Southern District of Ohio

DAYTON, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged two Daytonians with federal crimes related to identity fraud, aggravated identity theft, theft of U.S. mail, Social Security fraud and access device fraud. The defendants allegedly conspired to steal checks, credit cards, debit cards, bank account information and Social Security numbers to enrich themselves.

Myrtle Lynn “Mi Mi” Jackson, 38, and Joshua Dylan “Jo Jo” Chapman, 29, each appeared in federal court today, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter B. Silvain, Jr. ordered them both detained pending trial. The case has been assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose.

According to the 17-count indictment returned on May 11, the defendants stole victims’ personal information from occupied and unoccupied residences, vehicles and mailboxes. Jackson and Chapman then allegedly used stolen credit cards, debit cards and checks to illicitly acquire cash, drugs, and other goods and services.

The charging document alleges the co-conspirators used victims’ information to fraudulently apply for personal loans, student loans, unemployment benefits, credit cards, debit cards and checks.

Jackson and Chapman allegedly used the proceeds of their fraud scheme to buy illicit drugs and make purchases at Walmart, Dollar General, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Lees Famous Chicken. It is alleged the fraudulent funds were also used to pay for motel rooms and for gambling activities at a casino in Dayton.

No trial date has been set yet.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the charges and commended the investigation of the United States Secret Service and Dayton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Dwight K. Keller is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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CINCINNATI – A political and media consultant pleaded guilty in federal court today to wire fraud and falsification of records related to the embezzlement of more than $1.4 million from a United States Congressional campaign.

A bill of information was filed on April 27 charging James R. Schwartz II, 41, of Cincinnati.

According to court documents, from approximately 2011 through 2019, Schwartz worked as a consultant on behalf of a Congressional campaign through his companies Fountain Square Group LLC and Prime Media LLC. Schwartz also served as the de facto treasurer for the campaign.

The plea document details that Schwartz embezzled funds from the Congressional campaign by writing checks to himself and his companies from the campaign that were for more money than he and his companies had actually earned. He allegedly concealed the embezzled funds by misrepresenting the amounts paid to him and his companies in reports to the Federal Election Commission. It is alleged that Schwartz fabricated bank statements and other documents in submissions to the Federal Election Commission in order to conceal his embezzling.

Committing wire fraud and falsifying records in a federal investigation are crimes punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew C. Singer is representing the United States in this case.

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CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has indicted 11 people, including seven from Cincinnati, for engaging in an international conspiracy to distribute the deadly drug fentanyl.

“These charges disrupt an alleged fentanyl pipeline that stretched from a source cartel in Mexico, through California and Arizona and onto the streets of Cincinnati,” Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel said. “We hope this investigation saved countless lives by preventing fentanyl from reaching our community’s streets.”

A 29-year-old Cincinnati man, Tyree Cushan Yisrael, was the final defendant to be arrested today.

Local and federal investigations started in 2019 and included the DEA Cincinnati field office, the FBI and the Hamilton County Regional Enforcement Narcotics Unit (RENU). Gilberto Ojeda-Avila of Tolleson, Arizona, was believed to be a source of supply who helped coordinate the transport of illicit drugs from Arizona to local distributors in the Cincinnati area, including Kenneth Green and Richard Sommerville.

On Memorial Day weekend in 2020, investigators stopped cars driven by Georgina Tapia-Llamas and Nancy Osorio-Duarte in Cincinnati and allegedly found more than four kilograms of fentanyl hidden in the front bumper and wheel wells of the car driven by Osorio-Duarte.

Further investigation helped identify several alleged prolific Cincinnati distributors. Execution of search warrants at several locations in the Cincinnati area last October and November resulted in the seizure of more than 13 additional kilograms of fentanyl, at least 17 guns and more than $1 million in alleged drug proceeds.

The fentanyl seized was allegedly being sold for approximately $65,000 per kilogram, giving the quantity of drugs in this case an estimated street value of at least $1.1 million.

“Fentanyl can be 50 times more potent than heroin and has claimed far too many lives, not just here in Southern Ohio, but across the nation,” said Cincinnati District Office Special Agent in Charge Keith Martin. “Through the cooperation between law enforcement entities, we were able to halt the distribution of a significant amount of this potentially deadly substance and thwart an allegedly major drug trafficking organization.”

The final indictment was returned on March 31, 2021.

The indictment charges the following with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance:

Name

Age

City of residence

Gilberto Ojeda-Avila

24

Tolleson, Arizona

Georgina Tapia-Llamas

43

Tolleson, Arizona

Selma Valenzuela-Garibaldi

41

Phoenix

Kenneth Eugene Green

56

Cincinnati

Richard Charles Sommerville II

37

Cincinnati

Gabriel Thomas

36

Cincinnati

Nancy Osorio-Duarte

41

Phoenix

Tyree Cushan Yisrael

29

Cincinnati

Antonio Lamont Brumfield

22

Cincinnati

Chavez Foggie

23

Cincinnati

Isis Allen

29

Cincinnati

Each of the defendants is charged in a narcotics conspiracy punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison.

“The FBI is proud to have worked alongside our federal and local partners to bring to justice those who harm our communities by distributing this deadly drug,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman. “We remain committed to getting fentanyl, and those who distribute it, off the streets.”

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Keith Martin, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Weinhold is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged Paul Eberhard, 64, of Shelbyville, Indiana, with crimes related to illegally dealing in fireworks.

The investigation began after the July 4, 2020, death of a Mt. Healthy man. According to reports, the man died after being struck in the head by a fireworks explosive. The Hamilton County Bomb Squad confiscated fireworks from the scene.

According to the indictment, between 2018 and 2020, Eberhard illegally sold display fireworks. He is charged with two federal crimes: dealing in explosive materials without a license and distributing explosive materials to a person without a permit or license. Each crime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Display fireworks are large fireworks designed primarily to produce visible or audible effects by combustion, deflagration or detonation. Display fireworks contain more than 50 milligrams of flash powder for ground devices, and more than 130 milligrams of flash powder for aerial explosives. Under federal law, a person must have an ATF license or permit to receive or use display fireworks. Individuals with only a permit, like Eberhard, are prohibited from selling or distributing display fireworks.

Eberhard’s case was unsealed this afternoon during his initial appearance in federal court.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), announced the charges and commended the work of the Mount Healthy, North College Hill and Shelbyville police departments, the sheriff’s office bomb squads from Hamilton and Butler counties, and the Hamilton County Coroner. Assistant United States Attorney Megan Gaffney Painter is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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An Indiana man pleaded guilty today to three felony counts of illegally harvesting American paddlefish and its roe.

According to court documents, on three separate days in December 2015 and February 2016, Joseph R. Schigur, a licensed commercial fisherman, and his deckhand, harvested 96 American paddlefish from the Ohio waters of the Ohio River that he knew were closed to commercial fishing. After capturing the paddlefish using gill nets, Schigur transported each catch to his shop in English, Indiana, where the roe was extracted from the females and processed to make caviar and the carcasses were carved up into smaller portions, commonly referred to as “bullets.”  The caviar and bullets were then stored in freezers on site for future sale to out-of-state customers. Schigur’s three fishing trips resulted in approximately 1,400 pounds of fish meat and 72 pounds of caviar, most of which was sold to commercial vendors in New York City. To conceal his illegal harvests, Schigur falsified monthly reports of commercial fish harvest and daily roe harvest reports by claiming he caught the paddlefish in Kentucky waters.   

Schigur pleaded guilty to three felony counts of Lacey Act violation before the Honorable Judge Douglas R. Cole in the Southern District of Ohio. A sentencing date will be set upon completion of a presentence report. Schigur faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 criminal fine, and a possible order requiring restitution payable to the State of Ohio.   

Special agents of the Fish and Wildlife Services and law enforcement officers from both the Ohio and Indiana Department of Natural Resources investigated the case.

Trial Attorney R.J. Powers of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section (ECS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Clemmens of the Southern District of Ohio prosecuted the matter with the assistance of paralegal Samantha Goins of ECS.

DAYTON – A Miamisburg man was sentenced in federal court in Dayton today to 300 months in prison for attempting to coerce a minor while registered as a sex offender.

Steven Shawn Smith, 48, pleaded guilty to the crime in January 2021. 

According to court documents, Smith created nine online dating profiles with the names “Sammy” and “Shaw.” From April 2020 through October 2020, Smith communicated with an undercover FBI agent posing as a minor online and by text messages. Smith requested nude images from the undercover agent on multiple occasions. The defendant also sent images of his nude genitalia to the undercover agent.

In one communication, when the undercover agent refused to send nude photos, Smith said, “I know that you don’t want to send me those pictures but I was hoping that you would understand just how much it would mean to me and how close it would bring us.”

Court documents detail that Smith discussed meeting with the purported minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and sent the officer $75 via Cash App so that the purported minor could buy a one-way bus ticket to Ohio. Smith was arrested in October 2020, shortly after sending the money to the undercover agent.

In addition to communicating with the undercover agent, Smith messaged more than 170 other online users who identified themselves as minors. He received sexually explicit images from at least 21 of the purported minors and sent nude images of himself to at least 70 users.

Smith was convicted in 1994 in Athens County Common Pleas Court of one count of rape of a child, and as a result, is required to register as a sex offender.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant Deputy Criminal Chief Laura I. Clemmens and Assistant United States Attorney Rob Painter are representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged six individuals with selling liquid psychedelic mushrooms online to customers all over the country, including at least one identified customer in Columbus, Ohio.

The six defendants were charged by criminal complaint in April with attempting and conspiring to manufacture, distribute and dispense controlled substances using cryptocurrencies via the dark web. The group was allegedly orchestrating millions of dollars of online drug sales.

In the indictment filed today, the defendants are charged with one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute a psychedelic mushroom analogue. Each of the defendants faces up to 20 years in prison.

According to court documents, between November 2013 and April 2021, co-conspirators sold liquid psychedelic mushrooms in nine milligram vials for approximately $20 each on the darknet through the moniker TRIPWITHSCIENCE.

In this case, the government seeks to forfeit the profits of the alleged drug scheme, as well as a 2016 Tesla Model-X Wagon and land in Brighton, Colorado valued at more than $1.5 million.

Those charged include:

Name

Age

Residence

James Verl Barlow

44

Las Vegas

Matthew Taylor Barlow

35

Murray, Utah

Ronald Royal Edward Brust

45

Las Vegas

Jennifer Helen Campbell

42

Murray, Utah

Monet L. Carriere

32

Las Vegas

Tony Du Phan

44

Memphis, Tenn.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Lisa B. Mendelsohn, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation;  Keith Martin, Special Agent in Charge, DEA; Vance Callender, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Lesley C. Allison, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); and Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin announced the charges. The case was investigated by the South-Central Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Cyber Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Hunter is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A prior sex offender who was on parole supervision at the time of his latest offense was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 186 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for attempting to sexually coerce a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

According to court documents, in May 2020, officers with the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force were conducting undercover online chats to identify individuals who were attempting to solicit and engage in illegal sexual activity with minors.

An officer posing as a juvenile on a social media application received a message from Larry Richard Dickerson, 56, and the two became in regular contact. Dickerson requested nude photos of the purported teenager. In one instance, he asked her to send a shirtless picture with the name “Rick” written across her chest so that he could be sure she was not a “cop.”

In a phone call with the undercover officer, Dickerson asked numerous questions about the supposed 15-year-old’s sexual history and preferences. The defendant asked the undercover officer to describe what her pubic region looked like. The two made a plan to meet to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Dickerson and the officer decided to meet first in public before going somewhere private to engage in sex. Law enforcement observed Dickerson arrive at the designated meeting place and he was subsequently arrested.

Dickerson has two prior child sex offense convictions. In 2002, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison in the District of South Carolina on a child pornography charge. In 2018, he was convicted in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas with three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, based on his communications with a 13-year-old girl via MeetMe, and his subsequent meeting with and sexual abuse of the child.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and Franklin County ICAC partnering agencies announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Senior Litigation Counsel Heather A. Hill is representing the United States in this case.

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CINCINNATI – A Mexican citizen was arrested in Warren County this morning on federal charges claiming he stole the identity of a disabled United States veteran.

Fernando Arroyo-Alonso, 58, appeared in federal court this afternoon. He is charged by criminal complaint with false representation of a Social Security number.

According to court documents, in May 2019, Arroyo-Alonso submitted an online application for Title XVI Supplemental Security Income benefits using the identity of a disabled veteran who also receives Title XVI Supplemental Security Income and Veterans Affairs benefits.

The defendant allegedly used the victim’s identity, date of birth and Social Security number to obtain an Ohio driver’s license in the victim’s name. In actuality, the victim does not reside in Ohio.

Arroyo-Alonso allegedly obtained a criminal record while using the victim’s identity.

Using another person’s Social Security number is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Andrew Boockmeier, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), announced the charges. The U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Ohio BMV and the Hamilton Township Police assisted with this investigation. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Landry is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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华盛顿 — 俄亥俄一名与中国关系密切的风湿病学教授和研究员因向联邦政府作虚假陈述而入狱 37 个月。这是其在免疫学研究实施欺诈计划的一部分。作为判决的一部分，郑也被勒令向国立卫生研究院（NIH）支付 340 多万美元的赔偿金以及向俄亥俄州立大学支付约 41.3 万美元的赔偿金。 

来自希里厄德现年 58 岁的郑颂国在 2020 年 5 月 22 日星期五乘坐包机抵达阿拉斯加州安克雷奇后，在准备登上另一架飞往中国的包机时被捕。被捕时，郑随身携带三个大包、一个小手提箱和一个公文包，其中包括两台笔记本电脑、三部手机、数个 USB 驱动器、几根银条、其家人的过期中国护照、在中国的房产契约和其他物品。他被带回俄亥俄州南区并于 2020 年 7 月 7 日首次在哥伦布市出庭。 

郑于2020 年11 月认罪，并承认他在申请中说谎，以便利用NIH 提供的约410 万美元资金发展中国在风湿病学和免疫学领域的专业水平。

这是又一起涉及中国政府千人计划的案件。郑选择说谎并向美国研究资助机构隐瞒自己参与这项计划，他将在联邦监狱中度过未来的 25 个月。” 负责国家安全事务的助理司法部长约翰•德梅斯（John C. Demers）还表示： "联邦研究经费是由美国纳税人为美国社会的利益提供的，而不是送给中国政府的非法礼物。”“当联邦资金用于研究时，因向美国人民做到完全透明，我们将继续追究那些选择谎报外国政府关系，以欺诈为目的获取资金的人的责任。”

联邦调查局反情报司助理主任艾伦·科勒（Alan E. Kohler Jr.）表示: “多年来，被告隐瞒参与中国政府人才招聘计划，避而不谈自己与中国至少五家研究机构的关系。郑贪婪地占用联邦研究经费，导致他人无法获得关键且对医学进步有支持作用的研究资助。联邦调查
局将继续追捕这些人，无论天涯海角，即便是在午夜阿拉斯加的飞机上。”

“我们希望对郑的判决能阻止其他人与中国所谓的 ‘千人计划 ’或任何相关项目有任何联系。”美国代理联邦检察官俄亥俄州南区, 维帕尔·帕特尔（Vipal J. Patel）表示：“盗亦有道，但应外国政府要求齐力窃取我国的创新和技术而实行盗窃，闻所未闻，无以复加。”

联邦调查局辛辛那提探员主管克里斯·霍夫曼 (Chris Hoffman) 说：“郑今天判决实锤来自中国政府的持续威胁即窃取美国纳税人资助的研究。郑未能披露其外国资金和支持，破坏了信任原则，损害了美国人民赋予我们研究机构的信誉，同时也触碰了美国学术体系的核心价值底线即公开性和透明化。此次判刑应起到威慑作用，也凸显出联邦调查局保护我国的研究和技术的决心。 美国联邦调查局承诺将继续长期与伙伴合作，对那些不守诚信的人进行调查，因为他们使美国大学正在从事的高端工作陷入阴霾。”

美国卫生与公众服务部芝加哥地区监察长办公室的探员主管拉蒙特·普格三世（Lamont Pugh III）表示：“在寻求国立卫生研究院的拨款资金时，报告潜在的利益冲突对于确保公众对所开展的研究及其利用方式的信任至关重要。”“作出虚假陈述以掩盖潜在的利益冲突违反了这种信任和法律。”监察长办公室致力于查明和调查个人蓄意不报或伪造有关其研究支持来源的信息以确保纳税人的钱用之得当。

据法庭文件显示，郑曾是一名内科教授，曾经领导俄亥俄州立大学和宾夕法尼亚州立大学的小组进行自体免疫研究。根据他的认罪，郑为隐瞒其参与中国人才计划，以及他与中国政府控制的中国大学的联系和合作，在 NIH 的赠款申请中提供了虚假和误导性陈述。

法庭文件也显示，自 2013 年以来，郑一直在参与一项中国人才计划，该计划由中国政府设立，旨在招募具备知识或外国技术知识产权的个人。从那时起，郑就开始利用在美国进行的研究为中国谋利。郑即没有向其美国雇主也没有向国立卫生研究院披露利益冲突或他对外国的承诺。

美国代理联邦检察官帕特尔感谢了联邦调查局安克雷奇分局的协助。他们逮捕并问询了郑，在郑被拘留期间执行了多次法院命令。帕特尔也感谢了美国阿拉斯加地区检察官办公室的帮助。

该案由联邦调查局与卫生和公共服务部监察长办公室调查。美国助理检察官道格拉斯·斯奎尔斯（Douglas W. Squires）和 S.费特·希米尔 (S. Courter Shimeall) 、美国特别助理检察官克里斯托弗·圣皮埃尔和国家安全司反情报和出口管制科庭审律师马修·麦肯齐代表美国处理此案。美国地区首席法官阿尔格农·马布尔利 Algenon L. Marbley 于今日宣判

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A rheumatology professor and researcher with strong ties to China was sentenced to 37 months in prison for making false statements to federal authorities as part of an immunology research fraud scheme.

As part of his sentence, Song Guo Zheng, 58, of Hilliard, was also ordered to pay more than $3.4 million in restitution to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and approximately $413,000 to The Ohio State University.

Zheng was arrested Friday, May 22, 2020, after he arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, aboard a charter flight and as he prepared to board another charter flight to China. 

When he was arrested, Zheng was carrying three large bags, one small suitcase and a briefcase containing two laptops, three cell phones, several USB drives, several silver bars, expired Chinese passports for his family, deeds for property in China and other items.

He was transported to the Southern District of Ohio and made his first federal court appearance in Columbus on July 7, 2020.

Zheng pleaded guilty in November 2020 and admitted he lied on applications in order to use approximately $4.1 million in grants from NIH to develop China’s expertise in the areas of rheumatology and immunology.

Zheng was a professor of internal medicine who led a team conducting autoimmune research at The Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State University. According to his plea, Zheng caused materially false and misleading statements on NIH grant applications, seeking to hide his participation in Chinese Talent Plans and his affiliation and collaboration with a Chinese university controlled by the Chinese government.

“In yet another case involving the Chinese Government’s Thousand Talents program, Song Guo Zheng will spend the next 37 months in a federal prison because he chose to lie and hide his involvement in this program from U.S. research funding agencies,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “American research funding is provided by the American taxpayer for the benefit of American society—not as an illicit gift to the Chinese Government.  The American people deserve total transparency when federal dollars are being provided for research, and we will continue to hold accountable those who choose to lie about their foreign government affiliations in an attempt to fraudulently gain access to these funds.”

“For years the defendant concealed his participation in Chinese government talent recruitment programs, hiding his affiliations with at least five research institutions in China," said Alan E. Kohler, Jr., Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. "Zheng greedily took federal research dollars and prevented others from receiving funding for critical research in support of medical advances. The FBI will continue to pursue people wherever they may be, even on a plane, in Alaska, in the middle of the night.”

“We hope Zheng’s prison sentence deters others from having anything to do with China’s so-called ‘1000 Talents Plan’ or any of its variations, said Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel. “Stealing is stealing, but stealing at the behest of a foreign government’s concerted effort to pilfer our nation’s innovations and technology takes things to a new and significantly worse level.”

“Zheng’s sentencing today is a recognition of the constant threat posed by the Chinese government to steal research funded by American taxpayers,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman. “Zheng’s failure to disclose his foreign funding and support damages the trust and undermines the credibility the American people place in U.S. research, while abusing the openness and transparency that is a core value of U.S. academia. This sentence should serve as a deterrent and underscores the FBI’s commitment to work with our partners to investigate individual’s whose actions throw a cloud over the cutting-edge work being done at U.S. universities.”

“Reporting potential conflicts of interest when seeking grant funding from the National Institutes of Health is imperative in ensuring the public’s trust in the research being conducted and how it is utilized,” said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Chicago Region. “Making false statements to conceal potential conflicts violates that trust and the law. The OIG is committed to identifying and investigating instances where individuals intentionally fail to report or falsify information regarding their sources of research support in order to ensure the proper use of taxpayer dollars.”

According to court documents, since 2013, Zheng had been participating in a Chinese Talent Plan, a program established by the Chinese government to recruit individuals with knowledge or access to foreign technology intellectual property. Since that time, Zheng used research conducted in the United States to benefit the People’s Republic of China. Zheng failed to disclose conflicts of interest or his foreign commitments to his American employers or to the NIH.

Acting U.S. Attorney Patel acknowledged the assistance of the Anchorage FBI Division who arrested Zheng, interviewed him and executed multiple warrants while he was detained, and the assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Douglas W. Squires and S. Courter Shimeall, Special Assistant United States Attorney Christopher N. St. Pierre, and Trial Attorney Matthew J. McKenzie with the Department of Justice’s National Security Division are representing the United States in this case. Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley imposed the sentence today.

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WASHINGTON – An Ohio man and rheumatology professor and researcher with strong ties to China was sentenced to 37 months in prison for making false statements to federal authorities as part of an immunology research fraud scheme. As part of his sentence, Zheng was also ordered to pay more than $3.4 million in restitution to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and approximately $413,000 to The Ohio State University.

Song Guo Zheng, 58, of Hilliard, was arrested Friday, May 22, 2020, after he arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, aboard a charter flight and as he prepared to board another charter flight in order to flee to China. He was carrying three large bags, one small suitcase and a briefcase containing two laptops, three cell phones, several USB drives, several silver bars, expired Chinese passports for his family, deeds for property in China and other items. He was transported to the Southern District of Ohio and made his first federal court appearance in Columbus last July.

Zheng pleaded guilty last November and admitted he lied on applications in order to use approximately $4.1 million in grants from NIH to develop China’s expertise in the areas of rheumatology and immunology.

“In yet another case involving the Chinese government’s Thousand Talents program, Song Guo Zheng will spend the next 37 months in a federal prison because he chose to lie and hide his involvement in this program from U.S. research funding agencies,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “American research funding is provided by the American taxpayer for the benefit of American society — not as an illicit gift to the Chinese government. The American people deserve total transparency when federal dollars are being provided for research, and we will continue to hold accountable those who choose to lie about their foreign government affiliations in an attempt to fraudulently gain access to these funds.”

“For years the defendant concealed his participation in Chinese government talent recruitment programs, hiding his affiliations with at least five research institutions in China,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “Zheng greedily took federal research dollars and prevented others from receiving funding for critical research in support of medical advances. The FBI will continue to pursue people wherever they may be, even on a plane, in Alaska, in the middle of the night.”

“We hope Zheng’s prison sentence deters others from having anything to do with China’s so-called ‘1000 Talents Plan’ or any of its variations,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel for the Southern District of Ohio. “Stealing is stealing but stealing at the behest of a foreign government’s concerted effort to pilfer our nation’s innovations and technology takes things to a new and significantly worse level.”

“Zheng’s sentencing today is a recognition of the constant threat posed by the Chinese government to steal research funded by American taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman for the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office. “Zheng’s failure to disclose his foreign funding and support damages the trust and undermines the credibility the American people place in U.S. research, while abusing the openness and transparency that is a core value of U.S. academia. This sentence should serve as a deterrent and underscores the FBI’s commitment to work with our partners to investigate individual’s whose actions throw a cloud over the cutting-edge work being done at U.S. universities.”

“Reporting potential conflicts of interest when seeking grant funding from the National Institutes of Health is imperative in ensuring the public’s trust in the research being conducted and how it is utilized,” said Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, Chicago Region. “Making false statements to conceal potential conflicts violates that trust and the law. The OIG is committed to identifying and investigating instances where individuals intentionally fail to report or falsify information regarding their sources of research support in order to ensure the proper use of taxpayer dollars.”

According to court documents, Zheng was a professor of internal medicine who led a team conducting autoimmune research at The Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State University. According to his plea, Zheng caused materially false and misleading statements on NIH grant applications, seeking to hide his participation in Chinese Talent Plans and his affiliation and collaboration with a Chinese university controlled by the Chinese government.

According to court documents, since 2013, Zheng had been participating in a Chinese Talent Plan, a program established by the Chinese government to recruit individuals with knowledge or access to foreign technology intellectual property. Since that time, Zheng used research conducted in the United States to benefit the People’s Republic of China. Zheng failed to disclose conflicts of interest or his foreign commitments to his American employers or to the NIH.

Acting U.S. Attorney Patel acknowledged the assistance of the Anchorage FBI Division who arrested Zheng, interviewed him and executed multiple warrants while he was detained, and the assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas W. Squires and S. Courter Shimeall, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher N. St. Pierre, and Trial Attorney Matthew J. McKenzie with NSD’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are representing the United States in this case. Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley imposed the sentence today.

View this press release in Mandarin 

DAYTON – In honor of National Police Week, Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel recognizes the service and sacrifice of federal, state, and local law enforcement. This year, the week is observed Sunday, May 9 through Saturday, May 15, 2021.

“We join the nation in honoring the selfless men and women who sacrificed their lives or were injured in the line of duty. To them, we owe our deepest gratitude and respect,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Patel.

Each year, during National Police Week, our nation celebrates the contributions of law enforcement from around the country, recognizing their hard work, dedication, loyalty and commitment to keeping our communities safe. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted law enforcement officers’ courage and unwavering devotion to the communities that they have sworn to serve.

During the Roll Call of Heroes, a ceremony coordinated by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), more than 300 officers will be honored. Based on data submitted to and analyzed by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), of the law enforcement officers who died nationwide in the line of duty in 2020, nearly 60% succumbed to COVID-19.

Additionally, according to statistics reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the Law Enforcement Officer Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program, 46 law enforcement officers died as a result of felonious acts and 47 died in accidents in 2020. LEOKA statistics can be found on FBI’s Crime Data Explorer website.

“Today, with heavy hearts, we join the nation and our law enforcement partners as we pay tribute to fallen heroes whose names will be read during a virtual candlelight vigil – including Kaia Grant and Adam McMillen of the Southern District of Ohio – who were killed in the line of duty in 2020. And we continue to honor Dayton detective and DEA task force officer Jorge Del Rio, who was killed in the line of duty in 2019,” Patel said.

Those who wish to view the Virtual Candlelight Vigil today, can watch on the NLEOMF YouTube channel found at https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNLEOMF. The FOP’s Roll Call of Heroes can be viewed at www.fop.net. To view the schedule of virtual Police Week events in May, please view NLEOMF’s Police Week Flyer.   

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CINCINNATI, OHIO – Ronald R. Geesner, 66, of Cincinnati, Ohio pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to providing a false statement to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to court documents, since March 2017 Geesner has served as the in-house accountant/bookkeeper at two Cincinnati businesses. When questioned about his role as the internal accountant/bookkeeper of the businesses, Geesner lied to IRS agents to conceal his true earnings. As a result of his concealment the Social Security Administration (SSA) had paid Geesner $31,525 in SSA benefits to which he was not entitled.
False Statement or Representation to an Agency of the United States carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
“When bookkeepers and accountants are interacting with the IRS, it is important for them to provide accurate and honest information,” said Lisa B. Mendelsohn, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “Those who provide false information will be held accountable.”
Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Lisa B. Mendelsohn, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, announced the plea entered before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo and was investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Office of Inspector General, Social Security Administration.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – One of 19 defendants charged in a Columbus gang-related racketeering conspiracy pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today for his part in furthering the violence of the local Crips gang.

Jonathan Dantzler, 28, admitted to murdering a rival gang member and to shooting at a potential witness in 2012. He is one of 19 defendants charged in 2018 as part of the local gang T&A Crips.

T&A Crips derived its name from Trevitt and Atcheson streets in the King-Lincoln District of Columbus, where its members predominantly reside. T&A controlled the neighborhood through intimidation, fear and violence. Gang members were expected to retaliate with acts of violence when their members and associates were disrespected, threatened, intimidated or subjected to acts of violence.

Specifically, the co-conspirators in this case are charged with five murders:

the murder of Franky Tention on July 1, 2012, in the area of 431 Ellison Street;

the murder of William Moore on March 15, 2013;

the murder of Marvin Ector on December 23, 2013, on East 5th Avenue;

the murder of Quincy Story on January 24, 2015; and

the murder of Deaonte Fisher on March 4, 2016.

As part of his plea, Dantzler admitted to shooting Franky Tention in 2012. According to court documents, Dantzler shot at the victim because he was a member of the rival “Milo Bloods” gang and was driving into T&A territory in a “sign of disrespect.” 

Dantzler also discharged a firearm into the residence of a potential witness to intimidate her from cooperating with law enforcement authorities.

Parties involved in Dantzler’s case have recommended a sentence of 30 years in prison. The defendant is currently serving multiple life sentences at the local level for separate murder convictions.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Columbus Interim Police Chief Michael Woods; and United States Marshal Pete Tobin announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin W. Kelley and Noah R. Litton are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

DAYTON – A Kettering man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 30 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a pipe bomb.

Michael J. Rhea, 27, pleaded guilty in February 2021 to possessing an unregistered explosive device and to illegally possessing the explosive device as a frequent user of controlled substances.

According to court documents, in March 2020, officers with the Kettering Police Department encountered Rhea, who had a warrant out for his arrest. Officers explained to Rhea that he was going to be detained and discovered three methamphetamine pipes and a pipe bomb on Rhea and in his vehicle.

The Dayton Police Department’s Regional Bomb Squad was called to the scene and safely removed the pipe bomb, which had a protruding fuse and was filled with powder and BBs.

During a prior arrest, Rhea told law enforcement he uses methamphetamine daily.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Dayton Police Chief Richard S. Biehl and Kettering Police Chief Christopher N. Protsman announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant United States Attorney Dwight K. Keller and Deputy Criminal Chief Dominick S. Gerace are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Shawn R. Marshall, 40, formerly of Akron, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 46 months in prison for mailing threatening communications from prison.

In 2016, Marshall was incarcerated with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in Lucasville, Ohio, serving a 16-year sentence for rape and kidnapping.

According to court documents, in April 2016, Marshall mailed a letter to a judge in Hamilton, Ohio, which contained the following threat: “In the name of Allah, I am going to hunt you down and cut your f***ing head off.” The letter was signed, “ISIS.”

In June 2016, Marshall mailed a second threatening letter, this time to the Ohio Supreme Court, threatening to rape the female justices on the Court. Marshall included a drawing of an anarchist symbol that matches a tattoo on his chest, and also put bodily fluids wrapped in plastic in the envelope to help identify himself and make the threat more credible. DNA testing confirmed the bodily fluids belonged to Marshall.

During law enforcement interviews, Marshall also admitted to sending threats to media outlets in Dayton and Cincinnati. Additionally, he admitted sending a letter to a Cleveland, Ohio, courthouse that included a mouse head.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant Deputy Criminal Chief Jessica W. Knight is representing the United States in this case.

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged two Cincinnati men with using a firearm to commit a murder during the commission of a crime of violence.

Jordan Wimberly, 32, and Ryan Carter, 28, allegedly killed Lerois Harris during a robbery on January 29, 2015.

Wimberly was transferred into federal custody from state incarceration on March 12, 2021; on March 18, 2021, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie K. Bowman ordered him detained pending trial. Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Cincinnati Police officers arrested Carter yesterday. He appeared in federal court at 1:30pm today, and his case was unsealed at that time. 

A conviction for killing someone with a firearm during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and is punishable by up to life in prison or the death penalty.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley N. Brucato and Julie D. Garcia are representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

DAYTON – Samuel Hayes, 61, of Dayton, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to armed bank robbery and using a firearm during a crime of violence.

The parties involved in Hayes’s case have recommended a sentence of 141 months in prison.

According to court documents, on Jan. 11, 2020, Hayes robbed a credit union at gunpoint. Hayes entered the Universal One Federal Credit Union on Harshman Road in Dayton and pointed the firearm directly at credit union tellers and customers. Hayes stole $3,770 during the robbery.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 3.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant United States Attorney Dwight K. Keller is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged a Sardinia, Ohio, woman with stealing more than $700,000 from the family-owned business for which she worked.

Tina Coday-Townes, 48, was arrested by federal agents today and appeared in federal court in Cincinnati at 1:30pm. Her case was unsealed at her initial appearance.

According to court documents, Coday-Townes previously served as the office manager for Custom Built Crates in Clermont County. In that role, the defendant was responsible for accounts payable and bookkeeping, including inputting and sending data to a third-party payroll company.

The indictment alleges that from 2013 until 2019, Coday-Townes wrote checks using an employers’ signature stamp from Custom Built Crates’ operating accounts to pay off her personal credit cards. She also allegedly made false entries into the accounting database, indicating the checks were to vendors rather than to her personal credit cards.

Coday-Townes also allegedly entered overtime hours for herself, even though she was ineligible for overtime as a salaried employee.

In total, it is alleged the defendant stole $700,666.21 from her employee over the course of six years.

Coday-Townes is charged with wire fraud, a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and aggravated identity theft, which carries an additional mandatory sentence of two years in prison.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley N. Brucato is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

DAYTON – A Dayton man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 150 months in prison for using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, carjacking and conspiring to commit carjacking.

A. Philip Thomas Christian Daugherty, 26, also known as “Fetty Too Federal,” pleaded guilty to the carjacking crimes but contested the firearm charge. Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose found Daugherty guilty of the firearm charge following a bench trial.

Daugherty appeared in court for his final bench trial session on June 17, 2020, and fled from the federal courthouse after having his bond revoked and being told to turn himself in to the United States Marshals.

He was a fugitive for more than four months until he was apprehended in October 2020 in a private residence in Columbus by the U.S. Marshals Service’s special fugitive apprehension team (SOFAST).

According to court documents and trial testimony, Daugherty was one of four co-conspirators convicted federally for taking part in an armed, violent carjacking in Dayton on July 6, 2018.

Daugherty was originally indicted by a grand jury in November 2018 and pleaded guilty to the carjacking crimes prior to his bench trial on the gun charge.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose. Assistant United States Attorney Dwight K. Keller is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

DAYTON – Three Dayton men have admitted in federal court that they conspired to steal 58 firearms from Target World in Sharonville in June 2018.

Lamont Hancock, 22, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Dayton yesterday afternoon. Miyauhn Vineyard, 21, pleaded guilty in January 2021 and Michael Sanford, 26, pleaded guilty in February 2021.

According to court documents, on June 17, 2018, the co-conspirators parked in an adjacent parking lot and cut off an exterior door lock to the store. The individuals then smashed display cases in the retail area of the store and stole 58 firearms.

Two days later, the ATF recovered 10 of the firearms through a third-party sale.

Each of the defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal firearms from a federal firearms licensee, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Saunders and Deputy Criminal Chief Dominick S. Gerace are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

DAYTON – Jamichael Thompson, 28, of Dayton, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 78 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on Aug. 5, 2019, FBI Task Force officers discovered two firearms in Thompson’s car during a probable cause search.

Thompson possessed an AR-15 with 29 rounds of ammunition and a stolen 9mm pistol.

Thompson has a previous federal conviction for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. He was convicted of the same crime in December 2017.

The defendant pleaded guilty in this case in February 2021.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) announced the sentence imposed yesterday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth R. Rabe and Assistant Deputy Criminal Chief Laura I. Clemmens are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A political and media consultant has been charged federally with wire fraud and falsification of records related to the embezzlement of more than $1.4 million from a United States Congressional campaign.

A bill of information was filed today against James R. Schwartz II, 41, of Cincinnati. The United States also filed a plea document in this case today, which will be considered by the court at a future plea hearing.

According to court documents, from approximately 2011 through 2019, Schwartz worked as a consultant on behalf of a Congressional campaign through his companies Fountain Square Group LLC and Prime Media LLC. Schwartz also served as the de facto treasurer for the campaign.

The bill of information details that Schwartz embezzled funds from the Congressional campaign by writing checks to himself and his companies from the campaign that were for more money than he and his companies had actually earned. He allegedly concealed the embezzled funds by misrepresenting the amounts paid to him and his companies in reports to the Federal Election Commission. It is alleged that Schwartz fabricated bank statements and other documents in submissions to the Federal Election Commission in order to conceal his embezzling.

Committing wire fraud and falsifying records in a federal investigation are crimes punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew C. Singer is representing the United States in this case.

A bill of information is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged James David Hampton, 40, of London, Ohio, with 10 counts of making online threats to individuals connected with a non-profit organization whose mission is to help people access safe abortions.

According to the indictment, on Aug. 26, 2020, Hampton searched “Abortion Support Network” on Facebook and commented on the ASN page, in part, “we kill scum like you…we follow you…we stalk you…then we kill you” and “there will be no pity when I myself stand over your cowering body as you beg and weep for your own life…just before I cut your throat.”

Hampton allegedly added, “we know where you live..your routines..we kidnap your kind…we torture you for information.”

The indictment details that Hampton allegedly made 10 separate, explicit threats to individuals online.

Hampton appeared in federal court today to be arraigned on the indictment charges.

Transmitting threats in interstate communication is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the charges. Assistant Deputy Criminal Chief Jessica W. Knight is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former Dublin, Ohio man was sentenced  to 33 months in prison for conspiring to steal exosome-related trade secrets concerning the research, identification and treatment of a range of pediatric medical conditions.

Yu Zhou, 51, pleaded guilty in December 2020 to stealing scientific trade secrets related to exosomes and exosome isolation from Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Research Institute for his own personal financial gain. Zhou also conspired to commit wire fraud.

“Yu Zhou sought to exploit U.S. taxpayer dollars intended to fund critical, life-saving research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital through the whole-sale theft of their trade secrets,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Zhou’s greed was encouraged and enabled by a series of Chinese Government programs which incentivize thievery in an attempt to supplement China’s own research and development goals on the back of American ingenuity and investment. This successful prosecution should serve as a warning to anyone who seeks to profit from pilfering hard-earned U.S. trade secrets.”

“Yu Zhou willingly took part in the Chinese Government’s long-term efforts to steal American intellectual property,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel for the Southern District of Ohio. “Zhou and his wife executed a scheme over the course of several years to set up businesses in China, steal American research, and profit from doing so. The couple deserves the time it received in federal prison.”

According to court documents, Zhou and his co-conspirator and wife, Li Chen, 48, worked in separate medical research labs at the Research Institute for 10 years each (Zhou from 2007 until 2017 and Chen from 2008 until 2018). They pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal at least five trade secrets related to exosome research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Chen was sentenced in February to 30 months in prison for her role in the scheme.

Exosomes play a key role in the research, identification and treatment of a range of medical conditions, including necrotizing enterocolitis (a condition found in premature babies), liver fibrosis and liver cancer.

Court documents detail that Zhou and Chen conspired to steal and then monetize one of the trade secrets by creating and selling exosome “isolation kits.” Zhou’s research at Nationwide Children’s included a novel isolation method in which exosomes could be isolated from samples as small as one drop of blood. This method was vital to the research being conducted in Zhou’s lab – because necrotizing enterocolitis is a condition found primarily in premature babies, only small amounts of fluid can safely be taken from them.

Zhou and Chen started a company in China to sell the kits.

The defendants received benefits from the Chinese government, including the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Zhou and Chen were also part of application processes related to multiple Chinese government programs, including talent plans, a method used by China to transfer foreign research and technology to the Chinese government.

As part of their convictions, the couple will forfeit approximately $1.45 million, 500,000 shares of common stock of Avalon GloboCare Corp. and 400 shares of common stock of GenExosome Technologies Inc. They were also ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution.

Chen and Zhou were arrested in California in July 2019 and their case was unsealed in August 2019 when they appeared in federal court in Columbus.

Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel for the Southern District of Ohio; Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the National Security Division; and Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman of the FBI's Cincinnati Division announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison.

National Security Division Trial Attorney Matthew J. McKenzie, Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall, Peter K. Glenn-Applegate, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous are representing the United States in this case.

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WASHINGTON – An Ohio man was sentenced yesterday to 33 months in prison for conspiring to steal exosome-related trade secrets concerning the research, identification and treatment of a range of pediatric medical conditions.

Yu Zhou, 51, of Dublin, Ohio, pleaded guilty in December 2020 to stealing scientific trade secrets related to exosomes and exosome isolation from Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Research Institute for his own personal financial gain. Zhou also conspired to commit wire fraud.

“Yu Zhou sought to exploit U.S. taxpayer dollars intended to fund critical, life-saving research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital through the whole-sale theft of their trade secrets,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Zhou’s greed was encouraged and enabled by a series of Chinese Government programs which incentivize thievery in an attempt to supplement China’s own research and development goals on the back of American ingenuity and investment. This successful prosecution should serve as a warning to anyone who seeks to profit from pilfering hard-earned U.S. trade secrets.”

“Yu Zhou willingly took part in the Chinese Government’s long-term efforts to steal American intellectual property,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel for the Southern District of Ohio. “Zhou and his wife executed a scheme over the course of several years to set up businesses in China, steal American research, and profit from doing so. The couple deserves the time it received in federal prison.”

According to court documents, Zhou and his co-conspirator and wife, Li Chen, 48, worked in separate medical research labs at the Research Institute for 10 years each (Zhou from 2007 until 2017 and Chen from 2008 until 2018). They pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal at least five trade secrets related to exosome research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Chen was sentenced in February to 30 months in prison for her role in the scheme.

Exosomes play a key role in the research, identification and treatment of a range of medical conditions, including necrotizing enterocolitis (a condition found in premature babies), liver fibrosis and liver cancer.

Court documents detail that Zhou and Chen conspired to steal and then monetize one of the trade secrets by creating and selling exosome “isolation kits.” Zhou’s research at Nationwide Children’s included a novel isolation method in which exosomes could be isolated from samples as small as one drop of blood. This method was vital to the research being conducted in Zhou’s lab – because necrotizing enterocolitis is a condition found primarily in premature babies, only small amounts of fluid can safely be taken from them.

Zhou and Chen started a company in China to sell the kits.

The defendants received benefits from the Chinese government, including the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Zhou and Chen were also part of application processes related to multiple Chinese government programs, including talent plans, a method used by China to transfer foreign research and technology to the Chinese government.

As part of their convictions, the couple will forfeit approximately $1.45 million, 500,000 shares of common stock of Avalon GloboCare Corp. and 400 shares of common stock of GenExosome Technologies Inc. They were also ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution.

Chen and Zhou were arrested in California in July 2019 and their case was unsealed in August 2019 when they appeared in federal court in Columbus.

Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel for the Southern District of Ohio; Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the National Security Division; and Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman of the FBI's Cincinnati Division announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison.

National Security Division Trial Attorney Matthew J. McKenzie, Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall, Peter K. Glenn-Applegate, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous are representing the United States in this case.

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged a Cincinnati man with impersonating a federal employee and making fake IDs claiming he was a Special Agent with Homeland Security and an employee of the Defense Logistics Agency, which is the Department of Defense’s combat logistics support agency.

David Lomache, 61, was arrested by federal agents on April 16 and his case was unsealed today. He is scheduled to appear in federal court for a detention hearing at 1:30pm on Wednesday. 

According to the indictment, Lomache fraudulently obtained a United States Federal Contractor badge in order to impersonate a civilian contractor technician for the Defense Logistics Agency.

In January of 2021, Lomache allegedly produced fake identification documents for both the Defense Logistics Agency and for Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”).

He is charged with two counts of fraud in connection with identification documents, a federal crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and one count of impersonating a federal officer, which carries a potential maximum prison sentence of up to three years in prison.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Vance Callender, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations; and Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Megan Gaffney Painter is representing the United States in this case.

Homeland Security Investigations has established a tip line for any additional victims. Anyone who believes they may be a victim of fraud in relation to this investigation is asked to call 866-347-2423 (TTY for hearing impaired: 802-872-6196) or visit the website at https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Acting United States Attorney Vipal J. Patel announced today that Assistant United States Attorney Heather A. Hill will serve as the district’s Senior Litigation Counsel.

“Heather has a distinguished career as a federal prosecutor, both in the Southern District of Ohio and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C.,” Patel said. “She has been a mentor in our Columbus office, and will no doubt continue in that capacity, now for our entire district.”

The Senior Litigation Counsel is a federal prosecutor with at least five years of experience who has been recognized as an outstanding litigator. The SLC is responsible for in-office training of other Assistant United States Attorneys. Hill will also serve as the Criminal Discovery Coordinator.

Hill joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio in 2011. In her decade with the Columbus office, she has served as the district’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Human Trafficking Coordinator. She has prosecuted more than 100 cases involving online crimes against children.

Prior to joining the office, Hill did work in the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and clerked for the Hon. Robert I. Richter, formerly of the D.C. Superior Court. She attended the George Washington University Law School and received her bachelor’s degree at the University of Missouri.

Hill’s appointment as SLC is pending final administrative approval.

Acting U.S. Attorney Patel commends the office’s prior SLC, Assistant United States Attorney Douglas Squires, for his years of service to the office and the district. AUSA Squires recently began an assignment with the Executive Office of United States Attorneys.

Hill is one of approximately 70 Assistant United States Attorney’s that serves the Southern District of Ohio. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also includes approximately 50 non-attorney personnel and covers the southern 48 counties in the state. The office prosecutes federal crime and represents the United States in civil litigation.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A Greene County man was arrested by federal ATF agents on an illegal gun possession charge that stems from an incident in which an Ohio wildlife officer was shot.

Brian R. Liming, 44, of Jamestown, Ohio, was charged by a federal grand jury on April 14. His case was unsealed today, and he appeared in federal court this afternoon.

According to the indictment, on Dec. 20, 2020, Liming illegally possessed a loaded 20-gauge shotgun. On that date, an officer with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources was shot while investigating illegal deer hunting near Martinsville, Ohio.

Liming was previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Possessing a firearm or ammunition after having been convicted of a crime of domestic violence is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Liming is currently out on bond on charges in the Clinton County Common Pleas Court, including felony assault and misdemeanor hunting charges related to the shooting. His Clinton County charges remain pending.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley N. Brucato and Adam Cullman, Department of Justice Trial Attorney from the Environment and Natural Resources Division are representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Westerville woman was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 63 months in prison for robbery and attempted robbery.

Amy L. Hugo, 39, committed or attempted robbery at three gas stations and a store in Westerville and near Polaris Shopping Place. Hugo committed the robberies in a span of eight days in December 2019 and January 2020 using fake handguns at each of the robberies. 

According to court documents, Hugo robbed the BP Gas Station on W. Main Street in Westerville on New Years Eve 2019. Hugo used a fake handgun and demanded cash from the register, ultimately stealing $175.

On Jan. 2, 2020, Hugo stole $564 from the Play It Games, Movies & Music store on E. Powell Road in Lewis Center.

Hugo committed one robbery and attempted another on Jan. 7, 2020. During the first robbery, she stole $80 from the Duchess Shoppe Gas Station on Sancus Blvd. During the second event, she attempted to rob the Shell Gas Station on Polaris Parkway. The Shell store clerk thought Hugo’s gun looked fake, so the clerk locked herself in the gas station office and called 911. Hugo fled the store without stealing any money.

Hugo was charged by a Bill of Information in September 2020 and pleaded guilty in October 2020.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Delaware County Sheriff Russell Martin; Westerville Police Chief Charles Chandler and Columbus Interim Police Chief Michael Woods announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Salvador A. Dominguez is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The final of eight defendants in a $44 million money-laundering case was sentenced today in U.S. District Court. Sentences imposed range from five years to 18 years in prison.

Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley sentenced Rodrigo Esqueda-Vazquez, 34, today to 180 months in prison.

Defendant Name

Sentence received

Date of Sentencing

Jose Luis Rosales-Ocampo

144 months

10/23/2020

Thania Rosales-Guadarrama

84 months

10/23/2020

Josue Gama-Perez

72 months

10/23/2020

Dulce Rosales-Guadarrama

87 months

12/4/2020

Eliezar Mendoza-Nava

216 months

3/19/2021

Rodrigo Esqueda-Vazquez

 180 months

4/9/2021

Julio Angel Gonzalez

120 months

10/23/2020

Rodolfo Franco-Valdez

60 months

11/20/2020

Local and federal law enforcement, working in conjunction, spent years investigating large-scale narcotics traffickers in an effort that ultimately brought down the money-laundering ring.

According to court documents, beginning around 2013 and continuing until September 2019, the defendants conspired to distribute heroin, fentanyl and marijuana and commit large-scale money laundering.

The schemes relied on the use of small businesses that held themselves out as cell phone stores. The stores sold few, if any, cell phones, and they conducted little, if any, legitimate business otherwise. Rather, the stores were merely front businesses for drug traffickers to send large amounts of money related to their drug trafficking from Columbus to Mexico.

Jose Luis Rosales-Ocampo, 57, of Columbus, and his family members ran the so-called cell phone stores: Los Rosales on Shady Lane Road, Los Rosales 2 on East Main Street and Express Cellular on Eastland Square Drive.

The storefronts principally served as a place for individuals to wire illicit drug proceeds to Mexico. Thousands of illicit wire transfers were completed per year. Drug dealers from multiple narcotics-trafficking cells would drop large amounts of narcotics money at the stores, after which the store owners would falsify money sender names, addresses and phone numbers on the wire transfers to Mexico in order to conceal the nature of the proceeds. 

In total, the joint state–federal efforts led to the prosecution of eight defendants federally and 35 defendants by the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation and prosecution of these defendants removed approximately 34 kilograms of heroin, 516 grams of cocaine, 76 grams of fentanyl and 250 pounds of marijuana from Central Ohio streets. Additionally, investigators seized $458,500 in U.S. currency and a home valued at nearly $248,000 as part of the investigation and prosecution of these cases.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office; Keith Martin, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Detroit Division; Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack; Acting Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods and officials with the Ohio HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Commission announced the sentences.

Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall and Jessica W. Knight represented the United States in this case. Daniel J. Stanley, formerly with the office of Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack, also represented the United States in this case as a Special Assistant United States Attorney.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Four local individuals have been charged federally with defrauding COVID-19 pandemic relief funding programs. In separate cases, the four are alleged to have lied about owning businesses and employing others. Some defendants allegedly applied multiple times for relief funding and some allegedly spent the funding they received on lavish personal items and vacation travel.

Kelli Prather, 48, of Cincinnati, appeared in federal court in Cincinnati this afternoon. According to court documents, she applied for six Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans as part of the CARES Act COVID-19 pandemic relief.

Prather allegedly purported to be the owner of six businesses – Enhanced Healthcare Solutions, Life Skills Enhancement, Prather Property Management, Reliable Ambulette Services, Rich Glo Management Services and Tots R Us. It is alleged that the bank discovered a number of errors with Prather’s loan applications and also identified that there were six different, pending applications.

According to the criminal complaint, Prather sought more than $600,000 in fraud relief and fraudulently received approximately $19,800.

She is charged with bank fraud (up to 30 years in prison), aggravated identity theft (at least two years in prison consecutive to any other sentence imposed), making false statements (up to five years in prison), making false statements in connection to credit or loan applications (up to 30 years in prison) and false representation of a social security number (up to five years in prison).

Toni Wright, 34, of Cincinnati, allegedly received $349,000 in fraudulent PPP relief loans. Court documents say she made false statements as the purported sole owner of Poshedbar (a hair and nail salon), Beautiful Beginnings Doula Service and Jerry’s Electronics.

Wright allegedly used the same Employer Identification Number for more than one of the purported businesses and listed residential addresses as the business locations. She allegedly submitted numerous applications despite being denied initially.

The criminal complaint filed against Wright claims she used the PPP funds for various personal purchases, such as to restaurants through Door Dash, retail establishments including Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton, Kay Jewelers and vacation activities like King’s Island, Luxury Rentals Miami, and American Airlines. Wright also allegedly spend more than $10,000 of relief funds at Sono Bello, a facility that advertises laser liposuction and body contouring.

Wright is charged with bank fraud (up to 30 years in prison), committing fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits (up to 30 years in prison), wire fraud (up to 20 years in prison), making false statements (up to five years in prison), making false statements in connection to credit or loan applications (up to 30 years in prison) and false representation of a social security number (up to five years in prison).

Melissa McGhee, 37, of Cincinnati, was arrested last night by Sycamore Township Police officers. McGhee, also known as Melissa Batton, came to the attention of law enforcement when she allegedly lied regarding an FHA loan for a new home. Through this investigation, agents discovered McGhee had allegedly applied for seven different pandemic relief loans and received three.

Court documents specify that McGhee used the business names M&MM Realty Group and M&M Realty Group to submit the fraudulent applications.

McGhee allegedly received $186,000 in fraudulent relief funds, which she used, in part, to purchase real estate.

She is charged with bank fraud (up to 30 years in prison), committing fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits (up to 30 years in prison), wire fraud (up to 20 years in prison), making false statements (up to five years in prison) and making false statements in connection to credit or loan applications (up to 30 years in prison).

Jon Alan Bader, 50, of Dayton, allegedly received more than $120,000 in fraudulent pandemic relief funds by lying on applications. Bader allegedly registered the business JB Auto Wholesale, LLC with the state of Ohio via LegalZoom in June 2020, after the cutoff eligibility date for the loans.

An affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint says Bader spent the relief money on various food deliveries through Door Dash, transportation through Uber, and purchases that appear to be for travel in Indiana, Kentucky and Florida. Bader allegedly made purchases at various retail stores such as Puma, Lacoste and Saks, and paid for travel in Sarasota, Florida. Bank records indicate Bader was spending between $55,000 and $67,000 in the summer of 2020.

He is charged with bank fraud (up to 30 years in prison), committing fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits (up to 30 years in prison), wire fraud (up to 20 years in prison), making false statements (up to five years in prison) and making false statements in connection to credit or loan applications (up to 30 years in prison).

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Yvonne DiCristoforo, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, Cincinnati Field Office; and Wayland Quon, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, Chicago Field Division, announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Ebunoluwa Taiwo and Anthony Springer are representing the United States in these cases. The four cases have been investigated by members of the Financial Crimes Working Group Pandemic Fraud Committee.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A highway construction company based in Summit County, Ohio has agreed to pay the United States $315,252.92 to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit claiming that the company violated the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program rules that are designed to encourage participation by women- and minority-owned businesses.

The settlement agreement resolves allegations that Karvo Companies filed claims for payment falsely certifying that they were complying with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Ohio Department of Transportation’s DBE) program requirements, including falsely claiming that their subcontractors were eligible under the DBE requirements and were providing “commercially useful functions” as part of two highway construction projects between 2015 and 2018.

“The payment includes restitution and interest,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel, “and the settlement agreement sends a good message to contractors participating in government DBE programs that we will act if they don’t fulfill their end of the contract and follow the rules.”

“The settlement agreement entered into today confirms our steadfast commitment to maintaining the integrity of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program,” said Andrea M. Kropf, Special Agent-in-Charge, Midwestern Region, DOT Office of Inspector General.  “Working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, we will continue to protect the taxpayers’ investment in our nation’s infrastructure from actions that undermine DOT-funded programs and projects and the public trust.”

The case was filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act and was filed on behalf of the United States by a former employee of the company. The former employee will receive a share of the settlement amount.

The settlement is not an admission of liability by Karvo, however, the United States concluded that its claims were well-founded.

Deputy Civil Chief Andrew M. Malek is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

DAYTON — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio and Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) Cincinnati Field Office mark the one-year anniversary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act by urging taxpayers to continue reporting instances of suspected fraud and by pledging their continued commitment to investigating COVID-19 financial crimes.

Over the last year, U.S. Attorney’s Office and IRS-CI has been combatting COVID-19 fraud related to the Economic Impact Payments, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Employee Retention Credit. IRS CI has investigated more than 350 tax and money laundering cases nationwide totaling $440 million. These investigations covered a broad range of criminal activity, including fraudulently obtained loans, credits and payments meant for American workers, families, and small businesses.

On March 16, 2021, Nadine Consuelo Jackson, 32 of Dayton, Ohio, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for committing wire fraud and making a false statement to a bank related to two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and one Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). Jackson fraudulently sought forgivable PPP loans in the amount of $1.3 million and $1.2 million from financial institutions by claiming to have more than 70 employees earning wages at a Dayton-based private investigation and security services business, Extract LLC.  In actuality, there were few or no other employees working at Extract LLC.

Other fraud charges are pending in Columbus and in Cincinnati.

“At the same time we’re all fighting the spread of the virus, we unfortunately also have to fight the spread of fraudsters who hinder our economic recovery,” Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel said, noting that other potential crimes are under investigation in the 48-county Southern District of Ohio. “The CARES Act is supposed to help small businesses keep afloat, but some will try to scam the system. Anyone who suspects that fraud may be going on should report it, either through the IRS website, another appropriate law enforcement agency, or even to your local police.  The key is to report it.”

“The CARES Act was designed to provide financial assistance to Americans struggling as a result of the pandemic,” said Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office. “Unfortunately, some individuals saw several of the programs enacted as an opportunity to steal and commit fraud.  IRS CI will continue to partner with the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to investigate CARES Act fraud and bring those committing the fraud to justice.”

While abuses of the various CARES Act assistance programs have been limited in the overall administration of the law, some unscrupulous businesses and individuals have sought to enrich themselves through fraudulent activity. IRS-CI encourages the public to share information regarding known or suspected fraud attempts against any of the programs offered through the Cares Act. 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted on March 29, 2020, to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the Paycheck Protection Program. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional funding, and in December 2020, another $284 billion.

The Paycheck Protection Program allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of 1%. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.

To learn more about COVID-19 scams and other financial schemes visit IRS.gov. Official IRS information about COVID-19 and Economic Impact Payments can be found on the Coronavirus Tax Relief page, which is updated frequently.

# # #

CINCINNATI – The United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling today affirming the convictions of Cincinnati businessman Doug Evans and his landscaping company.

Evans and Evans Landscaping Inc. were tried and convicted in December 2018 of two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud arising out of their scheme to secure government contracts through a shell company. After four weeks of trial, the defendant and his company were found guilty on all counts and convicted of defrauding the City of Cincinnati and other public entities by fraudulently obtaining contracts reserved for small and minority businesses.

In January 2020, Evans was sentenced to 21 months in prison. Evans Landscaping was ordered to pay half a million dollars in fines.

In his appeal, Evans challenged the denial of his motion to suppress evidence, the District Court’s handling of various trial issues, and the jury instructions provided at the end of the trial.

During pretrial proceedings, Evans moved to suppress evidence obtained pursuant to search warrants, arguing that it violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The District Court denied the motion and the Court of Appeals upheld that denial today.

Evans also argued that the United States’ case “was overwhelmingly built on emails” that were hearsay. The Court of Appeals upheld that the emails were actually exempt from the hearsay rules as they were business records.

The defense also attempted to appeal conviction based on specifics of the jury instructions given at the conclusion of trial; however, the Court of Appeals rejected this argument because the defense did not object to the instructions at the time they were presented, and because, in any event, “the evidence overwhelmingly established that defendants joined the conspiracy and specifically intended to further its purpose.”

Evans is scheduled to report next month to serve his prison sentence.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced today’s appellate opinion. Appellate Chief Mary Beth Young represented the United States on appeal. Assistant Deputy Criminal Chief Timothy S. Mangan and Deputy Criminal Chief Emily N. Glatfelter prosecuted the underlying criminal case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man has been charged by criminal complaint in federal district court with criminally interfering with the right to fair housing.

Douglas G. Schifer, 65, allegedly used force and the threat of force to intimidate his neighbors because of their religion.

According to documents filed in connection with the complaint, Schifer shouted anti-Semitic slurs, obscenities and other derogatory language about their religion at his neighbors on Nov. 7, 2020. Court documents also allege he broke one of their windows and spat on one of the neighbors.

In his alleged threats, Schifer stated he would shoot the neighbors, poison their dog and burn down a garage they were remodeling into an apartment. He allegedly made reference to gassing Jewish people and burning them in ovens.

If convicted, Schifer would face up to one year in prison and a possible fine of up to $100,000.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Columbus Police Interim Chief Michael Woods announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and Heather A. Hill, and Trial Attorney Cameron Bell of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division are representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

DAYTON – A Dayton woman was sentenced in federal court today to prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $2.5 million in pandemic relief loans.

Nadine Consuelo Jackson, 32, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for committing wire fraud and making a false statement to a bank related to two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and one Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).  The PPP and EIDL programs provide emergency financial assistance to businesses suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act of 2020 created the PPP and expanded the EIDL Program.

“The Pandemic has brought out the best in people. And, as this case unfortunately demonstrates, it has also brought out the worst in people. Jackson defrauded programs that were meant to keep workers on the job at businesses suffering because of the pandemic,” Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel said. “She lied to steal millions of public dollars for her own pockets at a time when Americans were suffering the effects of public health and economic crises. This office will continue to pursue any fraudulent opportunists like Jackson. Her prison sentence should serve as a warning to anyone else considering this conduct.” 

According to court records, Jackson fraudulently sought forgivable PPP loans in the amount of $1.3 million and $1.2 million from financial institutions by claiming to have more than 70 employees earning wages at a Dayton-based private investigation and security services business, Extract LLC.  In actuality, there were few or no other employees working at Extract LLC.

On two occasions Jackson listed 73 Extract LLC employees with payroll wages totaling approximately $500,000 on loan application reports. Loans totaling more than $1 million were initially wired to Jackson’s accounts and then flagged. The bank recalled one loan and the Government seized the other.

Jackson also applied for and received $54,000 in EIDL funding from the Small Business Administration. In that loan application, Jackson stated Extract LLC had eight employees. She then wired the funds in five transactions to another account. That money has since been seized by the Government as well.

Four “employees” named on Jackson’s applications were interviewed by agents and stated they did not work for the company. Three of the individuals interviewed stated they had never heard of Extract LLC.

The defendant pleaded guilty in November 2020 to wire fraud and making false statements.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Sharon Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General (SBA-OIG); and Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth R. Rabe and Peter K. Glenn-Applegate are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

A South Korean national pleaded guilty today to participating in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense.

According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, Hyun Dong Jo of the Republic of Korea was the designated manager under a Defense Logistics Agency contract to provide hazardous waste removal, testing, disposal, and related services to U.S. military installations in South Korea. In that position, Jo participated in a scheme to falsify laboratory reports submitted under this hazardous waste contract.  

From at least as early as February 2015 until at least June 2018, Jo submitted hundreds of falsified or materially altered laboratory reports, misrepresenting to U.S. military officials that laboratory testing and analysis had been performed on samples taken from U.S. military installations located in South Korea, when, in many cases, no such testing was performed. As part of the scheme, Jo emailed the forged laboratory reports and invoices seeking payment for those reports to the Department of Defense, causing the Defense Financial Accounting Service to wire more than $280,000 in payments.

“This charge reflects the Antitrust Division’s commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars spent overseas,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. “Individuals who cheat the U.S. military in the performance of contracts will be held accountable. We hope this guilty plea will serve as a deterrent for other contractors who contemplate obtaining illicit gains through engaging in fraud while providing services for the U.S. military domestically or abroad.”

“The defendant forged lab results and falsely reported them to the Department of Defense,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel for the Southern District of Ohio. “Not only is this unsafe for the U.S. Forces installations in Korea where hazardous waste was not actually tested, but it also defrauded the Department of Defense out of $280,000. This office takes Jo’s conduct seriously and will continue to hold accountable anyone who attempts to defraud the government in this way.”

“Taking advantage of the DoD contracting system for one’s own enrichment is a clear violation of the law,” said Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “Our agents and our law enforcement partners will steadfastly pursue this type of scheme and all fraud that erodes the rule of law and the trust between the DoD and the contracting community.”   

“This case should serve as a cautionary tale for those who seek enrichment by way of deceit,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Stanley A. Newell of the Transnational Operations Field Office for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “Anyone who attempts to defraud the Department of Defense with bogus and doctored invoices will be held to account. The special agents of the DCIS along with our investigative partners from the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Command, are dedicated to protecting the integrity of U.S. military procurements around the globe; and ensuring that American taxpayers get what they pay for.” 

Jo pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if that amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and Defense Logistics Agency’s Office of Inspector General are investigating the case.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division Washington Criminal II Section is prosecuting the case. Special thanks are extended to Deputy Criminal Chief Brenda Shoemaker of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.  

Anyone with information in connection with this investigation or other schemes affecting the U.S. military’s procurement process should call the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section at 202-598-4000 or the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or http://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Florida company that operates two Ohio inpatient psychiatric hospitals and one Ohio substance abuse treatment facility will pay $10.25 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act.

Oglethorpe Inc. and its three Ohio facilities, Cambridge Behavioral Hospital, Ridgeview Behavioral Hospital, and The Woods at Parkside, will pay $10.25 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act for improperly providing free long-distance transportation to patients and admitting patients at Cambridge and Ridgeview who did not require inpatient psychiatric treatment, resulting in the submission of false claims to the Medicare program. 

The settlement was based on analysis of the companies’ ability to pay after review of their financial condition. 

This settlement resolves allegations that, between August 2013 and June 2019, defendants provided free long-distance van transportation to patients to induce them to seek treatment at the defendants’ facilities, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, and then submitted claims for services provided to these patients, in violation of the False Claims Act. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by a federal health care program, such as Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE. Claims submitted to these programs in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute give rise to liability under the False Claims Act. The government also alleged that Oglethorpe, Cambridge, and Ridgeview submitted, or caused to be submitted, false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary inpatient psychiatric admissions and associated services at the two hospitals.

“Submitting false claims by billing for unnecessary inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations is not only inappropriate – it’s illegal,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel for the Southern District of Ohio. “This settlement shows that the United States will hold accountable those who seek to profit by flouting proper standards of medical practice and appropriate review and submission of Medicare billings.”

“Kickbacks to patients can result in unnecessary services that serve neither the patients nor our federal health care programs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department is committed to pursuing unlawful remunerations in whatever form they occur to safeguard taxpayer funded health care benefits.”

“Kickbacks in the form of free van rides and the false claims subsequently submitted to federal health care programs come at a tremendous cost to patients and the taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG). “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue and hold accountable entities who engage in such acts.”   

Contemporaneous with the settlement, Oglethorpe entered into a corporate integrity agreement (CIA) with HHS-OIG. Among other things, the CIA requires that for the next five years Oglethorpe must retain an Independent Review Organization to review its claims to Medicare and Medicaid.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Darlene Baker, a former client advocate at Cambridge. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery if the government takes over the case and reaches a monetary agreement with the defendant.

The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio; the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section; and HHS-OIG.

The matter was investigated by Deputy Civil Chief Andrew Malek and Trial Attorney Christopher Wilson of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.

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

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged four Central Ohioans in a narcotics conspiracy involving bulk quantities of fentanyl, crack, cocaine and methamphetamine. Three of the four defendants have also been charged federally in a mail and wire fraud conspiracy related to illegally receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

Ricco Lamonte Maye, 38, of Columbus, was originally charged by indictment in November 2020 and has remained in federal custody since.

Airrika N. Anthony, 32, Nicole L. Groves, 31, and Kevin E. Pearson, 57, all of Columbus, are charged along with Maye in the superseding indictment returned Feb. 25. Maye, Anthony and Groves are charged in the fraudulent unemployment assistance conspiracy.

According to court documents, beginning in 2018, the four defendants conspired to, possessed and distributed 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 500 grams or more of cocaine, 280 grams of crack and five grams of methamphetamine.

It is also alleged Maye, Anthony and Groves fraudulently filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Maye received $7,400 from the state of Ohio and $10,000 from Michigan. In his applications, he allegedly claimed he was unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic and in one application falsely claimed he lived in Michigan.

Anthony received $13,900 after allegedly falsely claiming she was unable to reach her place of employment due to a COVID-19 quarantine.

The superseding indictment details that Groves claimed to be unemployed because she is the primary caretaker of a child who was unable to attend school because of the coronavirus. The superseding indictment says Groves was actually employed and earned income at the time she received $11,800 in assistance funds.

Maye, Anthony and Groves allegedly used the personal information of other individuals to apply for additional pandemic assistance funds. Maye received all or a portion of the others’ benefits.

The drug conspiracy charged in this case is punishable by a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. Conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and Interim Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin W. Kelley and Heather A. Hill are representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Colombian national was extradited to Ohio yesterday to face federal drug charges in the Southern District of Ohio. He appeared in U.S. District Court here today.

Sergio L. Valderrama-Areiza, 35, allegedly conspired with others to coordinate the shipment of thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, via sea and land, through Central America and Mexico, to the United States.

The defendant – also known as Blindaje, Blindaje Artesanal and Rasputin – is alleged to be involved in moving tens of millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine to America.

As part of this case, law enforcement officers seized more than 250 kilograms of cocaine total in Panama in February, March, May and November 2018. An additional 278 kilograms of cocaine was seized by law enforcement in Panama in August and September 2018 and April 2019.

The indictment details that, as part of the conspiracy, individuals would use “load” coordinators to assist with logistics of cocaine shipments, locate drivers and boat operators for narcotic-laden vehicles and vessels, and secure shared investments from multiple co-conspirators in specific cocaine shipments.

Fishermen and other commercial maritime laborers were allegedly recruited by conspirators to transport cocaine and refueling vessels.

Conspirators allegedly paid a “tax” or “fee” to send cocaine through areas controlled by a different drug trafficking organization or cartel.

Members of the conspiracy allegedly shared information on the activities and locations of law enforcement and military personnel assigned to interdict narcotics shipments. It is alleged co-conspirators also sheltered individuals who were at risk of extradition to other countries.

Low-level co-conspirators would allegedly take responsibility for an entire load of seized cocaine in order to free higher-level members.

The narcotics conspiracy in this case is punishable by 10 years up to life in prison.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Keith Martin, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Richard S. Fambro announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan J.C. Grey, Elizabeth Rabe and Kelly A. Norris are representing the United States in this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition from Colombia.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Georgia woman who used to live in Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to filing at least 51 false or fraudulent tax returns for 19 clients in Ohio and Georgia between 2013 and 2019.

Tiffany Gravely, 47, of Powder Springs, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of assisting in the preparation and filing of a false or fraudulent income tax return. She faces up to three years in prison, fines and must pay $257,609 in restitution. Court documents say she prepared and filed income tax returns containing deductions for businesses that did not exist, claimed false business expenses that did not occur and claimed fictitious expenses including charitable deductions. 

“This case reminds taxpayers that, during this tax filing season, they should be careful when choosing a tax preparer,” said Vipal J. Patel, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “Tax fraud costs U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars each year, and my office will continue to hold accountable those found to be behind these fraudulent claims.”

“Each year, IRS-CI special agents and the U.S. Attorney’s Office investigate and prosecute return preparer fraud, which includes adding false deductions and credits in order to inflate refunds,” said Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.

As of tax year 2018, 55 percent of taxpayers used a paid preparer. Although most preparers provide honest and professional services, there is a small number of dishonest preparers who set up shop during filing season to steal money, or personal and financial information from clients, or who improperly inflate tax credits or deductions with false return information. Taxpayers can avoid falling victim to unscrupulous preparers by following important steps:

• Look for a preparer who is available year-round in case questions arise after the filing season.
• Ask if the preparer has an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), which is required for paid preparers.
• Inquire about the preparer’s credentials and check their qualifications.
• Ask about service fees. Avoid preparers who base fees on a percentage of their client’s refund, claim to offer a bigger refund than their competition, or guarantee a refund.
• Never sign a blank or incomplete return and review it before signing. Refunds should go directly to the taxpayer, not the preparer.

For more tips on choosing a tax professional or to file a complaint against one, visit IRS.gov.

Acting U.S. Attorney Patel commended the IRS-CI Special Agents who investigated Gravely’s case and Assistant Deputy Criminal Chief Jessica W. Knight and Assistant United States Attorney David J. Twombly, who are representing the United States. Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley accepted Gravely’s plea.

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DAYTON – A Sidney, Ohio, man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to attempting to produce child pornography. He faces a minimum of 25 years and up to 50 years in prison.

Charles Lee Frazier, 41, admitted that he solicited child pornography from impoverished mothers in the Philippines.

According to court documents, Frazier used Filipino dating sites to connect with women in poverty. In subsequent Skype chats with the women, he would ask them for sexually explicit pictures of their children in exchange for money. Specifically, Frazier’s conversations included requests for pornography of naked minor children engaging in sexual conduct with other children or with their mothers. Frazier distributed child pornography to several women, as examples of what images he wanted them to create with their children, or with instructions to show the images to their children to convince them to engage in that behavior.  The defendant also had discussions about committing violent acts against children. For example, he discussed killing infants during sexual assaults.

From April through July 2019, Frazier sent money via MoneyGram from a Sidney, Ohio, store to women in the Philippines in exchange for child pornography. Frazier sent approximately $800 to one individual in exchange for nude images of a seven-year-old girl. One of the women in the online chats stated she needed the money from Frazier for food.

Frazier was a registered sex offender at the time of the offense. He was convicted in a 2011 federal case for receiving child pornography. He was sentenced to 84 months in prison for that conviction.

Frazier’s prior offense makes the new conduct punishable by at least 25 years and up to 50 years in prison. Congress sets the minimum and maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Sidney Police Chief William Balling announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice. The FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated and Assistant United States Attorney Christina E. Mahy is representing the United States in this case.

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DAYTON – Former First Assistant United States Attorney Vipal J. Patel is now the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

“These are huge shoes to fill, and I am humbled and honored to fill them,” Patel said. “The important work of the public servants in this Office – and their dedication to justice – continues. Our casework will persist uninterrupted.”

Patel, 53, a longtime resident of Dayton, became an Assistant United States Attorney in 2000. He has served in U.S. Attorney Office criminal, civil and appellate divisions.

Patel was named First Assistant United States Attorney in April 2016 under former U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman and was retained in that position by fellow former U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers. Prior to his time as First Assistant, Patel served the district as a Deputy Criminal Chief and as the district’s Criminal Chief, filling management roles under both Republican- and Democrat-appointed U.S. Attorneys and Attorneys General. He spent 2011 in Afghanistan, serving a one-year anti-corruption and counter-narcotics assignment as a U.S. Department of Justice civilian advisor.

Patel was the lead prosecutor in the first ever international terrorism trial in the Southern District of Ohio in 2018, both prosecuting the case and successfully arguing its appeal. He also represented the United States in the prosecution of weapons-related charges against a friend of the August 2019 Dayton mass shooter. In other significant casework, Patel prosecuted a local child exploiter who abused an infant, young child, and numerous teenage girls. The defendant was sentenced to life plus 10 years in prison.

Patel received his law degree in 1991 from the George Washington University Law School. He currently serves as an evaluator of other United States Attorney’s Offices, teaches at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center, in Columbia, South Carolina, and has taught abroad as part of DOJ’s Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training program.

Locally, since 2008, Patel has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Dayton Law School. In his spare time, he enjoys coaching youth soccer. He is currently the Head Coach of the Kroc Center Soccer Club’s boys U11 team, part of a new club soccer program Patel helped found with a friend and in partnership with the Dayton Salvation Army in an effort to bring competitive club soccer to, and serve the needs of, inner-city Dayton.

Patel immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1970 and became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He and his wife have two children and reside in downtown Dayton and enjoy (ever slowing) walks along the river with their nearly 15-year-old rescue dog, “Frankie.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio includes 67 Assistant United States Attorneys and 51 non-attorney personnel. They serve the southern 48 counties in the state, including the Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton metropolitan areas.

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An Ohio physician was sentenced to 40 months in prison today for his role in illegally distributing controlled substances.

George Griffin, M.D., 71, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful distribution of controlled substances on Oct. 5, 2020.

According to court documents, Griffin prescribed controlled substances to patients in amounts and for lengths of time that were outside the scope of legitimate medical practice. Griffin routinely prescribed controlled substances to patients even though various “red flags” suggested that he should stop writing those prescriptions, change the prescriptions, and/or counsel patients accordingly. Further, according to court documents, Griffin prescribed dangerous combinations of drugs known to heighten the risk of overdose and death.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal Patel of the Southern District of Ohio; Special Agent in Charge Keith Martin of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Detroit Division; Special Agent in Charge William “Chris” Hoffman of the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement.

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

Trial Attorneys Chris Jason, and Katherine Pridemore 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 October 2018, the ARPO Strike Force, which operates in 10 districts, has charged 91 defendants, including 68 licensed medical professionals, and its casework has targeted the alleged illegal distribution of more than 65 million controlled substance pills involving more than 350,000 prescriptions. Since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for approximately $19 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in this case should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information.

DAYTON – A former contractor with the United States Air Force pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to illegally taking approximately 2,500 pages of classified documents.

Izaak Vincent Kemp, 35, of Fairborn, was charged on Jan. 25 by a Bill of Information.

According to court documents, Kemp was employed as a contractor at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) from July 2016 to May 2019, and later as a contractor at the U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). While working at AFRL and NASIC – both located on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn – Kemp had Top Secret security clearance.

Despite having training on various occasions on how to safeguard classified material, Kemp took 112 classified documents and retained them at his home.

Law enforcement discovered the more than 100 documents, which contained approximately 2,500 pages of material classified at the SECRET level, while executing a search warrant at Kemp’s home on May 25, 2019.

Unauthorized removal or retention of classified documents is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division of the Department of Justice; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; and Fairborn Police Chief Terry Bennington announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice. Deputy Criminal Chief Dominick S. Gerace and Trial Attorney Matthew J. McKenzie with the Department of Justice’s National Security Division are representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Franklin County corrections officer has been charged federally with advertising for and receiving child pornography.

Daniel P. Heintz, 38, of Columbus, turned himself in this morning and will appear in federal court for an initial appearance at 2:15pm.

According to court documents, authorities were alerted to messages sent by Heintz on Kik Messenger in mid-August 2020. In the conversations, Heintz allegedly discusses with an Illinois man their mutual sexual interest for children, and exchanged images of themselves and of pornography, including child pornography. It is alleged Heintz received sexually explicit videos from the man of a girl 13 to 15 years old.

An affidavit details that Heintz allegedly discussed sexually abusing a minor to whom he had access. It is alleged he discussed photographing the minor in the victim’s sleep and also talked about sexual conduct he would commit as well as sexual abuse the Illinois man could commit to the minor victim.

On Feb. 11, law enforcement officials executed search warrants at Heintz’s residence and of his person at his place of employment, the Franklin County Correctional Center on S. Front Street.

A forensic examination of his electronics revealed what is alleged to be several hundred images of prepubescent minors, some as young as toddler age, engaged in explicit sexual conduct and being sexually abused.

Heintz is charged with advertising for and receiving child pornography. Advertising for child pornography is a federal crime punishable by a minimum of 15 and up to 30 years in prison. Receiving child pornography includes a sentencing range of five to 20 years in prison. If convicted, the crimes also carry a mandatory of at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and registration as a sex offender.

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Westerville Police Chief Charles Chandler and other members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Heather A. Hill and Emily Czerniejewski are representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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CINCINNATI – Scott Surgener, 43, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to sexually exploiting a minor. As part of the plea, parties involved in his case are recommending a sentence of 20 years in prison.

According to court documents, from April 2018 through July 2019, Surgener engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a minor in his home for the purpose of taking pictures and videos of the sexual abuse. The pictures and videos were taken in Surgener’s residence while the victim, who was younger than 13, was in his care at child sleepovers.

In total, the defendant produced 28 videos and images of the exploitation.

Surgener was charged by a federal criminal complaint in October 2019 and has remained in custody since.

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey and Springdale Police Chief Thomas Wells announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

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DAYTON – A Lebanon, Ohio, man was sentenced in federal court in Dayton to 53 months in prison for creating obscene material from the images of a minor’s face and adult pornography.

Kenneth Michael Laseur, 36, pleaded guilty in August 2020 to possessing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.

According to court documents, in March 2018, Laseur was under the supervision of a probation officer in Hamilton County as the result of a 2017 conviction for telecommunications harassment. Laseur was arrested for violating the terms of his probation and his cell phone and computer were seized and searched.

On those devices, Laseur possessed images of an actual minor female, who was known to Laseur and less than 12 years of age, that were modified to make it appear that the minor female was engaged in sexually explicit conduct. For example, Laseur superimposed the child’s face onto images of adults engaging in various types of sexual intercourse.

The defendant admitted to his probation officer and to the FBI that he created the images using photo-shopping tools he found on the Internet. As part of his plea, Laseur admitted that the visual depictions lacked any serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value and were obscene.

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed Feb. 18, 2021 by U.S. District Court Judge Walter H. Rice. Deputy Criminal Chief Dominick S. Gerace is representing the United States in this case.

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