medically necessary; with reference laboratories to conduct the CGx tests and with billing laboratories and a hospital to submit claims for payment to CMS.

“Medicare and Medicaid are two vitally important health care programs that provide critical services to millions of Americans. Schemes that seek to siphon money from these programs with unnecessary medical tests are especially egregious. We will do everything we can to protect the public and the services they need, and to hold accountable those who try to bilk the system.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

“We will not tolerate those who prey on older Americans to defraud Medicare,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “As this settlement reflects, we will use our available resources to protect federal health care programs and the beneficiaries they serve.”  

“Submitting false claims for medically unnecessary services to Medicare and Medicaid jeopardizes the integrity of vital health care programs, and we, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to make sure those who attempt to do so are held accountable,” stated Deputy Inspector General of Investigations Christian J. Schrank for HHS-OIG. “This substantial settlement underscores our steadfast dedication to safeguarding federal health care programs.”

This settlement includes the resolution of allegations brought in three cases filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the FCA, including an action filed by Robert Gerstein, a minority owner of Sonoran Desert Pathology, where he worked for Hurt, running the billing operations for CGx tests. Under the FCA, private parties can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. Under today’s resolution, Relator Gerstein will receive up to $4.7 million or 17% of the government’s recovery.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the Corporate/Financial Litigation Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, with assistance from HHS-OIG. 

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

The matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Dauenheimer (D.N.J.), Trial Attorney Samson Asiyanbi of the Fraud Section, Trial Attorneys Augustus Curtis and Andrew Warner of the Corporate/Financial Litigation Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy Bloor (M.D. Fla.) and Rosaline Chan (S.D. Fla.), and the Miami Regional Office of HHS-OIG.

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

settlement.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – Six Chilean nationals have been charged for conspiring to target homeowners across multiple states in residential burglaries, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Flavio Bladimir Astete Castillo, Dareyen Mauricio Cortes-Canete, Luis Esteban Castillo Vivar, Max Vidal Navarrete, Jordán Estefano Contreras Vilches, and Juan Jose Ramirez Nilo, all of Chile, are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to sell and receive stolen property that had crossed state lines and one count of receiving stolen property that had crossed state lines.

“Six Chilean nationals have been charged with conspiring to target homeowners in residential burglaries across multiple states from New York to Maryland. The Complaint alleges that  they conspired to receive and sell stolen pearl, gold and diamond jewelry, rare coins and other property that was stolen in those burglaries. Residential burglaries affect people in a very serious and personal way, and our office will continue to pursue criminals who are alleged to have violated the sanctity of our homes.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

“Thieves are victimizing more and more homeowners in New Jersey and beyond, traveling up from South American nations,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “They hit multiple victims in one community, quickly move on to the next and then flee back to their native country. This isn't your traditional crime spree; it is an actual industry of organized criminals who invade and shatter people's private sanctuaries and steal valuable possessions. These theft groups may believe they can circumvent our laws, but the charges today and other similar outstanding investigations prove we are stopping these offenders and bringing them to justice.”

“These arrests of a group of foreign-born individuals that engaged in interstate crime demonstrates how critical the cooperation between various law enforcement agencies continues to be,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations, Newark Field Office Director John Tsoukaris said. “ERO will continue to leverage our unique authorities in support of community safety.”

“The collaboration among law enforcement agencies was essential in apprehending these individuals who targeted homes across multiple states,” Clinton Township Police Department Chief Thomas A. DeRosa said. “This case exemplifies our commitment to working together and utilizing advanced technology, as well as investing in new technologies, to combat interstate crime and protect our communities. Our collective efforts ensured that these stolen valuables were recovered and those responsible were brought to justice.”

Five of the defendants appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte in Newark federal court and were detained. Ramirez Nilo had his initial appearance on May 22, 2024, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Christensen in Los Angeles federal court and was detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The defendants are part of a burglary ring that committed multiple residential burglaries in March and April 2024 in multiple states, including Maryland and New York. The defendants conspired to possess large amounts of jewelry, collectibles, and other valuable goods, among other items. On April 19, 2024, they moved a heavy security safe stolen from a residence, while attempting to conceal the stolen item from detection by covering security cameras.

Law enforcement officers searched a vehicle the defendants were using to transport the stolen goods and recovered multiple pieces of jewelry, collectible coins and cufflinks, and other valuable items, alongside tools commonly used to burglarize residences, such as gloves, balaclavas, and window punches.

The charge of conspiracy to sell or receive stolen property carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison; and the charge of receipt of stolen property carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. Both charges also carry a maximum potential penalty of up to a $250,000 fine, or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, whichever is greater.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited the FBI Newark’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark; Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations, under the direction of Field Office Director John Tsoukaris; the Clinton Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Thomas A. DeRosa; and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, under the direction of Superintendent of Police Edward T. Cetnar, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the FBI Los Angeles Major Theft Task Force and Customs and Border Protection, as well as the Amtrak Police Department, Baltimore County Police Burglary Unit, Jersey City Police Department, Los Angeles Police Department, New Jersey State Police, New York State Police, the Westchester County Police and the NJ Transit Police. 

Anyone who believes they may be a victim, or has information about the theft groups or burglaries, is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI, submit the information online at tips.fbi.gov, or call a local field office.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor A. Chenoweth of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

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

castilloetal.complaint.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang was sentenced today to 178 months in prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Tyheim Terry, aka “Ty,” aka “Rollin’ Ty,” 25, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to a superseding indictment that charged him with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, carjacking, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2015 through Sept. 22, 2022, Terry was a member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips, a criminal enterprise responsible for acts of violence and the distribution of controlled substances in the District of New Jersey and elsewhere. On Feb. 21, 2021, Terry worked with others, including members of the gang, to attempt to carjack a victim. On April 5, 2021, Terry worked with other members of the gang to shoot another victim. On April 11, 2021, Terry brandished a firearm and carjacked a third victim.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Terry to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz; special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan; special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti; investigators of the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of Marshal Juan Mattos; the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Police Division Director Tracy Bowers; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II; the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé; the Bloomfield Police Department, under the direction of Director of Public Safety Samuel A. DeMaio; the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura; the East Orange Police Department, under the direction of Chief Phyllis L. Bindi; the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Earl J. Graves; the Edison Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Tom Bryan; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William A. Daniel; the Spotswood Police Department, under the direction of Chief Philip Corbisiero; and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Fugitive and Missing Person Task Force, which includes members of the FBI, with the investigations leading to the charges in the Rollin 60’s Neighborhood Crips investigation.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake Nasar of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit.

NEWARK, N.J. – An Arizona man admitted today that he conspired to obtain over $4.4 million by defrauding the IRS, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Walid Khater, 38, of Mesa, Arizona, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS. Walid Khater’s conspirator, Omar Khater, 33, of Fairfield, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, 2024.

“Walid Khater has admitted his role in an elaborate scheme that used stolen personal identifying information and fabricated tax returns to fleece the IRS of millions of dollars. With the help of our law enforcement partners, we will aggressively pursue these illegal and dangerous schemes, and those who perpetrate them will be called to answer for their crimes.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

“Investigating individuals who use stolen identities to file fraudulent returns for personal gain is a top priority at IRS Criminal Investigation,” Jenifer L. Piovesan, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, said. “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who attempt to cheat our tax system on the backs of innocent taxpayers.”

“Khater admits he worked with his co-conspirator to steal personal information from his victims to file fake tax returns,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “He then used a chunk of the $4.4 million he stole to gamble. Adding to his already flagrant criminal acts, he filed his winnings as income to get tax refunds - stealing even more money from the federal government. His luck seems to have finally run out.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Walid and Omar Khater were relatives who worked together and with others to steal victims’ identities, which they used to file false tax returns and fraudulently receive tax refunds from the IRS. They electronically submitted tax documents to the IRS falsely claiming that the individual taxpayers listed on those documents had earned certain income or won thousands – and in some cases millions – of dollars in gambling and lottery winnings. The false filings also claimed tax withholdings on the purported income or gambling winnings that entitled the tax filer to refund payments from the IRS.

The Khaters and others typically submitted these fraudulent tax filings using the names and personal identifying information of individual taxpayers without their knowledge or permission. The fraudulent filings caused the IRS to pay lucrative tax refunds, totaling $4.49 million, which the Khaters and others directed to various bank accounts that they controlled.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. The charge of conspiracy to defraud the IRS carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 9, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, and special agents of FBI-Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the NJ Transit Police.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fatime Meka Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit and Katherine M. Romano of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.

khater.information.pdf

 

NEWARK, N.J. – A Washington state man pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Jose Luis Pineda Torres, 48, of Monroe, Washington, pleaded guilty before U.S. District William J. Martini in Newark federal court on May 20, 2024, to an information charging him with one count of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Feb. 15, 2023, Pineda Torres travelled to a warehouse in Secaucus, New Jersey, where individuals loaded boxes into his vehicle. The boxes contained powder and more than 20,000 pills containing fentanyl and weighing more than 6 kilograms.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. 

The count to which Pineda Torres pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29, 2024.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordann R. Conaboy of the U.S. Attorney’s Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.

pinedatorres.information.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A Mississippi man who owned, operated, had financial interests in, or was affiliated with pharmacies, durable medical equipment (DME) companies, and a laboratory today admitted his role in a health care fraud scheme that caused losses to Medicare in excess of $51 million, Attorney for the United States Caroline Sadlowski announced.

Keaton Langston, 39, of Booneville, Mississippi, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Langston and others owned, operated, had financial interests in, or were affiliated with pharmacies, DME companies, and a laboratory that Langston and others used to defraud health care benefit programs by offering and paying kickbacks and bribes in exchange for doctors’ orders for DME, genetic cancer screening tests, and compounded medications. The pharmacies, DME companies, and laboratory submitted or caused the submission to Medicare of claims for reimbursement without regard to medical necessity, and sent a portion of the proceeds to others as payment for the doctors’ orders generated through the conspiracy. Langston and others concealed the payment of bribes, in part, by entering into sham contracts designed to make it appear that suppliers were engaged in and being paid for legitimate marketing and referral services based on the hours and expenses incurred or on a flat-rate basis.   

The pharmacies, DME companies, and laboratory billed Medicare and other health care benefit programs at approximately $51 million for tests and orders that were the product of the illicit scheme. Langston received approximately $10 million from these reimbursements.

The charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 1, 2024.

Attorney for the United States Sadlowski credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark; the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz; the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian J. Solecki; and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division.

langston.information.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 121 months in prison for possessing images of child sexual abuse and committing naturalization fraud, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Ramy Mercado, 29, of Jersey City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of naturalization fraud. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From June 2022 to October 2022, Mercado used his cell phone to transmit more than 20 video files depicting the sexual abuse of minors, including infants or toddlers. Mercado also used his cell phone to communicate his desire for sexual encounters with young children. 

During this time, Mercado applied for and obtained U.S. citizenship and stated under penalty of perjury that since his citizenship interview, he had not committed any crime or offense for which he had not been arrested. In fact, Mercado had illegally possessed child pornography.  Mercado became a naturalized U.S. citizen on June 22, 2023.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Mercado to 15 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, man was charged with producing and possessing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Julio Albery Nunez, 27, West New York, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography. He was arrested on May 20, 2024, made his initial appearance on May 21, 2024, before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte in Newark federal court and was detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Beginning in December 2022 law enforcement began investigating Nunez for involvement with child pornography on various online and dark-web platforms.More recently, Nunez contacted a minor victim online and represented to that victim that he was a teenage girl. Nunez requested and received videos constituting child sexual abuse that depicted the minor. Law enforcement searched Nunez’s home on the morning of May 20, 2024.

The charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possession of child exploitation material carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited FBI Newark’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the West New York Police Department and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

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 Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Taj Moore and Rebecca Sussman of the OCDETF/Narcotics Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant  is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

nunez.complaint.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A former caseworker for the New Jersey Department of Children and Family Services, Division of Child Protection and Permanency, admitted possessing and transporting child pornography, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Trent Collier, 57, of Kearny, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal court on May 21, 2024, to an indictment charging him with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Sept. 28, 2021, Collier arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport aboard a flight from the Dominican Republic. Law enforcement officers searched Collier’s cellular phone and identified at least two images of child sexual abuse. In a statement to law enforcement, Collier admitted that he had previously sent child pornography to at least one other individual using his cellular phone and that that individual also sent child pornography to Collier’s cellular phone. A further search of Collier’s cellular phone uncovered multiple additional images of child sexual abuse, including images depicting the sexual exploitation of toddlers.

The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of transportation of child pornography carries a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Each count also carries a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 10, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, under the direction of Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, with the investigation. He also thanked the New Jersey State Police.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren D. Kober of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

collier.indictment.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A Russian citizen has been indicted for working as an “access broker” and selling unauthorized access to computer networks, including a victim company in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, District of New Jersey.

Evgeniy Doroshenko, 31, aka “Eugene Doroshenko”, aka “FlankerWWH,” aka “Flanker,” of Astrkhan, Russia, is charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud and one count of fraud and related activity in connection with computers.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From February 2019 to May 2024, Doroshenko devised a scheme whereby he gained unlawful access to victim computer systems and sold this access to others for a profit through a Russian language cybercrime forum located on the dark web. In January 2024, Doroshenko gained unauthorized access to the computer network of a victim company located in Bergen County, New Jersey. Doroshenko then offered to sell access to the victim company’s network to other cybercriminals via the cybercrime forum.

Cybercrime forums, like the one used by Doroshenko to sell access to victim computer networks, are online forums where cybercriminals promote and facilitate a wide variety of criminal activities including, among other activities, computer hacking and trafficking in stolen data.

The count of wire fraud carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross amount of gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest. The count of computer fraud carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross amount of gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, Aaron Hatley, Newark Field Office, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Malagold of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

doroshenko.indictment.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – Nine people have been arrested for their alleged roles in a drug trafficking organization that distributed fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine in Newark, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Jaquan Beard, 25, Joseph Feliciano, 40, Carlos Lopez, 50, George Lopez, 49, Tyree Malone, 36, and David Quinones, 29, all of Newark; Wilberto Cotto, 41, Reinaldo Cruz, 44, Steven Garcia, 48, Adolphus Hunter, 48, Jermaine Jones, 37, and Nelson Valentin, 37, all of Elizabeth, New Jersey; Joel Hernandez, 28, of Parlin, New Jersey; Jonathan Arce, 36, of Belleville, New Jersey; and Jose Correa, 53, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin. George Lopez is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

Reynaldo Cruz, 27, of Elizabeth, is charged by complaint with one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. 

Reynaldo Cruz and Quinones are scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court. Arce, Cotto, Reinaldo Cruz, Feliciano, Hernandez, Hunter, and Carlos Lopez appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court on May 16, 2024, and were detained. Jones, George Lopez, and Valentin are detained on state charges. Beard, Correa, Garcia, and Malone are at large.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Reinaldo Cruz, Feliciano, Hernandez, and Quinones distributed controlled substances on behalf of the drug trafficking organization (DTO) in and around Essex and Union counties, New Jersey, from several specific distribution locations. Beard, Correa, Cotto, Garcia, Hunter, Jones, Carlos Lopez, Malone, and Valentin, in turn, received controlled substances, often from one of these locations, and distributed them on behalf of the DTO. Arce served as a source of supply of controlled substances for the DTO. The investigation has also revealed that George Lopez provided advice and connections regarding sources of supply of controlled substances from jail while he received cash from the DTO. Many of the defendants are members and associates of the Latin Kings street gang, and some members are known to possess firearms in connection with the DTO’s activities. The investigation has revealed that the DTO distributed in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine, 5 kilograms of cocaine, 40 grams of fentanyl, and 100 grams of heroin.

The methamphetamine and cocaine conspiracy count carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine.  The fentanyl and heroin conspiracy and methamphetamine and cocaine possession counts each carries a mandatory minimum penalty five years in prison, maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a $5 million fine. The possession with intent to distribute controlled substances count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime count carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed. The conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The illegal possession of firearms and ammunition count carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Chief Harvey A. Barnwell; and the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Earl Graves and Chief Giacomo Sacca, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Union County Police Department, under the direction of Chief Martin Mogensen; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti; Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; the Essex County Sherriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura; the Hudson County Department of Corrections, under the direction of Director Becky Scott; the Cranford Police Department, under the direction of Chief Ryan Greco; the Bloomfield Police Department, under the direction of Chief George Ricci; the New Jersey State Police SWAT Team, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan: the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé and Chief Emmanuel Miranda; the Hudson County Regional SWAT Team, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez; and the U.S. Marshals Services, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Juan Mattos Jr.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Mezzanotte of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit and Eli Jacobs of the General Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 

reynaldocruz.complaint.pdf arceetal.complaint.pdf

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger spoke on the False Claims Act Panel at the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting and Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger described the District of New Jersey’s leading role in rooting out fraud, kickbacks, and false claims in health care and other government enforcement across the country. He highlighted his office’s aggressive approach toward these cases and the substantial resources it devotes to them.

“The False Claims Act was originally enacted in 1863 in response to defense contractor fraud during the American Civil War, and it remains the federal government’s primary civil tool to address fraud that impacts federal spending. For example, in 2016, Olympus, a medical device company, entered into $646 million global resolution that included a $310 million False Claims Act settlement to resolve allegations of pervasive and systemic kickbacks related to the sale of their endoscopic devices and other equipment. The matter was initiated based upon a qui tam filed in our district, and the relator received a share of the FCA recovery amounting to more than $50 million.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

The District of New Jersey employs a unique structure to help it combat healthcare and government fraud. It has two units tasked with enforcement in those areas, and those units have both criminal and civil Assistant U.S. Attorneys and support staff. These units often work in parallel on matters when appropriate, including False Claims Act cases.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger said that the District of New Jersey has increased its prosecutions of fraud matters, particularly in the wake of the government’s COVID relief programs. He noted that the office has created a criminal COVID Fraud Strike Force, which includes three additional Assistant U.S. Attorneys dedicated to COVID fraud enforcement. U.S. Attorney Sellinger said protecting taxpayers and punishing and deterring fraud on the government has been and will remain an important priority for the office.            

The False Claims Act allows private citizens to file suit under seal on behalf of the United States to seek restitution and penalties for fraud involving federal funds. Once such a suit is filed, the government will investigate the claims and pursue a recovery in appropriate instances.

The Act provides that these “whistleblowers,” or relators, as they are called, may receive a share of any recovery up to 30 percent in some cases. Settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act nationwide exceeded $2.68 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023. Recoveries since 1986, when Congress substantially strengthened the civil False Claims Act, now total more than $75 billion.

In Fiscal Year 2023, the District of New Jersey collected $120.7 million in affirmative civil enforcement actions.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger delivered remarks on domestic and international cybercrime trends at the 2024 New Jersey State Bar Association conference.

He participated on a panel which included members of U.S. Attorney Sellinger’s staff and the FBI. On May 15, 2024, the panel discussed several aspects of the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime, including the recent 11 nation disruption of LockBit, at times the most active and destructive ransomware variant in the world, led by the FBI and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, and the District of New Jersey’s indictment of LockBit’s developer and leader, Russian national Dimitry Khoroshev. 

“The indictment alleges that Khoroshev acted as LockBit’s leader from its inception and that Lockbit allegedly attacked more than 2,500 victims in at least 120 countries, including 1,800 victims in the United States. LockBit victims included individuals, small businesses, multinational corporations, hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations, critical infrastructure, and government and law enforcement agencies. Khoroshev and his conspirators allegedly extracted at least $500 million in ransom payments from their victims and caused billions of dollars in broader losses, such as lost revenue, incident response, and recovery.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

To date, six individuals, including Khoroshev, have been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Jersey for their participation in the LockBit conspiracy.

Other topics discussed by the panel included the recent spike in cryptocurrency confidence scams, tech support schemes, and how Artificial Intelligence is affecting cybercrime investigations.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains devoted to combatting all forms of cybercrime and obtaining justice for its victims.

The charges and allegations against the defendants in the LockBit case are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

CAMDEN, N.J. – An Egyptian national living in New Jersey was sentenced to 18 months in prison for engaging in a fraudulent scheme to misappropriate more than approximately $430,000 belonging to his former New Jersey employer, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Abdelrahman Ahmed-Elkilani, 28, a citizen of Egypt who formerly resided in Florida, and now resides in Woodland Park, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud. Judge Kugler imposed the sentence on May 15, 2024, in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From January 2017 through July 2019, Ahmed-Elkilani misappropriated more than $430,000 in funds belonging to his former employer by taking advantage of his role as a marketing manager for the company and his access to other employees’ operator codes, as well as the company’s membership accounts to create and execute multiple false transactions. These transactions enabled Ahmed-Elkilani to misappropriate funds for his own personal use and benefit.

Ahmed-Elkilani misappropriated $417,075 held in the company’s deposit account and caused approximately $275,000 of those funds to be transferred to his personal credit or debit cards. He also misappropriated $13,674 in additional company funds through other fraudulent methods.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Kugler sentenced Ahmed-Elkilani to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution and forfeiture in the amount of $430,749.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer S. Kozar of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Colombian citizen today admitted conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Edgar Ruiz-Gomez, aka “Gono,” 57, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to count one of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2016 through January 2020, Ruiz-Gomez and others conspired to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine. Ruiz-Gomez acknowledged holding a managerial role in this conspiracy, which involved more than five individuals.

The count to which Ruiz-Gomez pleaded guilty carries a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark, and special agents and task force officers with the DEA operating in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché’s Office at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota; Colombian law enforcement authorities; and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Farhana C. Melo of the OCDETF/Narcotics Unit in Newark.

ruizgomez.indictment.pdf

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 171 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Michael Venditti, 39, of Camden, previously pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler to an information charging him with conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Judge Kugler imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From March 2021 through September 2021, Venditti coordinated an operation by which he received U.S. Postal Service Parcels collectively containing more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine. Venditti distributed the methamphetamine he received to others. On Sept. 20, 2021, Venditti and his conspirators were encountered at a residence in Camden. When law enforcement searched the residence, they seized approximately eight pounds of methamphetamine, approximately $29,000 in U.S. currency, scales, and other drug paraphernalia.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Kugler sentenced Venditti to five years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $29,433.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited troopers assigned to the New Jersey State Police Strategic Investigations Unit South, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen; special agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark; agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, under the leadership of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi; and special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.

NEWARK, N.J. – A former New York-based branch manager of an international financial institution today admitted using his position to steal more than $208,000 from a customer, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

James Gomes, 43, of New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In early 2020, Gomes worked as the branch manager of a New York-based branch of an international bank. Starting in January 2020, Gomes used his position to improperly access bank accounts in the name of a bank customer. Without approval, Gomes enrolled the customer’s accounts in the bank’s online banking services. Gomes linked his personal phone number to the customer’s accounts and created a fraudulent email address containing the customer’s name, which he similarly linked to the customer’s accounts. Gomes also used the fraudulent email address to “correspond” with his official bank email address to make it appear that the customer was sending instructions to the bank. In March and April 2020, Gomes fraudulently transferred a total of $208,939 from the customer’s accounts to Gomes’ personal bank accounts at other financial institutions, to his personal investment account, and to pay his personal cell phone bill.  Gomes continued the scheme even after the customer died on April 5, 2020. 

The charge of wire fraud affecting a financial institution carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 6, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of IRS - Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark; and special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked the Morristown Police Department.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marko Pesce of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark and Trial Attorneys D. Zachary Adams and Chelsea Rooney of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.

gomes.information.pdf

CAMDEN, N.J. – A manager for a drug trafficking organization that purchased over 100 kilograms of cocaine in Puerto Rico and shipped the kilograms to residences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and southern New Jersey was sentenced to 120 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Jose Gonzalez, 51, Philadelphia, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Judge O’Hearn imposed the sentence on May 14, 2024, in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From March 2019 to August 2020, Gonzalez and other conspirators traveled on commercial flights from Philadelphia International Airport to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on numerous occasions. They purchased multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from wholesale drug suppliers based in the San Juan area in exchange for cash payments. Gonzalez and the other conspirators then shipped the kilograms of cocaine by overnight delivery from U.S. Post Offices in San Juan to addresses in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey. Gonzalez resold the kilograms to other drug dealers in the Philadelphia area for a profit. Gonzalez admitted that he had a management role in the conspiracy, and that he and the other conspirators purchased and shipped over 100 kilograms of cocaine.

When Gonzalez was arrested in August 2020, agents seized over $120,000 in cash during a search of his residence in Philadelphia and a 9mm handgun from an auto garage that Gonzalez operated in Philadelphia. As part of his plea agreement, Gonzalez agreed to the forfeiture of the U.S. currency and the 9mm handgun, as well as the forfeiture of a Dodge Ram pickup truck that was used in connection with the drug trafficking conspiracy.

In addition to the prison term, Judge O’Hearn sentenced Gonzalez to five years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of $120,900, a 9 mm handgun, and a Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen; agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, under the leadership of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi; special agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs in Philadelphia; troopers assigned to the New Jersey State Police Strategic Investigations Unit South, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; and officers and detectives of the Philadelphia Police Department, under the direction of Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Askin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man today admitted structuring over $250,000 in bank deposits, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Abdel Elgendy, 67, of Piscataway, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with structuring.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From March 2021 to November 2021, Elgendy purposefully engaged in a pattern of structuring activity to deposit over $250,000 in cash at financial institutions in ways to avoid reporting requirements for transactions in excess of $10,000. For example, during one of the deposits in September 2021, Elgendy accidentally provided a teller with more than $10,000 to be deposited. When the teller informed him that the cash totaled more than $10,000, Elgendy took some of the money back from the teller to ensure that the total deposited amount was less than $10,000.

The count of structuring to which Elgendy pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, under the direction of Inspector General John Gay; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark; special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; and special agents with the Department of Defense Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Cyber Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Kenneth A. DeChellis, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked the Springfield, New Jersey, and Teaneck, New Jersey, police departments.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Silane and Benjamin Levin of the Criminal Division in Newark.

elgendy.information.pdf

TRENTON, N.J. – A Maryland man was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for participating in a conspiracy to defraud health insurance companies through a multistate patient brokering scheme in which he directed recruiters to bribe drug-addicted individuals to enroll in drug rehabilitation in exchange for referral fees from the rehabilitation centers, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

John Devlin, 37, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Judge Sheridan imposed the sentence on May 14, 2024.

Six other individuals have previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme: Peter Costas; Seth Logan Welsh; John C. Devlin; Akikur Mohammad; Lauren Philhower; and Anastasia Passas.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Devlin, Dickau, and Welsh, and their conspirators owned and operated a marketing company in California. Devlin, Dickau, and Welsh used the marketing company to help orchestrate a scheme in New Jersey, Maryland, California, and other states that involved bribing individuals addicted to heroin and other drugs to enter into drug rehabilitation centers so Devlin, Dickau, and Welsh, and their conspirators could generate referral fees from those facilities. Two facilities in California that paid such referral fees were owned or operated by Mohammad, Philhower, and Passas.

The marketing company run by Devlin, Dickau, and Welsh maintained contractual relationships with drug treatment facilities around the country, including the ones run by Mohammad, Philhower, and Passas. The marketing company also engaged a nationwide network of recruiters – including Costas in New Jersey – to identify and recruit potential patients, from New Jersey and other states, who were addicted to heroin or other drugs and who had robust private health insurance.

To convince drug-addicted individuals to travel to and enroll in rehabilitation when they otherwise would not have, Costas and other recruiters offered to bribe them – often as much as several thousand dollars – with the approval of Devlin, Dickau, and Welsh. Once the patients agreed to enroll in drug rehabilitation in exchange for the offered bribe, Devlin, Dickau, Welsh, and Costas would arrange and pay for cross-country travel to the drug treatment centers in California and other states, in concert with the owners of the facilities themselves, including Mohammad, Philhower, and Passas. Costas would stay in touch with the New Jersey patients at the facilities and specifically instruct them to stay at the facilities long enough to generate referral payments, and he would pass along information to Devlin, Dickau, and Welsh about the patients’ status at the facilities. Devlin, Dickau, and Welsh would monitor the other patients they brokered by speaking to other recruiters or to the owners and employees of the drug treatment facilities themselves.

The drug treatment facilities run by Mohammad, Philhower, and Passas had contracts with the marketing company. Those facilities typically paid the marketing company a fee of $5,000 to $10,000 per patient referral. Devlin, Dickau, and Welsh, and their conspirators shared that money among themselves. Costas and other recruiters received approximately half that amount for each patient they brokered. Devlin, Dickau, and Welsh, and their conspirators brokered scores of patients to drug treatment facilities around the country, including the ones run by Mohammad, Philhower, and Passas, and the conspiracy caused millions of dollars of losses for health insurers.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Devlin to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading the sentencing. He also thanked the FBI, under the direction of Acting Assistant Director in Charge Amir Ehsaei in Los Angeles and the District Attorney’s Office in Orange County, California.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason S. Gould, Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark, Angelica Sinopole of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark, and Aaron Webman of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, woman was sentenced to 144 months in prison for her role in a one-night crime spree involving robberies and shootings in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Siobhan Chandler, 21, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to an indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to use and carry a firearm in relation to crime of violence, attempted Hobbs Act Robbery, Hobbs Act robbery, and using and carrying a firearm in relation to crime of violence. Judge Martinotti imposed the sentence on May 14, 2024, in Newark federal court. The charges against her conspirator, Rodney Williams, are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On the evening of Nov. 14, 2023, Chandler and Williams robbed a gas station, where Williams pointed his gun at an attendant and demanded money. Chandler and Williams threatened force, violence, or fear of injury to two employees by demanding money while pointing a firearm at the employees. Chandler and Williams then fled.

Chandler and Williams later entered another store, and Williams again pointed his firearm at a clerk and demanded money. The clerk handed money to Williams and he and Chandler then fled.

Chandler and Williams entered a nearby restaurant and threatened force, violence or the fear of injury to a cashier. Williams pointed his gun at the cashier and demanded money. Williams discharged the firearm, shooting the cashier in the chest. The cashier handed money to Williams, after which Williams and Chandler fled.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Martinotti sentenced Chandler to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited officers of the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea; and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanks the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shontae D. Gray of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

CAMDEN, N.J. – An Atlantic County, New Jersey, man was charged today with possessing unregistered machineguns and other items, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Michael John James, 30, of Somers Point, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of possessing unregistered machineguns and other firearms, as defined under the National Firearms Act. He appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio in Camden federal court and was detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel intercepted two packages that contained suspected controlled substances and were addressed to James’ residence. On Feb. 27, 2024, investigators conducted a controlled delivery of the packages, observed James bring the packages into his residence, and executed a search warrant at the residence, where they recovered dozens of firearms and ballistics items. Among the recovered items were three operable machine guns, an operable weapon modified to be shorter than a standard rifle, an operable weapon modified to be shorter than a standard shotgun, and three silencers.

The possession of an unregistered machinegun or other firearm, as defined under the National Firearms Act, charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti; special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; personnel from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William Reynolds; and officers of the Somers Point Police Department, under the direction of Chief Robert C. Somers, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.

The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn Waegener and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

james.complaint.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy that targeted residences belonging to Asian small business owners, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Kevin Jackson, 57, of Rahway, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. Judge Padin imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From Dec. 2, 2016, to March 20, 2019, Jackson participated in a conspiracy to burglarize the residences of certain Asian small business owners living in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, stealing large sums of money, valuable jewelry, and other items and transporting the stolen goods in interstate commerce, including to residences in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Padin sentenced Jackson to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $294,586.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited FBI Newark’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanked the South Plainfield Police Department, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of State, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Bernards Township, Bethlehem Township, Cherry Hill, Cinnaminson, Clark, Colonial Regional, Cranford, Delaware State Police-Troop 2, Delran, Edison, East Brunswick, East Hanover, Eatontown, Elizabeth, Essex County Sheriff’s Office-Bureau of Narcotics, Evesham Township, Exeter Township, Fair Lawn, Forks Township, Fort Lee, Franklin Township, Glassboro, Gloucester Township, Hackensack, Haverstraw, Hazlet, Highland Park, Hillside, Hillsborough Township, Howell Township, Jackson, Kenilworth, Lawrence Township, Linden, Lyndhurst, Mahwah, Marlboro Township, Maywood, Middletown, Montgomery County, Montville, Morris Township, Mount Laurel, Mountainside, New Castle County, New Providence, New York Police Department’s 105th Detective Squad, North Brunswick, North Plainfield, Old Bridge, Paramus, Parsippany, Phillipsburg, Piscataway, Pocono Mountain Regional, Pocono Township, Raritan, Roselle Park, Sayreville, Somerville, South Brunswick, South River, South Whitehall Township, Spotswood, Town of Tuxedo, Tinton Falls, Toms River, Township of Ocean, Union, Upper Macungie Township, Wall Township, Warren, Washington Township, Watchung, Westfield, Whitehall Township, and Woodbridge Township police departments.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dong Joo Lee of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Cape May County, New Jersey, man today admitted misappropriating postal funds, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Austin T. Mahan, 44, of Cape May Court House, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn to an information charging him  with misappropriating over $1,000 in postal funds.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

For approximately six months in 2022 and 2023, Mahan, who worked as a United States Postal Service (USPS) supervisor at the Sea Isle and Somers Point Post Offices at various times, misused USPS credit cards to make personal purchases at various retail stores operating in and around New Jersey. These purchases included thousands of dollars’ worth of gift cards as well as various home décor items, home renovation materials, power and handheld tools, tool storage equipment, and other personal items. The unauthorized expenses totaled $54,356.

The charge to which Mahan pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and a maximum potential fine of $250,000, or a sum equal to the amount of value of the money or property misappropriated from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 25, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited agents of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, with the investigation leading to the complaint.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara A. Aliabadi of the Special Prosecutions Division in Camden.

mahan.information.pdf

TRENTON, N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, woman was sentenced to 24 months in prison for conspiring to illegally obtain over $400,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Yanira Abreu, 42, of Keasbey, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch to an information charging her with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Kirsch imposed the sentence on May 9, 2024, in Trenton federal court.

Abreu’s conspirator, Christopher Valerio, 33, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced on April 30, 2024, to 30 months in prison. A third conspirator, Jose Tavares of New York, is charged by indictment and his case remains pending.  

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From July 2020 through February 2021, Abreu, Valerio, and others submitted false and fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits to the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) through fictitious online profiles that they created using personally identifiable information, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, of other individuals without their consent. Once the NYDOL processed and approved the fraudulent applications, Abreu and her conspirators obtained debit cards with illegally obtained funds totaling $444,728, which they used for personal gain. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Kirsch sentenced Abreu to two years of supervised release and ordered restitution and forfeiture, each in the amount of $444,728.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone, and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.  

The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations against Tavares are merely accusations, and Taveras is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County, New Jersey, man was arrested Friday night for transmitting via the internet a post containing threats to kill white people, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Joshua Cobb, 23, of Trenton, New Jersey, was arrested and charged by complaint with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah Singh in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Dec. 17, 2022, Cobb used a social media application to post a message, stating:

• I want to cause mayhem on the white community. The reason i specifically want to target white people is because as a black male, they will NEVER understand my struggles. Same way I will never understand their struggles, but I don’t care to. I want to erase them. All of them really, but in this case as many as I possibly can. As of today I have officially began planning my attack. It is going to take place in 2023 in the state of New Jersey, I have not chosen a exact date but I am going to be sure it is close to an important holiday to their race. I have a location in mind already which I have frequented for the past year and I am certain nobody there is armed to be able to stop me from spraying them to the ground. I have already acquired 2 of the 4 firearms I plan to use for my attack, and I also know my entry and exit points already after the mayhem.

Following this post, in April and May 2023, Cobb made several additional posts on another social media application, in which he discussed his hopes of progressing into a serial killer, stating:

• Imagine the rush you’d feel while shooting some sh*t up. Probably could get literally high off the adrenaline alone. I’d probably OD on my own adrenaline after the 10th body goes down.

• 100% someday. Just not yet thought. I want to continue training and buying more ammunition.

• Tbh I hope I do progress into a serial killer because I f*cking hate life man... But one day everyone will suffer. I promise I will make everyone feel my f*ucking pain. My deep, sincere, raw, & sharp pain.

• There is no way out for me. The only way out is bloodshed.

• Just wait man. Remember [my username]. [I] will leave clues when im done.

• I’m just leaving evidence for whoever investigates my case.

Cobb joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2023 and began basic training in June 2023. Cobb was stationed in California until his recent discharge.

In statements to law enforcement, Cobb admitted to writing the above-described posts and provided detailed information on locations he had considered as possible targets for his attack, including a Jersey Strong gym and an Aldi grocery store in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Cobb also discussed his access to guns and idolized other mass shooters.

A lawful search of Cobb’s cell phone revealed additional notes from April and May 2023 expressing Cobb’s homicidal ideations, stating:

• It’s all a f*cking game and you all are going to die. I currently lack the means necessary to kill as many as I intend to but one day I will have the available resources (finance) to purchase the appropriate weaponry for my killing(s).

• All my life I have been doubyed… Ive been taken as the joke… ive been f*cked around with… well now its my turn. I am going to kill one of you mother*ckers I f*cking hate humanity. All of you f*cking duck and I don’t give a single f*ck about any of you though I may appear I do.

• Im ready to grt to the good part of my story where I start taking you mother f*ckers out and killing you all… My rampage will soon happen… I plan to now continue accumulating the necessary equipment needed to execute. Once all equipment is in, time will then tell. You will all die.

• I hate all of this sh*t and I feel like my only way out of the pain and suffering is by exploding. So I await… I await that moment so I can make those moments final. For whomever… myself or a victim.

Cobb’s phone also contained notes on how to bring guns into New Jersey.  

The charge of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the FBI Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy, with the investigation leading to the arrest. He also thanked the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, under the direction of U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada, agents of the FBI Field Office in Los Angeles, California, under the direction of Acting Assistant Director in Charge Mehtab Syed; the Hamilton Police Division, under the direction of Chief Kenneth R. DeBoskey; the Robbinsville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael K. Polaski; and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vera Varshavsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security Unit, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division. 

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

cobb.complaint.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A Brooklyn, New York, man was charged for his role in a scheme to steal and alter checks from the mail and fraudulently obtain funds from banks by depositing the stolen and altered checks into bank accounts belonging to individuals other than the intended recipients, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Noah Aranzamendi, 25, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and the receipt and possession of stolen mail. Aranzamendi was arraigned on May 9, 2024, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court and was detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From February 2020 to February 2022, Aranzamendi conspired with others to steal checks from the mail in Bergen County and elsewhere, which he then sold to third parties or deposited, sometimes in altered or duplicate form, into the bank accounts of complicit accountholders who had provided access to their bank accounts for the scheme. Aranzamendi obtained stolen official USPS arrow keys, which Aranzamendi used to access mail and steal checks directly from USPS receptacles. Aranzamendi and his conspirators then targeted the accounts associated with the checks he stole and created false identifications in the names of the accountholders, which he and his conspirators used to make fraudulent withdrawals from those accounts. The scheme resulted in losses to victims of at least $240,213.

The count of bank fraud conspiracy is punishable by a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The count of receipt and possession of stolen mail is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The bank fraud conspiracy count is also punishable by a fine of up to $1 million; all other charges are punishable by a maximum potential fine of up to $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division; and special agents with the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, Northeast Area Field Office. He also thanked the Teaneck Police Department under Chief Andrew R. McGurr.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachelle M. Navarro of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.

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

aranzamendi.indictment.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – Four Bergen County, New Jersey, residents were arrested for their alleged roles in a drug trafficking organization that distributed heroin in Newark, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Ernesto Adon Martinez, 38, Luis Arismedy Gomez Torres, 28, and Deury Luis Gomez Torres, 25, all of Fort Lee, New Jersey, are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin. Jenny Desiree Rosario-Lorenzo, 28, also of Fort Lee, is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine and aiding and abetting the same.

Three defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court on May 8, 2024, and were detained. Deury Gomez Torres remains at large.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The defendants are members and associates of a drug trafficking organization that dealt fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin in and around Fort Lee and New York. The organization is affiliated with the Trinitarios street gang. The investigation revealed that the drug trafficking organization distributed in excess of 400 grams of fentanyl and more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

The fentanyl and methamphetamine conspiracy count carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine.  The heroin conspiracy and drug possession counts each carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark; U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, under the direction of Port Director TenaVel Thomas; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), under the direction of Newark Field Office Director John Tsoukaris; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti; the Fort Lee Police department, under the direction of Chief Matthew J. Hintze; the New York City Police Department, under the direction of Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban; and the Belleville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mark Minichini, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Goldberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.

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

rosariolorenzo.complaint.pdf martinezetal.complaint.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A California man was sentenced today to 87 months in prison for conspiring to unlawfully sell firearms and methamphetamine via the internet, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Angelo Chavez, 24, of Manteca, California, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count each of conspiracy to unlawfully deal in firearms and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Starting in August 2020, undercover law enforcement agents began communicating with Chavez and several conspirators via a social media platform, where Chavez and his conspirators advertised for sale various narcotics and firearms. From August 2020 and December 2021, undercover law enforcement agents purchased 13 firearms from Chavez and his conspirators, including six AR-15 firearms, two of which were shipped with auto sear switches which enable the firearms to function as fully automatic machine guns. Undercover agents also purchased methamphetamine from Chavez and his conspirators. Chavez and his conspirators were paid mostly in cryptocurrency and mailed the drugs and guns from addresses in California to New Jersey.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Chavez to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division; and special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vera Varshavsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Criminal Division in Newark. 

CAMDEN, N.J. – – A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today to possession of cocaine and fentanyl with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Kedwin Ramon Then Gutierrez, 35, of Bronx, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of possession of cocaine and fentanyl with intent to distribute.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On May 1, 2023, Gutierrez travelled from his home in New York to a rest station in Burlington County, New Jersey, where he gave a box containing over $200,000 to Mauricio Silva Jr.  In return, Silva gave Gutierrez a black duffel bag containing approximately 27 kilograms of cocaine and nine kilograms of fentanyl. Silva is charged by complaint and those charges remain pending.

The count to which Gutierrez pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III,  with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph McFarlane of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

The charges and allegations in the complaint against Silva are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

gutierrez.information.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, woman was arrested today for burglarizing two U.S. Post Offices on six occasions, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Zyeama Johnson, 29, Jersey City, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with six counts of burglary of a post office. Johnson appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy Waldor in Newark federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Jan. 10, Jan. 13, Jan. 21, Jan. 26, and Feb. 3, 2023, Johnson broke into a post office in Hudson County. Johnson had previously been employed at the post office and terminated from her position. On each occasion, Johnson stole mail from the post office and loaded the stolen mail into her vehicle before driving off. On Feb. 7, 2023, Johnson broke into a second post office location and was arrested by law enforcement as she left the building.

Each count of burglary carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division; special agents of the U.S. Postal Service, Officer of the Inspector General under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi; and the Jersey City Police Department with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chana Zuckier of the General Crimes in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

johnson.complaint.pdf

NOTE: A video-recorded statement by U.S. Attorney Sellinger and FBI Special Agent in Charge Dennehy is available here: Lockbit Press Statement - YouTube. A video-recorded statement by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, can be obtained here.  

 

NEWARK, N.J. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the U.S. Justice Department unsealed charges today against a Russian national for his alleged role as the creator, developer, and administrator of the LockBit ransomware group from its inception in September 2019 through the present. At times, LockBit was the most prolific ransomware group in the world.

Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev (Дмитрий Юрьевич Хорошев), aka LockBitSupp, LockBit, and putinkrab, 31, of Voronezh, Russia, is charged by a 26-count indictment returned by a grand jury in the District of New Jersey.

“Earlier this year, the Justice Department and our U.K. law enforcement partners disrupted LockBit, a ransomware group responsible for attacks on victims across the United States and around the world,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today we are going a step further, charging the individual who we allege developed and administered this malicious cyber scheme, which has targeted over 2,000 victims and stolen more than $100 million in ransomware payments. We will continue to work closely alongside our partners, across the U.S. government and around the world to disrupt cybercrime operations like LockBit and to find and hold accountable those responsible for them.”

“Dmitry Khoroshev conceived, developed, and administered Lockbit, the most prolific ransomware variant and group in the world, enabling himself and his affiliates to wreak havoc and cause billions of dollars in damage to thousands of victims around the globe. He thought he could do so hidden by his notorious moniker ‘LockBitSupp,’ anonymous and free of any consequence, while he personally pocketed $100 million extorted from Lockbit’s victims. Through relentless investigation and coordination with our partners at CCIPS, the FBI and abroad, we have proven him and his coconspirators wrong. Today’s indictment marks a significant milestone in the investigation and prosecution of LockBit, which has already led to charges against five other LockBit affiliates – two of whom are in custody awaiting trial – and a major disruption of the now discredited LockBit operation.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

“As part of our unrelenting efforts to dismantle ransomware groups and protect victims, the Justice Department has brought over two dozen criminal charges against the administrator of LockBit, one of the world’s most dangerous ransomware organizations,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “Working with U.S. and international partners, we are using all our tools to hold ransomware actors accountable—and we continue to encourage victims to report cyberattacks to the FBI when they happen. Reporting an attack could make all the difference in preventing the next one.”

“Today’s indictment of LockBit developer and operator Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev continues the FBI’s ongoing disruption of the LockBit criminal ecosystem,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said. “The LockBit ransomware group represented one of the most prolific ransomware variants across the globe, causing billions of dollars in losses and wreaking havoc on critical infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. The charges announced today reflect the FBI’s unyielding commitment to disrupting ransomware organizations and holding the perpetrators accountable.”

“Most people would not consider being accused of creating and administering the most destructive ransomware group in the world as a badge of honor,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “However, the alleged ringleader. Dmitry Khoroshev, wears it like an Olympic Gold Medal. Hackers lock down computer systems for ports of entry into countries, post offices, hospitals, children’s schools, banks, and the list goes on. Even more sinister and dangerous, these cybercriminals simply don’t care. It’s a game to them, sport to prove how smart they are. I can guarantee if their child couldn’t get medical care because another hacker had locked down a local hospital, they’d understand how unbelievably frustrating and debilitating their actions are. This isn’t a game of cat and mouse to us. We are charged as the FBI with stopping bad actors from breaking the law. Our action today, every day up until now and every day going forward, proves we won’t quit. We will see that these thieves are brought to justice.”

The indictment against Khoroshev unsealed today follows a recent disruption of LockBit ransomware in February by the U.K. National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Cyber Division, which worked in cooperation with the Justice Department, FBI, and other international law enforcement partners. As previously announced by the Department, authorities disrupted LockBit by seizing numerous public-facing websites used by LockBit to connect to the organization’s infrastructure and by seizing control of servers used by LockBit administrators, thereby disrupting the ability of LockBit actors to attack and encrypt networks and extort victims by threatening to publish stolen data. That disruption succeeded in greatly diminishing LockBit’s reputation and its ability to attack further victims, as alleged by the indictment unsealed today.

In addition, as previously announced, law enforcement developed decryption capabilities that may enable hundreds of victims around the world to restore systems encrypted using the LockBit ransomware variant. Victims targeted by this malware are encouraged to contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov/ to enable law enforcement to determine whether affected systems can be successfully decrypted.

According to the indictment and other documents previously unsealed in the District of New Jersey:

Khoroshev and the LockBit Ransomware Group

Khoroshev allegedly acted as the LockBit ransomware group’s developer and administrator from its inception in or around September 2019 through May 2024. Khoroshev and his affiliate coconspirators, grew LockBit into what was, at times, the most active and destructive ransomware variant in the world. The LockBit ransomware group attacked more than 2,500 victims in at least 120 countries, including 1,800 victims in the United States. LockBit victims included individuals, small businesses, multinational corporations, hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations, critical infrastructure, and government and law-enforcement agencies. Khoroshev and his co-conspirators extracted at least $500 million in ransom payments from their victims and caused billions of dollars in broader losses, such as lost revenue, incident response, and recovery.

As with other major ransomware variants, Khoroshev allegedly designed LockBit to operate in the “ransomware-as-a-service” (RaaS) model. Under this model, Khoroshev himself acted as the LockBit developer and administrator. He allegedly arranged for the design of the LockBit ransomware, recruited other LockBit members – called affiliates – to deploy it against victims, and maintained the LockBit infrastructure, including an online software dashboard called a “control panel” to provide the affiliates with the tools necessary to deploy LockBit. 

Khoroshev allegedly designed LockBit to operate in the “ransomware-as-a-service” (RaaS) model. In his role as the LockBit developer and administrator, Khoroshev arranged for the design of the LockBit ransomware code itself, recruited other LockBit members—called affiliates—to deploy it against victims, and maintained the LockBit infrastructure, including an online software dashboard called a “control panel” to provide the affiliates with the tools necessary to deploy LockBit. Khoroshev also maintained LockBit’s public-facing website—called a “data leak site”—for the publication of data stolen from victims who refused to pay a ransom.

As alleged in the indictment, Khoroshev—as the LockBit developer—typically received a 20% share of each ransom payment extorted from LockBit victims. The affiliate responsible for that attack would receive the remaining 80%. During the scheme, Khoroshev alone allegedly received at least $100 million in disbursements of digital currency through his developer shares of LockBit ransom payments.

LockBit infrastructure seized by law enforcement through the February 2024 disruption allegedly showed that Khoroshev retained copies of data stolen from LockBit victims who had paid the demanded ransom.

Khoroshev and his affiliate co-conspirators had falsely promised those victims that their stolen data would be deleted after payment. Moreover, after the February 2024 disruption, Khoroshev allegedly communicated with law enforcement and urged them to disclose the identities of his RaaS competitors—whom Khoroshev called his “enemies”—in exchange for his services.

Khoroshev is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, extortion, and related activity in connection with computers; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; eight counts of intentional damage to a protected computer; eight counts of extortion in relation to confidential information from a protected computer; and eight counts of extortion in relation to damage to a protected computer.  In total, those charges carry a maximum penalty of 185 years in prison. Each of the 26 counts charged by the indictment also carries a maximum fine of the greatest of $250,000, pecuniary gain to the offender, or pecuniary harm to the victim.

The LockBit Investigation

With the indictment unsealed today, a total of six LockBit members have now been charged for their participation in the LockBit conspiracy:

• In February 2024, an indictment was unsealed in the District of New Jersey charging Russian nationals Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, also known as Bassterlord, with deploying LockBit against numerous victims throughout the United States, including businesses nationwide in the manufacturing and other industries.

• In June 2023, a criminal complaint was filed in the District of New Jersey charging Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov, a Russian national, in connection with his participation in the LockBit group. Astamirov is currently in custody awaiting trial.

• In May 2023, two indictments were unsealed in Washington, D.C., and the District of New Jersey charging Mikhail Matveev, also known as “Wazawaka,” “m1x,” “Boriselcin,” and “Uhodiransomwar,” with using different ransomware variants, including LockBit, to attack numerous victims throughout the United States, including the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Matveev is currently the subject of a reward of up to $10 million through the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Rewards Program, with information accepted through the FBI tip website at www.tips.fbi.gov/.

• Finally, in November 2022, a criminal complaint was filed in the District of New Jersey charging Mikhail Vasiliev in connection with his participation in the LockBit ransomware group. Vasiliev, a dual Russian-Canadian national, is currently in custody in Canada awaiting extradition to the United States.

The FBI Newark Field Office is investigating the LockBit ransomware variant.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly, David E. Malagold, and Vinay Limbachia for the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorneys Jessica C. Peck, Debra Ireland, and Jorge Gonzalez of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS).

The Justice Department’s Cybercrime Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust, Office of International Affairs, and National Security Division also provided significant assistance.

Additionally, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced today that it is designating Khoroshev for his role in launching cyberattacks. For more information, visit https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2326. Authorities in the United Kingdom and Australia also announced sanctions today against Khoroshev.

The Department of State also announced today a reward of up to $10 million for information that leads to the apprehension of Khoroshev. Information that may be eligible for this award can be submitted by email at fbisupp@fbi.gov, Telegram at @LockbitRewards, Signal at @FBISupp.01, and tox B0B98577F0541160C745B464E42C9AB782B036682FAD59D5F228EA75BF71691BE68A8E08BD55. The reward announced today supplements a previous reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of any individual who holds a leadership position in the criminal group behind LockBit ransomware. For more information on this reward, visit Reward for Information: LockBit Ransomware-as-a-Service.

Victims of LockBit should contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov for further information. Additional details on protecting networks against LockBit ransomware are available at StopRansomware.gov. These include Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Advisories AA23-325A, AA23-165A, and AA23-075A.      

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

khoroshev.indictment.pdf sellinger_remarks.pdf

Remote video URL

 

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey's recorded remarks

The U.S. Justice Department unsealed charges today against a Russian national for his alleged role as the creator, developer, and administrator of the LockBit ransomware group from its inception in September 2019 through the present. At times, LockBit was the most prolific ransomware group in the world.

“Earlier this year, the Justice Department and our U.K. law enforcement partners disrupted LockBit, a ransomware group responsible for attacks on victims across the United States and around the world,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today we are going a step further, charging the individual who we allege developed and administered this malicious cyber scheme, which has targeted over 2,000 victims and stolen more than $100 million in ransomware payments. We will continue to work closely alongside our partners, across the U.S. government and around the world to disrupt cybercrime operations like LockBit and to find and hold accountable those responsible for them.”

“As part of our unrelenting efforts to dismantle ransomware groups and protect victims, the Justice Department has brought over two dozen criminal charges against the administrator of LockBit, one of the world’s most dangerous ransomware organizations,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Working with U.S. and international partners, we are using all our tools to hold ransomware actors accountable—and we continue to encourage victims to report cyberattacks to the FBI when they happen. Reporting an attack could make all the difference in preventing the next one.”

Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev (Дмитрий Юрьевич Хорошев), also known as LockBitSupp, LockBit, and putinkrab, 31, of Voronezh, Russia, is charged by a 26-count indictment returned by a grand jury in the District of New Jersey.

“Today’s indictment of LockBit developer and operator Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev continues the FBI’s ongoing disruption of the LockBit criminal ecosystem,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The LockBit ransomware group represented one of the most prolific ransomware variants across the globe, causing billions of dollars in losses and wreaking havoc on critical infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. The charges announced today reflect the FBI’s unyielding commitment to disrupting ransomware organizations and holding the perpetrators accountable.”

The indictment against Khoroshev unsealed today follows a recent disruption of LockBit ransomware in February by the U.K. National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Cyber Division, which worked in cooperation with the Justice Department, FBI, and other international law enforcement partners. As previously announced by the Department, authorities disrupted LockBit by seizing numerous public-facing websites used by LockBit to connect to the organization’s infrastructure and by seizing control of servers used by LockBit administrators, thereby disrupting the ability of LockBit actors to attack and encrypt networks and extort victims by threatening to publish stolen data. That disruption succeeded in greatly diminishing LockBit’s reputation and its ability to attack further victims, as alleged by the indictment unsealed today.

“Dmitry Khoroshev conceived, developed, and administered Lockbit, the most prolific ransomware variant and group in the world, enabling himself and his affiliates to wreak havoc and cause billions of dollars in damage to thousands of victims around the globe,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “He thought he could do so hidden by his notorious moniker ‘LockBitSupp,’ anonymous and free of any consequence, while he personally pocketed $100 million extorted from Lockbit’s victims. Through relentless investigation and coordination with our partners at the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the FBI and abroad, we have proven him and his coconspirators wrong. Today’s indictment marks a significant milestone in the investigation and prosecution of LockBit, which has already led to charges against five other LockBit affiliates—two of whom are in custody awaiting trial—and a major disruption of the now discredited LockBit operation.”

In addition, as previously announced, law enforcement developed decryption capabilities that may enable hundreds of victims around the world to restore systems encrypted using the LockBit ransomware variant. Victims targeted by this malware are encouraged to contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov/ to enable law enforcement to determine whether affected systems can be successfully decrypted.

According to the indictment and other documents previously unsealed in the District of New Jersey:

Khoroshev and the LockBit Ransomware Group

Khoroshev allegedly acted as the LockBit ransomware group’s developer and administrator from its inception in or around September 2019 through May 2024. Khoroshev and his affiliate coconspirators, grew LockBit into what was, at times, the most active and destructive ransomware variant in the world. The LockBit ransomware group attacked more than 2,500 victims in at least 120 countries, including 1,800 victims in the United States. LockBit victims included individuals, small businesses, multinational corporations, hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations, critical infrastructure, and government and law-enforcement agencies. Khoroshev and his co-conspirators extracted at least $500 million in ransom payments from their victims and caused billions of dollars in broader losses, such as lost revenue, incident response, and recovery.

Khoroshev allegedly designed LockBit to operate in the “ransomware-as-a-service” (RaaS) model. In his role as the LockBit developer and administrator, Khoroshev arranged for the design of the LockBit ransomware code itself, recruited other LockBit members—called affiliates—to deploy it against victims, and maintained the LockBit infrastructure, including an online software dashboard called a “control panel” to provide the affiliates with the tools necessary to deploy LockBit. Khoroshev also maintained LockBit’s public-facing website—called a “data leak site”—for the publication of data stolen from victims who refused to pay a ransom.

As alleged in the indictment, Khoroshev—as the LockBit developer—typically received a 20% share of each ransom payment extorted from LockBit victims. The affiliate responsible for an attack would receive the remaining 80%. During the scheme, Khoroshev alone allegedly received at least $100 million in disbursements of digital currency through his developer shares of LockBit ransom payments.

LockBit infrastructure seized by law enforcement through the February 2024 disruption allegedly showed that Khoroshev retained copies of data stolen from LockBit victims who had paid the demanded ransom.

Khoroshev and his affiliate co-conspirators had falsely promised those victims that their stolen data would be deleted after payment. Moreover, after the February 2024 disruption, Khoroshev allegedly communicated with law enforcement and urged them to disclose the identities of his RaaS competitors—whom Khoroshev called his “enemies”—in exchange for his services.

Khoroshev is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, extortion, and related activity in connection with computers; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; eight counts of intentional damage to a protected computer; eight counts of extortion in relation to confidential information from a protected computer; and eight counts of extortion in relation to damage to a protected computer. In total, those charges carry a maximum penalty of 185 years in prison. Each of the 26 counts charged by the indictment also carries a maximum fine of the greatest of $250,000, pecuniary gain to the offender, or pecuniary harm to the victim.

The LockBit Investigation

With the indictment unsealed today, a total of six LockBit members have now been charged for their participation in the LockBit conspiracy:

• In February 2024, an indictment was unsealed in the District of New Jersey charging Russian nationals Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, also known as Bassterlord, with deploying LockBit against numerous victims throughout the United States, including businesses nationwide in the manufacturing and other industries.
• In June 2023, a criminal complaint was filed in the District of New Jersey charging Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov, a Russian national, in connection with his participation in the LockBit group. Astamirov is currently in custody awaiting trial.
• In May 2023, two indictments were unsealed in Washington, D.C., and the District of New Jersey charging Mikhail Matveev, also known as “Wazawaka,” “m1x,” “Boriselcin,” and “Uhodiransomwar,” with using different ransomware variants, including LockBit, to attack numerous victims throughout the United States, including the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Matveev is currently the subject of a reward of up to $10 million through the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Rewards Program, with information accepted through the FBI tip website at tips.fbi.gov/.
• Finally, in November 2022, a criminal complaint was filed in the District of New Jersey charging Mikhail Vasiliev in connection with his participation in the LockBit ransomware group. Vasiliev, a dual Russian-Canadian national, is currently in custody in Canada awaiting extradition to the United States.

The FBI Newark Field Office is investigating the LockBit ransomware variant.

Trial Attorneys Jessica C. Peck, Debra Ireland, and Jorge Gonzalez of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly, David E. Malagold, and Vinay Limbachia for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the charges against Khoroshev.

The Justice Department’s Cybercrime Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust, Office of International Affairs, and National Security Division also provided significant assistance.

Additionally, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced today that it is designating Khoroshev for his role in launching cyberattacks. For more information, visit https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2326. Authorities in the United Kingdom and Australia also announced sanctions today against Khoroshev.

The Department of State also announced today a reward of up to $10 million for information that leads to the apprehension of Khoroshev. Information that may be eligible for this award can be submitted by email at fbisupp@fbi.gov, Telegram at @LockbitRewards, Signal at @FBISupp.01, and tox B0B98577F0541160C745B464E42C9AB782B036682FAD59D5F228EA75BF71691BE68A8E08BD55. The reward announced today supplements a previous reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of any individual who holds a leadership position in the criminal group behind LockBit ransomware. For more information on this reward, visit Reward for Information: LockBit Ransomware-as-a-Service.

Victims of LockBit should contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov for further information. Additional details on protecting networks against LockBit ransomware are available at StopRansomware.gov. These include Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Advisories AA23-325A, AA23-165A, and AA23-075A.       

An indictment is merely an allegation. Under U.S. law, all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Indictment

NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey doctor was sentenced today to 26 months in prison for  participating in a health care fraud scheme to defraud Amtrak, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Muhammad Mirza, 51, of Cedar Grove, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From April 2017 through June 2022, Mirza and his conspirators agreed to engage in a scheme to bill the Amtrak health care plan for fraudulent claims for services that either were never provided or were medically unnecessary. They would recruit Amtrak employees to participate in the scheme by paying them to allow the conspirators to use their patient and insurance information to submit false and fraudulent claims. Mirza and his conspirators submitted false and fraudulent claims that caused Amtrak losses of more than $1.3 million.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Mirza to two years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $1.37 million.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Waters; special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III in New York; and the Amtrak Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Sam Dotson, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – A chief engineer employed by a Greek shipping company today admitted charges related to the discharge of oily waste into the sea from a commercial vessel near a petroleum terminal in Sewaren, New Jersey; he and a second engineer also admitted concealment of pollution from that vessel through the falsification of records, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger and Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim announced.

Konstantinos Atsalis, 57, the chief engineer of an oil tanker, the M/T Kriti Ruby, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with two counts of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, including falsifying the vessel’s oil record book. Sonny Bosito, 54, the second engineer of the M/T Kriti Ruby, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Atsalis admitted that the vessel’s crew had knowingly bypassed required pollution prevention equipment by discharging oily waste from the vessel’s engine room through its sewage system into the sea, including near a petroleum offloading facility in Sewaren. Atsalis also admitted that he falsified the vessel’s oil record book, a required log regularly inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard, by failing to record this illegal activity. Atsalis admitted that he directed crew members to hide equipment used to conduct transfers of oily waste from the engine room bilge wells to the sewage tank before the Coast Guard boarded the vessel.

Bosito admitted concealing the discharge of oily waste into the sea through the vessel’s sewage system by causing a false oil record book to be presented to the U.S. Coast Guard during its inspection of the vessel. Bosito admitted directing crew members to hide equipment used to conduct transfers from the bilge wells to the sewage tank before the Coast Guard’s inspection.

The charges to which Atsalis and Bosito pleaded guilty each carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger and Assistant Attorney General Kim credited special agents of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Steven M. Frith, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen P. O’Leary of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Ward of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, and Trial Attorney Lauren D. Steele and Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth E. Nelson of the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division.

bosito.information.pdf atsalis.information.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – Nine people have been charged for their respective roles in a drug trafficking organization that distributed large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Union County and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced. 

Jerry Ross, 46, of Somerset, New Jersey; Joseph Ross, 42, of Rahway, New Jersey; Luis Delvalle, 41, Pernell White, 36, and Jaquay Bell, 35, all of Piscataway, New Jersey; Andre Gaddy, 31, of North Plainfield, New Jersey; Jacob Douglas, 42, Tarrell Strond, 42, and Tayeire Thomas, 26, all of Plainfield, New Jersey; are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Six of the defendants are scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court. Douglas, White and Thomas remain at large.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The defendants are all members and associates of a drug trafficking organization that operated an open-air narcotics market in and around the area of West 3rd Street in Plainfield, New Jersey. The organization is affiliated with, and the defendants are members and associates of, the Sex, Money, Murder criminal street gang, which is a set of the Bloods street gang. For several months, law enforcement conducted extensive surveillance of the area, conducted numerous controlled purchases of narcotics, and analyzed telephone records, all of which demonstrated extensive interactions related to drug trafficking between and among the members or the conspiracy.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William Daniel and Chief Harvey A. Barnwell; and officers of the Plainfield Police Department, under Director James Abney and Captain Brian Newman, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, under the direction of Port Director TenaVel Thomas, Port of New York/Newark; officers of Perth Amboy Police Department under the direction of Chief Lawrence Catano, and prosecutors with the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice under the direction of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin. He also thanked the New Jersey State Police.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Goldberg and Rachelle M. Navarro of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

rossetal.complaint.pdf

NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey woman was indicted today for stealing over $1 million of federal benefits meant for her deceased aunt over a 25-year period, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Janis Miller, 77, of South Orange, New Jersey, is charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In 1998, Miller’s aunt died. Unaware of her death, the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) paid approximately $1.01 million in retirement and survivor benefits to the bank account of Miller’s deceased aunt. By debit card, cash withdrawals, and forged checks made out to a company Miller controlled, Miller unlawfully disbursed virtually all of those embezzled funds. In 2022, to continue her unlawful receipt of the benefits, Miller, in a telephone conversation with an SSA employee, impersonated her deceased aunt and provided her aunt’s approximate birthdate. OPM and SSA discovered the fraud and discontinued the benefits in 2023, around 25 years after Miller began stealing those benefits.

The count of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of the greatest of either $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss caused by the offense, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Boston-New York Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley Parker; and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Paul Kimball, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Thypin-Bermeo of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

miller.indictment.pdf

A Florida resident and dual citizen of the United States and Turkey was sentenced yesterday to six years and six months in prison for running an enormous operation over many years to traffic in fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Onur Aksoy, 40, of Miami, agreed to pay restitution of $100 million to Cisco and amounts to other victims that will be determined by the court at a later date, and to permit destruction of millions of dollars of counterfeit goods seized from his businesses.

“Aksoy sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of counterfeit computer networking equipment that ended up in U.S. hospitals, schools, and highly sensitive military and other governmental systems, including platforms supporting sophisticated U.S. fighter jets and military aircraft,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Criminals who flood the supply chain with low-quality networking equipment from China and Hong Kong harm U.S. businesses, pose serious health and safety risks, and compromise national security. This case—one of the largest counterfeit trademark cases ever prosecuted in the United States—demonstrates the Criminal Division’s commitment and capacity to prosecute the most complex counterfeiting schemes and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

“Through an elaborate, years-long scheme, Aksoy created and ran one of the largest counterfeit-trafficking operations ever,” said Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna for the District of New Jersey. “His operation introduced tens of thousands of counterfeit and low-quality devices trafficked from China into the U.S. supply chain, jeopardizing both private-sector and public-sector users, including highly sensitive U.S. military applications like the support platforms of U.S. fighter jets and other military aircraft. Yesterday’s sentence, made possible by the investigation and prosecution of this office and our department and agency partners, now brings Aksoy to justice and holds him accountable for the breathtaking scale of his operation.” 

According to court documents and statements made in court, Aksoy ran at least 19 companies formed in New Jersey and Florida, as well as approximately 15 Amazon storefronts and at least 10 eBay storefronts (collectively, the Pro Network Entities). The Pro Network Entities imported from suppliers in China and Hong Kong tens of thousands of low-quality, modified computer networking devices with counterfeit Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, documentation, and packaging, all bearing counterfeit trademarks registered and owned by Cisco that made the goods falsely appear to be new, genuine, and high-quality devices manufactured and authorized by Cisco. The devices had an estimated total retail value of hundreds of millions of dollars. The Pro Network Entities generated over $100 million in revenue from the scheme, and Aksoy personally received millions of dollars.

“Protecting the integrity of the supply chain for everyday consumers, government agencies, and our warfighters remains a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations,” said Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles. “My office and our partners will continue to work diligently to remove counterfeit products that adversely affect public health and safety from the stream of commerce and hold the offenders accountable.”

“Mr. Aksoy’s sentencing brings closure to his years-long, greed-driven scheme that wasted U.S. taxpayer dollars and degraded our nation’s military readiness when he and his companies knowingly defrauded the Department of Defense by introducing counterfeit products into its supply chain that routinely failed or did not work at all,” said Special Agent in Charge Bryan D. Denny of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Western Field Office. “In doing so, he sold counterfeit Cisco products to the DoD that were found on numerous military bases and in various systems, including but not limited to U.S. Air Force F-15 and U.S. Navy P-8 aircraft flight simulators.”

The devices the Pro Network Entities imported from China and Hong Kong were typically older, lower-model products—some of which had been sold or discarded—which Chinese counterfeiters then modified to appear to be genuine versions of new, enhanced, and more expensive Cisco devices. The Chinese counterfeiters often added pirated Cisco software and unauthorized, low-quality, or unreliable components—including components to circumvent technological measures added by Cisco to the software to check for software license compliance and to authenticate the hardware. Finally, to make the devices appear new, genuine, high-quality, and factory-sealed by Cisco, the Chinese counterfeiters added counterfeited Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, documentation, packaging, and other materials.

Fraudulent and counterfeit products sold by the Pro Network Entities suffered from numerous performance, functionality, and safety problems. The products often failed to operate or otherwise malfunctioned, causing significant damage to their users’ networks and operations. Customers of Aksoy’s devices included hospitals, schools, and government agencies. In addition, numerous counterfeit devices originating from the Pro Network Entities were discovered in highly sensitive governmental applications, such as classified information systems. The devices were also identified in combat and non-combat operations of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Army, such as platforms supporting the F-15, F-18, and F-22 fighter jets, AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, and B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft.

“This case should serve as a warning to those who attempt to sell counterfeit goods to the U.S. government,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Economic Crimes Field Office. “NCIS is committed to safeguarding the Department of Navy acquisition programs that enhance fleet readiness.”

“Companies should be honest in their dealings with the government,” said Deputy Inspector General Robert C. Erickson of the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG). “GSA-OIG special agents are committed to working with investigative partners to hold accountable fraudsters who sell counterfeit equipment to the United States.”

Between 2014 and 2022, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized approximately 180 shipments of counterfeit Cisco devices that were sent to the Pro Network Entities from China and Hong Kong. Aksoy responded to some of these seizures by falsely submitting official paperwork to CBP under the alias “Dave Durden,” an identity that he used to communicate with Chinese co-conspirators. To try to avoid CBP scrutiny, Chinese co-conspirators broke the shipments up into smaller parcels sent on different days, and Aksoy used fake delivery addresses in Ohio.

Between 2014 and 2019, Cisco sent seven letters to Aksoy asking him to cease and desist his trafficking of counterfeit goods. Aksoy responded to at least two of these letters by causing his attorney to provide Cisco with forged documents. In July 2021, agents executed a search warrant at Aksoy’s warehouse that led to the seizure of approximately 1,156 counterfeit Cisco devices with a retail value of over $7 million.

Aksoy pleaded guilty in June 2023 to conspiring with others to traffic in counterfeit goods and to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud.

HSI, DCIS, NCIS, GSA-OIG, and CBP investigated the case. The CBP’s Electronics Center of Excellence, Los Angeles National Targeting and Analysis Center, and Office of Trade, Regulatory Audit and Agency Advisory Services, Miami Field Office provided valuable assistance.

Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Trombly and Senior Trial Counsel Barbara Ward for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Florida resident and dual citizen of the United States and Turkey was sentenced to 78 months in prison for running an extensive operation over many years to traffic in fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna, District of New Jersey, and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri announced today.

Onur Aksoy, aka “Ron Aksoy” and “Dave Durden,” 40, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan on June 5, 2023, to two counts of an indictment charging him with conspiring with others to traffic in counterfeit goods, to commit mail fraud, and to commit wire fraud (Count 1); and mail fraud (Count 4). Judge Sheridan imposed the sentence on May 1, 2024, in Trenton federal court.

“Through an elaborate, years-long scheme, Aksoy created and ran one of the largest counterfeit-trafficking operations ever,” Attorney for the United States Khanna said. “His operation introduced tens of thousands of counterfeit and low-quality devices trafficked from China into the U.S. supply chain, jeopardizing both private-sector and public-sector users, including highly sensitive U.S. military applications like the support platforms of U.S. fighter jets and other military aircraft. Yesterday’s sentence, made possible by the investigation and prosecution of this Office and our Department and agency partners, now brings Aksoy to justice and holds him accountable for the breathtaking scale of his operation.” 

“Aksoy sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of counterfeit computer networking equipment that ended up in U.S. hospitals, schools, and highly sensitive military and other governmental systems, including platforms supporting sophisticated U.S. fighter jets and military aircraft,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Criminals who flood the supply chain with low-quality networking equipment from China and Hong Kong harm U.S. businesses, pose serious health and safety risks, and compromise national security. This case—one of the largest counterfeit trademark cases ever prosecuted in the United States—demonstrates the Criminal Division’s commitment and capacity to prosecute the most complex counterfeiting schemes and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

“Protecting the integrity of the supply chain for everyday consumers, government agencies, and our warfighters remains a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations,” HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang said. “My office and our partners will continue to work diligently to remove counterfeit products that adversely affect public health and safety from the stream of commerce and hold the offenders accountable.”

“Mr. Aksoy’s sentencing brings closure to his yearslong greed-driven scheme that wasted U.S. taxpayer dollars and degraded our nation’s military readiness when he and his companies knowingly defrauded the Department of Defense by introducing counterfeit products into its supply chain that routinely failed or did not work at all,” Bryan D. Denny, Special Agent in Charge of the DoD Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Western Field Office, said. “In doing so, he sold counterfeit Cisco products to the DoD that were found on numerous military bases and in various systems, including but not limited to U.S. Air Force F-15 and U.S. Navy P-8 aircraft flight simulators.”

“This case should serve as a warning to those who attempt to sell counterfeit goods to the U.S. government,” Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Economic Crimes Field Office said. “NCIS is committed to safeguarding the Department of Navy acquisition programs that enhance fleet readiness.”

“Companies should be honest in their dealings with the government,” GSA Deputy Inspector General Robert C. Erickson said. “GSA OIG special agents are committed to working with investigative partners to hold accountable fraudsters who sell counterfeit equipment to the United States.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Onur Aksoy, 40, of Miami, ran at least 19 companies formed in New Jersey and Florida, as well as approximately 15 Amazon storefronts and at least 10 eBay storefronts (collectively, the “Pro Network Entities”), that imported from suppliers in China and Hong Kong tens of thousands of low-quality, modified computer networking devices with counterfeit Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, documentation, and packaging, all bearing counterfeit trademarks registered and owned by Cisco, that made the goods falsely appear to be new, genuine, and high-quality devices manufactured and authorized by Cisco. The devices had an estimated total retail value of hundreds of millions of dollars. The Pro Network Entities generated over $100 million in revenue, and Aksoy received millions of dollars for his personal gain.

The devices the Pro Network Entities imported from China and Hong Kong were typically older, lower-model products – some of which had been sold or discarded – which Chinese counterfeiters then modified to appear to be genuine versions of new, enhanced, and more expensive Cisco devices. The Chinese counterfeiters often added pirated Cisco software and unauthorized, low-quality, or unreliable components – including components to circumvent technological measures added by Cisco to the software to check for software license compliance and to authenticate the hardware. To make the devices appear new, genuine, high-quality, and factory-sealed by Cisco, the Chinese counterfeiters added counterfeited Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, documentation, packaging, and other materials.

Fraudulent and counterfeit products sold by the Pro Network Entities suffered from numerous performance, functionality, and safety problems. Often, they would simply fail or otherwise malfunction, causing significant damage to their users’ networks and operations – in some cases, costing users tens of thousands of dollars. Customers of Aksoy’s fraudulent and counterfeit devices included hospitals, schools, and government agencies. Furthermore, a review by the government and its private-sector partners discovered numerous counterfeit devices originating from the Pro Network Entities being used in highly sensitive military and governmental applications – including classified information systems – some involving combat and non-combat operations of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Army, including platforms supporting the F-15, F-18, and F-22 fighter jets, AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, and B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft.

Between 2014 and 2022, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized approximately 180 shipments of counterfeit Cisco devices being shipped to the Pro Network Entities from China and Hong Kong. In response to some of these seizures, Aksoy falsely submitted official paperwork to CBP under the alias “Dave Durden,” an identity that he used to communicate with Chinese conspirators. To avoid CBP scrutiny, Chinese conspirators broke the shipments up into smaller parcels and shipped them on different days, and Aksoy used fake delivery addresses in Ohio. After CBP seized a shipment of counterfeit Cisco products to Aksoy and the Pro Network Entities and sent a seizure notice, Aksoy often continued to order counterfeit Cisco products from the same supplier. 

Between 2014 and 2019, Cisco sent seven letters to Aksoy asking him to cease and desist his trafficking of counterfeit goods. Aksoy responded to at least two of these letters by causing his attorney to provide Cisco with forged documents. In July 2021, agents executed a search warrant at Aksoy’s warehouse and seized 1,156 counterfeit Cisco devices with a retail value of over $7 million.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Aksoy to three years of supervised release and fined him $40,000. Under terms of the plea agreement, the defendant has agreed to pay restitution of $100 million to Cisco and amounts to other victims that will be determined by the court at a later date..

Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna and Acting Assistant Attorney General Argentieri credited special agents of HSI – Los Angeles, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wang; special agents of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Western Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Denny; the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG), under the direction of Deputy Inspector General Erickson; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Economic Crimes Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gross; special agents of Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of the HSI Miami Field Office; and special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. The CBP Electronics Center of Excellence; the CBP Los Angeles National Targeting and Analysis Center; and the CBP Office of Trade, Regulatory Audit and Agency Advisory Services, Miami Field Office provided valuable assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Trombly and Senior Trial Counsel Barbara Ward for the District of New Jersey and Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Trombly of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark, Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in Washington, D.C., and Senior Trial Counsel Barbara Ward of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit in Newark.