District of Nevada

          LAS VEGAS, Nev.  – The former chief operating officer of a defunct Nevada endoscopy center, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with the former owner/physician of the center, Dipak Desai, to defraud Medicare, Medicaid and other private health insurance companies by inflating and overcharging for anesthesia services it provided, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            Tonya Rushing, 46, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25, 2014, at 1:00 p.m.  Rushing faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.    

            “Those perpetrating Medicare and Medicaid fraud cheat both taxpayers and vulnerable patients,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We will hold criminals accountable and will seek to recover stolen dollars in each case of healthcare fraud we prosecute.”

            According to the guilty plea agreement, between about January 2005 and February 2008, Desai and Rushing conspired to overcharge Medicare, Medicaid, and other private health insurance companies at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada by significantly overstating the amount of time the certified registered nurse anesthetists spent with patients on a given procedure.  Desai and Rushing created a separate company, Healthcare Business Solutions, owned by Rushing, to handle the billing for the anesthesia services.  This company received approximately nine percent of all money collected for anesthesia services rendered at the endoscopy center. Desai and Rushing imposed intense pressure on the endoscopy center employees to schedule and treat as many patients as possible in a day, and instructed the nurse anesthetists to overstate in their records the amount of time they spent on the anesthesia procedures.  Desai and Rushing also instructed the office staff to rely on the false anesthesia records when preparing the claims for reimbursement which were sent to Medicare, Medicaid and the insurance companies.  The plea agreement states that Rushing received approximately $1.3 million as her share of the inflated anesthesia billing scheme. 

            Co-defendant Desai is currently being evaluated for his competency to face trial.

This case was investigated by the FBI, Office of the Nevada Attorney General, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Crane M. Pomerantz and Mark N. Kemberling, who was designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney on this case and is Chief Deputy Nevada Attorney General.

According to a recent report by the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for every dollar the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services have spent fighting health care fraud, they have returned an average of nearly eight dollars to the U.S. Treasury, the Medicare Trust Fund and others. To learn more or to report Medicare fraud, go to http://www.stopmedicarefraud.gov/

           LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Former Las Vegas strip club owner Rick Rizzolo was indicted by the federal grand jury today on charges that he attempted to evade over $2.5 million in employment and income taxes, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            Rizzolo is charged with two counts of attempt to evade and defeat the payment of tax.  Special Agents with IRS Criminal Investigation arrested him this afternoon, and he will be scheduled for an initial appearance and arraignment before a United States Magistrate Judge tomorrow.   If convicted, Rizzolo faces up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine on each count.

The indictment alleges that beginning on about June 28, 2006, and continuing to May 31, 2011, Rizzolo allegedly attempted to evade the payment of approximately $1.7 million in employment taxes that he owed for 2000 to 2002, and $861,075 in income taxes he owed for 2006, by concealing and attempting to conceal from the IRS the nature, extent and location of his assets, by making false statements to IRS employees, and by placing funds and property in the names of nominees and beyond the reach of process. 

The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phillip N. Smith, Jr. and Sarah E. Griswold. 

            The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

           LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Following a two-day jury trial, a local man was convicted today of using the internet to knowingly persuade, induce and entice a minor girl to engage in sexual activity with him during March 2013, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
           
            Sergio Torres, 34, of North Las Vegas, was convicted of one count of coercion and enticement and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 6, 2014, at 10:30 a.m.  Torres faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.

            “As this case warns, there are predators lurking openly on the internet seeking children and minors for sex,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “Everyone, and particularly parents and teenagers, need to be especially careful when responding to online advertisements.”

            According to the court records, on March 7, 2013, a Henderson Police Department detective working undercover and posing as a 14-year-old girl, responded to an advertisement on craigslist.com. The poster of the advertisement, later identified as Torres, stated he was a virgin and was seeking a girl to “take his virginity.”  Over the next two weeks, the detective and Torres exchanged emails and texts, and Torres discussed plans and arrangements for a sexual encounter with the girl.  On March 18, 2013, Torres texted that he had made a room reservation at Sunset Station for March 25, 2013, and that he had purchased lingerie and would meet the girl at a parking lot. On March 25, detectives arrested Torres when he arrived in the parking lot, and seized from him the telephone that he had used to text and call the detective, as well as a hotel room key, condoms, sexual lubricant, lingerie, and stockings in a small size. 

The case was investigated by the Henderson Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger Yang and Special Assistant United States Attorney Allison Herr.

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

           LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A man who is employed at the Spring Valley Montessori School in Las Vegas appeared in federal court this afternoon on charges that he received and possessed child pornography, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
           
            John-Benedict Galang Alcantara, 24, is charged in a criminal complaint with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.  Alcantara self-surrendered to federal authorities this morning, and had an initial appearance hearing at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cam Ferenbach, and was released on bond with special conditions.  If convicted, Alcantara faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison on the receipt charge and a maximum of 10 years in prison on the possession charge, as well as fines of up to $250,000 on each count.

            According to the criminal complaint, in April 2014, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detective assigned to the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force determined that child pornography images and videos were being shared online through an internet address traced to Alcantara’s residence in Las Vegas. One of the videos depicted a prepubescent female child having sex with an adult male.  On June 29, 2014, a state court search warrant was executed at the residence and law enforcement authorities found cartoon images of child erotica hanging on the walls in the bedroom occupied by Alcantara.  Law enforcement authorities seized several computers and related devices from the home containing numerous images of child pornography.  Another search warrant was executed at the Montessori School where the defendant works in the area of computer support, and law enforcement authorities seized four more computers which were allegedly under Alcantara’s control.  Authorities determined that efforts had been made to erase the hard drives of these computers; however, remnants of child pornography files were found on a least one of them. 

The case is being investigated by the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Allison Herr.

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

The public is reminded that a criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

            LAS VEGAS, Nev.  – A Las Vegas physician pleaded guilty today to federal drug conspiracy charges for writing prescriptions for oxycodone for persons he did not see or treat, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            Victor Bruce M.D., 49, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9, 2014, at 9:00 a.m.  Bruce faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.    

            “We will continue to identify and prosecute these bad doctors who are using their medical licenses to illegally deal drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “We will also recommend the imposition of lengthy sentences of imprisonment because these doctors are using their medical licenses and special skills to commit these drug crimes, fully knowing the harmful impact and effects of these addictive painkillers.  This was simply a money making sham, and none of the prescriptions were being issued for a legitimate medical purpose or in the usual course of professional practice.”

            According to the guilty plea agreement, Bruce, a Nevada-licensed physician, operates a medical practice known as Swan Lake Medical Center at 3330 South Hualapai Way in Las Vegas. Bruce represents himself to be a pain management specialist and is the only physician working at the practice.  Beginning at a date unknown and continuing to around November 2013, Bruce and several co-conspirators, including Robert Wolfe, aka “old man,” Millicent Epino, Dylan DuBois, Jennifer Monge, and Jade Lepoma, conspired to distribute oxycodone. Wolfe would provide Bruce a list of names, and Bruce would write prescriptions for oxycodone for those names and give them to Wolfe.  Bruce also created “dummy” medical records for those persons, to make it appear as if a legitimate patient encounter had taken place.  On four occasions in June 2013, an undercover law enforcement officer purchased Bruce-written oxycodone prescriptions from Wolfe for $700 each. On each occasion, the undercover provided Wolfe or another co-conspirator with copies of Nevada driver’s licenses bearing the names of customers.  Usually within a day, Wolfe or another co-conspirator would then provide the undercover with written prescriptions for oxycodone.  Bruce knew he was writing prescriptions for controlled substances to customers he did not treat and who did not need the prescriptions.  None of the prescriptions were issued for a legitimate medical purpose or in the usual course of profession practice.  

            Wolfe and several of the other co-conspirators are also charged in the drug conspiracy.  Their cases are currently pending.

            This case was investigated by the Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (Nevada HIDTA) Pharm-Net Task Force, including the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Henderson Police Department, North Las Vegas Police Department, and the Nevada Division of Investigations, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Crane M. Pomerantz and Cristina D. Silva.

 RENO, Nev. – A northern Nevada man was sentenced this week to nine years in prison for distributing synthetic cannabinoids out of his convenience store business in Reno, and for storing large quantities of the substance for distribution in his home in Reno, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.   

Iqbal Singh-Sidhu, 34, was sentenced on Monday, June 9, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones.  Singh-Sidhu was convicted by a federal jury in February 2014 of 16 counts of possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of controlled substances and controlled substance analogues intended for human consumption, and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premise.  It was the first federal jury trial of its kind in Nevada involving synthetic cannabinoids, commonly referred to as “spice.” 

“Synthetic drugs such as “spice” and “fake weed” are oftentimes more potent and dangerous than real marijuana and are being sold to an unwary public in convenience stores, head shops, gas stations and online,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “These synthetics are powerful substances that are typically sprayed indiscriminately on a base product to create ‘spice,’ and when consumed have caused hallucinations and dangerous levels of overdose.  We are working diligently with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to prosecute persons who callously and recklessly distribute them.”

According to the court records and evidence introduced at trial, on four separate occasions in September 2012, Singh-Sidhu knowingly and unlawfully distributed controlled substances, and analogues intended for human consumption, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act.  The synthetic substances that he distributed over the course of these four occasions were labeled “Diablo,” “Hayze,” “White Rhino,” and “Smokin Dragon.”

On Feb. 5, 2013, agents executed federal search warrants at 1801 West 4th Street, in Reno, and at Singh-Sidhu’s residence at 3101 Platte River Drive, in Reno, and recovered hundreds of packages of various types of “spice” in ready to distribute packaging.  The overall street value of the “spice” found at his business and home was approximately $20,000.

The synthetic drugs Singh-Sidhu sold, and later possessed with intent to distribute at his business and his home in February 2013, contained one or more of the controlled substances, JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-081, and AM2201, and/or one or more of the analogues intended for human consumption, UR-144, XLR11, and 5-MeO-DALT.  Synthetic drugs containing these substances have hallucinogenic effects on the central nervous system.  The physiological effects these substances cause are stronger and more potent than those caused by marijuana.  

Singh-Sidhu also unlawfully maintained the business of Grab n Go Food n Liquors for the purpose of distributing “spice” containing these controlled substances, and analogues intended for human consumption. 

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, synthetic drugs are a rapidly emerging threat and there is an increasingly expanding array of synthetic drugs available.  Use of synthetic drugs is alarmingly high, especially among young people. The contents and effects of synthetic drugs are unpredictable due to a constantly changing variety of chemicals used in manufacturing processes devoid of quality controls and government regulatory oversight.  Health warnings have been issued by numerous public health authorities and poison control centers describing the adverse health effects associated with the use of synthetic drugs. The Administration has been working with federal, congressional, state, local, and non-governmental partners to put policies and legislation in place to combat this threat, and to educate people about the tremendous health risk posed by these substances.  For more information on the risks and dangers of synthetic drugs, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/synthetic-drugs-k2-spice-bath-salts.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James E. Keller and Carla Higginbotham and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), including its Office of Diversion Control, Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section, in Arlington, Virginia

 RENO, Nev. – A federally-licensed firearms dealer and owner of an indoor shooting range in Reno, Nev., was indicted today by the federal grand jury on charges that he unlawfully sold multiple firearms, including guns with obliterated serial numbers and machine guns, to undercover ATF agents at his business in April and May 2014, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada and Joseph M. Riehl, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

            “Federally licensed firearms dealers are entrusted to uphold federal laws pertaining to the importation, manufacture and sales of firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We will be especially vigilant in our investigations and prosecutions of firearm dealers who consciously choose to violate these laws.”

            James David Harwin, 59, of Reno, is charged in a six-count federal indictment with one count of illegal sale by a federally licensed dealer to an out-of-state resident, one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated, removed or altered serial number, three counts of transfer of a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act, and one count of obliteration, alteration, or removal of the serial number of a firearm.  Harwin, who was previously charged by criminal complaint, is currently in federal custody, and is scheduled for an arraignment and plea on June 12, 2014, at 3:00 p.m.  If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on the illegal sale charge and up to 10 years in prison on each of the other five counts, as well as fines of up to $250,000 on each count.

            According to the allegations in the criminal complaint and indictment, James Harwin and Safe Shot LLC possessed a Federal Firearms License to manufacture and sell firearms.  Safe Shot LLC did business as the Safe Shot Indoor Shooting Range, located at 9425 Double R Boulevard in Reno.  On or about April 17, 2014, Harwin unlawfully sold four handguns to two undercover ATF agents who told Harwin they were residents of Sacramento, Calif.  One of the handguns had an obliterated serial number. On May 2, 2014, Harwin sold a machine gun with an obliterated serial number to the undercover ATF agents, and on May 29, 2014, Harwin unlawfully sold a Street Sweeper shotgun and three machine guns to the undercover agents.  Harwin removed the serial numbers on one of the machine guns in the presence of the undercover agents. 

“ATF is charged with ensuring compliance of all applicable laws and regulations as it relates to licensed federal firearms dealers,” said Special Agent in Charge Riehl.  “We will aggressively pursue those individuals, including federally licensed dealers who try to circumvent and violate the federal firearms laws, in an effort to protect the public and prevent unlawful machine guns and other firearms from getting into the hands of criminals.” 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Rachow and investigated by ATF. 

            The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

 LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Following an 11-day federal jury trial, a man accused of robbing 13 convenience stores and a small casino in the Las Vegas area during 2013, was convicted today of all counts charged, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            Abdul Howard, 48, of Las Vegas, was convicted of one count of felon in possession of a firearm, 14 counts of interference with commerce by robbery, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm during, in relation to, and in furtherance of a crime of violence.  Howard is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro on Nov. 6, 2014, at 9:00 a.m., and faces mandatory life in prison.   

            “Violent criminals such as Abdul Howard are a threat and danger to the entire community,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “We are pleased to be able to assist local law enforcement and use federal laws in these types of cases, which carry stiff mandatory minimum penalties and ensure that career criminals such as Mr. Howard are incarcerated for very long periods of time.” 

According to the court records and evidence introduced at trial, Howard robbed 13 convenience stores and one casino in the Las Vegas area between Jan. 15, 2013, and April 16, 2013.  Howard robbed most of the businesses late at night using a semi-automatic handgun which he used to threatened store employees and some customers.  In some of the robberies, Howard pointed the handgun at an employee or stuck a gun into the employee’s body or head.  In one instance, Howard fired a handgun at an employee, and in another, Howard shot an employee in the neck.  Investigators dubbed Howard the “Cinched Hoodie Robber,” because he typically entered the businesses wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood “cinched” up around his face in an effort to conceal his identity.

Howard has at least five prior felony convictions in New York, Florida, and Nevada related to robbery, burglary, cocaine distribution and sexually motivated coercion.

This case was investigated by the FBI, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Robbery Section, and North Las Vegas Police Department, as part of the Safe Streets Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods program, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phillip N. Smith, Jr. and Cristina D. Silva.

 RENO, Nev. – A Sparks, Nev. resident who was trading laptop computers for sex with minor girls, was sentenced today to five years in prison and 10 years of supervised release, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Shane Deric Bateman, 41, who pleaded guilty on March 3, 2014, to one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor for sex, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones.  Bateman will also have to register as a sex offender. 

“We will continue to work with our local and federal law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute persons who exploit minors for sex,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “This includes using federal laws to pursue ‘johns’ or customers of prostitution.” 

            According to the court records, on Nov. 5, 2013, the Innocence Lost Task Force in Reno was involved in a sex trafficking investigation in which a 16-year-old female victim reported that she had sex with Shane Bateman in exchange for a laptop computer.  The 16-year-old provided a Task Force detective with the laptop computer and her cell phone, which she said contained contact information for pimps or “johns.” 

On Nov. 6, 2013, Bateman sent an unsolicited text to the 16-year-old’s cell phone indicating that he had another laptop with a built-in web camera which he would be willing to trade for sex with any other young girl that the 16-year-old knew.  The detective began communicating with Bateman as if he were the 16-year-old, telling Bateman that “she” had another girl in mind for him and that “she” would have the other girl contact him. On Nov. 7, 2013, the detective, posing as a different 16-year-old named “Kylie,” engaged in text message conversations with Bateman about having sex with him in exchange for a laptop computer.  Bateman agreed to meet Kylie that afternoon at a room at a Motel 6 in Reno, Nev. in order to engage in sexual activity in exchange for the laptop computer. When Bateman arrived at the motel room, he was arrested by detectives.

The investigation was conducted by the Innocence Lost Task Force, which is made up of the FBI and the Regional Street Enforcement Team, which includes the Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department, FBI, and UNR Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carla Higginbotham.

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

 LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A defendant sentenced last week to over five years in prison in an online identity theft and credit card trafficking case, “Operation Open Market,” has been sentenced in a separate case to two more years in prison for committing identity theft and financial fraud crimes while he was in a Las Vegas halfway house, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada, Acting Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Claude Arnold of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Los Angeles.

“Some defendants never learn,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Lofton thought he could get away with continuing his criminal operation in the halfway house, but thanks to sophisticated law enforcement efforts, he will now be serving two more years in prison.”  

            Michael Lofton, aka “Killit” and “Lofeazy”, 36, of Las Vegas, was sentenced on May 28, 2014, by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to 24 months in prison, to run consecutively to the 63 months sentence of imprisonment he received on May 22, 2014.  Lofton pleaded guilty in January to one count of aggravated identity theft, and admitted that he conspired with others to unlawfully use and traffic in access devices, such as debit and credit cards.  Specifically, on Dec. 30, 2012, Lofton fraudulently obtained an iPad, iPad docking station, iPad case, and Kindle Fire HD by using an unauthorized credit account number.  Lofton committed the crime while he was residing in a halfway house in Las Vegas awaiting trial in the Operation Open Market case. 

In Operation Open Market, Lofton pleaded guilty to participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization, Carder.su, which trafficked in compromised credit card account data and counterfeit identifications, and committed money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and various types of computer crime.  Fifty-six persons were charged in four separate indictments in Operation Open Market.

The cases were investigated by HSI and the U.S. Secret Service, and are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Frayn and Andrew W. Duncan, and Trial Attorney Jonathan Ophardt of the U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime and Gang Section.

            Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorney’s offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.  Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations.  Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants.  For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

 LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A man who violently assaulted a woman with a taser device at an apartment complex in Las Vegas and carjacked her vehicle, was sentenced this week to 15 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            Keith Michael Costa, 35, of Las Vegas, was sentenced on May 27, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey. Costa pleaded guilty on March 20, 2014, to one count of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. 

            “When possible, we will use federal laws to prosecute recidivist offenders who are committing violent crimes in our Nevada communities,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “We work with our local police departments to regularly review violent crimes that occur in Nevada to determine whether they should be prosecuted federally.”

            According to the court records, on July 2, 2013, Costa went to the office of an apartment complex on West Charleston Boulevard to inquire about renting several apartments.  As Costa left the office, he encountered a female tenant and demanded her car keys.  When she refused to turn them over, Costa pushed her to the ground and shocked her with the taser at least seven or eight times. Costa then tried to steal the victim’s 2009 Audi A4 sedan, but the keys were not in the car. The victim ran inside the office, and Costa chased after her and continued to attack her with the taser in the presence of the manager and another employee until she turned over the keys to her car. Costa then fled in the car.  The victim, who was an exchange student from Thailand, had to be treated at the hospital for the injuries she sustained during the carjacking. 

On July 23, 2013, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Officer stopped Costa in Las Vegas as he was driving a black BMW sedan with paper plates.  Costa argued with the officer and fled in the BMW, leading the patrol officer and a backup unit on a high speed car chase on surface streets and on U.S.95. During the pursuit, Costa was driving over medians, going the opposite way in traffic, and traveling at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour.  At one point, Costa almost struck a female pedestrian who was pushing a baby stroller.  Costa was ultimately able to escape the police.  Two days later, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Officers located Costa at a motel on E. Tropicana and arrested him.  Costa fought physically with police officers who were trying to arrest him, and reached for a firearm in his pant waistband, which turned out to be a stolen 9 millimeter handgun.  Costa, who in 2002 had previously been convicted in Nevada of the federal felony offense of access device fraud, was prohibited from possessing the gun. 

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as part of the Safe Streets Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods program.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip N. Smith, Jr.

  LAS VEGAS, Nev.  – A California man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for inducing and enticing two minor girls to travel from Oakland, Calif., to Las Vegas, Nev., to work as prostitutes during April and May 2013, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Seagram Joshua Miller, 21, of Hayward, Calif., who pleaded guilty in January to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor, was sentenced on Tuesday, May 20, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson. Miller was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release following his release from prison, and he will have to register as a sex offender.  Miller’s co-defendant, Ray Darnell Webb, 20, also pleaded guilty to one count of coercion and enticement, and was sentenced in April to eight years in prison.

“These sentences send a strong message that coercing a minor to work as a prostitute is a deplorable and shameful crime that will land you in prison for a long time,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “It is simply unacceptable for adults to take advantage of minors in such a way that forever will impact their lives.  We are working with our community and law enforcement partners to arrest and prosecute the persons who commit these crimes.”

            According to the court records plea agreements, in early 2013, Webb and Miller met one of the victims, a 12-year-old female, in Oakland, Calif. where she was working as a prostitute.  Shortly thereafter, the 12-year-old began working as a prostitute for Webb and Miller, and provided the money she made working as a prostitute to them.  In about April 2013, Miller met a 16-year-old female on Facebook, and she also began working as a prostitute for Miller and Webb.  In April 2013, Miller, Webb, and the two minor girls, decided to travel to Las Vegas to make money.  Before leaving, Webb and the 16-year-old girl posted an advertisement on MyRedbook.com so that they would have dates lined up when they arrived in Las Vegas. The advertisement contained photographs of the 16-year-old.  On April 29, 2013, Webb, Miller, and the two minor girls, drove from Oakland to Las Vegas and stayed in a rented hotel room on Las Vegas Boulevard.  Both girls worked as prostitutes on April 30 and in early May. 

The cases were investigated the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as part of the Innocence Lost Task Force. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith, Jr.

The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal

Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

  LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A local man who maliciously attempted to destroy a Las Vegas beauty supply store by fire and explosive devices, was sentenced today to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay nearly $1.7 million in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            Reynaldo Staana, 48, of Las Vegas, who pleaded guilty in February to one count of arson of property used in or affecting interstate commerce, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan.

            “Defendant Staana caused over $1 million in property damage and destruction,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “It is very fortunate that his dangerous actions did not also result in injury or the loss of human life.” 

            According to the court records filed in the case, Staana was an assistant manager at Beauty Supply Warehouse located at 3310 South Nellis Boulevard in Las Vegas, but was terminated from his position in August 2013.  On about Sept. 8, 2013, Staana entered the business after hours without permission in order to commit theft of property, and while inside the business, intentionally and maliciously used fire to ignite a flammable liquid with intent to destroy the business.  The fire caused more than $1 million in damage to structure and contents. 

            Staana has been in custody since his arrest in September 2013.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Clark County Fire Department, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina M. Brown.

 LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Following a 10-day jury trial, three men who were breaking into warehouses and delivery vans in the Las Vegas area and stealing controlled substances and designer goods, and had planned to kidnap and rob a delivery driver, were convicted by a federal jury today of conspiracy, robbery, theft, firearm, and other charges, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

“The U.S. Department of Justice will work with our local law enforcement partners and use federal laws to prosecute persons who use guns and violence to commit robberies and thefts in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Not only were these defendants committing thefts and planning a violent robbery, but they were selling stolen controlled substances causing additional harm to the community.”

            Julio De Armas Diaz, 54, Alexis Torres Simon, 45, and Alexander Del Valle Garcia, 41, all of Las Vegas, were all convicted of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, one count of attempted interference with commerce by robbery, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate shipment.  Additionally, Garcia was convicted of one count of making a false statement to the FBI, Diaz was convicted of one count of making a false statement to the FBI and three counts of theft from interstate shipment, and Simon was convicted of one count of felon in possession of a firearm and three counts of theft from interstate shipment.  They are in custody and are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 18, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey. 

            According to the court records and evidence introduced at trial, beginning no later than about October 2012 and continuing to April 8, 2013, Diaz and Simon broke into warehouses, storage facilities, and delivery vans, and stole designer handbags and controlled substances and sold the goods for their own financial gain.  The defendants broke into warehouses by cutting through warehouse doors, and broke into delivery vans and other vehicles that had been left unsupervised in commercial parking lots. Between April 4 and April 8, 2013, Diaz, Simon and Garcia conspired to kidnap and rob a delivery van driver with a firearm in order to obtain control and possession of the van containing controlled substances.  On April 8, Garcia falsely told FBI agents that he was driving a friend to apply for a job the morning of his arrest and that gloves and duct tape found in the car he was driving belonged to the registered owner of the vehicle.  On April 8, Diaz falsely told the FBI that he had no knowledge of a Beretta 9mm firearm recovered that day from the trunk of his vehicle, when he knew that the firearm had been placed in the trunk to be used that day in the planned robbery and theft of the van driver. 

            The defendants face up to 20 years in prison on each of the two robbery charges, up to five years in prison on the conspiracy to commit theft charge, and five years minimum mandatory, which must be served consecutively, on the firearm charge.  Garcia and Diaz also face up to five years in prison for making a false statement to law enforcement.  Diaz and Simon also face up to 15 years on each theft from interstate shipment charge, and Simon also faces up to 10 years in prison on the felon in possession charge. Each defendant also faces fines of up to $250,000 on each count. 

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina M. Brown and Daniel R. Schiess.

  LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas, Nevada man who works as a family and marriage counselor, appeared in federal court today following his arrest on charges that he solicited a minor for sex, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
           
            Ian Alexander Pincombe, 45, is charged in a criminal complaint with coercion and enticement of a minor.  Pincombe appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carl W. Hoffman and was detained pending a preliminary hearing on May 21, 2014.  If convicted, Pincombe faces a minimum of 10 years to life in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

            According to the criminal complaint, on April 30, 2014, a Henderson Police Department Detective initiated an undercover operation regarding using technology to lure a minor.  The detective located an advertisement on Craigslist.com in which an individual, later identified as Pincombe, was seeking females for sex and had included a nude photograph.  The undercover detective, posing as a 13-year-old girl, began communicating with Pincombe.  Over the next two days, Pincombe allegedly exchanged sexually explicit emails and text messages with the girl, one of which included a sexually explicit photograph of himself.  On May 2, 2014, Pincombe was arrested by Henderson Police Department Officers at a shopping center parking lot in Henderson where he had agreed to meet the girl for a sexual encounter.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Henderson Police Department, and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Allison Herr and Assistant United States Attorney Cristina D. Silva.

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

The public is reminded that a criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

  LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Following a five-day jury trial, a licensed accountant was convicted today of conspiracy and fraud charges for participating in a mortgage fraud scheme in southern Nevada and causing approximately $1.6 million in losses to federally insured financial institutions, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Carmen Denise Mosley, 43, of Granada Hills, Calif., was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, and two counts of bank fraud.  Mosley is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 5, 2014, and faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count. 

            “Over the last six years, hundreds of persons who worked in the housing and mortgage industry in southern Nevada have been prosecuted and convicted of mortgage fraud crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “This type of fraud has a long-lasting effect on the state economy and the perpetrators deserve to be convicted and punished.”

            According to the court records and evidence introduced at trial, from about November 2006 to November 2007, Mosley, a certified public accountant, and co-defendant Zulfiya Karimova, 33, of, Cupertino, California, a loan officer, conspired to obtain mortgage loans from financial institutions by causing materially false information to be placed in the buyers’ mortgage loan applications and supporting documentation.  Using this scheme, Mosley and Karimova obtained money and property from the financial institutions by causing money from the loans to be disbursed to them at closing for their own use and benefit. Karimova caused buyers to apply for mortgage loans and caused their applications to contain false information about their income and assets.  Mosley provided fraudulent tax documents to support the fraudulent representations in the applications concerning the buyers’ income.  Mosley and Karimova caused the financial institutions to loan money to fund the purchase of three homes in the Las Vegas area during 2006 and 2007.  The buyers defaulted on the loans, causing approximately $1.6 million in losses to the lenders. 

            Karimova pleaded guilty prior to trial to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, and bank fraud, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27, 2014.

            The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Griswold and Kathryn C. Newman.

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

  RENO, Nev. – A man who used a tiny, hidden video recorder to make over 200 sexually explicit video tape recordings of two female victims who were taking showers and using the restroom at his home in Carson City, Nev., was sentenced today to 19 years in prison, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
           
            Marcus Gabriel Henderson, 34, who pleaded guilty in January to one count attempted production of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks.  Henderson was also placed on lifetime supervised release and must register as a convicted sex offender.   

            “The sharing of child pornography over the internet results in repeated re-victimization and can negatively affect a victim for the rest of his or her life,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “The persons who produce these images and trade them with other persons deserve significant sentences of imprisonment.”

According to the court records, on July 31, 2013, a federal search warrant was executed at Henderson’s residence after he was identified as a target in an undercover child pornography investigation.  During the execution of the warrant, one of the investigators located a device in a bathroom which appeared to be an AC adaptor.  The adaptor was actually a covert video recording device containing a pinhole camera and media card.  A forensic examination of the media card revealed that it contained approximately 277 video clips, each about one minute in length, which appeared to have been taken in the toilet and shower areas of one or more bathrooms.  The camera had been positioned to capture nude images of two different female victims, one of whom was 13 years old at the time.  Henderson admitted that he created the videos to elicit a sexual response from the viewer of the videos and that he intended to distribute them to internet users in exchange for something of value. After recording some of the video clips, Henderson traveled from Nevada to South Dakota and distributed or sent via email some of the videos he produced.  In addition to the hidden camera, investigators recovered during the search, an additional 1200 images and 10 videos of child pornography from computers and digital devices that Henderson used. Some of the files depicted prepubescent children and sadistic and masochistic conduct.

“For most people, criminal acts against children are impossible to comprehend,” said Kyle Burns, resident agent in charge of HSI Reno. “For a child who has been tricked and sexually exploited by someone they trusted, the physical and emotional scars will be with them forever. As this sentence makes unmistakably clear, child sex predators will be caught, prosecuted, and meted the justice they deserve for their despicable actions.”

The case was investigated by HSI and the Northern Nevada Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carla B. Higginbotham. 

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

safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

   LAS VEGAS, Nev.  – Two men were sentenced to prison today for transporting minor girls from the northern California area to Las Vegas, Nev., in 2013 to work as prostitutes, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            In separate unrelated cases, Andrew West, 27, of Hayward, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to eight years in prison and 20 years of supervised release.  West pleaded guilty in January to one count of transportation of a minor for prostitution.  Ray Darnell Webb, 20, also of Hayward, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson to eight years in prison and 10 years of supervised release.  Webb pleaded guilty in January to one count of coercion and enticement.  Both men will also have to register as sex offenders when they are released from prison.

“Transporting minors across state lines to work as prostitutes is a federal felony crime with serious penalties,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “We are working with our federal, state and local law enforcement and community partners to ensure that the persons who commit these types of crimes are prosecuted.”

            According to the court records in West’s case, on May 3, 2013, West and a 16-year-old girl victim and others, traveled in several vehicles from San Jose, Calif., to Las Vegas.  The next day, West and the 16-year-old girl, and another male, checked into a motel on the Boulder Highway. West told the girl to make money (by committing sex acts) to pay for the room.  The girl walked the Boulder Highway in search of dates, and solicited separate dates with four men who she took back to the motel room. The girl earned a total of $260, part of which was provided to West after each date. The girl was arrested on May 4, 2013, when she attempted to solicit a date from an undercover Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Officer in the motel parking lot.  

            According to the court records in Webb’s case, in early 2013, Webb and a co-defendant, Seagram Miller, met one of the victims, a 12-year-old female, in Oakland, Calif. where she was working as a prostitute.  Shortly thereafter, the 12-year-old began working as a prostitute for Webb and Miller, and provided the money she made working as a prostitute to them.  In about April 2013, Miller met a 16-year-old female on Facebook, and she also began working as a prostitute for Miller and Webb.  In April 2013, Miller, Webb, and the two minor girls, decided to travel to Las Vegas to make money.  Before leaving, Webb and the 16-year-old girl posted an advertisement on MyRedbook.com so that they would have dates lined up when they arrived in Las Vegas. The advertisement contained photographs of the 16-year-old.  On April 29, 2013, Webb, Miller, and the two minor girls drove from Oakland to Las Vegas and stayed in a rented hotel room on Las Vegas Boulevard.  Both girls worked as prostitutes on April 30 and in early May. 

            Miller also pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, 2014.

The cases were investigated the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as part of the Innocence Lost Task Force. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith, Jr.

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

   RENO, Nev. – A man who killed another man with a shotgun on the Battle Mountain Indian Colony in Lander County, Nev., in December 2011 was sentenced on April 21, 2014, to 30 years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden.

Daniel James Draper, 48, who was convicted by a jury in January 2014 of voluntary manslaughter and use of a firearm during a crime of violence causing death, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones.  The sentence was the maximum allowed under federal law for those offenses. 

“The 30-year prison sentence imposed against defendant Draper cannot bring Linford Dick back or undo any of the violent criminal acts inflicted upon him,” said United States Attorney Bogden.  “Hopefully, the verdicts and sentence provides some measure of justice to the victim, his family, and the Battle Mountain Indian Colony community. We will continue our outreach and law enforcement efforts in an attempt to make our tribal communities safe.”

According to the court records, on Dec. 20, 2011, at approximately 1:00 a.m., Draper smashed a front window and entered a home on the Indian Colony, and shot and killed the victim, Linford Dick.  Draper also used the shotgun to strike and beat the victim in the head. Two other women and a child were in the home at the time. 

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Lander County Sheriff’s Office, and the Battle Mountain Indian Colony Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Megan Rachow and William R. Reed

   LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A local man who was convicted by a jury in September 2013 of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for his involvement in a scheme to obtain $35 million in fraudulent mortgage loans, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Jabari L. Marshall, 36, of Las Vegas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro. Marshall was also ordered to pay approximately $250,000 in restitution and to forfeit up to $6.1 million in assets that were gained as a result of the crimes.  Marshall has been in custody since his arrest in January 2012, and has a lengthy criminal history, including two prior federal convictions in Nevada for bank fraud/check fraud type crimes.  Marshall was also on federal supervised release when he committed this crime.  

            “Since 2008, hundreds of persons have been prosecuted by the Nevada United States Attorney’s Office for this type of crime,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “By now, the message should be clear that if you get convicted of committing a mortgage fraud offense, you will spend a significant time in federal prison.”

From about 2005 to 2007, Marshall and nine co-conspirators obtained mortgage loans through the use of straw buyers and by submitting false and fraudulent loan applications to federally insured financial institutions. Once the mortgage loans were approved, the conspirators caused money from the loan transactions to be disbursed to their own use and benefit.  The conspirators typically rented the homes and re-sold them for a profit, using the same scheme. Some of the homes were “flipped” or sold twice within short periods of time.  The conspirators then defaulted on the loans, causing approximately $15 million in losses to the lenders. The conspirators used this fraudulent scheme to purchase 30 homes in Las Vegas between 2005 and 2007. The total value of the mortgages was approximately $35 million. 

Defendant Lloyd Gardley was considered to be the leader of the conspiracy.  Lloyd Gardley, Candis Gardley, and Marshall recruited straw buyers, loan officers and others into the scheme.  Marshall also provided false Social Security numbers and false documents for some of the loans. The other conspirators included two loan officers, two real estate agents, an escrow assistant, an accountant, and an individual who provided false verifications of rent.  All nine co-conspirators were convicted and have been sentenced. 

            The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Pugh and Sarah E. Griswold.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

     RENO, Nev. – Two men who were convicted by a federal jury in Reno of conspiring to obstruct the IRS, were sentenced today to terms of imprisonment, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Bret Ogilvie, 50, of Reno, Nev., was sentenced to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $315,286 in restitution.  Linwood Tracy, 73, of Fallon, Nev., was sentenced to nine months in prison and three years of supervised release.  They were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud, and Ogilvie was also convicted of one count of corrupt interference with tax administration and five counts of presenting false claims to the IRS.  U.S. District Court Judge Larry R. Hicks imposed the sentences.

"When criminals cheat the IRS, they steal from all taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “We hope that prosecutions like this one will deter others from impeding, obstructing and threatening the IRS in their collection work."

            According to the court records, from about Feb. 22 to Nov. 18, 2008, Ogilvie and Tracy conspired to impede and obstruct the IRS in their collection of income taxes by a number of means, including threatening to sue the IRS for $10 million if the IRS did not remove a tax lien on Ogilvie’s residence, by contacting businesses and telling them not to comply with IRS levies against Ogilvie, by setting up a corporation and transferring compensation that Ogilvie earned through his plumbing company to the corporate bank account in an attempt to evade taxes, by threatening to sue employees of the IRS, and by filing a frivolous lawsuit against IRS personnel in Washoe County.  Between Dec. 8 and Dec. 10, 2008, and on March 30, 2011, Ogilvie also presented false claims to the IRS for income tax refunds the tax years 2006 through 2010 totaling approximately $3.9 million.  Ogilvie made the claims by preparing and causing to be prepared an IRS form indicating he held a Power of Attorney for the Bret Ogilvie Trust. 

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Rachow.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

     LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Henderson, Nevada man has been sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay $834,000 in restitution for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme that caused over $1 million in losses to federally insured financial institutions, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Lance Kellow, 37, was sentenced on Friday, March 7, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro.  Kellow was convicted by a jury in March 2013 of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of bank fraud.

            “Hundreds of persons have now been convicted and sentenced to prison for committing fraud in the lending and housing industries in southern Nevada,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “Since 2008, we have worked diligently with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to prosecute federally the most egregious cases of this type of fraud.”

Lance Kellow, an experienced loan officer and licensed mortgage broker in southern Nevada, used his experience and knowledge to commit mortgage fraud for profit.  On four different occasions, Lance Kellow and his brothers, Jason and Vince Kellow, lied to mortgage lenders in order to get real estate and money for their own use. 

Beginning in January 2007, the brothers conspired to sell their houses to their cousin, who was not qualified to buy them, for a significant profit.  The brothers placed false information about their cousin’s employment and finances in mortgage loan applications, and helped him qualify for the loans by depositing cash in his bank account and omitting and paying down his debt, all without informing the lenders.  As a result of the false statements in the loan applications, the lenders made loans to the cousin that they would not have otherwise made.  Using this scheme, the Kellow brothers received over $500,000 in cash from these sales. The cousin then defaulted on the mortgages, causing losses to the banks in excess of $1 million.

            Lance Kellow was permitted to self-report to federal prison by June 5, 2014.

Jason Kellow pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and was sentenced in March 2013 to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay $1 million in restitution. Vinson Kellow pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced in April 2013 to seven months in prison.  

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn C. Newman and Christina Brown.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov. 

     RENO, Nev. – A California man who recruited and used a 16-year-old girl to work as a prostitute, was sentenced today to a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Carlos Rodriguez Navarrette, aka Carlos Alberto Navarrette, aka DJ Junior, 23, of Los Angeles, Calif., who pleaded guilty in November 2013 to one count of sex trafficking of a minor, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du. Following his release from prison, Navarrette will also be placed on lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender. 

            “According to the defendant’s own admissions, he knew the victim was a minor, but he recruited and enticed her to work for him anyway,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “The U.S. Department of Justice will use tough federal laws to prosecute you if you knowingly disregard the fact that you are using a minor to engage in commercial sex acts.”  

            According to the plea agreement, on June 11, 2013, Navarrette met the 16-year-old girl at a casino in Reno and recruited her to work as a prostitute.  Navarrette posted a prostitution advertisement on the website “myredbook.com,” which included photos of the 16-year-old. From about June 11 to June 13, 2013, Navarrette paid for hotel rooms and food for the girl, and arranged for her to engage in approximately four to five commercial sex acts.  After the 16-year-old engaged in the sex acts, she was required to provide the money she earned to Navarrette.

Investigators with the FBI’s Innocence Lost Task Force came across the website advertisement while they were attempting to locate a woman who had been reported missing in California, as the telephone number in the advertisement was the same as the missing woman’s.  An undercover investigator made arrangements to meet the girl at a Reno motel for sex. When the investigator arrived at the motel, Navarrette and an adult female directed the investigator to the 16-year-old girl, who was lying on the bed partially undressed.  

The investigation was conducted by the Innocence Lost Task Force, which is made up of the FBI and the Regional Street Enforcement Team, which includes the Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department, FBI, and UNR Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carla Higginbotham.

The case has been brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal

Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

     LAS VEGAS, Nev. - A Henderson, Nev. man has been indicted by the federal grand jury for aiming a laser pointer at a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) helicopter on six occasions during January and February 2014, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            James David Zipf, 30, is charged with six counts of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft on Jan. 30, Jan. 31, Feb. 3, Feb. 7, Feb. 8, and Feb. 12, 2014, and is scheduled to appear before United States Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe, at 3:00 p.m. today for an initial appearance and arraignment and plea.  If convicted, Zipf faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. 

            “Congress enacted a new federal statute in 2012 dealing with laser strikes, which makes it a felony to knowingly target an aircraft with a laser,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We have partnered with our local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to catch individuals who are engaging in this dangerous behavior, which can disorient and temporarily blind a pilot.  If you have information about a lasing incident or see someone pointing a laser at an aircraft, call your local FBI field office or dial 911.

  Since the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began tracking laser strikes in 2005, statistics reflect a more than 1,100 percent increase in the deliberate targeting of aircraft by people with handheld lasers. In 2013, there were a total of 3,960 laser strikes reported—an average of almost 11 incidents per day.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and LVMPD, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Yang.   

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

     RENO, Nev. – A man who fraudulently convinced 11 persons to loan him a total of $3.6 million for the purchase of a golf course near Gardnerville, Nev., pleaded guilty today to 24 federal felony charges, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Scott H. Summerhays, 55, formerly of the South Lake Tahoe area, but currently in custody in Reno, pleaded guilty during the first day of trial to 14 counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, two counts of identity theft, and one count of aggravated identity theft.  Summerhays, who was indicted in February 2012, faces over 30 years in prison and fines of up to $5.7 million, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks.  

“This is the second person to be convicted or sentenced of federal investment fraud charges in the northern Nevada area this week,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “In both cases, the defendants led their victims to believe that they were legitimate businessmen and used fraudulent documents to support their scheme.  If you are considering a financial arrangement with someone, be sure to check the veracity of any documents they provide you, as fraudulent documents are common and easy to create.” 

According to the court records, during 2008 to 2010, Summerhays represented to potential investors that he was purchasing the Genoa Lakes Golf Club located west of Gardnerville, Nev. for $17 million and needed a short term loan to complete the deal because his own money was tied up in a trust.  Summerhays also represented to the potential investors that he solicited funds for oil and gas investments in Texas and owned over $30 million in Berkshire, Las Vegas Sands and MGM stocks.  Summerhays showed some of the investors a fraudulent investment account statement.  Summerhays also claimed that he was in partnership with Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Aldelson, and showed potential investors a partnership agreement containing the forged signature of Adelson.  In reality, Summerhays had no investment portfolio, and Adelson never heard of Summerhays or had any partnerships with him.  Using this scheme, Summerhays was able to convince 11 persons to loan him money for the golf course, totaling approximately $3.6 million.  None of the investors were repaid and they lost all of the money they loaned Summerhays.   

The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ronald C. Rachow and Megan Rachow.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

     RENO, Nev. – A former bank financial advisor in Reno who defrauded six persons of over $2 million during 2010 and 2011, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, five years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution to the victims, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Gary H. Lane, 60, of Reno, who pleaded guilty in September 2013 to 12 counts of mail fraud and five counts of attempt to evade or defeat tax, was sentenced on Monday, Feb. 10, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones.   

“Beware of persons who offer better interest rates than traditional sources,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “They prey on the elderly and unsophisticated and will use numerous methods to steal your money.  If you do not know if an investment opportunity is legitimate, it is always better to investigate the person or company first before turning over any money to them.” 

Lane was employed until March 2011 as a financial advisor with Bank of America Investment Services, which later merged with Merrill Lynch. During the course of Lane’s employment, he allegedly developed a scheme to entice persons to invest monies with him through the use of an E-Trade account rather than through normal bank procedures.  Lane allegedly looked for investors who were elderly or lacked investing experience and who had a desire for high returns and aversion to risk. Lane told the investors that their funds would be invested in U.S. Treasury Bonds which would pay better than six percent interest and would mature in two years. Lane corroborated the trades by creating false confirmations and distributing them to the victims by mail. After receiving the monies from the victims, Lane gave them to his spouse who mailed them to her E-Trade account.  The monies were then withdrawn at Lane’s direction for his own use or to pay other investors.  In actuality, Lane never purchased any U.S. Treasury Bonds with the victims’ monies.  In fact, there were never any United States Treasury Bonds that existed with a rate of return of greater than six percent and a maturity period of less than two years. 

Using this scheme, Lane defrauded approximately six persons of over $2 million between January 2010 and March 2011.  Lane also allegedly filed false and fraudulent individual tax returns for the years 2006 through 2010, substantially understating his income and tax due and owing to the IRS. 

The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Nevada Secretary of State Securities Division, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Rachow.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

      RENO, Nev. – In the first federal jury trial of its kind in Nevada involving synthetic drugs commonly referred to as “spice,” a Reno, Nevada man has been convicted of multiple counts related to the distribution and possession of the dangerous substances, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.   

Iqbal Singh-Sidhu, 33, was convicted on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, of 16 counts of possession with intent to distribute or distribution of controlled substances, and controlled substance analogues intended for human consumption, and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premise as to his business.  Singh-Sidhu was originally charged and arrested in March 2013, and the jury trial started on Monday. 

“Purchasing and using these compounds is extremely dangerous and can be equated to playing Russian roulette,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “The chemicals used to make the drugs are continually altered and the substance you get one day will not be the same one you get the next day.  Persons, including youth, are increasingly ingesting these dangerous combinations of chemicals.  We are working diligently with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to investigate these cases, and will use federal laws to prosecute persons who recklessly distribute these substances.” 

According to the court records and evidence introduced at trial, on four separate occasions in September 2012, Singh-Sidhu knowingly and unlawfully distributed controlled substances, and analogues intended for human consumption, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act.  The spice he distributed over the course of these four occasions was labeled “Diablo,” “Hayze,” “White Rhino,” and “Smokin Dragon.”

On Feb. 5, 2013, federal search warrants were executed at his business, Grab n Go Food n Liquors, located at 1801 West 4th Street, in Reno, and at his residence located at 3101 Platte River Drive, in Reno.  Dozens of packages of several varieties of “spice” were found at his business, and three boxes and a garbage bag containing hundreds of packages of various types of “spice” were recovered at his home.  The overall street value of the “spice” recovered at these premises containing controlled substances or analogues intended for human consumption was approximately $20,000.

The synthetic drugs Singh-Sidhu sold, and later possessed with intent to distribute at his business and his home in February 2013, contained one or more of the controlled substances, JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-081, and AM2201, and/or one or more of the analogues intended for human consumption, UR-144, XLR11, and 5-MeO-DALT.  Synthetic drugs containing these substances have hallucinogenic effects on the central nervous system.  The physiological effects these substances cause are stronger and more potent than those caused by marijuana.  

Singh-Sidhu also unlawfully maintained the business of Grab n Go Food n Liquors for the purpose of distributing “spice” with these controlled substances, and analogues intended for human consumption. 

Singh-Sidhu faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count, except for the maintaining a drug-involved premises count, which carries a maximum fine of $500,000.  Singh-Sidhu is scheduled to be sentenced in Reno on June 9, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones.

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, synthetic drugs are a rapidly emerging threat and there is an increasingly expanding array of synthetic drugs available.  Use of synthetic drugs is alarmingly high, especially among young people. The contents and effects of synthetic drugs are unpredictable due to a constantly changing variety of chemicals used in manufacturing processes devoid of quality controls and government regulatory oversight.  Health warnings have been issued by numerous public health authorities and poison control centers describing the adverse health effects associated with the use of synthetic drugs. The Administration has been working with federal, congressional, state, local, and non-governmental partners to put policies and legislation in place to combat this threat, and to educate people about the tremendous health risk posed by these substances.  For more information on the risks and dangers of synthetic drugs, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/synthetic-drugs-k2-spice-bath-salts.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James E. Keller and Carla Higginbotham and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), including its Office of Diversion Control, Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section, in Arlington, Virginia.

      LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A man pleaded guilty today to maliciously attempting to destroy a local beauty supply store by fire and explosive devices, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            Reynaldo Staana, 48, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to one count of arson of property used in or affecting interstate commerce.  Sentencing is scheduled for May 6, 2014, at 10:00 a.m.  Staana, who is in federal custody on the charges, faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000.

            According to the court records filed in the case, Staana had been an assistant manager at Beauty Supply Warehouse located at 3310 South Nellis Boulevard in Las Vegas but was terminated from his position in August 2013.  On about Sept. 8, 2013, Staana entered the business after hours without permission in order to commit theft of property, and while inside the business, intentionally and maliciously used fire to ignite a flammable liquid with intent to destroy the business.  The fire caused more than $1 million in damage to structure and contents. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Clark County Fire Department, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina M. Brown.

            LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The last of four men convicted of burglarizing and stealing 21 firearms from a Henderson, Nev. gun store in August 2011, was sentenced today to 2½ years in prison and three years of supervised release, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.           
Demario F. Edwards, 24, of North Las Vegas, who pleaded guilty in October 2013 to possession of a stolen firearm and theft from a federal firearms licensee, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson. Three co-defendants charged in the case, Victor Williams, 21, Daryl Galtney, 25, and Frank Freeman, 27, also pleaded guilty and were sentenced last year to 37 months, 63 months, and 100 months in prison, respectively. 
“Many of these stolen firearms end up in the hands of criminals, who later commit crimes of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “It is important to send a message to persons who steal firearms in burglaries and robberies that there are strong federal laws prohibiting this type of conduct and we will use them to keep the community safe.”
According to the court records, on Aug. 13, 2011, at approximately 3:30 a.m., one of the defendants drove a stolen Crown Victoria through the front entrance of a gun store in Henderson. Video surveillance shows a vehicle crashing through the window of the store and the defendants then entering the store.  Once inside, the defendants broke a glass display case and began stealing multiple firearms.  The defendants exited the store with 21 stolen handguns, and drove away in a separate vehicle, leaving the Crown Victoria inside the store.  Beginning in September 2011, investigators started recovering firearms that were stolen in the burglary, some of which were recovered in the Las Vegas area during searches of various residences and following a robbery and a homicide.  One of the guns, a .45 caliber handgun, was found in Edwards’ apartment in September 2011 when Nevada Probation and Parole Officers were conducting a compliance check. As a result, Edwards pleaded guilty in a separate federal case to felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to two years in prison which will run concurrent to today’s sentence.   

The case was investigated by ATF, with the assistance of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Gang Crimes Bureau, the Henderson Police Department, and the North Las Vegas Police Department. The case was screened through the Southern Nevada Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, a team of federal and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors who meet on a regular basis to discuss arrests involving guns and explosives. Project Safe Neighborhoods, also known as PSN, is a Department of Justice initiative and a nationwide commitment to reduce gun and gang crime in America.  The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Phillip N. Smith, Jr.

      LAS VEGAS, Nev.  – A northern California man pleaded guilty today to transporting a minor female from San Jose, Calif., to Las Vegas, Nev., to work as a prostitute during May 2013, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Andrew West, 27, of Hayward, Calif., who was indicted on May 29, 2013, pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of a minor for prostitution, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30, 2014, by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan. West faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and will have to register as a sex offender.

“We must use maximum resources to prevent our children and youth from becoming victims to sex trafficking,” said United States Attorney Bogden. “The kids who fall victim to pimps are typically physically and emotional abused and scarred for life, and we will work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that these child exploiters who bring kids across state lines for prostitution purposes are prosecuted.” 

            According to the plea agreement, in early 2013, a 16-year-old female began working as a prostitute for West in Stockton and San Jose, Calif.  On May 3, 2013, West, the 16-year-old girl, and others traveled in several vehicles from San Jose to Las Vegas.  The 16-year-old traveled in West’s Lexus automobile, but West told the girl that he could not ride in the vehicle with her until after they arrived in Nevada, because if he were arrested he would get into more trouble for crossing state lines with her because of her age. They arrived in Las Vegas the next day, and West, the 16-year-old girl, and another male checked into a motel on the Boulder Highway. West told the girl to make money (by committing sex acts) to pay for the room.  The girl walked the Boulder Highway in search of dates, and solicited separate dates with four men who she took back to the motel room. The girl earned a total of $260, part of which was provided to West after each date. The girl was arrested on May 4, 2013, when she attempted to solicit a date from an undercover Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Officer in the motel parking lot.  

The case was investigated the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as part of the Innocence Lost Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith, Jr.

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

     LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A woman who pleaded guilty to stealing over $400,000 from the unemployment system, public housing authority, and Social Security Administration, was sentenced today to 57 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $477,466 in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Teresa Ann Towns, 50, who pleaded guilty in October 2013 to three counts of theft of government money, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George.  Towns was indicted and arrested in June 2013, and has been in custody since that time.

            “Stealing from government benefits programs is a serious crime with serious consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “Besides protecting our citizens from terrorist threats, white collar fraud is a top priority of the U.S. Department of Justice, and considerable resources are being utilized to investigate and prosecute this type of crime.”

Between 2005 and 2013, Towns, who also uses the aliases C. or T. Moorehead, C. or S. Grayson, and V. Johnson, established multiple business entities in Nevada and submitted false wage reports for fictitious employees to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, which is the state agency responsible for distributing unemployment benefits that are partially funded by the federal government.  Unemployment benefits were then disbursed on debit cards in the names of the fictitious employees and sent to addresses accessible to Towns. Towns used the debit cards to obtain cash from ATM machines and to convert the funds to her own use and the use of others. The loss to the federal and state unemployment system was approximately $322,682. 

            In March 2001, Towns fraudulently obtained a public housing unit from the Southern Nevada Housing Authority using a false identity and other fraudulent information.   The Housing Authority is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  From 2005 to 2013, Towns failed to report her income on annual re-certifications which would have made her ineligible for the housing benefits.  In May 2007, Towns also fraudulently obtained Section 8 Housing from the Southern Nevada Housing Authority using false income and household composition information.  Towns failed to report in the original application and in annual re-certifications that she already had a public housing unit and was receiving unemployment income, and that she had an unauthorized adult and minor residing in the housing for several years.  The loss to the Southern Nevada Housing Authority because of the fraud was approximately $114,000. 

            In October 2009, Towns applied for and fraudulently received child insurance benefits from the Social Security Administration.  Towns falsely represented that the child lived with her in Las Vegas, and that she would use the benefits for the child or would place them into savings for the child.   Between 2009 and 2012, Towns fraudulently obtained approximately $40,656 in child insurance benefits from the Social Security Administration. 

            In 1991, Towns was convicted in California of grand theft for using multiple aliases to obtain welfare benefits and was sentenced to two years in prison.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Damm.

Today's announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

      LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas attorney pleaded guilty today to assisting a client launder approximately $2.25 million that had been obtained fraudulently in an online investment scheme, in which over 1,400 persons lost $16 million, announced the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.

            R. Christopher Reade, 43, of North Las Vegas, pleaded guilty to one count of accessory after the fact to laundering of monetary instruments.  Reade faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1,125,000 fine, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.

            Reade was a licensed attorney in Las Vegas and practiced business law.  His client, Rick Young, owned and operated a Nevada corporation known as Global One Group, LLC, a web-based company which purported to train others how to trade in the foreign currency exchange market, or FOREX.  Young advertised that he was an experienced and highly successful trader in the FOREX market, who for a fee would teach persons his winning trading strategies and techniques. Young solicited persons to become members of Global One which would allow them access to his web-based live training seminars.  Young claimed that he had developed an automated trading program that traded according to his strategies simply by “flipping a switch.” Young enticed members into providing money for “loans” to Global One and told them that they would be able to earn high yield returns on their investments.  In actuality, the automated trading program did not exist in the form that Young represented and Young was running an elaborate Ponzi scheme in which proceeds from the member loans were diverted to Young his own use.  From about 2006 to 2008, Young derived approximately $16 million in proceeds from the scheme.

Beginning in February 2007, Reade represented Young and Global One in connection with business litigation and transactions.  In March 2007, Young intended to use Global One loan monies to purchase a FOREX brokerage company named Trend.  To disguise the source and ownership of the illegal proceeds, Young authorized Reade to create and control a holding corporation called Way FX Corp. In April 2007, Young transferred approximately $2.25 million from Global One accounts to the Way FX bank account controlled by Reade, and Reade signed an agreement to purchase Trend.  On August 21, 2007, Reade received $75,000 from Global One for his services related to Way FX and the purchase of Trend.

From about May 2007 to August 2007, in connection with an investigation by the National Futures Association about the ownership and funding of Trend, Reade falsely told investigators that he was unaware who owned Global One or how Global One raised money, and that the funds used to purchase Trend came from his personal contributions and not from Global One.  Reade knew that his statements were false and that Young had committed the offense of money laundering.  Reade also knew that he had assisted Young in order to hinder or prevent the investigation of Young in connection with the money laundering.

            In March 2011, Young was convicted by a federal jury in the District of Nevada of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges. In December 2011, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $13.3 million in restitution. 

            The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Steven W. Myhre and Assistant United States Attorney James E. Keller.

Today's announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

      LAS VEGAS, Nev.  – Two California men pleaded guilty today to felony sex trafficking crimes for inducing and enticing two minor girls to travel from Oakland, Calif., to Las Vegas, Nev., to work as prostitutes during April and May 2013, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Ray Darnell Webb, 19, and Seagram Joshua Miller, 21, both of Hayward, Calif., who were arrested and indicted in May 2013, pleaded guilty to one count of coercion and enticement, and are scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson. The men face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and will have to register as sex offenders.

“We must work together as a community to prevent children from getting involved with sex trafficking,” said United States Attorney Bogden. “The pimps who scour the streets, schools, and online communities preying on boys and girls are predators and we will work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that they are prosecuted.” 

            According to their plea agreements, in early 2013, Webb and Miller met one of the victims, a 12-year-old female, in Oakland, Calif. where she was working as a prostitute.  Shortly thereafter, the 12-year-old began working as a prostitute for Webb and Miller, and provided the money she made working as a prostitute to them.  In about April 2013, Miller met a 16-year-old female on Facebook, and she also began working as a prostitute for Miller and Webb.  In April 2013, Miller, Webb, and the two minor girls, decided to travel to Las Vegas to make money.  Before leaving, Webb and the 16-year-old girl posted an advertisement on MyRedbook.com so that they would have dates lined up when they arrived in Las Vegas. The advertisement contained photographs of the 16-year-old.  On April 29, 2013, Webb, Miller, and the two minor girls, drove from Oakland to Las Vegas and stayed in a rented hotel room on Las Vegas Boulevard.  Both girls worked as prostitutes on April 30 and in early May. 

The cases were investigated the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as part of the Innocence Lost Task Force. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith, Jr.

The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal

Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

      LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A former loan officer from Henderson, Nev., who convinced at least 16 victims to give him money for a high yield investment scheme involving the foreign currency exchange market, was sentenced today to 6½ years in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $830,000 in restitution for his guilty pleas to federal fraud and money laundering charges, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Kamalu Gonzales, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro, and was permitted to self-report to federal prison by April 17, 2014.  Gonzales pleaded guilty in August 2013 to two counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering. 

            “Prosecuting persons who commit financial fraud crimes is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “Many of these persons target elderly and other vulnerable victims.  If someone promises you an investment opportunity with unusually high rates of return, it is likely that the opportunity is fraudulent and that you will lose your money.”

During 2007, Gonzales worked as a loan officer for Meridias Capital in Henderson.  Gonzales helped persons refinance their homes, and placed false information in the loan applications so the individuals could obtain refinancing and cash to which they would not have otherwise been entitled.  Gonzales also told individuals that he was a successful investor and trader in the foreign currency exchange market.  Gonzales recruited individuals to invest with him in the market, telling them that they could earn high rates of return on their investments in a short period of time. Some of the victims wired money to Gonzales, and others borrowed money from their retirement funds or lines of credit.  Gonzales also convinced some of the persons who refinanced their houses to give him some of the cash they received from refinancing for his investment fraud scheme.  None of the victims agreed to pay Gonzales any commissions or fees, or agreed that he could use their investments for personal or business expenses or to pay other investors. 

In order to continue the scheme and to keep victims from discovering the crime, Gonzales lied to the victims repeatedly and told them their investments were doing well.  As a result of the lies, some victims gave Gonzales more money to invest.  Gonzales also made payments to some of the victims using monies he received from other victims. 

Gonzales received approximately $1 million total from at least 16 victims in 2007 and 2008.  Gonzales did not invest the victims’ funds as promised and diverted approximately $410,000 for his own personal purposes.

            The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Henderson Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn C. Newman and Kimberly M. Frayn.

Today's announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

WASHINGTON – Two men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas for offenses involving the federal renewable fuel program that allegedly netted them more than $37 million, announced the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Criminal Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.  The 57-count indictment against James Jariv, 63, of Las Vegas, and Nathan Stoliar, 64, of Australia, includes allegations of conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements under the Clean Air Act, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

The indictment was unsealed late Wednesday following Jariv’s initial appearance in federal court in Las Vegas, which followed his arrest on Tuesday.  Stoliar resides in Australia.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 created a number of federally-funded programs that provided monetary incentives for the production of biodiesel and to encourage biodiesel use in the United States.  Biodiesel producers and importers could generate and attach credits known as “renewable identification numbers” or RINs to biodiesel they produced or imported.  Because certain companies need RINs to comply with regulatory obligations, RINs have significant market value.  In addition, in order to create an incentive for biodiesel in the United States to be used in the United States, anyone who exports biodiesel is required to obtain these valuable RINs and provide them to EPA.  The market price charged for exported biodiesel therefore includes the value an exporter is required to later spend to acquire these RINs. 

The indictment alleges that beginning around June of 2009, the two defendants, James Jariv and Nathan Stoliar, operated and controlled a company -- City Farm Biofuel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada -- that held itself out as a producer of biodiesel from “feedstocks” such as animal fat and vegetable oils.  Jariv also operated and controlled a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, called Global E Marketing.  The government alleges that these defendants claimed to produce biodiesel at the City Farm facility, claimed to import and sell biodiesel to Global E Marketing, and then generated and sold RINs based upon this claimed production, sale and importation.  In reality, little to no biodiesel produced at City Farm was ever imported and sold to Global E Marketing as claimed.  The indictment alleges that the defendants’ scheme allowed them to generate approximately $7 million in RINs that were fraudulent, which were then sold to companies that needed to obtain them.

The indictment also alleges that, beginning around the same time period and continuing through Dec. 31, 2013, the defendants, using their company MJ Biodfuels, bought over 23 million gallons of RIN-less biodiesel that had been blended with small amounts of petroleum diesel, known as B99, from companies in the United States.  The defendants sold some of this biodiesel to purchasers in the United States, claiming it was pure biodiesel, known as B100, produced at the City Farm facility and imported into the United States.  By claiming this biodiesel was B100 and not RIN-less B99, the defendants were able to claim the fuel was eligible to be used to generate credits and incentives, and were able to sell the fuel for significantly more than they otherwise would have been able.  The defendants also exported the RIN-less B99 they bought in the United States to Canada.  The defendants then sold the biodiesel in Canada, and conspired not to acquire and provide RINs for these exports to the United States as they were required to do, but instead to keep the money they received from the sales for themselves.  The indictment alleges that, in doing so, the defendants failed to give to the United States RINs worth in excess of $30 million, keeping this money for themselves instead.

The indictment alleges that the defendants created false records and made false statements to conceal their fraudulent claims of biodiesel production, importation, sale and fraudulent RIN generation.  Finally, the indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to launder the proceeds of their crimes, utilizing foreign banking institutions and complex financial transactions to conceal the illegal nature of the funds they received, and to attempt to protect these funds from government enforcement.  Today the United States also seized and restrained the assets contained in a number bank accounts utilized by the defendants, as well as several pieces of real and personal property in Las Vegas, Nevada.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The collaborative investigation that led to today’s arrest and seizures was the result of work by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI, with assistance from the United States Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security. 

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Wayne D. Hettenbach of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Crane M. Pomerantz and Daniel D. Hollingsworth of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada, and Trial Attorney Darrin L. McCullough of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, with the assistance of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

      LAS VEGAS, Nev. – U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden announced today that the Nevada U.S. Attorney’s Office collected $18 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 related to criminal, civil and asset forfeiture actions.  Of this amount, $10.5 million was collected in criminal actions, $1.6 million was collected in civil actions, and $5.9 million was collected in criminal and civil forfeitures.
           
Additionally, the District of Nevada worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $1.9 million in cases pursued jointly with these offices.  This additional shared amount was collected in civil actions.   

“The collection of monetary penalties in federal litigation is a critical aspect of our work that frequently gets overlooked,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “These collections are used to help crime victims and for a variety of other law enforcement purposes. Our FY 2013 collections exceeded our total appropriated budget for our office by almost three times.”   

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that nationally the Justice Department collected approximately $8.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2013. The more than $8 billion in collections in FY 2013 represents nearly three times the appropriated $2.76 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period.

            “The Department’s enforcement actions help to not only ensure justice is served, but also deliver a valuable return to the taxpayer,” said Attorney General Holder. “It is critical that Congress provide the resources necessary to match the Department’s mounting caseload. As these figures show, supporting our federal prosecutors is a sound investment.”

An example of a recent case in which the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada collected a significant amount of money is United States v. Richard Young. Young, of Lewistown, Montana, was convicted following a jury trial in March 2011 of various fraud offenses including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and securities fraud.  Young deceived more than 1,400 persons into investing more than $16 million in a fraudulent securities trading business which was nothing more than an elaborate Ponzi scheme.  Young was sentenced in December 2011 to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $13.3 million to the victims.  Young’s sentence also included a forfeiture order by which multiple items of real and personal property were forfeited to the United States, including tractor-trailers, several homes and business properties in Lewistown, bank accounts holding over $500,000, and multiple cars, tools, furnishings, and business equipment.  The forfeited properties were liquidated and yielded approximately $1.12 million.  Pending approval from the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, those monies will be used to pay the victims of Mr. Young’s crimes in partial satisfaction of the restitution order.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims.  The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.  While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs. Forfeited assets are deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund and are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.

      LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The mastermind of a Las Vegas mortgage fraud scheme that caused approximately $15 million in losses to the lenders and financial institutions, has been sentenced to just over 11 years in federal prison for his guilty pleas to conspiracy and fraud charges, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Lloyd Gardley, 60, currently in federal custody in Pahrump, Nev., was sentenced on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro.  Gardley pleaded guilty in August 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, and two counts of mail fraud. He will also have to serve five years of supervised release following his release from prison and pay over $1.4 million in restitution.

“Gardley is one of two individuals who were sentenced to prison this week for committing mortgage fraud in Nevada,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “Unfortunately, these crimes are not victimless and the damage to the community is lasting. The mortgage fraud scheme artificially inflated home values that, in turn, raised purchase prices of comparable homes, forcing innocent homebuyers to pay well above true market value for their homes. Since 2008 when the FBI and our office made mortgage fraud prosecutions a priority, we have investigated, charged and convicted hundreds of persons for federal mortgage fraud crimes and most of them are now serving time in federal prison.”

Ten persons were charged and convicted in the scheme which occurred between 2005 and 2007 and involved the use of straw buyers and the submission of fraudulent paperwork in order to obtain mortgage loans.  Lloyd Gardley was considered to be the leader of the conspiracy and recruited others into the scheme, including loan officers, real estate agents, an escrow agent, and an accountant.  Once the mortgage loans were approved, the defendants caused money from the loan transactions to be disbursed to their own use and benefit.  The defendants typically rented the homes and re-sold them for a profit, using the same scheme.  They then defaulted on the loans, causing approximately $15 million in losses to the lenders.  The evidence showed that the defendants used the fraudulent scheme to purchase 30 homes in Las Vegas between 2005 and 2007. The total value of the mortgages was approximately $35 million.   Some of the homes were “flipped” or sold twice within short periods of time. 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Griswold and Brian D. Pugh.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

       LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Billings, Mont. man who worked as a loan officer in Las Vegas during 2006 and 2007 was sentenced today to 11 years in prison, five years of supervised release and ordered to pay over $2.2 million in restitution for his fraud and identity theft convictions related to a mortgage fraud scheme, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada and Mythili Raman, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Nicholas Lindsey, 40, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George.  Lindsay was convicted by a federal jury in April of nine counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.  

            “Many innocent homeowners in Nevada have suffered because of this type of crime involving fraudulent residential mortgage transactions,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “Unfortunately, these crimes are not victimless and the damage to the community is lasting.  Since 2008, when the FBI and our office made mortgage fraud prosecutions a priority, we have investigated, charged and convicted hundreds of persons for federal mortgage fraud crimes and most of them are now serving time in federal prison.”

            According to the indictment and evidence presented to the jury during the trial, from about May to September 2006, Lindsey, who worked as a loan officer for Clear Mortgage and Signature Mortgage, recruited straw buyers to participate in what he described as a lucrative real estate investment opportunity by purchasing five homes in the Las Vegas area.  Evidence at trial demonstrated that Lindsey secured over $3 million in mortgage loans by knowingly causing to be placed in the straw buyers’ mortgage loan applications false information concerning the buyers’ income, assets and intent to occupy the homes.  Once the mortgages were approved, Lindsey fraudulently diverted to his bank account a portion of the proceeds disbursed from escrow and used these funds for his own benefit.  Lindsey realized additional profits by living in or renting out properties in the buyers’ names. 

In addition to the five homes of which the buyers were aware, Lindsey stole two buyers’ identities and used their personal information to purchase three additional properties in their names.  The evidence established that Lindsey leased two of these properties and collected rental income and used the third as his own personal residence.  After collecting profits, Lindsey stopped making the mortgage payments on the properties and allowed all eight homes to default in the borrowers’ names, causing an estimated loss to lenders of $1.6 million.   At sentencing, the court also found that Lindsey used his position as a loan officer to commit fraud in relation to five additional properties, causing additional losses of $703,005 for a total loss of approximately $2.3 million.  

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Brown and Trial Attorney Brian Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

      RENO, Nev. – A Reno man has been charged with providing material support to terrorism groups in India and Pakistan in order to intimidate the Indian government and to harm persons that were not supporting their cause, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada, John Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Laura A. Bucheit, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI for Nevada.

“A thorough investigation and cooperation among agencies led to these charges,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “We believe that this arrest has disrupted plans for a potential terrorist attack and has exposed the persons who were involved in the planning of these crimes.”

            Balwinder Singh, aka Jhajj, aka, Happy, aka Possi, aka Baljit Singh, 39, of Reno, is charged in an indictment with one count of conspiracy to murder, kidnap, and maim persons in a foreign country, one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, one count of making a false statement on an immigration document, two counts of use of an immigration document procured by fraud, and one count of unlawful production of an identification document.   Singh was arrested on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013, in Reno, and is scheduled to appear before a United States Magistrate Judge in the near future for an initial appearance and arraignment and plea. 

            “After an extensive investigation, the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) of Northern Nevada has disrupted a potential terrorist attack directed against an ally of the United States,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Bucheit. “We will continue to act thoroughly and decisively, with our international partners, to prevent acts of terrorism on U.S. soil or, as in this case, on that of an ally. This investigation demonstrates the importance and success of law enforcement coordination and collaboration here and around the world.”

            According to the indictment, Singh was a citizen of India who fled to the United States and claimed asylum.  Singh lived in the United States where he eventually obtained a permanent resident card from the United States.  The indictment alleges that Singh is a member of two terrorist organizations, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), whose members aim to establish an independent Sikh state in part of the Punjab region of India known as Khalistan. These groups engage in bombings, kidnappings and murders in India to intimidate and compel the Indian government to create the state of Khalistan.  These groups also target for assassination persons they consider traitors to the Sikh religion and government officials who they consider responsible for atrocities against the Sikhs.  

The indictment alleges that the object of the conspiracy was to advance the goals of BKI and KZF by raising money and obtaining weapons to support acts of terrorism in India.  It is alleged that the conspiracy began on a date unknown but no later than Nov. 30, 1997.  It is alleged that Singh used a false identity and obtained false identification documents in the United States so that he could travel back to India without being apprehended by the Indian authorities.  It is alleged that Singh communicated with other coconspirators by telephone while he was in the United States to discuss acts of terrorism to be carried out in India.  It is alleged that Singh sent money from Reno, Nev., to co-conspirators in India for the purchase of weapons that would be provided to members of the BKI and KZF to support acts of terrorism in India. It is alleged that Singh traveled from the United States to Pakistan, India, and other countries to meet with coconspirators to assist in the planning of terrorism in India, and that Singh provided advice to coconspirators about how to carry out acts of terrorism.

If convicted, Singh faces up to life in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each count.  

            The case is being investigated by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force in northern Nevada, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sue Fahami and Brian L. Sullivan, and Trial Attorney Mara M. Kohn of the U.S. Department of Justice Counterterrorism Section.      

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

       LAS VEGAS, Nev.  – A Las Vegas physician has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he unlawfully prescribed large quantities of Oxycodone and other highly addictive prescription drugs, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            Victor Bruce M.D., 48, of Las Vegas, is charged in a criminal indictment dated Dec. 11, 2013, with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.  Bruce was arrested in Las Vegas this morning and is scheduled to appear before United States Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe, at 3:00 p.m. for an initial appearance and arraignment and plea. 

            “Our office will continue working aggressively with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to attack the growing problem of prescription drug abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.   “Our federal and local law enforcement partners will continue to prioritize these unlawful prescription drug distribution cases and continue working to shut down dangerous unlawful “pill mill” operations.”

            According to the indictment, Bruce is a physician licensed to practice medicine in Nevada.  Bruce maintains a medical practice known as Swan Lake Medical Center at 3330 South Hualapai Way on the west side of Las Vegas, and represents himself to be a specialist in pain management.  It is alleged that beginning at a date unknown and continuing to around November 2013, Bruce prescribed large quantities of oxycodone and other highly prescription drugs without medical necessity and knowing that they were going to be illegally diverted.  Bruce allegedly conspired with local drug dealers to distribute the drugs in and around Las Vegas to customers who abused them.

            If convicted, Dr. Bruce faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. 

            This case is being investigated by the Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (Nevada HIDTA) Pharm-Net Task Force, including the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Henderson Police Department, North Las Vegas Police Department, and the Nevada Division of Investigations, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Crane M. Pomerantz and Cristina Silva. 

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

            In order to address the growing problem of prescription drug abuse in Nevada, the Nevada HIDTA, along with the United States Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement partners, are holding a training summit on prescription drug abuse at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17, 2013.  The summit will be a collaboration of professionals from local, state and federal agencies, academia, clinicians, treatment providers, counselors, educators, state and national leaders, and advocates impacted by prescription drug abuse.

      RENO, Nev.  – A Reno attorney was sentenced today to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine for his guilty plea to a felony immigration crime, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Robert J. Fry, 63, of Reno, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks.  Fry pleaded guilty in April to one count of harboring an alien. 

            “A lawyer has an obligation to maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “When the lawyer fails to do so, respect and confidence in the law can be destroyed.  It is therefore important that we use our federal resources to investigate and prosecute persons who compromise the profession and our laws.”

Fry and co-defendant Nelia Bayani, aka Nelia Ramirez, were originally indicted on May 30, 2012, and charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, harboring an alien, marriage fraud and wire fraud.  According to the indictment, Bayani, a citizen of the Phillipines, was involved in a romantic relationship with Fry.  Bayani, with the assistance of Fry entered into a fraudulent marriage with an American citizen so that Bayani, who had overstayed her visitor’s visa, could lawfully remain in the United States. 

Bayani pleaded guilty in April 2013 to the misdemeanor offense of avoidance of examination or inspection of an alien, and was sentenced on Sept. 10, 2013, to five years of probation and 200 hours of community work service.             

            The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Megan Rachow.

       RENO, Nev.  – Three men from the northern Nevada area have been sentenced to lengthy prison sentences for their guilty pleas to child pornography crimes, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Matthew Kevin Cowee, 41, of Sparks, and Jarrod Allen Pounds, 28, of Gardnerville, were sentenced on Monday, Dec. 10, 2013, to 97 months and 110 months in prison, respectively, and Byron Trent Davis, 48, of Reno, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison. 

            “As these cases demonstrate, federal and local law enforcement will work together to put child predators behind bars,” said United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden. “These lengthy prison sentences should serve as a warning to other child predators.  We are looking for you, and we will find you, arrest you and ensure that you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

            Cowee pleaded guilty in August to receipt of child pornography.  Cowee possessed over 15,000 images and 200 videos containing child pornography on his computer and computer hard drives. Pounds pleaded guilty in September to possession of child pornography.  Pounds possessed approximately 7,500 images and 40 videos of child pornography on his laptop computer and external computer hard drives.  Davis pleaded guilty in August to possession by accessing with the intent to view child pornography.  Davis accessed and viewed approximately 100 videos and 100 images of child pornography on his desktop computer.  The images possessed and or viewed by the defendants included depictions of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including sadistic and masochistic conduct. 

Following release from prison, Cowee and Pounds will be placed on lifetime supervised release. Davis will be placed on supervised release for 15 years. All three will be required to register as convicted sex offenders.

The cases were investigated by the Northern Nevada Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which includes the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carla Higginbotham.
The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal

Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

       LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The first defendant to go to trial in “Operation Open Market,” an investigation of a sophisticated cybercrime organization that operated a world-wide online market place for stolen personal and financial information, was convicted today by a federal jury in Las Vegas, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada and Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

          David Ray Camez, 22, of Phoenix, Ariz., was convicted of one count of participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization and one count of conspiracy to participate in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization. Camez is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10, 2014, and faces up to 20 years in prison on each count and fines of up to $250,000.  The trial began on Nov. 18, 2013.

“It is difficult to fathom the enormity and complexity of the Carder.su racketeering organization and its far-reaching tentacles across international borders,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “The Internet has provided sophisticated international criminals access to the United States and its citizens, and the ability and means to harm us.  It has given new definition to reaching out and touching someone.  This verdict and our charges against other members of this criminal organization demonstrate that we are likewise reaching out and touching them with our federal criminal justice system.”

“The actions of these computer hackers and identity thieves have harmed countless innocent Americans and seriously compromised our financial system and global commerce,” said Michael Harris, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Las Vegas.  “These criminals may think they can escape detection by hiding behind their computer screens here and overseas, but as this verdict demonstrates, cyberspace is not a refuge from American justice.”

Camez was one of 39 charged in an indictment returned in January 2012.  Five others have pleaded guilty, seven are scheduled for trial in February 2014, and the rest are fugitives.  There were also 16 other defendants charged in the scheme in three separate indictments.  Most of those defendants are also scheduled to go to trial in February. 

          The target of the investigation was an organization which called itself “Carder.su.”  Investigation of the Carder.su organization began in March 2007, after the United States Secret Service, operating in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who participate in the Southwestern Identity Theft and Fraud Task Force (SWIFT), began investigating a pattern of credit and debit card fraud.  A special agent initiated an undercover investigation called Open Market and assumed the identity as a member of the organization when it was in its infancy.   

The investigation determined that members of the Carder.su organization, known as “carders,” were involved in large scale trafficking of compromised credit card account data and counterfeit identifications and credit cards, as well as money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and various types of computer crime. The organization operated an internet web portal called a forum, where members could purchase the illicitly obtained data and share knowledge of various fraud schemes. A second forum was also created to vet incoming new members.  The forums were generally hosted within the former Soviet Union and the upper echelon of the organization resides within the former Soviet Union. It was estimated that in July 2011, there were over 5,500 members of the organization. 

It was determined that members of the organization had different roles, including moderators who directed other members in carrying out activities; reviewers who examined and tested products, services, and contraband; vendors who advertised and sold products, services and contraband; and members. Members were required to successfully complete a number of security features designed to protect the organization from infiltration by law enforcement or members of rival criminal organizations.  Camez became a member of the organization under the name “Bad Man” on June 22, 2008. Camez also used the name “doctorsex.”  During 2009 and 2010, the undercover special agent had multiple contacts with Camez in which Camez purchased counterfeit Nevada and Arizona driver’s licenses.  Investigators also intercepted and seized a package shipped to Camez from Pakistan which contained counterfeit credit and gift cards.  During a search of Camez’ home in Phoenix in May 2010, agents recovered counterfeit credit cards, equipment used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards, counterfeit U.S. currency, and counterfeit identification documents. A search of Camez’ computer revealed software used to encode counterfeit credit cards and stolen identity information. 

In addition to the U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations and members of the SWIFT Task Force in Las Vegas, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Computer Crimes Division, also provided assistance in the investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Frayn and Andrew W. Duncan, and Trial Attorney Jonathan Ophardt of the U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime and Gang Section.

          This law enforcement action is sponsored by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

            RENO, Nev. – Two men have been convicted by a federal jury in Reno of conspiring to defraud the United States by obstructing the IRS in its assessment and collection of income taxes, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Bret Ogilvie, 50, of Reno, Nev., and Linwood Tracy, 73, of Fallon, Nev., who were indicted in November 2012, were convicted on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013, of one count of conspiracy to defraud.  Ogilvie was also convicted of one count of corrupt interference with tax administration and five counts of presenting false claims to the IRS.  The trial began on Monday, Dec. 2, 2013, and was presided over by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks.  

            According to the court records, from about Feb. 22 to Nov. 18, 2008, Ogilvie and Tracy conspired to impede and obstruct the IRS in their collection of income taxes by a number of means, including threatening to sue the IRS for $10 million if the IRS did not remove a tax lien on Ogilvie’s residence, by contacting businesses and telling them not to comply with IRS levies against Ogilvie, by setting up a corporation and transferring compensation that Ogilvie earned through his plumbing company to the corporate bank account in an attempt to evade taxes, by threatening to sue employees of the IRS, and by filing a frivolous lawsuit against IRS personnel in Washoe County.  Between Dec. 8 and Dec. 10, 2008, and on March 30, 2011, Ogilvie also presented false claims to the IRS for income tax refunds the tax years 2006 through 2010 totaling approximately $3.9 million.  Ogilvie made the claims by preparing and causing to be prepared an IRS form indicating he held a Power of Attorney for the Bret Ogilvie Trust. 

The defendants face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. Ogilvie also faces up to three years in prison on the interference charge and up to five years in prison on each false claims count, as well as fines of $250,000 on each count. Tracy and Ogilvie are scheduled to be sentenced in Reno on March 3 and March 24, 2013, respectively. 

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ronald C. Rachow and Michael W. Large.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

       LAS VEGAS – A man who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars of expensive jewelry from persons at golf courses and sold it at trade shows, jewelry stores and pawn shops, has been sentenced to two years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $300,895 in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Jeffrey Cochran, 47, of Las Vegas, was sentenced on Monday, Nov. 25, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey. Cochran pleaded guilty in July to two counts of possession and sale of stolen goods. He must self-report to prison by Feb. 25, 2014.    

From about Sept. 15, 2010, to March 10, 2012, Cochran stole expensive jewelry, particularly Tag Heuer and Rolex watches, from individuals at golf courses in other states and transported the goods to Las Vegas for sale at jewelry and pawn stores. Cochran also stole jewelry from individuals at golf courses in Las Vegas and transported the stolen jewelry to other states to sell at trade shows and jewelry and pawn stores.  

            The case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Special Investigations Section, and was part of a federal and local law enforcement effort to combat organized retail theft.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christina M. Brown.

       LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A husband and wife who worked as real estate agents in southern Nevada have pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges in connection with several residential short sale transactions that resulted in over $350,000 in losses to Wells Fargo and Freddie Mac, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Cynthia Hosbrook, 41, and Robert Hosbrook, 52, both of Henderson, Nev., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey to one count of bank fraud.  They face up 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million, as well as mandatory restitution.  Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for March 3, 2014, at 10:00 a.m.

According to their guilty plea agreements, Cynthia Hosbrook had been an active real estate salesperson in Nevada since April 17, 2000, and Robert Hosbrook was licensed as a real estate salesperson in Nevada from Oct. 20, 2009, to Oct. 31, 2010.  In 2010, the Hosbrooks engaged in a short-sale fraud scheme involving the sale of their personal residence to Cynthia Hosbrook’s mother.  The Hosbrook’s defrauded Wells Fargo Bank and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) by falsely representing that the short sale was due to personal hardship, that the transaction was an arm’s length transaction, that the sellers and buyers were not family members, and that the seller would not remain in the property subsequent to the sale.  In fact, the Hosbrooks made a cash sale of the residence to Cynthia Hosbrook’s mother, and then continued to reside in the home after the sale even though they were not suffering from a personal hardship.  The scheme resulted in a loss to Wells Fargo Bank and Freddie Mac of approximately $173,559.  The Hosbrooks were also involved in two other fraudulent short-sale fraud transactions involving homes in Las Vegas and North Las Vegas during 2008 and 2009.

The case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of the Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Damm.

Today's announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

       LAS VEGAS, Nev.  – A Las Vegas man who possessed over 1,400 images of child pornography on his home computers, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison and lifetime supervised release, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Steven Byington, 69, who was convicted by a jury on June 20, 2013, of one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, was sentenced on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro.

            “The penalties for this type of crime are very high, particularly when large amounts of pornography are received,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “We will aggressively prosecute the persons who victimize children through these horrible crimes.”

According to court records and evidence introduced at trial, in May 2010, Special Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) determined that Byington had made child pornography available for download through an Internet file sharing site.  Agents executed a federal search warrant at Byington’s home in Las Vegas on Nov. 16, 2010, and seized four computers, external hard drives, and computer storage devices.  A forensic analysis determined that the computers and equipment contained over 1,400 images, including 13 videos, of child pornography. The pornography included depictions of prepubescent minors, bondage, bestiality, and adult sexual penetration of minors. 

The investigation was conducted by ICE-HSI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Susan Cushman and Daniel R. Schiess.

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

safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

       LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A long-time resident of Goldfield, Nev. was sentenced today to two years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for improperly possessing and attempting to purchase firearms, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Michael Rippie, ­­­­­67, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro.  Rippie was convicted by a jury on Aug. 9, 2013, of possession of a firearm by a person previously found to be a mental defective and committed to a mental institution and making false statements to acquire firearms.  Rippie, who was arrested and charged in April 2013, had been released pending trial with special conditions and was residing in Pahrump with his former wife.  Rippie was placed in federal custody immediately following sentencing.

            “Federal laws prohibit certain individuals from prohibiting firearms, including felons, drug addicts, illegal aliens, persons convicted of domestic violence offenses or subject to restraining orders, and persons who have been previously adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to mental institution,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “Too many recent shooting incidents have demonstrated how dangerous firearms can be when they are in the hands of someone with a mental disorder.  We will work with our local and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that persons who unlawfully possess firearms in violation of these laws are prosecuted federally.”  

According to the court records, in 1971, Rippie was adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity for a 1970 armed robbery in Colorado and was committed to a mental institution.  On about Sept. 10, 2010, Rippie knowingly made a false written statement to a firearms dealer in Tonopah, Nev., in an attempt to purchase a long gun, stating that he had not been adjudicated a mental defective or committed to a mental institution. On April 10, 2013, Rippie was arrested at his home in Goldfield with 15 firearms, including two loaded semi-automatic assault-type rifles with extended 30-round clips and a loaded semi-automatic .40 caliber pistol.  Rippie also possessed over 22,000 rounds of ammunition at his residence.  Rippie was well-known to law enforcement and others in the Goldfield and Tonopah areas and had one conviction and 13 arrests over the last 48 years, including six involving firearms.

            The case was investigated by ATF and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric Johnson.

       LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas jewelry store owner was sentenced today to two  years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $196,000 in restitution for purchasing and selling luxury jewelry that he knew was stolen, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Nabil (”Bill”) Sakkab, 39, of Las Vegas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan.  Sakkab pleaded guilty in July to two counts of receipt and sale of stolen goods. Sakkab was permitted to self-report to federal prison no later than Feb. 14, 2014.

“This case was prosecuted as part of a federal and local law enforcement effort to combat organized retail theft,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “Organized retail theft causes billions of dollars in losses to retailers annually.  These losses are usually passed on to the consumers in the form of higher prices on goods, and states lose the tax revenue that would otherwise be generated from the sale of these goods by legitimate dealers.”

According to the court records, Sakkab was a partial owner of Red Rock Jewelers in Las Vegas.  From about Sept, 20, 2011, to Feb. 3, 2012, Sakkab acted as a fence for stolen property by purchasing and selling luxury jewelry stolen by co-conspirator Jeffrey Cochran, who also pleaded guilty to stolen goods charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 25, 2013.  Most of the stolen items sold by Sakkab were high priced Rolex watches which had been stolen in other states and transported to Las Vegas. Sakkab resold the stolen jewelry at Red Rock Jewelers, and also sold it privately to third parties for personal gain. The amount of restitution ordered was reduced due to law enforcement’s successful recovery of one of the stolen watches.

            The case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Special Investigations Section.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christina M. Brown.

       LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man who attempted to destroy a local children’s autism learning facility with Molotov cocktails and gasoline, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and was also ordered to pay approximately $80,000 in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 

            Samuel Powers, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro.  Powers pleaded guilty in July to one count of arson of property affecting interstate commerce and one count of possession of unregistered firearms, specifically Molotov cocktails. 

            “This was deliberate conduct that could have resulted in serious injury or loss of life, but for the very effective sprinkler systems in the building,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Several buildings were damaged; sophisticated planning and means were used by the defendant to carry out his acts and we are very fortunate this did not result in serious injury or fatalities. Committing arson is never an appropriate way to resolve anger and conflict.”

"Some of the most dangerous criminals ATF investigates are those who use explosive devices to commit acts of violent crime by maliciously damaging property," said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Riehl.  "ATF will continue to target persons who put the public at risk through the illegal use of these horrific instruments of death and destruction."

            According to the plea agreement and other Court pleadings, on April 15, 2013, Powers knowingly and maliciously damaged a building which housed several commercial businesses, including Sport Social, a facility that provides services to autistic children, located at 7055 Windy Street in Las Vegas.  Powers forcibly entered Sport Social with three Molotov cocktails and a gasoline container, and poured gasoline and set multiple fires inside the business.  The fires caused at least $80,000 in damage to the structure and its contents.  Powers also possessed two additional unignited Molotov cocktails inside his vehicle at the scene of the fire, along with plastic gloves, a mask, and handwritten directions to the business.  When Powers set the fires, he knew or had cause to believe that persons were inside a neighboring business, thereby creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to those persons.            

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Clark County Fire Department, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina M. Brown.