Southern District of Ohio

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man pleaded guilty in federal court here today to using a firearm to commit murder and other crimes of violence. The parties involved have recommended a sentence of up to 45 years in prison for the defendant, who shot and killed the owner of Madeira Beverage in February 2021.

“Gun violence is never ok, and is especially tragic when a life is lost,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “One shooting death is one too many, and my office remains committed to holding trigger pullers accountable.”

“Today's guilty plea is a step in the right direction, and it will hopefully provide some small amount of closure for Mr. Gupta's family,” stated John Nokes, Acting Special Agent in Charge for ATF’s Columbus Field Division. “Mr. Gupta's life ended tragically at the hands of the defendant. That heinous act altered the course of many lives, and it robbed Mr. Gupta, his family, and our community of future opportunities that so many of us take for granted.”

Willie James Attaway, 32, admitted to murdering Roop C. Gupta and committing or attempting four other armed robberies on Feb. 8 and Feb. 9, 2021.

During the two-day crime spree, Attaway brandished a firearm to rob or attempt to rob:

• Feb. 8 – Shell on S. Mason Montgomery Road in Deerfield Township,
• Feb. 8 – Shell on Dixie Highway in Hamilton, Ohio,
• Feb. 9 – Madeira Beverage on Kenwood Road in Madeira, Ohio,
• Feb. 9 – Sunoco on Kenwood Road in Blue Ash, Ohio, and
• Feb. 9 – Marathon on North Broadway in Lebanon, Ohio. 

At the first robbery, Attaway brandished a firearm at the two clerks and demanded that they empty the cash registers, which they did.

Later that night, at a second Shell gas station, Attaway brandished a firearm and said he was not afraid to shoot the clerk. The clerk gave Attaway money from the cash register.

The next day, Feb. 9, 2021, Attaway entered Madeira Beverage and confronted the store’s owner, Roop Gupta, who was working behind the counter. Attaway pointed a firearm at Gupta, and during the ensuing struggle he shot Gupta one time in the left abdomen. Gupta was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Later that evening, Attaway entered the Sunoco in Blue Ash, brandished a firearm, and demanded that the clerk give up the money in the cash register, which the clerk did.

During the final robbery on Feb. 9, Attaway pointed a firearm at the Marathon clerk and said, “Give me what you got.” The clerk reached under the counter, pretending he had a firearm, causing Attaway to flee.

A second defendant, Lamond Johnson, 37, is charged in this case. He is charged in all 14 counts of the indictment, and those charges remain pending.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and John Nokes, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); announced the guilty plea entered today before Senior U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott. Assistant United States Attorneys Julie D. Garcia and Kyle J. Healey are representing the United States in this case.

The investigation was jointly conducted by ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Madeira Police Department, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, the Cincinnati, Lebanon, Blue Ash, and Hamilton police departments, and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man is charged with wire fraud as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain a Covid relief loan.

Kelton McClarrin, 32, allegedly received nearly $21,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under false pretenses and used the money for personal expenditures including jail commissary services, CashApp, Grubhub, DoorDash, Facebook purchases and hotels.

McClarrin was brought into federal custody today.

According to the indictment, McClarrin applied for a Covid relief loan on May 16, 2021, falsely claiming in the application that he was the sole owner of a business named “Kelton McClarrin.” McClarrin claimed his business was established in 2019 and had a gross income of $100,000 for that year. It is alleged that McClarrin also submitted a forged bank statement in support of the loan application.

McClarrin was sentenced to two years in prison in a Hamilton County case on May 7, 2019. He remained incarcerated until Nov. 17, 2020, when he was paroled to a halfway house. He used the address of the halfway house as his business address on the loan application.

In April 2022, McClarrin applied for loan forgiveness for the $21,000 PPP loan. He stated on the application forms that he had 20 employees and had spent $20,000 of the loan on payroll costs.

Wire fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the charges. The case was investigated by the Social Security’s Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals, and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Landry is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal jury has convicted a Piketon man of committing civil rights violations while employed as a Pike County deputy.

Jeremy C. Mooney, 48, violated a victim’s constitutional rights on Nov.18, 2019, while the victim was in the custody of the Pike County Sheriff’s Office. 

The verdict was announced today following a trial that began on Aug. 16 before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.

According to court documents and trial testimony, Mooney repeatedly used pepper spray and struck the victim while the victim was restrained and not posing a threat.

Mooney was working the night shift that spanned Nov. 17 to 18, 2019. He transported the victim from the jail to the Pike County Sheriff’s Office headquarters and placed the victim in a “violent prisoner restraint chair.”

For more than an hour, Mooney unlawfully used force against the victim on several occasions. For example, Mooney dragged the victim – who was in the restraint chair with his hands secured behind his back – outside, before spraying him directly in the face with pepper spray.

The victim writhed in pain and tipped the chair back off the curb, landing on his back. Mooney again deployed the pepper spray directly into the victim’s face.

After bringing the victim back inside, Mooney returned to the restrained victim on three more occasions and punched the victim in the head 11 times. Mooney punched the victim with enough force to break his own hand.

All these unlawful uses of force occurred while the victim posed no threat to himself or others.

A former Pike County Sheriff’s Office supervisor, William Stansberry, Jr., 47, of Chillicothe, was also charged in this case. Stansberry violated the victim’s constitutional rights by willfully failing to intervene to prevent Mooney’s conduct.

Stansberry pleaded guilty in July 2023 to deprivation of civil rights under color of law. Mooney was convicted today of three counts of the same crime, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the verdict. Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and Trial Attorney Cameron A. Bell from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

 

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati tenant is charged with federal crimes related to making false statements accusing her landlord of violating the Fair Housing Act.

Dermisha Pickett, 33, allegedly fabricated messages from her landlord stating the landlord did not want Black tenants. Pickett appeared in federal court in Cincinnati yesterday after self-surrendering. Her case was unsealed today.

“False reports to law enforcement, as alleged in this case, undermine legitimate reports of racial discrimination and could discourage victims from coming forward for fear that they will not be believed,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “This office will continue to do its due diligence when presented with any potential civil rights violations.”

“Making false reports of racial discrimination is unacceptable and can have tangible effects on other tenants who rely on HUD-assisted housing,” said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice with the HUD Office of Inspector General. “In this case, if the landlord had violated the Fair Housing Act, his participation in HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher program may have been revoked, causing the displacement of approximately 50 families who rely on the Housing Choice Voucher program. These families would have been forced to uproot their families to find new homes, incurring non-reimbursable expenses.”

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, on Feb. 27, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was forwarded several text messages purportedly from the Cincinnati-area landlord as part of a civil rights report. The U.S. Attorney’s Office referred the matter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG) to investigate the claims.

The investigation revealed that the landlord owns over 100 properties, including 56 properties rented through HUD’s housing choice voucher program. Many of his tenants appear to be African American.

On March 14, Pickett met with HUD agents and provided the agents with numerous discriminatory messages purportedly made by Pickett’s landlord. Pickett allegedly claimed to receive a call from the landlord as she arrived at the meeting with HUD OIG and placed the call on speaker phone.

Pickett allegedly told agents that she had attempted to pay her portion of the rent but that her landlord returned it, stating he did not want to rent to Black individuals.

According to court documents, in a later interview with the landlord, the landlord told agents he did not want to continue to rent to Pickett because she was causing extensive damage to the property.

Phone records and forensic analysis indicate that no text messages were exchanged during the time periods Pickett claimed. It is alleged that Pickett used mobile applications to fabricate text messages and phone numbers.

Making a false statement to federal officers is punishable by up to five years in prison. Destroying, altering, or falsifying records in a federal investigation carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Shawn Rice, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Mid-Atlantic Region; announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal jury has convicted a Columbus man for committing six robberies in Columbus in September and October 2020.

Ronald Lee Jacobs, 46, was convicted of six counts of robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

The verdict was announced Monday afternoon following a trial that began on Aug. 7 before Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.

According to court documents and trial testimony, Jacobs committed 6 robberies, including:

• Hampton Inn on South Hamilton Road on Sept. 5, 2020,
• Wing Snob on North High Street on Sept. 12, 2020,
• United Dairy Farmers on North High Street on Sept. 24, 2020,
• Shell Gas Station on South Hamilton Road on Sept. 30, 2020,
• Wing Snob on North High Street on Oct. 8, 2020, and
• Walgreens on East Livingston Avenue on Oct. 12, 2020. 

During the robberies, Jacobs typically wore either an inside-out gray sweatshirt or a dark sweatshirt, dark pants and used a blue bandana. Jacobs was employed at a glue factory and, during multiple robberies, had visible glue splatters on his clothing. He called off work for one robbery and left during his shift to commit another one of the robberies.

In jail calls, Jacobs discussed the firearms he used and said he committed the robberies because he was “broke” and needed to pay child support.

Jacobs was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in November 2020. In March 2021, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Jacobs and that indictment was superseded in September 2021.

Jacobs’ six robbery counts carry a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence is punishable by at least seven years in prison. Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced today’s verdict. Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth A. Geraghty and S. Courter Shimeall are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A grand jury has indicted two more Central Ohio men for crimes related to four new, separate armed robberies against U.S. Postal carriers.

Cameron D. Newton, 19, of Westerville, and Thierno S. Bah, 20, of Columbus, were each charged in a superseding indictment returned on Aug. 10.

Their case is the most recent of a handful of similar prosecutions in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbus. In August 2022, Brandon J. Campbell was sentenced to 78 months in prison for two previous armed Postal carrier robberies. Mahad S. Jama, Da’Mon D. May and Cody N. Beasley have charges pending against them for an April 2023 armed Postal robbery in Dublin.

According to the superseding indictment in this case, Newton and Bah used firearms and robbed Postal carriers of their U.S. Postal Service keys on four occasions between December 2022 and May 2023.

The alleged thefts occurred in Central Ohio on:

• Dec. 29, 2022
• Jan. 3, 2023 (two separate robberies on this date)
• May 11, 2023

When federal agents executed a search warrant at Newton’s residence in May 2023, they discovered the USPS key that had been stolen on May 11. During that robbery, the Postal employee was pistol-whipped with a handgun.

Investigators also discovered more than 100 pieces of mail, several Visa money cards in different names, a scanner and small printer with printed checks next to it, a large box containing more than 100 checks, numerous checks stuffed inside bathroom toilet bowls, and a handgun.

Bah, who is also known as “Wopo” and “Wopoonese,” was arrested today.

Newton was originally charged by criminal complaint in May 2023. If convicted, Newton will forfeit approximately $22,000 in proceeds from the alleged miscreant conduct.

Robbery is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Using a firearm during a crime of violence carries a penalty of at least five years and up to life in prison. Possessing a stolen Postal Service key is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant; Westerville Police Chief Charles Chandler; and Whitehall Police Chief Mike Crispen announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the United States in this case.

Charging documents merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A California man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Columbus today to sexually exploiting a minor and possessing child pornography.

Kameron E. Tolbert, 28, of Suisin City, California, admitted to traveling from California to Ohio to engage in sex acts with a 14-year-old female he met online.

According to court documents, on Aug. 22, 2022, law enforcement was dispatched to a home in Jackson, Ohio. Tolbert had jumped through the minor victim’s bedroom window when he was discovered in the bedroom with the victim. He fled on foot and then by vehicle.

The next day, the principal at the victim’s local high school identified Tolbert’s vehicle in the school parking lot and notified a school resource officer who detained Tolbert at the school.

Tolbert had first met the victim online six months prior and began chatting with her via different social media applications, including Discord. He admitted to flying from Sacramento, California, to Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 20, 2022, to meet the victim at her home in Jackson. Tolbert parked nearby and snuck into the victim’s home through her bedroom window on August 21 and August 22 to engage in sexual intercourse with her.

A forensic examination of Tolbert’s digital devices revealed more than 500 images and 1,100 videos depicting child sexual abuse of both prepubescent and pubescent minors. Images and videos of the 14-year-old minor victim engaged in sex acts with Tolbert were also recovered.

As part of the plea, the parties involved have recommended a sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati division; and Jackson County Sheriff Tedd Frazier announced the guilty plea entered today before Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski and Jennifer M. Rausch are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The former director of a local Islamic center was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to four months in prison then four months in a halfway house followed by 12 months of home confinement for embezzling funds from the mosque, defrauding public housing, and filing for fraudulent COVID assistance funds.

Ahmed A. Sh. Ahmed, 44, of Gahanna, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to committing wire fraud, submitting a false statement and making a false statement as part of his three separate schemes to defraud. As part of his sentence, Ahmed will pay more than $82,000 in total restitution.

According to court documents, from at least 2009 until March 2019, Ahmed was employed as the Director of the Ibn Taymiyah Masjid and Islamic Center (ITMIC) on Mock Road in Columbus.

During his tenure as director, Ahmed used his position of trust to embezzle funds from the religious organization. Specifically, Ahmed wrote unauthorized checks from ITMIC’s accounts to himself. Each year from 2015 through 2018, Ahmed increased the amount he embezzled, writing himself $4,500 in checks in 2015; approximately $11,000 in checks in 2016; $12,900 in checks in 2017; and approximately $21,000 in checks in 2018.

Ahmed spent thousands of dollars of ITMIC funds to pay his own personal credit card bill and towards the purchase of his own personal vehicle.

Ahmed also defrauded the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority’s housing choice voucher program. From 2014 until at least 2020, Ahmed submitted false claims to obtain housing subsidies he would not otherwise qualify for given his true income and assets.

“Safeguarding taxpayer-funded programs and resources that are intended to benefit vulnerable families in our communities is vital to HUD’s success,” said HUD OIG Special Agent in Charge, Shawn Rice. “HUD OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to work closely with Federal prosecutors and law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate those who like Mr. Ahmed defraud HUD programs.”

The defendant falsely claimed his personal income was $18,000 annually and did not report any household assets. In reality, Ahmed and his wife deposited more than $235,000 into their bank accounts from 2014 through 2018.

Finally, Ahmed fraudulently applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance nine times from August until October 2020. During that same time frame, Ahmed generated at least $4,000 in revenue by producing and posting approximately 126 YouTube videos to his YouTube channel.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati division; and Shawn Rice, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Mid-Atlantic Region; announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Jessica W. Knight is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former Columbus woman was sentenced in federal court today to 72 months in prison for committing 16 counts of wire and passport fraud. The defendant stole the identity of a baby who died as an infant and used the infant’s identity to obtain a passport, a student pilot license, a job as a flight attendant, and pandemic relief loans.

As part of her sentence, Ava Misseldine, 50, will pay more than $1.5 million in restitution and forfeit her Utah home and profits from the recent sale of her Michigan home, both of which she bought with stolen government money.

According to court documents, Misseldine stole the identity of a baby who died in 1979 and is buried in a Columbus cemetery.

In 2003, Misseldine applied for an Ohio ID and later a Social Security card and driver’s license using the stolen identity.

In 2007, Misseldine posed as the stolen identity to obtain a student pilot certificate and U.S. Passport. Misseldine submitted paperwork claiming she needed the passport to travel internationally in her occupation as a flight attendant for JetSelect. She was employed under the false identity.

Over the next 13 years, Misseldine continued to obtain identity documents in both her real and fake names. An investigation was launched in 2021 when she tried to renew the fraudulent passport.

Misseldine obtained approximately $1.5 million in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans in 2020 using both her real and fake identities. Her loan applications list her businesses as various bakeries and catering companies, including her former bakeries Sugar Inc. Cupcakes & Tea Salon in Dublin and Koko Tea Salon & Bakery in New Albany and at Easton. She submitted forged documents to support her loan applications.

Misseldine used the pandemic relief loan money to purchase a home for $647,500 adjacent to Zion National Park in Utah and a home for $327,500 in Michigan.

In August and September 2021, Misseldine, after relocating to Utah, obtained driver’s licenses in both names.

Misseldine was arrested in Utah in June 2022. She pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Ohio in October 2022.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson and commended the investigation by the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, assisted by the U.S. Marshals, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Landry is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A third defendant has been arrested on charges relating to an April 2023 armed robbery of a mail carrier.

Cody N. Beasley, also known as “Drose,” 22, of Columbus, was included in a superseding indictment returned in federal court on Aug. 3. Beasley remains in federal custody.

Mahad S. Jama, 21, of Westerville, and Da’mon D. May, 18, of Columbus, were charged in April 2023, 10 days after they allegedly robbed a mail carrier at gunpoint.

According to court documents, on April 4 at 3:20pm, Jama and May robbed at gunpoint a USPS letter carrier who was sitting in his work vehicle on Sawmill Road in Dublin.

Jama allegedly approached the USPS vehicle, brandished a handgun that May provided him, and demanded the carrier’s U.S. Postal Service key. Beasley is alleged to have aided and abetted them in that robbery.

The defendants allegedly robbed the worker of an “arrow key” that gives access to mail collection boxes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and partner law enforcement agencies continue to investigate a network of individuals involved in robbing or stealing U.S. Postal Service keys for the purpose of stealing checks from collection boxes.

The three defendants are charged with robbery of mail, a federal crime punishable by up to 25 years in prison, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, which carries a penalty of at least seven years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Lesley C. Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division; announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Noah R. Litton and Elizabeth A. Geraghty are representing the United States in this case.

A superseding indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 60 months in prison for laundering $2.3 million of proceeds generated by online romance fraud scams.

Maximus Okwudili Adiele, 49, of Columbus, was born in Nigeria and immigrated to the United States in 2010. He became a naturalized citizen in 2015.

According to court documents, from January 2017 until 2020, Adiele participated in a money laundering conspiracy, laundering $2.3 million for online romance fraud scammers into 12 different bank accounts that he controlled.

Adiele used his international car dealing business to conduct financial and wire transactions to individuals in Nigeria.

The conspiracy involved unidentified perpetrators who fabricated online relationships with men and women throughout the United States to manipulate the victims into sending money to one of Adiele’s bank accounts. Many of the victims of the scam were elderly individuals who lost their life savings. In total, Adiele laundered the money from at least 17 victims.

Adiele wired to Nigeria nearly $1.2 million of the $2.3 million he received. The defendant failed to report additional income to the IRS for tax years 2017, 2018 and 2019, causing a loss to the IRS in the amount of $64,242.

As part of his sentence, Adiele was ordered to pay $967,669.98 in restitution to the individual victims and $64, 242 to the IRS.

Adiele was charged by a bill of information and pleaded guilty in November 2022 to money laundering and submitting a false tax return.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); and Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced the sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James L. Graham. Assistant United States Attorneys Brenda S. Shoemaker and David J. Twombly are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, is urging religious leaders to watch for signs of extremism and learn how to report violent threats or incidents against places of worship and their members. 

In recent months, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has prosecuted a man who set fire to a church in Baltimore, Ohio, and a man who made antisemitic and violent statements online while employed to provide security services at Columbus synagogues and Jewish schools.

Parker and members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies recently met with church, mosque, temple and synagogue leaders in Columbus and Cincinnati to discuss best practices for protecting places of worship and their congregants, and how federal and state laws are used to prosecute people who threaten or damage those institutions and engage in other acts of religious violence. 

“We want to assist the communities we serve by providing information about best practices for preventing targeted violence and guidance for how houses of worship can protect themselves against acts of vandalism and arson,” Parker told the assembled religious leaders.

Parker was joined at the outreach events by J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Division, Darryck Dean with the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service, and investigators with the U.S. Secret Service at both meetings.  Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers and Anthony Pierson with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, as well as intelligence officers with the police departments in Cincinnati and Columbus participated.

If you have information about a possible threat to a place of worship or believe you are a victim of or a witness to a hate crime, you can contact your local law enforcement agency, call the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI- or submit a tip to tips@fbi.gov. You can also report these or any other potential civil rights violations directly to the U.S. Attorney’s Office using a referral form available at the office’s main website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh, or by leaving a voicemail on our Civil Rights Tip Line at 513-684-2055.

“I will continue to meet with groups concerned about hate-motivated attacks and am dedicated to providing faith-based leaders and congregations with resources like threat assessments and safety plans to help protect our places of sanctuary and blessedness from unjust and unprovoked attacks,” said Parker.

Additional resources:

• Safety for faith-based events and houses of worship resource guide
• DHS security self-assessment
• FBI active shooter resources
• Protecting Places of Worship Forum Facilitator Guide for Community Leaders

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A local man was sentenced in U.S. District Court here today to 120 months in prison for a January 2019 armed robbery.

Michael John Smith, 29, of Columbus, pointed a pistol at two store clerks at the Circle K on Hall Road in Columbus on Jan. 27, 2019. Smith demanded money from the register and threatened to kill both women if they moved. Smith fled the store on foot with $280 in cash.

According to court documents, Smith was also involved in another armed robbery in March 2019 at a Dollar General. The same gun used in both robberies was recovered in a car that was involved in a shooting on the highway near Circleville that same month. Smith and several individuals – including a 1-year-old child – had been in the vehicle on the highway.

In its sentencing memorandum, the United States noted Smith’s extensive criminal history with multiple convictions beginning in 2014. In prior crimes, Smith shot two individuals in the head.

“While all threats of violence should be taken seriously, there is an elevated sense of danger inherent in someone who brandishes a gun and threatens to kill people, and whose past actions demonstrate no reluctance in pulling the trigger,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “A significant term of imprisonment is warranted in this case.”

Smith was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in January 2019. He pleaded guilty in March 2023 to committing robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant; Fairfield County Sheriff Alex Lape; and Col. Charles A. Jones, Superintendent, Ohio State Highway Patrol announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Pakiz is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A California man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Columbus today to three months in prison for committing crimes related to supplying the military with faulty parts.

Timothy W. Foley, 72, was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.3 million.

According to court documents, Foley was the operator and co-owner of Parts Source International Inc. in Goleta, California. Parts Source was a Department of Defense contractor who sold and supplied a variety of military parts to the DoD for use on military weapons systems, and some of which were critical application items, and invoiced the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) in Columbus, Ohio, for payment.

Foley admitted that from 2012 through 2019, he conspired to supply non-conforming parts to the DoD. Foley submitted 131 quotes for purchase orders that stated he would provide the exact product as required by the government. Rather, as testing and documents revealed, Foley provided unapproved substitutions in fraudulent packaging rendering them unacceptable for use by the military.

Parts Source received a total of approximately $1.36 million in payments for the parts. Foley pleaded guilty in November 2022 to conspiring to commit wire fraud and to money laundering.

Foley’s co-defendant, Jimmy Daryl Thomas, 52, of White House, Tennessee, was sentenced in May 2023 to two months in prison and three years of supervised release for participating in the wire fraud conspiracy. Thomas assisted Foley in procuring cheaper, non-conforming parts on at least 29 contracts. He also helped provide false packaging and invoices. As part of his sentence, Thomas was ordered to pay more than $219,000 in restitution.

“Behavior such as this, from individuals putting profit over the safety of the dedicated men and women in our military, will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “When we find individuals supplying fraudulent items to the U.S. military, we will address these illegal acts as the serious crimes they are.”

“Protecting the integrity of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain is a priority for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the law enforcement arm of the DoD Office of Inspector General,” said Patrick J. Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the DCIS Northeast Field Office. “The introduction of defective parts into the DoD supply chain endangers the lives of American service members and threatens our military readiness. The DCIS is committed to working with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio, the Defense Logistics Agency, and our law enforcement partners to ensure that individuals who engage in fraudulent activity, at the expense of the U.S. military, are investigated and prosecuted.”

U.S. Attorney Parker and Special Agent in Charge Hegarty were joined by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), and Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), in announcing the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Jessica W. Knight and Special Assistant United States Attorney J. Michael Marous are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

An Ohio man was indicted by a federal grand jury for threatening a reproductive health services facility.

According to court documents, Mohamed Farah Waes, of Columbus, made telephonic threats to a health services clinic operated by Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio. The first count charges Waes with a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to threaten the use of force to intimidate anyone receiving or providing reproductive health services. The second count charges Waes with making threatening statements through interstate communications and the third count charges Waes with threatening to unlawfully damage and destroy a building by means of fire and explosive.

The charges stem from a phone call that Waes made to the health services facility on July 5, 2022, in which Waes threatened to burn down the facility and everyone inside of it.

If convicted of the felony offenses, Waes faces up to a maximum of 10 years in prison on each felony count, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. 

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge J. William Rivers of the FBI Cincinnati Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Cincinnati Field Office, Columbus Resident Agency investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rausch for the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Daniel Grunert of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

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

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A federal grand jury has indicted a Reynoldsburg man for threatening a reproductive health services facility.

Court documents allege that Mohamed Farah Waes, 33, made telephone threats to a clinic operated by Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio. He was indicted on July 11 and arrested today.

According to the indictment, on July 5, 2022, Waes allegedly called the clinic and threatened to burn down the facility and everyone inside it.

The indictment charges Waes with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to threaten the use of force to intimidate anyone receiving or providing reproductive health services. He is also charged with making threatening statements through interstate communications, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, and threatening to unlawfully damage and destroy a building by means of fire and explosive, which is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

“Threatening the life of anyone who seeks any type of health service is a heinous act that is unacceptable in a civilized society,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker. “People must handle their disagreements with services provided by clinics in a more civil way than using the threat of force or any kind of intimidation.”

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio, and FBI Special Agent in Charge J. William Rivers for the Cincinnati Field Office announced the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rausch for the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Daniel Grunert of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The former treasurer of the Columbus School Employees Association (CSEA) pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to misappropriating $60,685.92 in CSEA funds.

Phelton Woods, 72, of Reynoldsburg, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. Court documents say Woods wrote 359 unauthorized checks from the CSEA checking account to himself, which included forged signatures; wrote 16 unauthorized checks to a relative, who has no relation to the CSEA; and made 38 unauthorized cash withdrawals. The fraud took place between December 2009 and June 2016.

Woods agreed to pay restitution to CSEA’s insurance company. CSEA is a bargaining unit that is combined from 12 local unions within the Columbus City School District, which includes approximately 3,300 members.     

A federal grand jury indicted Woods in April 2022. Bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, but the Court will determine a sentence based on federal sentencing guidelines and the results of a pre-sentence investigation conducted by the court.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the plea entered before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. The United States Department of Labor Office of Labor Management Standards investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brenda Shoemaker is representing the United States.

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CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man with nine prior felony convictions was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 210 months in prison for committing additional crimes involving firearms and illegal drugs.

On May 22, 2019, a Cincinnati Police Officer attempted to stop a car being driven by Terry Willis, 52. Willis fled on foot and attempted to climb over a barbed-wire fence. When the officer caught him, Willis tried to wrestle away and repeatedly reached toward his waistband. The officer told Willis not to reach, and shortly a second officer arrived and helped subdue Willis.

While handcuffing Willis, officers found in his waistband a 9mm handgun with a round in the chamber and an extended magazine holding 30 rounds of ammunition. Officers also found on Willis’s person a bag containing more than 25 grams of cocaine, another bag with more than six grams of marijuana and more than $1,600 in cash.

A federal grand jury indicted Willis three months later, charging him with possession with intent to distribute illegal drugs, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He pleaded guilty in August 2021 to all three charges.

Willis has a prior felony conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon and several other felonies relating to distributing and possessing controlled substances. As a previously convicted felon, Willis is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Willis was also sentenced to serve 10 years on supervised release after he completes his prison term.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas R. Cole. Assistant United States Attorneys Julie Garcia and Kelly Rossi represented the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A leader of a large-scale conspiracy involving narcotics distribution, sex trafficking, fraud, and money laundering pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today. The plea agreement includes an agreed sentencing range of 27-30 years in prison.

Patrick M. Saultz, 45, a/k/a/ “White Boy Pat” of Columbus, pleaded guilty to three violations of federal law - conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, and concealment money laundering.

According to court documents, between January 2008 and 2022, the organization brought large quantities of illegal narcotics into Columbus, Ohio, and sold them in and around the Columbus area while simultaneously coercing individuals to engage in sexual activity for profit, from which the organization benefited. Members of the organization trafficked various controlled substances - including fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, oxycodone, and alprazolam - to individuals in northern Ohio, Columbus, and West Virginia.

“This organization flooded our streets with staggering amounts of illegal drugs,” said Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “Investigators calculated that the organization was selling approximately 40 grams of fentanyl per day out of each drug house they oversaw, and a conservative estimate concludes that, in addition, the organization dealt kilogram quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine during the course of its operation as well.”

Saultz acknowledged that he and a co-conspirator co-owned and operated multiple pieces of real estate on the west side. They used money from their illegal activities to buy property, launder the drug proceeds and to further their illegal activities. One of the houses they bought and used for drug-dealing was across the street from Burroughs Elementary School in Columbus.

Court documents also detail how Saultz and numerous other members of the organization ran a sex trafficking operation, coercing women with illegal drugs to engage in prostitution. The women were required to turn the money they received from their prostitution activities over to him and other organization members in return for places to stay, and for more drugs, fueling their addictions further.

The plea agreement requires Saultz to pay restitution to the victims of sex trafficking, and to forfeit his rights to all property seized during the investigation including two cars, a motorcycle, dozens of firearms, a Rolex watch and more than $1.7 million in cash in addition to the real estate.

A federal grand jury initially indicted Saultz along with 10 others in July 2022. A superseding indictment in October 2022 added 13 defendants and added 28 new charges to the narcotics conspiracy, including firearms offenses and an overdose causing serious bodily injury. Charges against the others are still pending.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker commended the investigation coordinated by The Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, formed under the Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, which includes Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant; Angie Salazar, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations; and Orville O. Greene, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Other agencies that have assisted the task force with the investigation include the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, HIDTA Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, FBI, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI), Ohio National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, Pickerington Police Department, New Albany Police Department, and the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team. They joined Parker in announcing the pleas entered before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr.

Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Prichard and Emily Czerniejewski are representing the United States in this case.

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

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A federal jury in the Southern District of Ohio today convicted Kelli Prather, 51, of Cincinnati of crimes pertaining to her request for more than $1.2 million in pandemic relief loans. She was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals after the jury returned its guilty verdicts.

According to testimony and evidence presented during the trial that began July 18, Prather applied for six Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans as part of the CARES Act COVID-19 pandemic relief. She claimed to own six businesses – Enhanced Healthcare Solutions, Life Skills Enhancement, Prather Property Management, Reliable Ambulette Services, Rich Glo Management Services and Tots R Us.

Separately, Prather also applied for eight Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).  In three of the EIDL applications she filed in November 2020, she represented that the businesses were majority owned by her disabled nephew.

Prather sought more than $1.2 million in fraud relief and fraudulently received approximately $19,800. 

The jury convicted her of six counts of bank fraud (punishable by up to 30 years in prison), one count of making false statements in connection to credit or loan applications (up to 30 years in prison), four counts of wire fraud (up to 20 years in prison), and three counts of aggravated identity theft (carrying a mandatory 2-year sentence to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed). The court will set a date for sentencing following a pre-sentence investigation.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General; and other members of the Financial Crimes Working Group Pandemic Fraud Committee announced the verdict at the conclusion of the trial before U.S. District Court Judge Matthew W. McFarland. Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Springer and Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo are representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Logan, Ohio, woman was sentenced in federal court here today to 480 months in prison for sexually exploiting minors as young as 3-years-old and possessing child pornography.

Carrie Daniels, 38, was charged federally in April 2022 along with her significant other, Robert Gemienhardt, 42. Gemienhardt was sentenced to 45 years’ incarceration in February 2023 for producing child pornography of a 3-year-old child and possessing thousands of images of child sexual abuse, some of which depicted other minor children to whom the defendants had access.

The two defendants groomed minor victims, sexually abused the victims, and created child pornography of the abuse.

According to court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip from Kik messenger regarding Gemienhardt’s online child exploitation activities conducted at Daniels’s residence. The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office then began investigating the allegations and learned that four minor children lived in the home with Daniels and Gemienhardt.

Subsequent search warrants executed by the Hocking County Sherriff’s Office, in conjunction with the FBI, revealed that Daniels had produced child pornography of an approximately 3-year-old child and distributed the images she had produced to Gemienhardt.  Those images were ultimately recovered on Gemienhardt’s phone. Daniels also photographed two of the minor children, who were 9 and 13 years of age at the time, nude in the bathroom.  Daniels then sent those images of the minor children to Gemienhardt as well.  Further evidence revealed that at times, Gemienhardt and Daniels acted together to produce child pornography through the grooming and sexual abuse of two of the minor victims to whom they had access between April and June of 2020.

Daniels and Gemienhardt, who was a registered sex offender in the state of Ohio, exchanged thousands of illicit text messages detailing their sexual fantasies about four separate minor victims.

Daniels pleaded guilty in October 2022 to sexually exploiting minors and possessing child pornography. 

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Hocking County Sheriff Lanny E. North announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

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DAYTON, Ohio – Timothy Jefferson, 46, of Butler Township, was sentenced in United States District Court here today to a total of 204 months in prison for dealing cocaine, meth, and fentanyl, and possessing firearms in furtherance of his drug dealing.

Jefferson pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and 40 grams or more of fentanyl. He received a sentence of 144 months for this crime. He also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, a crime that carries a mandatory sentence of five years in prison to be served consecutive to any other penalty.

According to court documents, from at least May 2021 until December 2021, Jefferson obtained bulk amounts of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine for resale and distribution in the greater Dayton area. Jefferson and others would travel out-of-state to receive the bulk amounts of narcotics, driving the drugs back to Southern Ohio and staying in hotels along the way.

“These drugs are very dangerous and pose a great risk to the safety of those who comes in contact with it,” said Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “Jefferson’s actions of maintaining firearms to protect himself and his drugs also created a great risk to the community.”

Jefferson was also sentenced to forfeit three firearms, multiple rounds of ammunition, a Chevy El Camino and more than $55,000 in cash. He will be under court supervision for five years after he completes his prison term.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); members of the Tactical Crime Suppression Unit; Kettering Police Chief Christopher N. Protsman; and Orville O. Greene, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, announced the guilty sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant United States Attorney Amy M. Smith is representing the United States.

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

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury here has returned a two-count indictment charging two central Ohio men with aiding and abetting bank robbery and aiding abetting the use of a firearm in a crime of violence.

Aden Abdullahi Jama, 20, of Reynoldsburg and Fazsal M. Darod, 23, of Columbus allegedly committed the crimes on July 6th, robbing a Fifth Third bank in Hilliard. Columbus Police and other law enforcement officers encountered them on I-70 near downtown Columbus after the robbery. A shootout followed during which a Columbus Police officer was severely injured and a third person in the car with Darod and Jama was killed.

The United States Marshals’ Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team arrested Darod in the early morning hours of July 7 outside his Columbus residence. U.S. Marshals and Homeland Security Investigation agents arrested Jama at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on July 8 and is transporting him back to Ohio. Jama and Darod have been in custody since their arrests.

Aiding and abetting a bank robbery is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a potential penalty of at least five years and up to life in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant; the United States Marshals in Columbus and Chicago; ICE and HSI Chicago; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; the Whitehall, Minerva Parka and Upper Arlington police departments; and Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin announced the indictment returned yesterday. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

DAYTON, Ohio – A Tipp City man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 18 months in prison for defrauding a local non-profit organization. He was also ordered to pay $94,942 in restitution.

Antoine Draines, 43, defrauded Miami Valley Community Action Partnership (MVCAP) of rental assistance funds. MVCAP received federal funding as part of the CARES Act.

According to court documents, Draines controlled and operated Freedom for Living Property Management, LLC in Tipp City. The company owned and served as landlord of numerous rental properties in Dayton. According to Draines, he was, at one point, the second-largest individual owner of Section 8 housing units in Greater Dayton.

From at least June 2020 until December 2020, Draines lied to MVCAP so that he could improperly collect emergency rental assistance money for certain Freedom for Living properties. Draines knowingly sent false landlord statement forms concealing the critical fact that certain tenants were already having a substantial portion of their rent paid through federally funded housing vouchers.

Draines pleaded guilty to wire fraud in March 2023.

In addition, Draines fraudulently applied for and received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, resulting in Draines wrongfully collecting approximately $30,000.

“Through a cynical, opportunistic fraud scheme, Draines, sought to steal more than $150,000 from MVCAP by seeking emergency assistance that was not actually needed, or not actually used, to cover the rental obligations of existing tenants,” said Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “The specific circumstances of Draines’ COVID-related fraud only make it worse. Draines targeted programs intended to aid those struggling to make ends meet in the face of the pandemic, converting a global health crisis into a chance at a quick buck.”

"Mr. Draines used his position during an unprecedented national pandemic to steal critical taxpayer money intended to help families," said Special Agent-in-Charge Shawn Rice. “HUD OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to working with Federal prosecutors and law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who engage in activities that threaten the integrity of HUD programs.”

“Antoine Draines defrauded the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) by filing false unemployment insurance (UI) claims. Draines stole benefits intended to assist those who became unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and ODJFS to protect the integrity of the UI system from those who exploit these benefit programs,” said Irene Lindow, Special Agent in Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

Joining Parker in announcing the sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Thomas M. Rose were Shawn Rice, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, and Irene Lindow, Special Agent in Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Rob Painter and Deputy Criminal Chief Brent G. Tabacchi are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- James P. Dawson, 40, of Orlando, Florida pleaded guilty to wire fraud and making a false statement within the jurisdiction of an agency of the United States related to five coronavirus relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans and four Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). 

According to court documents, beginning in April 2020 and continuing until October 2020, Dawson, while living in central Ohio, submitted five fraudulent applications to obtain PPP loans, two of which were approved and funded.  He also submitted four fraudulent applications to obtain EIDLs.  None of the EIDLs were funded, but he received three EIDL Advances.  Dawson’s applications collectively sought over $1.1 million in fraudulent loans and the lenders disbursed over $200,000 as a result of his fraudulent loan applications. 

The fraudulent PPP applications made several materially false representations regarding the operations of the businesses, including monthly payroll expenses and number of employees. The PPP applications also falsely represented that the businesses were in operation on February 15, 2020.

For example, Stadium Bar LLC was a business that ultimately opened as a sports bar. Despite Dawson's certification that the business was in operation on February 15, 2020, the certificate of occupancy for the bar's location was not signed until March 20, 2020, the bar did not have a liquor license until May 26, 2020, and Dawson admitted in a law enforcement interview that it did not open until June 20, 2020.

Created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the Paycheck Protection Program authorized qualifying small businesses to receive forgivable loans to help pay payroll costs, rent utilities, interest on mortgages, and other permissible expenses. The size of the PPP loan a particular business could receive was based in part on its average monthly payroll costs. PPP loans were entirely forgivable if the funds were used for specified expenses.

In order to obtain a PPP loan, a business was required to submit a loan application to an approved lender. The loan application was required to be signed by an authorized representative of the business and to contain certain information, such as average monthly payroll expenses and number of employees. Applicants were also required to provide supporting documentation, such as federal tax returns and other financial documentation. Any PPP loans that were funded by lenders were fully guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The CARES Act also expanded the EIDL Program, which authorized qualifying small businesses to receive loans to help pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The SBA also offered an EIDL Advance that was designed to provide emergency economic relief to businesses that were experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. The EIDL Advance was considered a grant and was not required to be repaid. The maximum advance amount was $10,000.

Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $250,000.  Making a false statement within the jurisdiction of an agency of the United States carries a maximum penalty of 5 years of imprisonment and a fine not to exceed $250,000. Dawson will be sentenced on a date to be determined after the court completes a pre-sentence investigation.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and Brady Ipock, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Central Regional Office, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) announced the plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison.  Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate is representing the United States.

#   #   #

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to accessing the email and social media accounts of hundreds of women to search for sexually explicit photos of them.

Dwayne Curry, 34, admitted he identified women through the internet, television and in person and then intentionally sought to access their email and Snapchat accounts.

Curry used cryptocurrency to purchase passwords through various dark websites that sell stolen user account information.

The defendant then accessed the women’s Snapchat accounts to view and save their private photos.

In total, Curry unlawfully accessed at least 48 women’s Snapchat accounts and more than 300 email accounts. Some of the identified victims included a woman he met in person in Cincinnati, and two women he saw on television. The women resided in Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

Curry was charged by bill of information in May 2023.

Unauthorized access of a computer is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the guilty plea entered today before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case, which was investigated by FBI Knoxville and Cincinnati, the Knoxville (TN) Cyber Task Force and the University of Tennessee Police Department.

# # #

DAYTON, Ohio – Keith Dujuan Calahan, of Dayton, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 24 months in prison for receiving and unlawfully possessing materials stolen from the U.S. Mail, including approximately 250 checks. Callahan intended to use the stolen mail matter to perpetrate more than $250,000 in fraud.

Local law enforcement began placing GPS tracking devices inside “dummy” packages in collection boxes outside the Dabel Post Office in Kettering, and, in May 2022, three such packages were stolen.

According to court documents, law enforcement tracked the GPS locations of the stolen packages and set up surveillance around an apartment complex Dayton. Three individuals were subsequently arrested, including Calahan. Calahan had two trash bags full of stolen mail matter, including two of the dummy packages.

While executing a search warrant at Calahan’s apartment, investigators discovered 250 stolen checks, nearly $1,700 in cash, a $1,000 money order and two firearms. Two weeks prior to his arrest, Calahan had fraudulently deposited a $6,100 check, which had been stolen from the U.S. Mail and altered to reflect a different payee.

Calahan pleaded guilty in February 2023 to receipt and possession of stolen mail.

“The theft of mail can be hugely disruptive to the lives of those whose private communications are stolen, opened, and exploited,” said United States Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “This sentence should be a warning to anyone tempted to break into a collection box in search of easy money that doing so comes with considerable consequences.”

Parker and Lesley C. Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division; announced the judgment issued on July 13 by U.S. District Court Judge Walter H. Rice. Assistant United States Attorney Rob Painter is representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Licking County man was sentenced in federal court here today to 25 years in prison for sexually exploiting minors and soliciting child pornography from dozens of other minor boys through the mobile application Snapchat.

Matthew I Reif, 27, of Newark, Ohio, victimized at least 52 minor boys, some of whom he had access to through his role in a local youth church group. The exploitation of these minor males took place both in the community and online between October 2020 and July 2022.

“Reif exploited his victims’ vulnerabilities through their religion, their financial limitations and their youth for his own perverted fantasies,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “For the well-being of those children whom he has already harmed, and to prevent the mental, psychological or physical damage to any additional children, Reif must be kept away from society for a significant period of time.”

According to court documents, Reif offered gifts and money to minor boys and, in exchange, requested the minors engage in sex acts with him or for him. Reif used text messaging and Snapchat to communicate with his victims, some of whom he only had access to online and had not met in person. The defendant would pose as a female named “Nicole” via Snapchat to obtain child sexual abuse material from the minor males. Twelve of the identified victims in this case indicated they sent photos or videos to Reif on Snapchat when they were between 14 and 17 years old, believing Reif to be a female. 

The defendant also contacted minor males he knew from the community, posing as himself and garnering their trust through his position in a Heath, Ohio, church. Reif would then screen record any pornographic content he received from the minors via Snapchat. In addition, Reif was trusted with some of the victims on overnight stays, during which he surreptitiously recorded the victims with a hidden camera that he placed in different bathrooms. Reif saved the images and videos he created and obtained and then organized the content by the name of the male minor depicted.

Reif pleaded guilty in December 2022 to sexually exploiting minors and possessing child pornography.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Noah R. Litton are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two Central Ohio men have been arrested and charged federally for their alleged roles in robberies that resulted in the July 6 shooting of a Columbus police officer.

Aden Abdullahi Jama, 20, of Reynoldsburg, was arrested this afternoon at Chicago O’Hare International Airport by United States Marshals and HSI agents. Jama had purchased a flight leaving at 12:35pm for the country of Turkey.

Fazsal M. Darod, 23, of Columbus, was arrested in the early morning hours of July 7 outside his residence in Columbus by the United States Marshals’ Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team.

Both men are charged with aiding and abetting a bank robbery and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence. 

According to affidavits filed in support of criminal complaints, on July 6 at approximately 2:13pm, Jama, Darod and a third suspect allegedly stole a black Porsche SUV from Byer Imports Car Lot on North Hamilton Road in Columbus.

The defendants then allegedly participated in a robbery at approximately 4pm at the Fifth Third Bank on Hilliard Rome Road in Hilliard. An armed suspect stole thousands of dollars before fleeing in a black Porsche SUV.

A few minutes later, Columbus police officers encountered the stolen vehicle and suspects on Interstate 70 East near West Mound Street. During the encounter, a Columbus police officer was struck by gunfire and seriously wounded. One of the suspects was also shot and died at the scene.

Jama and Darod allegedly fled from the scene on foot and avoided immediate apprehension.

Officers recovered two firearms from the scene: a Glock handgun with an extended magazine and a semiautomatic handgun. 

Aiding and abetting a bank robbery is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a potential penalty of at least five years and up to life in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant; the United States Marshals in Columbus and Chicago; ICE and HSI Chicago; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; the Whitehall, Minerva Parka and Upper Arlington police departments; and Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Former Ohio Republican Party chair Mathew Borges, 51, of Bexley, Ohio, was sentenced in federal court today to 60 months in prison for participating in a racketeering conspiracy.

A jury found Borges and former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, 63, of Glenford, Ohio, guilty of violating the racketeering statute. The verdict was announced on March 8 following a six-week trial.

The government proved beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that Borges conspired with others to violate the racketeering statute in a conspiracy involving nearly $61 million in bribes paid to a 501(c)(4) entity to pass and uphold House Bill 6, a billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout.

“Borges willingly joined the criminal enterprise knowing its members were involved in a bribery conspiracy. He personally sought out, solicited, and bribed an individual for insider information,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Borges has been involved in politics and worked with public officials for more than 20 years. He knew exactly where the lines were when he decided to cross them and participate in a criminal enterprise. Today’s sentence holds him accountable for that illegal conduct.”

Borges’ primary role in the enterprise was to deprive Ohioans of the opportunity to overturn what Borges knew was corrupt legislation. He was budgeted $25,000, which he laundered through his own bank accounts, to bribe a political operative for secret, real-time information.

The defendant created a new entity – 17 Consulting Group LLC – and agreed to funnel $1.62 million to 17 Consulting that had already been laundered through Householder’s 501(c)(4), Generation Now.

Borges gave the operative a $15,000 check in exchange for information on the number of signatures collected on the anti-House Bill 6 ballot referendum. Borges paid himself $360,000 of the laundered money.

Campaign and political strategist, Jeffrey Longstreth, and lobbyist Juan Cespedes, both of Columbus, Ohio, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the racketeering conspiracy. They await sentencing. FirstEnergy Corp. signed a deferred prosecution settlement in July 2021, agreeing to pay a $230 million penalty for conspiring to bribe public officials and others.

Householder was sentenced in U.S. District Court yesterday to 240 months in prison. Both he and Borges have been remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black. Deputy Criminal Chief Emily N. Glatfelter and Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew C. Singer, Megan Gaffney Painter and Timothy S. Mangan represented the United States in this case.

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CINCINNATI – Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, 64, of Glenford, Ohio, was sentenced in federal court here today to 240 months in prison for leading a racketeering conspiracy to receive nearly $61 million in bribes to pass and uphold a billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout. The Court remanded Householder to the custody of the U.S. Marshals at the conclusion of sentencing.

"Larry Householder led a criminal enterprise responsible for one of the largest public corruption conspiracies in Ohio history," said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Elected officials owe a duty to provide honest services to their constituents – transparency, integrity and accountability are foundational principles of democracy. Householder once held one of the three most powerful offices in the State of Ohio. Now, because of his corruption, he will serve a substantial prison sentence.”

“The people of Ohio are the true victims of Larry Householder’s corrupt scheme to increase his power and pass a billion-dollar corporate bailout,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge J. William Rivers. “While we hope this sentence clearly demonstrates that corruption does not pay, the FBI will continue to investigate and pursue those who abuse their positions and take advantage of the public.”

A jury found Householder and former Ohio Republican Party chair Mathew Borges, 50, of Bexley, Ohio, guilty of participating in a racketeering conspiracy. The verdict was announced in March, following a six-week trial that included more than 1,000 exhibits and 25 witnesses.

The government proved beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that Householder and his enterprise conspired to violate the racketeering statute through honest services wire fraud, receipt of millions of dollars in bribes and money laundering.

Householder and his conspirators exploited the lack of transparency in 501(c)(4) entities to bury their corrupt and complex scheme to accept nearly $61 million in bribes to pass and uphold a billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout.

According to court documents and trial testimony, from March 2017 to March 2020, the enterprise traded millions of dollars in bribery campaign donations in exchange for Householder’s and the enterprise’s help in passing House Bill 6. The defendants then also worked to corruptly ensure that HB 6 went into effect by defeating a ballot initiative to overturn the legislation.

In March 2017, Householder began receiving quarterly $250,000 payments from the related-energy companies into the bank account of his 501(c)(4), Generation Now. Team Householder spent millions of the company’s dollars to support Householder’s political bid to become Speaker, to support House candidates they believed would back Householder, and for their own personal benefit.

The United States detailed that Householder spent more than half a million dollars of the dark money to pay off his credit card balances, repair his Florida home and settle a business lawsuit.

Borges used approximately $366,000 for his personal benefit.

Borges was budgeted $25,000 to bribe an Ohio Republican operative to try to save House Bill 6. Borges gave the man a $15,000 check in exchange for information on the number of signatures collected on the anti-House Bill 6 ballot referendum. Borges is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow.

Householder’s longtime campaign and political strategist, Jeffrey Longstreth, and lobbyist Juan Cespedes, both of Columbus, Ohio, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the racketeering conspiracy. FirstEnergy Corp. signed a deferred prosecution settlement in July 2021, agreeing to pay a $230 million penalty for conspiring to bribe public officials and others. Longstreth and Cespedes await sentencing; their hearings have not yet been scheduled.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black. Deputy Criminal Chief Emily N. Glatfelter and Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew C. Singer, Megan Gaffney Painter and Timothy S. Mangan represented the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A 37-year-old Columbus man was sentenced today to 540 months in prison for coercing at least three minor victims to engage in sexually explicit activity for the purpose of producing images and videos of the acts. Two of those victims were offered cash and gifts to entice them into performing and/or engaging in sexually explicit acts with him.

Raymond L. Williams committed this exploitation between 2016 and July 2022.

Court documents say that the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force received a CyberTipLine report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that images depicting child sexual abuse had been uploaded to an online account that was traced to one of the victims, an approximately 14-year-old minor male. Investigators interviewed the minor victim who said the images and videos were created for Williams and that his chats with Williams took place through third party messaging apps.

The investigation further revealed that Williams would provide sex toys to the minor victim to use in the sexually explicit conduct by leaving them in hiding places around the downtown branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Law enforcement then assumed the identity of the minor victim in online platforms and began communicating with Williams, setting up a meeting at the library in which Williams expected to engage in sexual intercourse with the minor.  Upon his arrival, Williams was placed under arrest by the ICAC task force and his electronic devices were seized. Williams has been in custody since his arrest.

Further investigation and forensic analysis of those devices identified two additional victims who stated that Williams offered them cash or gifts in exchange for sexual acts occurring between the time frame when the victims were 11 through 17 years of age. Investigators found images, videos, and text messages with the victims on phones seized from Williams further confirming the statements of all three victims.  Williams pleaded guilty in March 2023 to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.  He was sentenced today to 360 months on each count of sexual exploitation of a minor and 540 months on the coercion and enticement of a minor charge, with each count to run concurrently.

“Predators are looking for underaged people they can manipulate and exploit,” said Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “Sexual abuse is never contained to a present moment. It lingers across a child’s lifetime and has pervasive, long-term ramifications.”

Parker was joined by Angie Salazar, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit Field Office; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and agencies participating in the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children task force in announcing the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

DAYTON, Ohio – A Dayton man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 204 months in prison for possessing with intent to distribute bulk amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Laramie Lawson, 37, possessed more than 5.4 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 500 grams of fentanyl and three firearms, magazines, and ammunition.

“To others who may consider going down the same path as Lawson: dealing drugs may seem like easy money, but it is not worth it to lose your liberty,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. 

In January 2021, law enforcement encountered Lawson at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport with more than $19,000 in cash concealed in his carry-on bag. The day before, Lawson had purchased a one-way ticket to Los Angeles. He was unemployed at the time.

During a later investigation by the FBI’s Southern Ohio Safe Streets Task Force, task force members executed a search warrant at Lawson’s residences on Stolz Avenue and Sylvan Drive.

At the Stolz Avenue location, they discovered: 5,405 net grams of methamphetamine, 5.64 net grams of fentanyl and 2.79 net grams of cocaine. The bulk amounts of methamphetamine were in an upstairs bedroom closet as well as a kitchen cabinet. Handguns were discovered on top of the refrigerator near the methamphetamine and in an armrest of the living room recliner.

While searching the residence on Sylvan Avenue, investigators discovered bulk amounts of fentanyl and a loaded handgun in the primary bedroom.

Lawson was charged by criminal complaint in October 2022 and indicted by a grand jury in December 2022. He pleaded guilty to three federal drug counts in March 2023.

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

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and other members of the FBI’s Southern Ohio Safe Streets Task Force announced the sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Walter H. Rice. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Saunders is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The final of six conspirators responsible for trafficking more than 100 firearms pleaded guilty in federal court here today.

Jadden I. Bedell, 21, of Cleveland, admitted to his role in the conspiracy involving 114 guns.

According to court documents, between January and May 2022, the defendants illegally dealt in firearms without a federal firearms license. Many of the firearms were resold in Cleveland and Rochester, New York, and have been recovered in connection with other crimes and shootings.

Two defendants – Brian R. Cunningham, 43, of Marysville, Ohio, and Tyson Rathburn, 47, of Ashville, Ohio – purchased the guns at licensed firearms dealers in the Southern District of Ohio, including at Frazier Firearms LLC, George Washinguns LLC and Rural King. The pair sometimes used straw purchasers to obtain guns. The defendants then listed the firearms for sale online at marked-up prices.

The four other co-conspirators completed a series of trips from Cleveland to Columbus to purchase the firearms from Cunningham and Rathburn. Two of those customer co-defendants, Charles L. Jackson, 28, of Rochester, New York, and Anthony D. Redmond, 59, of Cleveland, were prohibited from possessing firearms because they had previously been convicted of or are currently under indictment for felony crimes.

Beddell, Jackson, Redmon and Martino D. Lorenzi, 35, of Cleveland, met with Cunningham and Rathburn multiple times at gas stations and stores in the Southern District of Ohio to purchase handguns.

For example, on March 19, 2022, Beddell and Jackson met Rathburn near a gas station in Marengo, Ohio, to buy 42 firearms for $14,000 total.

In May 2022, Beddell, Jackson and Lorenzi purchased 16 firearms from an undercover ATF agent.

Each of the six defendants has pleaded guilty to conspiring to deal in the business of firearms without a license, which is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

Jackson has been sentenced to 51 months in prison, and his five co-defendants await sentencing.

Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing is determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); announced the guilty plea offered today. Assistant United States Attorneys Noah R. Litton and S. Courter Shimeall are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced today that his office and law enforcement agencies are seeing an increase in cases involving impostors posing as others, especially as children or teens on social media and online gaming platforms, persuading victims to provide sexual or intimate personal information, and using that information to threaten or intimidate their victims. 

Parker urged parents and caregivers to take steps to help young people identify the impostors and avoid becoming victims.

“Social media has opened up a whole new realm of child exploitation opportunities,” Parker said. “An online predator can easily amass victims across the United States by pretending to be someone they aren’t. Offenders will tell fictitious stories and create personas to manipulate and coerce victims.”

Parker offered the following guidance to parents and child caregivers:

• Know what devices your child is using and their passcodes to access the devices;
• Become familiar with the online games and the social media your child uses, and the privacy settings in the games and apps;
• Set limits on the time your child spends online;
• Talk with your child about the dangers of sharing personal information or images online and how those images can damage their mental health and reputation; and
• Watch for sudden changes in a child’s behavior such as isolation, missing school, losing interest in friends, becoming obsessive about their phone, and being angry or upset after they’ve been online.

Parker also emphasized that parents need to maintain open lines of communication with their children letting their child know that the parent will be monitoring the child’s online activity to protect their child. “Assure your child that they can come to you and talk judgment-free about their online activity, who they’ve met, and what they discuss,” Parker said.

Parker cited recent cases of a 28-year-old high school coach accused of impersonating a 15-year-old girl and persuading his victims to send sexually explicit photos which he distributed over the internet, and a convicted sexual offender who allegedly worked with his girlfriend claiming that the only way he could get life-saving surgery for his mother was to sell sexually explicit images and videos of minor victims. Defendants in all criminal cases should be presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

Parker said these two cases, like many child exploitation cases, started with caregivers or other adults notifying local law enforcement of their concerns. He urges any parents who suspect their children could be victims of online exploitation to contact their local law enforcement agency. Many local agencies participate in Internet Crimes Against Children task forces that unite federal, state, and local law enforcement resources to investigate and prosecute cases of child exploitation.

To report online child sexual exploitation, use the electronic Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678. The Cyber Tip Line is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in partnership with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

# # #

A federal jury in Columbus convicted an Ohio doctor yesterday for illegally prescribing buprenorphine and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Eskender Getachew, 58, of Galena, unlawfully prescribed opioids and benzodiazepines to his patients. This included prescribing Subutex, which has a high risk of abuse and diversion, to patients for whom the drug is not indicated. The number of pills Getachew prescribed depended on the amount of money patients paid at their office visits. Getachew was aware of several reports that patients were selling their Subutex, but his prescribing continued unabated.

The jury convicted Getachew of 11 counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio; Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the DEA Detroit Division; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Chicago Regional Office made the announcement. 

The DEA, FBI, HHS-OIG, Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and Ohio Board of Pharmacy investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Timothy Landry and Samantha Stagias of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force. Since its inception in late 2018, ARPO has partnered with federal and state law enforcement agencies and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Tennessee, and West Virginia to prosecute medical professionals and others involved in the illegal prescription and distribution of opioids. Over the past four years, ARPO has charged over 115 defendants, collectively responsible for issuing prescriptions for over 115 million controlled substance pills. To date, more than 80 ARPO defendants have been convicted. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An assistant volleyball coach at New Lexington High School was arrested by federal agents today on charges claiming he sexually exploited minors and distributed, received and possessed child pornography.

Clay Thomas Wolfe, 28, of Junction City, Ohio, allegedly obtained child pornography from more than 100 victims via the mobile application Snapchat since 2018.

The defendant appeared in federal court in Columbus at 1pm today.

It is alleged Wolfe pretended to be a 15-year-old female on Snapchat and used this persona to solicit child pornography from middle school and high school boys. The known victims resided in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Chillicothe, Ohio, and other various cities in the Southern District of Ohio and across the United States. Wolfe’s Snapchat account also contained sexually explicit photographs and videos of minor males as young as 10 and 11 years of age.

Wolfe – acting as the username “Ally” on Snapchat – allegedly sent the male victims a photograph of a pubescent female’s naked breasts and images and videos of female genitalia as part of his persona.

According to Snapchat records, between March 2022 and January 2023, Wolfe engaged in online communications with more than 100 other Snapchat users. A forensic review of Wolfe’s iCloud account also allegedly revealed more than 100 photos and videos of child sexual abuse material.

Sexual exploitation of a minor is a federal crime punishable by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years up to 30 years in prison. Distribution and receipt of child pornography is punishable by a mandatory term of imprisonment of five years up to 20 years’ incarceration.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; announced the charges with the assistance and cooperation of the Perry County Sheriff’s Office and Perry County Prosecutor. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Jennifer M. Rausch and are representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

DAYTON, Ohio – A 35-year-old repeat sex offender and his girlfriend have been charged federally with crimes related to coercing a minor female into producing child pornography. It is alleged the defendants used a ruse to trick the victim into believing that one defendant’s mother was dying and, to pay for life-saving surgery, the victim needed to send sexually explicit pictures and videos of herself to a third party over the internet.

John Brickhouse, 35, and Nina Darling, 26, both of Junction City, Ohio, are charged in a 19-count superseding indictment. The case was unsealed today.

According to court documents, the couple conspired for approximately seven months to coerce a minor girl, whom Brickhouse had met online, into producing and sending child pornography.

It is alleged that Brickhouse and Darling told the victim that Brickhouse’s mother had two weeks left to live, but that a third party had agreed to pay for life-saving surgery if the victim created and sent sexually explicit images and videos of herself in exchange.

The third party – “Michael Jones” – was in actuality a fictitious persona created by Brickhouse and Darling. It is alleged that Darling, at Brickhouse’s request, posed as “Michael Jones” in order to convince the victim that Brickhouse’s mother’s life could be saved if only the victim created and sent child pornography. Darling also allegedly posed as Brickhouse’s dying mother and Brickhouse’s aunt as part of this deception.

The victim, believing that she was acting to save Brickhouse’s mother’s life, created and sent the child pornography as requested. Brickhouse and Darling allegedly obtained and then distributed the child pornography to others, including to registered sex offenders.

In a separate scheme, Brickhouse allegedly coerced a different minor victim into producing child pornography.

Brickhouse is a registered sex offender whose most recent conviction was in 2015 for sexually assaulting a child. His multiple sexual offenses against children date back to 2009 and involve victims as young as 3 years old. Brickhouse committed many of the alleged crimes while he was in custody for his prior sexual offenses against minors.

If convicted as charged, Brickhouse faces 25 years up to life in prison and Darling faces between five and 30 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division and the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Christina Mahy and Kelly K. Rossi are representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

The Justice Department announced today that it entered into a settlement agreement with the City of Dayton, Ohio, and the Dayton Police Department (DPD) under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to resolve allegations that DPD discriminated against a driver during a traffic stop.

The ADA requires that cities, law enforcement agencies and other public entities provide individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in their services, including policing. The ADA also requires a police department or other public entity to reasonably modify its practices when necessary to avoid discrimination.

This agreement resolves a complaint by a driver who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair who was pulled over by DPD officers. The officers ordered him to get out of his car, but he did not have his wheelchair with him. He told the officers that he could not get out safely without his wheelchair. Over his protests, the officers ordered him out, and refused his request that they call a supervisor. The officers also did not call for assistance or equipment to enable the driver to safely exit. Instead, they pulled him out of his car onto the ground, handcuffed him and dragged him to a police car.

“No one should be subjected to discriminatory treatment during police interactions and that includes people with disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Law enforcement agencies and their officers are required to make reasonable modifications to their policies and procedures when interacting with people with disabilities and failure to do so may violate federal civil rights law. The Justice Department will vigorously enforce the ADA to ensure that police officers are not discriminating against people with disabilities.”

“Ensuring that law enforcement officers understand the scope of the ADA will only positively impact their connection with the people in the communities they serve,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio. “There are so many people with different disabilities whom officers may find themselves interacting with on even a daily basis, so having them trained in this area is imperative.”

The two-year agreement requires DPD to modify its policies to be consistent with the ADA, provide training for police about how to better interact with individuals with disabilities, and to report on its progress to the Justice Department.

This matter was handled by the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

The Justice Department plays a central role in advancing the nation’s goal of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.  For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit the ADA website at www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed online at www.ada.gov/complaint/.

The Justice Department announced today that it entered into a settlement agreement with the City of Dayton, Ohio, and the Dayton Police Department (DPD) under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to resolve allegations that DPD discriminated against a driver during a traffic stop.

The ADA requires that cities, law enforcement agencies and other public entities provide individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in their services, including policing. The ADA also requires a police department or other public entity to reasonably modify its practices when necessary to avoid discrimination.

This agreement resolves a complaint by a driver who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair who was pulled over by DPD officers. The officers ordered him to get out of his car, but he did not have his wheelchair with him. He told the officers that he could not get out safely without his wheelchair. Over his protests, the officers ordered him out, and refused his request that they call a supervisor. The officers also did not call for assistance or equipment to enable the driver to safely exit. Instead, they pulled him out of his car onto the ground, handcuffed him and dragged him to a police car.

“No one should be subjected to discriminatory treatment during police interactions and that includes people with disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Law enforcement agencies and their officers are required to make reasonable modifications to their policies and procedures when interacting with people with disabilities and failure to do so may violate federal civil rights law. The Justice Department will vigorously enforce the ADA to ensure that police officers are not discriminating against people with disabilities.”

“Ensuring that law enforcement officers understand the scope of the ADA will only positively impact their connection with the people in the communities they serve,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio. “There are so many people with different disabilities whom officers may find themselves interacting with on even a daily basis, so having them trained in this area is imperative.”

The two-year agreement requires DPD to modify its policies to be consistent with the ADA, provide training for police about how to better interact with individuals with disabilities, and to report on its progress to the Justice Department.

This matter was handled by the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

The Justice Department plays a central role in advancing the nation’s goal of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.  For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit the ADA website at www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed online at www.ada.gov/complaint/.

CINCINNATI – Kasey Hamer, 37, of Batavia, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 55 months in prison for pandemic relief fraud.

As part of her sentence, Hamer was ordered to pay more than $185,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, Hamer orchestrated a scheme to defraud several programs administered by the Small Business Administration designed to provide COVID-19 relief.

Hamer purported to assist family members and friends to apply for several CARES Act loans. Using the names, social security numbers and other identifiers of others, Hamer significantly overstated the gross revenues, monthly payroll, and/or number of employees for the businesses filed. Hamer then controlled disbursements of the loan funds that were issued to family and friends.

For example, in June 2020, Hamer falsely claimed that a relative ran an event planning business that generated gross revenues of nearly $105,000 and employed 15 people. Hamer knew this information was false.

Hamer also filed numerous fraudulent loan applications in her own name. For example, in one application, Hamer falsely claimed to make over $8,000 per month as a marketer. 

In total, Hamer and her associates requested more than $1 million in relief loans and received more than $150,000 in SBA program funds. Hamer used the funds she received for purchases at restaurants and retail stores, online gambling and gambling.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the sentence imposed June 7 by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas R. Cole. The case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo represented the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A former Cincinnati city councilman pleaded guilty in federal court here today to honest services wire fraud.

Jeffrey Pastor, 39, of Cincinnati, admitted he deprived the citizens of Cincinnati of their right to honest services by a public official by accepting bribes in exchange for official action.

According to his plea agreement, between June 2018 and January 2019, Pastor accepted and agreed to accept things of value in exchange for favorable official action by Pastor relating to two development projects in the city.

For example, in September 2018 Pastor and his associate flew to Miami, Florida, on a private plane to meet with investors regarding a real estate development project. Pastor never paid for or disclosed the trip. During the trip, Pastor explained he would ensure favorable action on behalf of the city for the project and could receive money through his associate’s non-profit entity (which had been incorporated two weeks prior). Pastor discussed “compensation” and agreed to accept $15,000 for helping with the project. He said the purpose of his associate’s entity was to “sanitize” the money.

After flying back to Cincinnati, Pastor called the investor to “negotiate a monthly retainer” and said that $15,000 would be the retainer fee for providing official action.

On Oct. 4, 2018, Pastor accepted $15,000 in cash. After receiving the money, Pastor continued to solicit additional payment from the investor and others.

Pastor and Tyran Marshall were indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2020. Charges remain pending against Marshall, including conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, bribery, attempted extortion and money laundering.

Pastor’s plea agreement would allow for a prison sentence of up to 24 months.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Matthew W. McFarland. Deputy Criminal Chief Emily N. Glatfelter and Assistant United States Attorney Matthew C. Singer are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal jury has convicted a 72-year-old Annapolis, Maryland, man of numerous child exploitation and pornography crimes.

The jury announced their guilty verdicts on all eight counts yesterday after deliberating for approximately 45 minutes following the trial against Bernhard Jakits. The trial began on May 22 before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.

According to court documents and trial testimony, in January 2019, the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office received information relating to two potential exploitation victims. Forensic examination of cell phones and other electronic devices revealed that Jakits had communicated via text message with two teenaged victims and coerced them to send nude photographs of themselves.

In December 2018 and January 2019, Jakits sexually exploited a 15-year-old female to create child pornography. Jakits also attempted to exploit a 13-year-old female in January 2019.

The defendant coerced the two teenaged victims and used the chat app TextNow to obtain pornographic images of the minors in exchange for money. Jakits sought to video chat with the victims and offered them thousands of dollars, but the minors declined.

Jakits met the minor victims based on his relationship with their mother, during which he paid the mother to engage in sex acts via video chats.

Jakits owned homes in both Maryland and California. He traveled extensively around the world on his yacht after running and selling a yacht brokerage business.

The defendant was indicted in a superseding indictment by a federal grand jury in January 2023.

Jakits faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years and up to life in prison. Congress sets the minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Belmont County Sheriff David M. Lucas announced the verdict. Senior Litigation Counsel Heather A. Hill and Assistant United States Attorneys Emily K. Czerniejewski and Kevin A. Koller are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A Butler County man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 360 months in prison for producing child pornography.

Jason Thomas Gmoser, 43, of Hamilton, used a webcam while playing Playstation games online to film and record sexually explicit videos of himself and minor males.

According to court documents, Gmoser was identified through an FBI Violent Crimes Against Children investigation as an administrator of an online bulletin board service specializing in the advertisement and distribution of child pornography.

Gmoser possessed more than 900 video files recorded between approximately November 2011 and September 2014 in computer folders called “Movies (PS3)” and “Movies (Skype).”

For example, one sexually explicit video in the PS3 folder was more than 18 minutes long and featured an 8-year-old boy and an 11-year-old-boy.

Gmoser traveled outside of Ohio to the 8-year-old victim’s home on multiple occasions. While there, Gmoser took the boy to the movies, out to eat, and purchased items for him and his family, including a Playstation. Gmoser recorded and saved 448 sexually explicit videos of the victim from March 2013 until September 2014 through the Playstation network. Gmoser offered Playstation gift cards to the boy for exposing himself.

As part of this case, the government seized 18 hard drives, three computers, two web cameras and multiple memory sticks and thumb drives.

Gmoser pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Ohio in December 2022.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas R. Cole. Executive Assistant United States Attorney Christy L. Muncy and Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Oakley are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court here today to 420 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for sexually exploiting children and possessing child pornography.

Nicholas J. Veerkamp, 32, of Colerain Township, Ohio, was convicted following a jury trial in October 2022. Veerkamp sexually exploited a 9-year-old victim and a 12-year-old victim and kept images of the exploitation.

“This defendant has shown a consistent pattern of sexually abusing children,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “In his current federal case, Veerkamp creeped into the bedrooms of minor girls and took sexually explicit photos of them. There is no place in society for someone engaging in this conduct that’s so harmful to our children.”

According to court documents and trial testimony, in August 2017, Veerkamp sexually exploited a 12-year-old victim to create three images of child pornography.

In October 2017, Veerkamp sexually exploited a 9-year-old child for the purpose of making child pornography. Veerkamp created 19 images of the victim, including images in which he exposed the child’s genitals while the victim slept.

The defendant also possessed other images of minor females on his electronic devices. 

Veerkamp was convicted of sexual imposition in 2016 for having sex with a 13-year-old girl, and as a result, was required to register as a sex offender.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Colerain Township Police Chief Edwin C. Cordie III; Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey’s Regional Electronics Crimes Investigations unit and other members of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children task force announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

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CINCINNATI – Michael Anderson, 48, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 156 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute it. He was also on supervised release in another federal case.

According to court documents, on Nov. 1, 2021, Anderson possessed with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and maintained his apartment as a place to manufacture, store and distribute drugs.

Hamilton County Heroin Task Force officers were investigating the overdose deaths of Anderson’s significant other and the baby she was carrying. They discovered a kitchen blender, hand press, scale and multiple bags of controlled substances. Investigators identified Anderson’s DNA on the packages that included fentanyl, heroin and xylazine.

Anderson had been sentenced in July 2017 to five years in prison followed by eight years of supervised release for possessing with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. His current offense violated his supervised release.

This case was prosecuted as part of the DEA’s Operation Overdrive, a data-driven, intelligence-led approach to combatting overdose deaths and drug-related violent crime. Cincinnati and Dayton were included in the 34 cities selected in Phase 1 of the operation.

“I commend the dedicated work across federal, state and local law enforcement to identify and investigate cases through Operation Overdrive, and my office’s attorneys who prosecute such cases,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker

U.S. Attorney Parker; Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge; Amberley Village Police Chief Richard L. Wallace and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the sentence imposed on May 16 by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Susan J. Dlott. Criminal Chief Karl P. Kadon is representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The final defendant charged in narcotics and money laundering conspiracies pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today. Seven defendants are responsible for conspiring to traffic thousands of oxycodone pills and more than three kilograms of methamphetamine into Ohio from Florida and California, and for conspiring to launder more than $2.5 million in drug proceeds.

Michael J. Moore, 47, of Inglewood, California, admitted to conspiring to launder the proceeds of methamphetamine and oxycodone trafficking. Moore also pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute the drugs.

As part of Moore’s plea, the parties involved have recommended a range of 11 to 16 years in prison.

According to court documents, from at least 2015 through at least 2018, Moore and six women conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and oxycodone. The defendants illegally diverted and transported oxycodone pills from Florida to Ohio and from California to Ohio. They trafficked methamphetamine from California to Ohio.

For example, Moore obtained fraudulent oxycodone prescriptions in Florida on approximately 10 occasions between 2015 and 2016, allowing him to obtain more than 1,000 pills.

Lower-level members of the conspiracy fraudulently obtained a substantial number of pills, providing them to higher-level members and keeping the balance of the pills as payment to feed their addictions.

In total, the group obtained and distributed between 5,656 and 100,000 30-milligram oxycodone pills, which were then sold for between $20 and $30 per pill.

Moore also admitted to being involved in the shipping and distribution of at least 3,114 grams of methamphetamine that was approximately 98 percent pure.

Moore and the others conspired to launder the drug proceeds by opening bank accounts at several financial institutions, making money transfers, and concealing cash and flying it on commercial flights.

The other defendants convicted in this case include:

Name

Age

City

Sentence Imposed

Mykell Reeneesha Uneek Hawes

33

Cerritos, California

Pending sentencing

Brandy Monique Casey

44

Inglewood, California

Pending sentencing

Marisa A. Wallace

29

Columbus, Ohio

72 months in prison

Angela N. Faber

41

Reynoldsburg, Ohio

48 months in prison

Heather M. Russell

36

Columbus, Ohio

48 months in prison

Janette M. Breckenridge

33

Columbus, Ohio

48 months in prison

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced the guilty plea offered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Whitehall Police Department assisted in the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate is representing the United States in this case.

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CINCINNATI – Federal agents arrested a Cincinnati man today on charges alleging he sexually trafficked and exploited two teenage girls.

Kelly Richards, 42, appeared in federal court in Cincinnati at 1:30pm today. His case was unsealed at that time.

Richards is also known as “Scorpio” and has a tattoo of a scorpion on the left side of his face.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, investigators were alerted in March 2023 that two juveniles had been screened as potential sex trafficking victims.

It is alleged that Richards picked up two minor victims who had fled a group home in Dayton and drove them to an apartment complex in Cincinnati. At the apartment, Richards allegedly provided the minors with cocaine before sexually assaulting them.

Richards also allegedly enticed the females into having sex with other men for money that was paid to Richards. It is alleged the defendant created prostitution advertisements online with explicit pictures of the minor victims and used physical violence against them. According to the affidavit, one victim was prostituted up to four times per day in hotels and homes.

Sexually exploiting children is a federal crime punishable by a range of 15 to 30 years in prison. Sex trafficking children carries a potential penalty of at least 10 years and up to life in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and other members of the FBI’s Anti-Trafficking Task Force announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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CINCINNATI – In honor of this week as National Police Week, U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker recognizes the service and sacrifice of all law enforcement officers in the Southern District of Ohio.

“I ask the public to join me in thanking the many men and women of law enforcement who nobly and honorably serve their profession and communities,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “Our law enforcement officers are public servants, who are tasked with serving our communities knowing their commitment to do so could cost them their lives.  They have taken a solemn oath to protect us with the same vigor that they would their own families.”

In 1962, President Kennedy issued the first proclamation for Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week to remember and honor law enforcement officers for their service and sacrifices. Peace Officers Memorial Day, which every year falls on May 15, specifically honors law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. 

Each year, hundreds of names of officers killed in the line of duty are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. These names are then read aloud during the annual Candlelight Vigil to memorialize those who made the ultimate sacrifice. This year marked the 35th Annual Candlelight Vigil.

At this year’s candlelight vigil, Clark County Deputy Matthew Eugene Yates’s name was read aloud. Deputy Yates was killed in the line of duty on July 24, 2022.

The schedule of National Police Week events is available on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial website.

You can view U.S. Attorney Parker’s entire message to law enforcement officers on the Southern District of Ohio’s Facebook page.

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CINCINNATI – Marcus Hawkins, 35, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 12 months and one day in prison for COVID-19 relief fraud.

As part of his conviction, Hawkins will pay $60,000 in restitution to the Small Business Administration.

According to court documents, Hawkins applied for several loans in July 2020 under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, which was expanded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide payments for businesses temporarily experiencing a loss due to the pandemic.

At the time, Hawkins was self-employed, occasionally doing business as DSR Studio or DSR Studios.

In one application, Hawkins claimed his business – DSR Studio – was in the agriculture industry and employed 10 workers.

Less than three weeks later, Hawkins submitted another false application, claiming his business – DSR Studios – was in the entertainment services industry and employed five workers. In reality, Hawkins did not have any employees. In both applications, Hawkins fraudulently inflated the gross revenues of the business.

The Small Business Administration initially funded an advance in the amount of $10,000 for the business, but later determined the applications were duplicative and likely fraudulent and declined to fund the requested loan amounts. Hawkins also fraudulently applied for a loan under the entity name Road Runner Development LLC and received $50,000.

Hawkins pleaded guilty in July 2022 to making false statements to the federal government.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and other members of the Financial Crimes Working Group Pandemic Fraud Committee announced the sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Susan J. Dlott. Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo is representing the United States in this case.

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