Southern District of Ohio

CDAYTON, OHIO – Neil Richard Moore, 59, of Trotwood, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. Moore admitted to shooting an individual at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dayton on May 5, 2014.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office (FBI), Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl and Glenn Costie, Director of the Dayton VA Medical Center (VAMC) announced Moore’s plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose.

According to court documents, Moore shot an employee of the VAMC with a .38 caliber revolver after confronting him in the basement of a building at the medical center. During a struggle with employees, the handgun discharged multiple times with one shot striking the victim in the leg. Moore then allegedly fled the scene in an elevator where he encountered another individual and pointed the handgun at this person.

Moore faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000. He has agreed to forfeit any firearm or ammunition involved in the crime.

Moore remains in custody pending sentencing, which is scheduled for 10:30am on December 12.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the prompt response to the reports of the active shooter to the FBI, Dayton Police and other law enforcement agencies including the VA Police Services, Montgomery County Sheriff Philip Plummer’s Office, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, the Five Rivers Metro Parks Police Department, the Good Samaritan Hospital Police, and the Kettering Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dwight Keller and Brent Tabacchi are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

COLUMBUS— Federal, state and local authorities announced the 48th conviction Friday in "Operation Buckeye Storm," a nearly 5-year multi-agency investigation responsible for dismantling a Central Ohio-based heroin trafficking organization. This final conviction caps an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, and the Columbus Division of Police.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Delaware County Sheriff Russell L. Martin, and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the 48th and final defendant charged, Fernando Vargas-Trigueros, who pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to charges related to manufacturing and distributing heroin.

Operation Buckeye Storm commenced in March 2010 after special agents connected a loose network of heroin traffickers who were already under scrutiny by local authorities.

Investigators found that the ring, organized around cells based in Central Ohio, used traffickers to move loads of heroin and other drugs from Mexico for subsequent sale in and around Columbus. After arriving in in the United States, the contraband, which also included cocaine and pills, was sold to distributors nationwide.

“Operation Buckeye Storm has played a significant role in combatting the sales and abuse of heroin in Central Ohio,” said U.S. Attorney Stewart. “This is a great example of dedicated law enforcement on every level.”

"Today marks an important milestone in the effort against the heroin problem that is wreaking havoc in Central Ohio," said Miller, Special Agent in Charge, HIS. "I applaud the work of the dedicated men and women in law enforcement who spent countless hours meticulously dismantling this narcotics scheme over the last five years. But our work is not done. We must continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners as well as the treatment and prevention community on an aggressive and holistic approach to combatting this problem."

“The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office is grateful for the partnership with our colleagues at the federal level,” said Martin, Delaware County Sheriff. “As we all know, these criminal operations extend well beyond any specific jurisdictional boundary. With the combined resources at the local, state and federal level we can have a more significant impact on the illegal trafficking and distribution of heroin. We are all acutely aware of the quality of life impact heroin and opiate abuse is having in our communities.”

“Dedication and teamwork led to the investigation and convictions of heroin dealers who fueled the heroin epidemic in Central Ohio,” Columbus Police Chief Jacobs said. “The Columbus Division of Police hopes with these convictions, we’ve made a dent in the trade and severed the supply for heroin addicts, many who want to overcome their addiction.”  

In addition to the convictions of 48 individuals involved in the scheme, authorities seized nearly a half million dollars in cash, nearly 9,000 grams of heroin, 43 grams of cocaine, 14 firearms and other contraband.

In total, the first 47 individuals convicted have been sentenced to 1,842.5 months, or 153 years, imprisonment for the drug related charges.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the HSI, Delaware County Sheriff and Columbus Police, and the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who have prosecuted the cases.

COLUMBUS – Keith A. Arrick Sr., 47, of Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. His son, Keith A. Arrick Jr., 21, of Columbus, Ohio pleaded guilty in July to sex trafficking of children.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and members of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, including Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Colonel Paul Pride of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the plea entered today before U.S. District Senior Judge Peter C. Economus.

The investigation by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force found that between September 2013 and February 2014, the men used various hotels in the Columbus area to harbor women, including a minor female, to engage in commercial sex acts for the financial benefit of the defendants. The men recruited customers through internet websites by posting photos of the women or others who resembled the women, instructing the women how much to charge for the various acts then kept a portion of the money for themselves, and provided the women with illegal narcotics, including heroin. The investigation found that one victim was brought to Columbus from Kentucky. Keith A. Arrick Sr. used physical violence and threats of physical violence if the victims indicated they wished to stop performing commercial sex acts.

Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion is punishable by at least 15 years and up to life in prison. Sex trafficking of a minor is punishable by at least ten years and up to life in prison. Both men remain in custody as sentencing is pending.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which was formed in 2012 and is part of the Ohio Attorney General’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, and which also includes authorities from the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Columbus Division of Police, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Powell Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Delaware County Prosecutor's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill is representing the government in this case.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged Antonio L. Sibley, 38, of Akron, Ohio with the sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography in an indictment returned in Columbus, Ohio.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, along with members of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, including Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Colonel Paul Pride of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the indictment today.

The indictment alleges that on and around July 30 Sibley advertised his victim on internet websites for paid sexual services by posting photos of the minor. The investigation found that Sibley was allegedly harboring the female in a motel in Whitehall, Ohio and had provided her with a cell phone and condoms. The indictment alleges that Sibley coerced his victim to provide sexual services to customers that responded to the online escort ads for commercial sexual activity.

The indictment charges Sibley with sex trafficking of a minor, a crime punishable by a sentence ranging from 15 years to life. He is also charged with production of child pornography, a crime punishable by a sentence ranging from 15 to 30 years.

Sibley was arrested on August 11, 2014, by members of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force at the Casa Villa Motel in Whitehall, Ohio, and remains in custody. 

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation of this case by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which was formed in 2012 and is part of the Ohio Attorney General’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, also includes authorities from the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Columbus, Division of Police, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Powell Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Delaware County Prosecutor's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill is representing the government in this case.

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

CINCINNATI – Glen Galemmo, 49, who owned Queen City Investments and other investment companies in the Cincinnati area, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 188 months in prison for soliciting millions of dollars from his company’s investors between 2005 and July 2013 and spending the money rather than investing it.           

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS) announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Herman Weber.

Galemmo, who now lives in South Carolina, pleaded guilty on January 15, 2014 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. According to court documents, Galemmo lured investors with promotional materials falsely claiming returns of more than 30 percent over seven years.

“What makes Galemmo’s conduct so egregious – and separates him from a defendant who embezzles money from his employer or commits mortgage fraud – is that he lied to investors on a daily basis, over and over again, over the course of many years, and in so doing, he destroyed the financial future of countless individuals,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Glatfelter told the court prior to sentencing.

For eight years, Galemmo operated a “Ponzi scheme” using money from new investors to pay off earlier investors. Galemmo received approximately $87 million cumulatively from individual investors, trusts, charitable organizations, and retirement accounts. During this time, Galemmo also received approximately $29 million from some of these investors in the form of short-term loans. The vast majority of these funds were never invested in anything. Galemmo used the investor accounts as his personal bank, paying country club fees, taking luxurious vacations and buying real estate, clothing and jewelry.

Galemmo sent fraudulent monthly statements to investors. To create the monthly statements, each client's principal investment balance was merely multiplied by a fictitious percentage of return, consistent with the returns that Galemmo had promised to his clients. The statements showed positive account balances and fictitious earnings, when in fact, the money had not been invested as promised. Investigators identified approximately 140 victims of Galemmo’s scheme.

Galemmo agreed to forfeit three pieces of real estate, including a condo in Marco Island, Florida, the contents of bank and investment accounts and five vehicles. The government also is asking the court to order that Galemmo forfeit more than $5 million in cash and investments, including some cash and investments that Galemmo transferred to his wife in an attempt to avoid the government seizing the assets. If the court orders the forfeiture, the forfeited property will go toward victim restitution.

“A person who creates a web of financial lies will soon be caught up in it. Mr Galemmo offered rates of return of over 30% to his clients and unfortunately these were false promises,” said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS, Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by IRS special agents as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Glatfelter and Tim Mangan, who are prosecuting the case.

COLUMBUS – Jennifer A. Quintana, 38, of Grove City, Ohio, owner and operator of Quintana Construction, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count inducing one or more illegal aliens to enter the U.S. and to one count of willfully failing to file a federal income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge                       James Vanderberg, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and Special Agent in Charge Marlon Miller, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.

According to court documents, Quintana Construction, which is operated out of Jennifer Quintana’s residence, is a construction labor contracting business that provided labor for framing assembly and apartment/condominium construction in the greater Columbus, Ohio area.  Jennifer Quintana is married to Felix Quintana.  Felix Quintana is a citizen of the country of Mexico and is documented to work in the U.S.  Felix Quintana organized and supervised the workforce for Quintana Construction and was considered the on-site supervisor.

From January 2005 through November 2009, Quintana Construction knowingly used the labor of undocumented illegal aliens to do construction work on various job sites.  The investigation revealed that in 2007, 15 undocumented illegal aliens were utilized by Quintana Construction and in 2008, 14 undocumented illegal aliens were used.  For each year, the illegal aliens were the primary work force used by Quintana Construction.  The undocumented illegal alien employees had no authorization to seek or maintain gainful employment in the U.S.

Jennifer Quintana submitted false forms to the IRS stating that workers were sub-contractors of Quintana Construction with valid taxpayer identification numbers, when in fact she knew they were undocumented illegal alien workers.

In 2007, Jennifer Quintana filed 18 Forms 1099-MISC with the IRS on behalf of Quintana Construction which reported nonemployee compensation paid to sub-contractors.  Of these 18 Forms 1099-MISC, 15 were rejected by the IRS for not having matching names and taxpayer identification numbers.  In addition, of the 18 Forms 1099-MISC, 10 of them had also been rejected by the IRS in a prior year.  Upon acknowledgement of these rejected Forms 1099-MISC and receipt of the IRS Form CP2100, which reports such rejections, Quintana Construction was obligated to begin backup employment tax withholdings for those individuals, reporting such backup withholdings on a Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax, and was obligated to pay to the IRS any applicable collected backup withholdings, which Jennifer Quintana failed to do.

For tax year 2008, Quintana Construction, by and through Jennifer Quintana, paid wages in the form of non-employee compensation to her employees totaling $220,669.00, which was subject to backup withholding of federal income taxes totaling $61,787.32.

Inducing one or more illegal aliens to enter the U.S is punishable by a fine of up to $500,000 and three years of organizational supervision.  Willfully failing to file a federal income tax return with the IRS is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of not more than $10,000, and one year of supervised release

In addition, Jennifer Quintana agreed to cease doing business as a labor contracting firm for the construction industry.

Judge Sargus will schedule a sentencing hearing following a pre-sentence investigation by the court.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by IRS, the Department of Labor, and ICE, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas W. Squires, who is representing the United States in this case.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Curtis Lee Clark III, 48, of Pataskala, Ohio was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in transporting stolen generators and welding equipment worth $89,236.03 from the VA Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio which were then sold in West Virginia.

Carter Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Gavin McClaren, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.

Clark pleaded guilty on January 17, 2014 to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods. According to court documents, a generator and welder belonging to the VA as well as two generators belonging to VA contractors, were stolen from the Chillicothe VA Medical Center in October 2011. In August 2012, the Mingo County West Virginia Sheriff’s Office contacted the OIG, telling them that some of the stolen items had been recovered in a storage garage in Holden, West Virginia.

Further investigation led to Clark, a patient at the VA, who admitted that he knew the men who stole the equipment and that he helped transport the equipment to West Virginia and sell it. Clark received a few hundred dollars for transporting and selling the items. Clark also admitted to pawning some of the items stolen from the VA at a Columbus pawn shop. Other construction equipment was recovered from Clark’s former residence in Pataskala.

“We're pleased to have obtained justice in this case and look forward to returning this stolen equipment to our veterans at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center,” McClaren said.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the VA Inspector General’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Chillicothe VA Medical Center Police who assisted with the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dale Williams, who represented the United States in the case.
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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS—Former Columbus Police Officer Steven Edward Dean, 50, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 30 months in prison for misappropriating and selling heavy equipment and other property the Columbus Division of Police received through a Department of Defense surplus program.

Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Brian Reihms, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.

According to court documents, an investigation by the Columbus Division of Police, the FBI and DCIS concluded that between October 1, 2005 and June 1, 2012, Dean diverted property with a fair market value of $251,570.94 the police department had received from the Defense Reutilization Marketing Office (DRMO) program.

The embezzled items included $133,554.59 of heavy equipment, construction equipment, and vehicles; restaurant equipment; $94,163.25 of materials sold for scrap; and $16,353.15 worth of items, including diesel generators, sold to private persons. This conclusion was based on records obtained from the U.S. Department of Defense DRMO program, the state of Ohio offices involved with the DRMO program, scrapyard receipts, Craigslist online point-of-sale website records, restaurant supply records of sold equipment, and by viewing the items of property themselves.

“This is a major theft and embezzlement case involving a uniformed police officer stealing from his own department and involving property which should have otherwise been used to assist law enforcement, and all the equipment and vehicles were originally purchased with taxpayer dollars,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Doug Squires and Deborah Solove told the court prior to sentencing.

"Today's sentencing demonstrates the Defense Criminal Investigative Service's ongoing commitment to combating fraud and corruption that impacts the Department of Defense's vital programs and operations," said Brian Reihms, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), "DCIS, with our partner agencies, will continue to work tirelessly to investigate fraud involving the DoD's DRMO Law Enforcement Support Office which transfers excess property to law enforcement organizations across the United States."

Dean pleaded guilty in February to one count of embezzlement from a program receiving federal funds and one count of theft of public property. Under terms of the plea agreement, Dean will forfeit $251,570.94 less the value of the recovered equipment. Dean was also sentenced to three years of supervised released following imprisonment.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by DCIS, the FBI, and CPD, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Doug Squires and Deborah Solove, who prosecuted the case.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

Four people involved in the operation of Advanced Family Medical Center and Watkins-Tsai Imaging in Coal Grove, Ohio have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, admitting that they improperly charged government insurance programs for medically unnecessary procedures.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Bret Flinn, Resident Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, announced the pleas entered yesterday before Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott.  

Peter Tsai, 45, owner of Advanced Family Medical Center, his father and mother, Tahsiung Tsai, 73, and Ruey Tsai, 68, who owned Watkins-Tsai Imaging, and Peter Tsai’s cousin, Wei Lih Sheih, aka “Wendy”, 42, who worked for both clinics, admitted that they had conspired to defraud health care benefit programs including Medicaid, Medicare and Tri-Care between 2004 and 2013 when they were indicted.

According to court documents, both clinics operated out of the same building in Coal Grove. The conspirators performed numerous CT procedures that were unnecessary.  For example, Peter Tsai diagnosed most of his patients with a condition called piriformis syndrome in order to give injections guided by his CT scan machine. The defendants also performed unnecessary diagnostic CT scans that were medically unnecessary, including multiple scans of the same body part for the same patient weeks apart. They also performed and billed for CT scans for medically unnecessary injections of an osteoarthritis product, Synvisc, in knees, including injection into young adults without any proper diagnosis of osteoarthritis. One patient received 108 CT-related procedures in a 40-month period.

The defendants were also charged with fraudulently inflating their bills to Medicare and Medicaid.  Peter Tsai illegally imported misbranded Synvisc from other countries including Canada and Turkey, billed government insurance programs for the injections and transferred money into an account in a Canadian financial institution in order to buy the product. Peter Tsai pleaded guilty to one count of illegal importing of merchandise.

Conspiracy is punishable by a sentence ranging from probation to ten years in prison. Illegal importing of merchandise is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Judge Dlott will schedule a date for sentencing and determine an amount of restitution the defendants must pay. As part of the plea agreement, Ruey Tsai and Tahsiung Tsai agreed to repay $999,000, which will be credited toward any restitution ordered.

Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by agents and officers of the agencies named above, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Mangan and Timothy Oakley, who are representing the United States.

Anyone suspecting health care fraud, waste or abuse can report it by calling the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General at 800-447-8477.  To learn more about health care fraud prevention and enforcement go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov. Ohioans can report suspected instances of health care fraud to Attorney General DeWine’s office by calling 1-800-282-0515.

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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

Terrance J. King, 47, of Columbus was sentenced to 48 months in prison for defrauding homeowners, businesses, the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in connection with a home improvement repair company he operated. King was also ordered to serve three years under court supervision after his prison time, pay $241,076.34 in restitution to the IRS and pay $7,050 in restitution to CMHA.

King was also ordered for forfeit $40,280.94 to be used to pay restitution to victims.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS), and Barry McLaughlin, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham.

According to court documents, during 2008, 2009 and 2010 King owned and operated Home Improvement Terrance King, doing business in the Dayton, Springfield, and Columbus, Ohio areas. King or his employees solicited business at properties which needed roofing repairs. King contacted the clients’ insurance companies and filed claims for the repairs. King accepted the insurance money as payment for services rendered.

King failed to report all of the income earned from his company on his federal income tax returns for those three years. For the 2009 income tax year, King claimed total income in the amount of $7,919, when his actual total income was $243,656.12. The total tax loss to the IRS as a result of the false income tax returns filed by King was $241,076.34.

While earning the income from Home Improvement Terrance King, on or about September 18, 2008, King submitted to the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority a recertification application package to continue to receive subsidized housing assistance supported by funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. In this package, King submitted specific documents representing that he earned little or no income and had no assets.

“In addition to defrauding home and business owners by placing faulty shingles on their roofs and failing to perform contracted work, King lied to both HUD and the IRS in avoiding the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes on his profits and to collect improper housing benefits,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Fulton told the court prior to sentencing.

“Honest and law abiding citizens are fed up with the likes of those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money," said Kathy A. Enstrom, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS, Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office . "Those individuals who engage in this type of financial fraud should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable."

King previously pleaded guilty on November 22, 2014 to one count each of money laundering, making false claims, and filing a false federal income tax return with the IRS.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation conducted by the IRS and HUD Office of Inspector General, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Fulton and Jessica Knight, who prosecuted the case.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS –Andrew Scott Boguslawski, 44, of Moores Hill, Indiana was sentenced in U.S. District Court to serve 24 months in prison for illegally possessing 13 unregistered destructive devices when he was stopped by an Ohio State trooper on January 1, 2014 on Interstate 70 in Madison County, Ohio. Boguslawski was also ordered to remain under court supervision for three years following his time in prison.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Michael Boxler, Special Agent in Charge, Columbus Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Ohio Fire Marshal Larry Flowers, Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Paul Pride and Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen J. Pronai announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James L. Graham.

Boguslawski pleaded guilty in April to possession of nine fully-assembled unregistered destructive devices and four unregistered destructive devices consisting of component parts, designed and intended for use in conversion into bombs, and from which bombs could be readily assembled. Boguslawski admitted in his plea agreement that he had the component parts to assemble 20 more destructive devices in his Indiana home.

“Boguslawski’s bomb-builder lifestyle presents an extreme danger to the public,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana Peters and Salvador Dominguez told the court prior to sentencing.

A destructive device is an explosive device that is capable of causing property damage and personal injury and/or death to persons near the explosion. Federal law requires that destructive devices be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

Troopers arrested Boguslawski at the scene. He was charged in Madison County on state charges. Those charges have been dismissed. Boguslawski was charged by a federal complaint on March 3, 2014.

U.S. Attorney Stewart and Madison County Prosecuting attorney Pronai commended the cooperative investigation by ATF, the State Fire Marshal, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Columbus Bomb Squad, as well as the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which participated in the investigation. Stewart and Pronai also commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana Peters and Salvador Dominguez, who prosecuted the case.

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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS – The owner of Columbus-based Janis Home Health Care, Eric Isakov, 45, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $900,000 for defrauding the Medicare and Medicaid programs by paying kickbacks in the form of gift cards and videogame systems to people who would sign up with his company, and paying senior living centers for referrals.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr.

Isakov pleaded guilty on February 6, 2014 to one count of health care fraud.

According to testimony at the plea hearing, Isakov paid people to sign up with Janis then billed Medicare for services the company provided to them between January 2010 and March 2013. Isakov also paid patients’ uncovered costs for durable medical equipment such as walkers, rollers and canes, and paid monthly emergency monitoring services for several patients in return for their agreement to allow Janis to provide home health services.

Isakov also paid $30,000 in kickbacks in the form of gift cards and cash to service coordinators of senior living facilities and employees of physician groups in exchange for the referral of residents/patients to Janis for home health care services.

Medicare and Medicaid rules prohibit service providers from paying for referrals or providing kickbacks because such practices could encourage people to sign up for unnecessary health care services.

Separately, Isakov agreed to pay $1.8 million to the United States to settle civil fraud claims. He also agreed to surrender all medical and other state and federal licenses allowing him to practice in any health care and terminate his status as a provider for Medicare and Medicaid. The Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board also revoked Isakov’s physical therapist license.

Stewart commended Assistant United States Attorney Ken Affeldt and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Constance Nearhood with Ohio Attorney General DeWine’s Office who represented the United States in the criminal case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Malek who represented the United States in the civil case, the cooperative investigation conducted by FBI agents, Health and Human Services Inspector General agents, and agents in Attorney General DeWine’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the licensing actions taken by the Physical Therapy Board.
Ohioans can report suspected Medicaid fraud to Attorney General DeWine's office by calling 1-800-282-0515 or visiting www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
Individuals or health care company employees who suspect fraud against government health insurance programs can also report them anonymously online at www.stopmedicarefraud.gov, or by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI – Cornell Clisby, 46, of Cincinnati, who led a heroin trafficking conspiracy in the greater Cincinnati area, was sentenced in U.S. District Court on July 27 to 408 months’ imprisonment. Five other members of the conspiracy, including Cornel Clisby’s ex-wife, have also been sentenced.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, James V. Allen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Drug Abuse Resistance Task Force (DART), announced the sentences imposed by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.

A federal grand jury indicted Cornell Clisby and six others in October 2012 following a year-long investigation. All the defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin. Others charged are: Dorothy Clisby, 46, Cincinnati, who was sentenced to 100 months in prison.
Dwayne Williams, 47, Fairburn, Georgia, was sentenced to 120 months in prison.
Michael Williams, 35, Cincinnati, was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
Allen Carnes, 45, Cincinnati, was sentenced to 210 months in prison.
Marcus Gentry, 42, Florence, Kentucky, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison.
Anthony Anderson, 47, Columbus, Ohio, is scheduled for sentencing on July 30.

All seven were arrested following their indictment and all except for Dorothy Clisby have been in custody since their arrest.

Beginning in 2011, DEA agents and investigators with DART identified several houses in the Cincinnati and Lincoln Heights area that Clisby and the co-conspirators used as “stash houses” to prepare and distribute heroin throughout the greater Cincinnati area. In court documents filed with Clisby’s plea, he admitted that he organized and led the distribution process. He also admitted that he was responsible for obtaining the heroin. 

The court concluded that Clisby is a career offender who merits a lengthy sentence. Clisby previously served nine years on a federal narcotics trafficking conviction. The court also noted that Clisby was on parole for a state narcotics trafficking conviction at the time he committed the most recent crime.

 “The illegal trade in drugs has done nothing but destroy inner city neighborhoods, damage the very foundations of the families who live there and stunt the legitimate community activity that might otherwise occur there,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl Kadon told the court prior to the sentencing hearings. “It is inherently violent, cancerously pervasive, and contributes nothing.”

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the DEA and agencies participating in the DEA Task Force, DART, Ohio BCI and the New York office of the DEA, who assisted in the investigation. He also recognized Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl Kadon, who represented the United States in the case.

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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI – Stephen Edward Peelman, 32, Cincinnati, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 240 months in prison for producing sexually explicit photographs of an 11-year old child.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.  

According to court documents, on September 14, 2012, the Cincinnati Police Department received a report identifying Peelman as a potential subject of a criminal investigation involving a minor female child. Investigation led to the search of Peelman’s residence. Among the items seized from his residence was a cellular telephone. Forensic analysis of the phone revealed it contained pornographic images of the child. Peelman pleaded guilty on March 28, 2014 to one count of production of child pornography. At the plea hearing, he admitted that he had taken the photos.

Peelman has been in custody since January 2013. Judge Barrett ordered that he not receive credit for time served. Peelman was also sentenced to remain under court supervision for the rest of his life after he serves his prison time. Under court supervision, he will be required to register as a sex offender anywhere that he lives, works or goes to school. He will also be prohibited from any contact with minor children and will not be allowed to loiter anywhere that minors congregate including playgrounds, arcades, amusement parks or public swimming pools.

Members of the Greater Cincinnati Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force assisted with the investigation. Agencies in the task force are the FBI, the Regional Electronics and Computer Investigations (RECI) unit from Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, and the police departments in Amberley Village, Blue Ash, Cincinnati and West Chester.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the task force officers who investigated the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy who represented the United States in this case.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

WASHINGTON – A Las Vegas-based former Department of Defense contractor has been extradited from Iraq to the United States to face fraud and conspiracy charges for attempting to bribe U.S. officials in order to secure government contracts for his companies.  Metin Atilan, 54, is the first person extradited from Iraq to the United States pursuant to the U.S.-Iraq extradition treaty of 1936.

        Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio, Special Agent in Charge Kevin Cornelius of the FBI’s Cincinnati Office and Resident Agent in Charge Bret Flinn of the Defense Criminal Investigation Service (DCIS) made the announcement.

        “This historic extradition from Iraq to the United States is an example of our cooperation with law enforcement worldwide to bring fugitives to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Atilan’s return to the United States, after more than six years on the run, sends a clear message to fugitives: no matter where in the world you try to hide, we will find you, and we will prosecute you.”    

        “This case is a tremendous example of a successfully organized and cooperative law enforcement effort put forth by the FBI, DCIS, Interpol and the Iraqi government,” said Special Agent in Charge Cornelius.  “I commend the work of the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office and the U.S. Embassy Country Team in Iraq. They have garnered a superior level of law enforcement cooperation between the FBI and Iraqi officials. Without their support, this extradition would not have been possible.”

        Atilan, a dual U.S. and Turkish citizen, is scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael R. Merz of the Southern District of Ohio.

        Atilan was charged by indictment on June 10, 2008, with conspiracy to engage in contract fraud, conspiracy to engage in wire fraud, and wire fraud.  According to court documents, Atilan is President and Chief Executive Officer of PMA Services, Ltd. of Las Vegas and Kayteks Ltd. of Adna, Turkey.  In 2006 through 2008, Atilan offered bribes and kickbacks in order to secure contracts for businesses he owned in connection with services and construction associated with U.S. military operations in Iraq.  Some of the Defense Department contracting officials who Atilan is accused of trying to bribe were stationed in Dayton at the time.  

        Atilan was first arrested in Las Vegas on May 23, 2008. Atilan was placed on electronic monitoring pending his formal hearing before a federal judge in Dayton, Ohio.  On June 15, 2008, Atilan allegedly violated the terms of his pretrial release by cutting off his electronic bracelet and fleeing the country.  The government sought his extradition, and Atilan arrived in Dayton, Ohio on July 27, 2014. 
       
An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

        This case was investigated by the FBI and DCIS.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight Keller of the Southern District of Ohio with assistance from Trial Attorney Dan E. Stigall of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Department of Justice Attaché Ellen Endrizzi.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.

# # #

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Stewart Alan Miller, 48, of Columbus, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 121 months imprisonment for obtaining and receiving thousands of images and videos of child pornography via the internet and peer-to-peer file-sharing programs from approximately June 2003 through July 2013.

Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.

Miller pleaded guilty on December 17, 2013 to one count of receipt of child pornography. According to testimony provided by the government during the plea hearing, the FBI began investigating Miller, who was a Columbus Police officer at the time, in October 2013 after receiving a tip. They obtained and executed search warrants at Miller’s residence at the time and a storage facility he rented, recovering various computers and digital media.

A forensic examination of two external drives located in the crawl space above Miller’s bathroom revealed the presence of images and videos of child pornography.  The images dated back to 2002. The children in the videos ranged in age from toddler to teenager. The file paths of some of the images indicated that they were originally downloaded via a peer-to-peer file-sharing network.  Images and videos of child pornography were also located on a laptop computer seized from the basement of the residence.  Additional images of child pornography were recovered from several CDs seized from the storage facility rented by Miller.

“The fact that the defendant was a sworn law enforcement officer at the time he committed this offense actually exacerbates the seriousness of it, as he was violating his duty to protect the public by committing the offense,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill told the court prior to sentencing.

Miller was also fined $17,500, ordered to pay restitution of $7,500, and sentenced to remain under court supervision for five years after he completes his prison sentence. During that time, he will be required to register as a sex offender anywhere that he lives, works or goes to school.  He must also allow the court to install monitoring software on any computer he owns, uses or has access to that is connected to the internet.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the FBI Columbus Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes officers from the Westerville Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill, who prosecuted the case.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI -- A federal grand jury here has indicted Christopher K. Smith, 28, of Cincinnati, alleging that he used the names and identifying information of dead children to file false income tax returns and claim tax refunds.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS), announced the indictment returned yesterday.

The indictment alleges that between February 2012 and June 2012, Smith obtained the names and Social Security numbers of individuals, primarily deceased children, and used the information to file fraudulent income tax returns listing the individuals as taxpayers or dependents. Smith allegedly claimed refunds totaling $16,310.

The indictment charges Smith with four counts of wire fraud, each of which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and five counts of aggravated identity theft. Each count of aggravated identity theft is punishable by two years in prison, of which at least two years must be served consecutive to any time served for the fraud.

Smith will be scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge for an initial appearance on the charges.

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

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI – Heriberto Albarran Caro, aka “Colorin”, 36, born in Chihuahua, Mexico, but residing illegally in Texas and Colorado, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 210 months’ imprisonment for leading an international drug trafficking conspiracy that brought approximately six kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from the southwestern U.S. to the Cincinnati area between July and September 2013.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and James V. Allen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced the sentence imposed today by Chief U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.

“The government notes that Caro orchestrated the transport and delivery of approximately six kilograms of what DEA advises is the purest crystal methamphetamine ever seized in the Southern District of Ohio,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl Kadon told the court prior to today’s sentencing hearing.

DEA agents and task force officers arrested Caro and four other defendants – Bernardo Olivares-Cepeda, 36, Corpus Christi, Texas; Jose Ayvar-Ramos, 36, born in San Pedro, Mexico but residing illegally in Texas and Oklahoma; Alberto Sanchez, 37, born in Caahuila, Mexico but residing illegally in  Texas; and Ivan De Los Santos, 24, born in San Pedro, Mexico but residing illegally in Texas – at a Cincinnati-area hotel in September 2013 as a result of an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in Texas, Colorado, Mexico and Ohio. All five defendants pleaded guilty. Olivares-Cepeda was sentenced to 200 months in prison. Jose Ayvar-Ramos was sentenced to 188 months in prison. De Los Santos was sentenced today to 60 months in jail followed by three years of supervised release. Sanchez is scheduled for sentencing on September 18.

According to court documents, Caro obtained the methamphetamine, as well as quantities of cocaine and marijuana, from unknown Mexican sources of supply with ties to the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas. Ayvar-Ramos arranged to bring the vehicle containing the meth into southern Ohio in September 2013, accompanied by a woman and a child. Ayvar-Ramos hired Sanchez and De Los Santos to perform counter-surveillance to protect against the detection of the conspiracy by law enforcement.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the DEA and agencies participating in the DEA Task Force including the Cincinnati Police Department, as well as the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the DEA office in Colorado Springs who assisted in the investigation. He also commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl Kadon, who represented the United States in the case.

###

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI – Caleb Zachary Storey, 31, Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 384 months in prison for producing sexually explicit photographs of a child he was babysitting in the family’s home, and trading child pornography through an email account.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Cincinnati, Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil and members of the Greater Cincinnati Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith.  

Storey pleaded guilty in March 2014 to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. According to court documents, FBI agents and members of the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Section, Major Case Coordination Unit, investigating a case in Savannah, Georgia found a sexually explicit image of a child and traced it to an address in Cincinnati. Further investigation determined that the photo was taken at the family’s home. The child’s parents identified Storey as their in-home child care provider when the photograph was taken.

On January 8, 2014 investigators searched Storey’s residence and found evidence that he had been trading child pornographic images using an email account and a photograph-sharing website. Preliminary forensic examination of computer and storage media seized from his residence have identified at least four other boys, all less than eight years old, pictured in pornographic images taken by Storey. The FBI arrested Storey on January 8 based on a criminal complaint. He has been in custody since his arrest.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

The FBI Child Exploitation Task Force includes the Regional Electronics and Computer Investigations (RECI) unit from Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil’s Office and the Cincinnati Police Department. Other agencies participating in the Greater Cincinnati ICAC include Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, and the police departments in Amberley Village, Blue Ash, and West Chester.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the FBI agents and task force officers who investigated the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy who represented the United States in this case.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Christopher Edward Pelloski, MD, 40, of Upper Arlington, Ohio, was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison followed by five years of supervised release for accessing peer-to-peer file sharing networks to view digital images of child pornography involving pubescent and pre-pubescent children. He was also fined $10,000.

Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott, Upper Arlington Police Chief Brian Quinn and members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham.

According to court documents, investigators patrolling the internet in October 2012 and between March and July 2013 identified a computer at Pelloski’s residence on a peer to peer network with numerous child pornography files. The investigators executed a search warrant at Pelloski’s home on July 16, 2013 and seized numerous computers and digital media.  A forensic examination of one of the computers revealed evidence of approximately 85 images of child pornography, as well as evidence that various peer-to-peer programs had been installed on the computer.

Pelloski surrendered to federal officials on July 24, 2013 after a criminal complaint was filed against him. He has been on electronic monitoring since his arrest. Pelloski pleaded guilty on November 15, 2014 to one count of accessing child pornography.

“While the defendant may not have committed acts of sexual abuse or molestation himself, the hundreds of images and videos that he downloaded and viewed involved real children suffering real abuse,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill told the court. “The government believes that the position of trust and responsibility that the defendant was given in regards to young and vulnerable children heightens his culpability in this case.”

The Bureau of Prisons will determine a date for Pelloski to report and begin serving his sentence. He will remain on electronic monitoring until then. While he is on supervised release after serving his prison sentence, Pelloski will be required to register as a sex offender anywhere that he lives, works or goes to school.

Pelloski was a radiation oncologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, where he also held the title of Director of the Pediatric Radiation Oncology Program.

The Franklin County ICAC Task Force is a multi-agency effort dedicated to the fight against computer facilitated crimes against children. The following agencies are members:

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office                                 Upper Arlington Police Department
Grove City Police Department                                    Columbus Police Department
Grandview Heights Police Department                  Whitehall Police Department
Hilliard Police Department                                                           Westerville Police Department
Homeland Security Investigations                                            U.S. Secret Service
Ohio ICAC                                                                                            Franklin County Prosecutor's Office
Circleville Police Department

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the HSI agents and other members of the ICAC Task Force for the cooperative investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill, who prosecuted the case. Stewart also acknowledged the assistance of the Ohio State University Police Department in the investigation.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS – A federal grand jury has indicted 17 people in connection with a series of violent crimes including 12 unsolved murders as well as other attempted murders, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion and robbery. The defendants are accused of being an organized criminal enterprise known as the Short North Posse. Eleven defendants could face the death penalty if convicted of the crimes in the indictment.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James V. Allen, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Michael Boxler, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the indictment, which was unsealed today following early morning efforts to arrest and locate the defendants.

The indictment alleges that beginning in 2005, members of the enterprise originally referred to themselves solely as the Short North Posse. Later some members began subsets of the Short North Posse referring to themselves as the Cut Throat Committee and later the Homicide Squad.  Still within the Short North Posse, Cut Throat Committee and Homicide Squad specialized in murders and robberies of rival gang members, other drug dealers, and targets thought to have large sums of cash or firearms. The Short North Posse also identified themselves nationally with the Crips street gang.

A list of those charged is below.

The indictment charges one or more of the defendants with 12 unsolved homicides, 23 attempted homicides, 41 violent felonies and 45 weapons offenses. The crimes occurred in Canal Winchester, Chillicothe, Columbus, Pataskala, Pickerington, and Zanesville, between 2005 and 2012.

The indictment is a result of a two-year long investigation by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, Columbus Police, Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott’s Office, and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s Office. Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx, Licking County Prosecutor Kenneth Oswalt, Muskingum County Prosecutor D. Michael Haddox, Ross County Prosecutor Matthew S. Schmidt, law enforcement leaders from those counties, and officials of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction joined U.S. Attorney Stewart in announcing the charges.

“As part of the investigation, law enforcement set up a tip-line in February seeking information on unsolved murders in central Ohio,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said. “Because of public response and law enforcement determination and hard work, we’re announcing charges against people a grand jury alleges were responsible for 12 unsolved homicides.”

All defendants will appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge who will determine whether or not to hold them without bond until trial.

Stewart commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys David DeVillers and Kevin Kelley, as well as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jimmy Lowe with Franklin County Prosecutor O’Brien’s Office, who are prosecuting the case.

Charges contained in an indictment are allegations. All defendants should be presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

SNP
Cut Throat/Homicide Squad

No.

Name

Age

City of Residence

Counts

1

*Robert B. Ledbetter

  35

Columbus, Ohio

1, 4, 9, 10, 17, 18, and  19

2

*Lance A. Green

  34

Columbus, Ohio

1, 2, and 3

3

*Allen L. Wright

  28

Columbus, Ohio

1, 2, and 3

4

Tysin L. Gordon

  28

Columbus, Ohio

1

5

*Christopher A. Harris

  26

Columbus, Ohio

1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10

6

*Robert L. Wilson III

  25

Columbus, Ohio

1, 5, 6, 9, 10, 15, and16

7

*Rashad A. Liston

  25

Columbus, Ohio

1, 9, 10, 15, and 16

8

*Deounte Ussury

  29

Columbus, Ohio

1, 7, 8, and 11

9

Thomas E. Coates

  28

Columbus, Ohio

1

10

Ishmael Bowers

  32

Columbus, Ohio

13 and 14

11

*Joseph Hill

  30

Columbus, Ohio

1, 12, 13, 14, 22, and 23

12

Freddie K. Johnson

  28

Columbus, Ohio

1, 20, and 21

13

*Deshawn Smith

  27

Columbus, Ohio

1, 13, 14, 24, and 25

14

Lance Reynolds

  31

Columbus, Ohio

13 and 14

15

*Rastaman A. Wilson

  37

Columbus, Ohio

5 and 6

16

*Clifford L. Robinson

  36

Columbus, Ohio

5 and 6

17

Troy A. Patterson

  23

Columbus, Ohio

15 and 16

* indicates that they could face the death penalty

Count 1
Racketeering Conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)

0-life imprisonment
$250,000 fine
$100 spec assmt
5 yrs supv rel

Counts 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 17   
Murder in aid of racketeering
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1)

0-life imprisonment/death
$250,000 fine
$100 spec assmt
5 yrs supv rel

Counts 6, 8, 10, 14, and 16 
Murder through the use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime
18 U.S.C. § 924(C) and 924(j)

0-life imprisonment/death
$250,000 fine
$100 spec assmt
5 yrs supv rel

Count 18
Conspiracy to murder a witness
18 U.S.C. § 1512(k)

Life or death
$250,000 fine
$100 spec assmt
5 yrs supv rel

Count 19
Use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(iii)

10 years  - life imprisonment consecutive
$250,000 fine
$100 spec assmt
5 yrs supv rel

Count 20, 21, 22, and 24 
Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)

0-10 years
$250,000 fine
$100 spec assmt
3 yrs supv rel

Count 23
Possession with intent to distribute cocaine
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)
21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C)

0-20 years
$1,000,000 fine
$100 spec assmt
3 yrs supv rel

Count 25
Possession with intent to distribute heroin
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)
21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C)

0-20 years
$1,000,000 fine
$100 spec assmt
3 yrs supv rel

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has indicted four people, alleging that they offered and accepted bribes and kickbacks as part of a public corruption conspiracy in their roles as managers and a consultant for Arise! Academy, a charter school in Dayton, Ohio.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine whose office oversees the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) announced the indictment today.

The indictment charges Shane K. Floyd, 42, Strongsville, Ohio, who served as superintendent of Arise, Carl L. Robinson, 47, Durham, North Carolina, who operated an educational consulting business called Global Educational Consultants, and Arise board members Christopher D. Martin, 44, Springfield, Ohio and Kristal N. Screven, aka Kristal Allen, 38, Dayton, Ohio.

The indictment alleges that Floyd, Martin and Screven solicited and accepted bribes from Robinson in exchange for awarding a lucrative, unbid consulting contract to Global. The indictment says Arise paid Global $420,919 over 12 months starting in October 2008 at a time when Arise had difficulty making payments to other vendors and staff. In exchange for the consulting contract, Robinson paid Floyd more than $5,000 in cash, gave Martin cash and a trip to Las Vegas, and bribed Screven with cash and payments for a school security services company she and her husband owned.

All four are charged with conspiracy, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, and with aiding and abetting federal programs bribery, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison. In addition, Floyd, Screven and Martin are each charged with one count of making false statements, punishable by up to five years imprisonment. Screven is also charged with one count of witness tampering for allegedly telling a witness to lie to the grand jury investigating the case. Witness tampering is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. All counts also carry potential fines of up to $250,000.

The indictment also seeks a total of $420,919 in forfeiture that the defendants will have to pay if they are convicted. The amount represents the money derived from the crimes.

Floyd, Robinson and Martin will be summoned to appear in federal court. Screven surrendered to members of the FBI’s Central Ohio Public Corruption Task Force, which includes special agents from the FBI and Ohio BCI, today.  She will receive an initial appearance today before a federal magistrate in Dayton. Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham will preside over the case.

Arise! Academy was an Ohio Community School, commonly known as a charter school, which operated with federal funds provided through the state of Ohio.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the FBI’s Central Ohio Public Corruption Task Force and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Doug Squires and Heather Hill, who are prosecuting the case.

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

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Martin C. Eldridge III, 35, Columbus, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to violating the Clean Air Act when he cut the tubing on air conditioning units he was stealing and released a regulated refrigerant into the environment.

Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Randall K. Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Ron O’Brien and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the plea entered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Preston Deavers.

According to court documents, Eldridge and others stole at least 49 air conditioner units between August and October 2013 in order to sell the copper and parts from the units at scrap yards. When he cut the tubing that connected the air conditioner to the business or residence, a refrigerant known as HCFC-22 was released. The refrigerant is regulated under the Clean Air Act because it poses a significant threat to the Earth’s ozone layer. HCFC-22 is also known as R-22 and sold under the trade names of Freon, Genetron, Arcton and Forane.

Eldridge pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly venting HCFCs into the environment. Under terms of the plea agreement, Eldridge will serve 31 months in federal prison. The plea agreement recommends that Eldridge serve the federal sentence concurrent with his state sentence on the theft charges. Eldridge has been in state custody since October 2, 2013. Following prison time, Eldridge will be under court supervision for 12 months during which time he must perform 200 hours of community service. Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham will review the terms of the plea agreement before determining whether or not to accept the agreed-to sentence and schedule a date for sentencing.

“The release of ozone depleting substances can cause serious harm to public health, including skin cancer, cataracts, and suppression of the immune system,” said Randall K. Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio.  “The defendant’s continual theft of air conditioner parts was illegal and a clear violation of the Clean Air Act.  As this defendant has learned, anyone who thinks that breaking the law is worth the risk should think again.”

U.S. Attorney Stewart said this is the first federal case of its kind in the Southern District of Ohio. He commended the cooperative investigation by the Columbus Division of Police and U.S. EPA and the scrap metal theft task force, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather B. Robinson with Franklin County Prosecutor O’Brien’s Office and Brad Beeson with the U.S. EPA, who prosecuted the case.
#   #   #

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI, OHIO – Peggy Dossman, 42, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, pleaded guilty to one count of willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Dossman faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, and James Vanderberg, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General announced the guilty plea entered today before Chief U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.

According to court documents, between 2003 and 2010 Dossman was a partner in a home health care business known as Southwest Home Healthcare.  During the 2008 and 2009 income tax years, Dossman and her partner deducted and collected income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes from the wages of the employees of Southwest Home Healthcare, but failed to remit those employment taxes to the IRS.

Dossman agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $352,472.77 for the employment taxes not remitted to the IRS for the first and second quarters of 2008 and for all four quarters of 2009.  In addition, Dossman agreed to pay restitution to the State of Ohio in the amount of $6,573.14.

Dossman was released on bond, pending sentencing, on a date to be determined by Judge Dlott.

On May 13, 2014, Gina Kerth, 45, of Harrison, Ohio, who was also a partner in Southwest Home Healthcare, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Herman J. Weber to one count of willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS.  Kerth was released on bond and a sentencing date was set for September 10, 2014.

"IRS Criminal Investigation realizes the detrimental consequences of employment tax evasion. It results in the loss of tax revenue to the United States government and the loss of future social security or Medicare benefits for the employees," stated Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy S. Mangan and was investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor.
###

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI -- A federal grand jury here has indicted James Jeremy Savage, 40, originally from Springfield, Ohio, charging him with 29 counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Savage was incarcerated in Ohio state correctional facilities in Warren and Madison counties when he allegedly committed the crimes.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office announced the indictment returned yesterday.

According to the indictment, between April 2007 and April 2011, Savage knowingly filed false claims for income tax refunds with the IRS by preparing and filing false federal income tax returns for other individuals.  The intended loss to the IRS due to this fraudulent scheme was approximately $44,675.53

Savage prepared and filed the bogus returns on behalf of other inmates who agreed to pay him in commissary items. The apartment number in the address listed by Savage on many of the returns was allegedly the inmate number for the incarcerated person in whose name the return was filed.
 
Filing false claims with the IRS is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

“At the IRS, protecting taxpayer money is a matter we take extremely seriously.  An integral part of the agency’s mission involves detecting and catching fraudulent tax refund claims," stated Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charges, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.  "The object of these schemes is to defraud the government and the taxpaying public.”

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Anne L. Porter and investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation.

Savage is currently in custody in Chillicothe Correctional Institution on unrelated state charges.

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

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

DAYTON, OHIO – Julia Immaculata Lucente, 55 of Dayton pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to illegally prescribing oxycodone while she was a physician at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Dayton. 

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Gavin McClaren, Resident Agent in Charge, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General Criminal Investigations Division (VA-OIG), Timothy Plancon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Jonathan Blanton, Interim Director, State Medical Board of Ohio announced the plea entered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Newman.

According to court documents, Lucente began her employment as a medical doctor at the Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) in Dayton in 2008.  On November 6, 2012, Lucente used her VAMC prescription pad to issue issued a prescription for 72 Oxycodone pills to an individual who was neither a patient of Lucente’s nor a patient at the VAMC.  Further, Lucente wrote the prescription without a documented proper medical examination, which is contrary to established medical protocol.

Lucente pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of aiding and abetting another to knowingly and intentionally possess a controlled substance.

“Terms of the plea agreement call for Lucente to permanently surrender her Medical and DEA licenses,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said. “She also agreed not to reapply for a medical or DEA license in Ohio or any other state.”

Lucente will serve a period of probation to be determined by the court after the court conducts a pre-sentence investigation. No date has been set for sentencing. 

“We will tirelessly pursue any VA employees violating their position of trust.” said Gavin McClaren, United States Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, Resident Agent in Charge, Cleveland.

“Coordination between agencies is important in these types of complex investigations, DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Plancon said. “The DEA values the partnerships we have with Federal, State, and Local agencies in our common goal to combat prescription drug abuse.”

“Criminal prescribers have no place in the medical profession,” SMBO Interim Director Blanton said. Partnerships like this one, where we had the opportunity to work with the outstanding agents out in the field, are an invaluable tool in the Medical Board’s continuing efforts to make sure the physicians Ohioans trust with their health care are ethical, competent, and follow the law.”

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the VA OIG, the DEA Tactical Diversion Squad, and the State Medical Board of Ohio, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheila Lafferty, who is prosecuting the case.

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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

DAYTON, OHIO– A federal grand jury has indicted Moustaphe Toure, 54, of Cincinnati, charging him with illegally exchanging “food stamp” cards for cash and other ineligible items including a firearm.  

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Derrick Hurst, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (USDA), Mark Porter, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, and John Born, Director, Ohio Department of Public Safety announced the indictment today after Toure was arraigned in U.S. District Court. The indictment was returned on May 27, 2014.

According to the indictment, Toure owned and operated a retail store known as Quick Stop Convenience Store and Sarah Carryout. The indictment charges him with 20 counts of unauthorized use and possession of federal food stamp access devices, each of which is punishable by up to five years in prison. Toure is also charged with 23 counts of wire fraud for using the illegally acquired cards to access the balances on the cards. Each count is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.  The indictment also charges Toure with one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, a crime punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Toure appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Newman and entered pleas of not guilty. U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black will schedule a trial for Toure, who was arrested on May 7 and is being held without bond. 

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program is a federally funded national nutrition assistance program jointly administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and individual state agencies. In Ohio, this program is administered by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Allegations of fraud in the system are investigated on the federal level by the USDA Office of Inspector General and on the state level by the Ohio Investigative Unit in the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

Stewart commended the cooperative investigation between agents of the USDA Inspector General, Secret Service, and the Ohio Investigative Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight Keller, who is prosecuting the case.

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

###

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Terry Dragash, DO, 59, of Pataskala, Ohio pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiring to distribute oxycodone. 

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS), and James V. Allen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced the plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost.

According to testimony presented during the plea hearing, Dragash was employed as a physician at Columbus Southern Medical Clinic located at 2912 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio from 2001 through 2011. During his employment at Columbus Southern, the conditions inside the clinic were less than ideal for the treatment of patients. Dragash, as well as other physicians working at the clinic were required to see between 50 and 100 patients a day, as well as supervise physician assistants, who were also seeing 50 or more patients a day.

Consequently, Dragash was spending an inadequate amount of time with patients to effectively diagnose and treat them.  Furthermore, many of the patients being seen at Columbus Southern were drug seekers travelling long distances for the sole purpose of obtaining pain medications to support their drug addictions.  Based on the preceding factors and others, Dragash, while employed at Columbus Southern, frequently prescribed controlled substances, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, to patients who were addicted to pain medications. Between January 1, 2003 and January 31, 2011, Dragash knowingly prescribed controlled substances, including 5500 milligrams of oxycodone, to Columbus Southern patients when there was no legitimate medical purpose and when it was outside the usual course of a professional practice.  

Dragash pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. Federal law provides for penalties of up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $1 million and at least three years of supervised release. Judge Frost will schedule a sentencing hearing following a pre-sentence investigation by the court.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by special agents of the IRS and the DEA Tactical Diversion Squad in addition to the work by the Columbus Division of Police, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Licking County Sheriff’s Office, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Board of Pharmacy, State Medical Board of Ohio, Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, and Ohio Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Affeldt is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Anthony D. Scott, 28, of Columbus was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 240 months in prison for distributing the heroin that led to the overdose death of a Columbus man in August 2013.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, James V. Allen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, DEA and agencies participating in the DEA task force announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost.

Scott pleaded guilty in February 2014 to distribution of heroin. At the time of his plea, Scott acknowledged distributing heroin on multiple occasions in July and August of 2013, including the heroin that caused the overdose-death of a 41 year-old Columbus man, as well as possessing heroin and cocaine along with 5 firearms in his residence at the time of his arrest. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hunter told the court, “Presented here is not some hypothetical or rhetorical statement by a prosecutor about a defendant that is causing harm to the community; there was significant and compelling evidence that the heroin that Mr. Scott pumped into the streets of Columbus directly contributed to the death” of a Columbus-area man.

Scott was also sentenced to serve six years under court supervision after he serves his prison time.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by special agents of the DEA, the police departments in Upper Arlington, Westerville, and Grove City, the Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force (C.O.D.E.), Franklin County Sherriff Zach Scott’s Office, and the Fairfield-Hocking Major Crimes Unit for their participation in the investigation and arrest of Scott in August 2013. Scott has been in custody since his arrest.

PAIN CLINIC OWNER SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS IN PRISON AND ORDERED TO FORFEIT $6.3 MILLION IN PROFITS

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI – The owner of three southern Ohio pain clinics, Tracy Bias, 49, of West Portsmouth, Ohio, was sentenced to spend 168 months in prison, serve another ten years under court supervision, and ordered to forfeit $6,348,000, an amount representing the proceeds of the pain clinics he operated for two years in Portsmouth, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio. Six doctors involved with the clinic have either been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine; James V. Allen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit Field Division; Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Lamont Pugh, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; Kyle W. Parker, Executive Director of the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy; and Jonathan Blanton, Interim Director, State Medical Board of Ohio announced the sentences imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.

Between January 2009 and June 2011, Bias owned and operated Southern Ohio Complete Pain Management and Portsmouth Medical Solutions in Portsmouth, Ohio and Trinity Medical Care in Columbus, Ohio.

“Bias was a huge part of a greater pill tsunami into the Southern Ohio area,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy D. Oakley told the court prior to sentencing. The “clinics were just a portion of the pill operations being run by felons and failed doctors in Southern Ohio.”

Bias was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 19, 2012 and pleaded guilty on June 7, 2013 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and dispense a controlled substance.

Customers traveled hundreds of miles to the clinics in central and southern Ohio where, for cash payment of approximately $200 per office visit and with little or no physical examination, clinic customers would receive excessive amounts of “cocktails” of controlled substances including diazepam, hydrocodone, oxycodone and alprazalam.

“The drug creates multiple classes of victims; being those who are addicted, those who suffered from the theft and violence associated with the obtaining of that drug and the ones left to mourn for the dead,” Oakley told the court.

As a result of the investigation, six doctors pleaded guilty to conspiracy for indiscriminately providing the highly addictive medication without conducting proper examinations to determine need or adequate treatment. One of the doctors was sentenced today. John Dahlsten, 57, Cincinnati, was sentenced to four months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Joon H. Chong, 71, Coldwater, Michigan, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, 2014. Mark R. Fantauzzi, 51, Circleville, Ohio, James E. Lassiter, 59, Findlay, Ohio and Stephen L. Pierce, 65, Cincinnati, are scheduled for sentencing on June 24, 2014. Marcellus Jajuan Gilreath, 51, Cleveland, Ohio, is scheduled for sentencing on June 27, 2014.

An attorney representing the clinics, Steve Hillman, pleaded guilty on March 10, 2014 to filing false income tax returns. He faces up to one year in prison and payment of back taxes. No sentencing date is scheduled for him.

Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by agents and officers of the agencies named above, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Oakley and Emily Glatfelter, who prosecuted the case.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has indicted Keith A. Arrick Sr., 46, of Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky and his son, Keith A. Arrick Jr., 21, of Columbus, Ohio charging them with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and members of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, including Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Colonel Paul Pride of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs  announced the indictment today.

Task Force agents and Columbus Police patrol officers arrested Keith A. Arrick Jr. yesterday in Columbus. U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Preston Deavers scheduled a detention hearing for Arrick Jr. for 11 a.m. Friday, May 23, 2014. Keith A. Arrick Sr. is currently in custody in Kenton County, Kentucky on unrelated state charges.

The indictment alleges that between September 2013 and February 2014, the men used various hotels in the Columbus area to harbor women, including a minor female, to engage in commercial sex acts for the financial benefit of the defendants. The indictment accuses the men of recruiting customers through internet websites by posting photos of the women or others who resembled the women, instructing the women how much to charge for the various acts then keeping a portion of the money for themselves, and providing the women with illegal narcotics, including heroin. The investigation found that one victim was brought to Columbus from Kentucky. The indictment alleges that Keith A. Arrick Sr. used physical violence and threats of physical violence if the victims indicated they wished to stop performing commercial sex acts.

The indictment charges both men with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, a crime punishable by a sentence ranging from zero years to life in prison. They are also charged with sex trafficking of a minor, which is punishable by at least ten years and up to life in prison, and two counts of sex trafficking by force fraud or coercion, which is punishable by at least 15 years and up to life in prison.

In addition, the indictment charges Keith Arrick Sr. with two counts of violating the Mann Act which prohibits interstate transportation for prostitution. It is punishable by up to ten years in prison.

“These arrests highlight HSI's commitment to identify and investigate human trafficking threats, as well as protect victims' rights and bring traffickers to justice,” said Marlon Miller, special agent in charge of HSI Detroit, which covers Michigan and Ohio. “We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to dismantle human trafficking networks in our community.”

“The investigation found that these defendants forced the victims to commit sex acts for money. They were held against their will and were fearful for their lives,” said Attorney General DeWine. “Members of this task force helped get these victims away from this situation, and now the defendants are facing the consequences of their actions.”

“The cooperation between agencies in the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force shows the level of commitment we all have to making Ohio a safer place to live,” said Col. Paul Pride, Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent. “Multi-agency task forces enhance the efforts to remove individuals like this from our communities.”

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which was formed in 2012 and is part of the Ohio Attorney General’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, also includes authorities from the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Powell Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Delaware County Prosecutor's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill is representing the government in this case.

Authorities with the Columbus Police Department's gang and vice units, as well as the Grove City Police Department assisted in the investigation.

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

# # #

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has indicted Preston J. Harrison, 42, of Lewis Center, Ohio and his business partner, Thomas E. Jackson, 39, of Powell, Ohio alleging that they defrauded their company’s investors and diverted investors’ funds for their own personal use. Preston Harrison and his wife, Lovena E. Harrison, 41, are also charged with conspiracy and filing a false income tax return.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS), and Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the indictment today following the defendants’ arrests.

According to court documents, Harrison and Jackson operated Westerville, Ohio-based Imperial Integrated Health Research and Development, LLC and developed a product called OXYwater, a beverage that promoters claimed was an all-natural, vitamin-enhanced sports drink that contained added oxygen for improved physical performance.

The indictment alleges that defendants engaged in a scheme to deceive the investors in their company about the structure, composition, finances, sales and profits of OXYwater in order to make the company appear to be a lucrative and profitable financial investment. Preston Harrison and Jackson allegedly produced and sent false and fraudulent statements intended to deceive investors, the ultimate purpose of such false statements being for Jackson and Preston Harrison to obtain money invested in the company and misappropriate it for their own personal use and household expenditures including the purchase of jewelry, an Escalade, a BMW, weapons, clothing and a swimming pool.

Jackson and Preston Harrison allegedly misappropriated more than $2 million of the investors’ funds between August 2010 and spring 2013.  The indictment says that defendants’ scheme caused investors to suffer substantial losses when the corporation was forced to declare bankruptcy with no assets.  As a result of defendants’ alleged conduct, investors lost approximately $9 million.

The indictment charges the Harrisons with conspiracy to obstruct the IRS and with filing a false tax return. Preston Harrison allegedly misappropriated approximately $1.1 million from his company. The indictment charges that he and his wife placed the money in an account in the name of Lovena Harrison’s daycare business, used the money for personal expenses, and did not report the money as income on their 2011 income tax return.

The 34-count indictment charges Preston Harrison and Jackson with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison. They are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 20 counts of money laundering, each punishable by up to ten years in prison. The indictment charges each of the Harrisons with one count of conspiracy to obstruct the IRS and one count of filing a false tax return. Each count is punishable by up to five years in prison. Lovena Harrison is charged with one count of structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, also punishable by up to five years in prison.

The indictment seeks a total of $1,134,250 in forfeiture from Preston Harrison and Jackson, including two vehicles, eight weapons, cash and the contents of a bank account, alleging that the amount represents the proceeds of the crimes.

The defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Preston Deavers in Columbus today and were released on recognizance bonds. Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham is presiding over the case and will schedule all future proceedings.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the IRS and FBI, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Fulton, who is prosecuting the case.

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

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has indicted five people living in Meigs County, Ohio on charges of conspiracy, theft of public money, and money laundering for allegedly defrauding the federal Non-Insured Crop Assistance Program (NAP).

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Mark Porter, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service and Derrick Hurst, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General announced the indictment today.

Named in the indictment are
Christopher T. Wolfe, 43, Racine, Ohio
Michael L. Johnson, 62, Portland, Ohio
Terry J. McNickle, 51, Racine, Ohio
Mark D. Wolfe, 41, Racine, Ohio
Joey L. Jerrell, 43, Racine, Ohio

NAP provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur due to a natural disaster. Payments are limited to $100,000 per crop year per individual or entity. The indictment alleges that Christopher T. Wolfe recruited co-conspirators to enroll in NAP. The co-conspirators would allegedly apply for payments and turn them over to Christopher T. Wolfe after keeping a portion for themselves.

All five are charged with conspiracy, which is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, and theft of public monies, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison. The indictment also charges conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering, crimes punishable by up to ten years in prison. Not all defendants are charged in each count of money laundering or money laundering conspiracy. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $1,563,337.30 which allegedly represents the proceeds traceable to the commission of the crimes.

The defendants will receive summonses to appear in federal court in Columbus at a time and date to be set by the court.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation of this case by Secret Service agents and the USDA-OIG, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Bosley, who is prosecuting the case.

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

# # #

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI –James O. Napier, 40, of Cincinnati was sentenced to serve 240 years (2,880 months) in prison for producing child pornography involving an 11-month old infant and an approximately nine-year old child.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the sentence handed down today by Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott. 

Napier was also sentenced to be placed under the court’s supervision for the rest of his life, which means that he will have to register as a sex offender anywhere that he lives, works or goes to school.  Judge Dlott also sentenced Napier to pay $95,009 in restitution for each victim.

Napier was convicted following a three-day trial in January on nine counts of production of child pornography. The jury also convicted Napier of one count each of transportation of child pornography, distribution of child pornography and receipt of child pornography. Trial testimony showed that in November 2009 Napier used an 11-month old infant for sexual gratification, molested the infant and made a video recording of it before placing it on the internet. Other testimony showed that as recently as November 2012 Napier sexually exploited a girl who was approximately nine years-old and produced videos of those acts.

FBI agents began investigating Napier based on information from the FBI office in Phoenix that Napier was seeking to trade child pornography with others on a website under investigation. FBI agents arrested Napier on January 18, 2013. He has been held without bond.

“The initial investigation of Napier identified him as an active and enthusiastic participant in a community of morally depraved individuals who trade child sex abuse images and videos to satisfy their sexual desires,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy told the court. “One of his victims, due to her age, may never know the abuse she suffered. The other will never forget.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Stewart commended the investigation by FBI agents in Phoenix and Cincinnati, the assistance provided by the Miami Valley Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy Muncy and Ben Glassman, who prosecuted the case.

#   #   #

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Weston Henri Moquin, 29, of Athens, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to serve 15 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for stealing and selling human bones and plastinated human remains from the university anatomy lab where he worked.

Carter Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus.

Moquin pleaded guilty on January 7, 2014 to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and one count of theft from a program receiving federal funds. Moquin stole materials used as teaching aids at Ohio University between July 2011 and June 2012. The materials included loose human bones, skulls, skeletons, plastinated human remains, autopsy saws and other materials that had been purchased by the university. Moquin sold the items primarily through his eBay account. Most of the stolen goods were shipped to customers in California, Utah and Oregon. 

“While the general public would have been uncomfortable with keeping and packaging human remains, defendant’s experience became his ‘special skill’ that facilitated the theft,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Solove told the court. “The university representatives were shocked to learn of the thefts – the very nature of the material made the items an unlikely target for theft, except for someone like defendant Moquin.”

Moquin was ordered to pay $78,018.85 in restitution to the university. “The university also spent countless man hours to update the tracking system to prevent such a theft in the future,” Solove wrote.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the FBI as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah A. Solove who prosecuted the case.

#   #   #

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has indicted Rami Hisham Mohammad, 33, of Hilliard, Ohio, charging him with trafficking in counterfeit goods or services for conspiring to obtain and sell allegedly counterfeit apparel, jewelry and DVDs from his business, Rock Star Fashions.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced the indictment today.

The indictment alleges that Mohammad conspired with others between December 2008 and January 2012 to obtain shipments and/or truckloads of clothing, purses, jewelry and shoes bearing counterfeit marks including Nike, Timberland, Polo/Ralph Lauren, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Ugg, Ed Hardy, Gucci and True Religion brand apparel. Mohammad also is alleged to have concealed the majority of the counterfeit merchandise in an adjoining warehouse space that was accessed through a disguised doorway behind a mirror in a bathroom that opened into a storage area.

During the execution of a search warrant in January 2012, investigators seized more than 5,400 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes, more than 200 counterfeit Coach purses, as well as jeans, watches, sunglasses, wallets, and NY Yankees ski caps.

Mohammad allegedly sold the merchandise at prices well below the retail price of legitimate merchandise. Mohammad also allegedly sold bootleg movie DVDs at the store. U.S. Attorney Stewart said the investigation continues into how Mohammad obtained the counterfeit items.

The indictment charges Mohammad with one count of conspiracy and five counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods. Each count is punishable by up to ten years in prison. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of all proceeds of the crimes and property used to facilitate the crime.
U.S. District Judge James L. Graham will issue a summons for Mohammad to appear in federal court.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation of this case by HSI and the Columbus Police, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah A. Solove, who is prosecuting the case.

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

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

DAYTON, OHIO – Diane Elizabeth Niehaus, 40, of Sugarcreek Township, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to serve 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for embezzling from the accounts of elderly customers of the bank where she worked as a manager. She was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims of her embezzlement and to the IRS.

Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS) announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black.

According to court documents, Niehaus managed the Union Savings Bank branch in Centerville between 2007 and 2010. Using her position with the bank, she methodically targeted and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her elderly customers, many of whom she knew to suffer from cognitive conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

To prevent detection of her embezzlement, she used a host of deceptive tactics including creating fictitious gift letters and fraudulent powers of attorney, and engaging in complicated and layered financial transactions to conceal her theft. Niehaus frequently converted the money into cashiers’ checks or official checks that she then negotiated or caused to be negotiated at USB or other locations. Niehaus illegally earned thousands of dollars through this embezzlement scheme, and she failed to report this fraudulently-obtained income on her federal income tax returns.

“Ms. Niehaus has been and remains an economic danger to this community,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Tabacchi told the court. “Far from having no financial impact on her victims, this defendant’s actions have cost her former employer hundreds of thousands of dollars for which it has yet to receive complete restitution.”

Niehaus pleaded guilty on September 19, 2013 to one count each of embezzlement, money laundering, and filing a false income tax return.

Judge Black sentenced her to pay restitution to the bank, which had reimbursed the customers for their losses, and to the IRS. The exact amount will be determined in the next 90 days.

"Embezzlement and fraud cases can take time to unravel due to the complex financial transactions," said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.  "As we often see, the victims are not only the taxpayers, but also the individuals and entities who suffer the financial harm."

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by special agents of the FBI and IRS, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Tabacchi, who is prosecuting the case. U.S. Attorney Stewart also acknowledged the cooperation of Union Savings Bank in the investigation.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

DAYTON, OHIO – A two-count criminal complaint charging Neil Richard Moore, 59, of Trotwood, Ohio with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of use of a deadly weapon during the commission of a crime of violence has been filed in U.S. District Court in Dayton. The complaint alleges that Moore shot an individual at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dayton on May 5, 2014.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office (FBI), Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl and Glenn Costie, Director of the Dayton VA Medical Center (VAMC) announced the complaint today.

According to an affidavit supporting the complaint, Moore allegedly shot an employee of the VAMC with a .38 caliber revolver after confronting him in the basement of a building at the medical center. During a struggle with employees, the handgun discharged multiple times with one shot striking the victim in the leg. Moore then allegedly fled the scene in an elevator where he encountered another individual and pointed the handgun at this person.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000.

Moore appeared before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon Ovington today for an initial appearance on the complaint. Moore is being held without bond. Magistrate Judge Ovington scheduled a detention hearing for May 9 at 1:30 and a preliminary hearing for May 20.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the prompt response to the reports of the active shooter to the FBI, Dayton Police and other law enforcement agencies including the VA Police Services, Montgomery County Sheriff Philip Plummer’s Office, the VA Office of Inspector General, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, the Five Rivers Metro Parks Police Department, the Good Samaritan Hospital Police, and the Kettering Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dwight Keller and Brent Tabacchi are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A criminal complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS – Former Columbus Police Detective Stevie Billups, 48, of Columbus was sentenced to serve 57 months in prison for crimes he committed through his involvement with a local drug dealer.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office (FBI), Karen Huey, Director of Enforcement for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham.

Judge Graham also fined Billups $10,000 and ordered him to serve three years of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

Billups pleaded guilty on November 22, 2013 to one count of attempted possession with intent to distribute heroin. According to a document the government filed with the court prior to today’s sentencing, in 2013 Billups provided armed protection for two transactions involving drugs while he was a Columbus Police officer.

Billups began his relationship with a drug dealer when Billups began laundering money for the drug dealer by cashing in chips which helped the drug dealer avoid transaction reporting requirements at the Hollywood Casino in Columbus.

According to court documents, Billups asked the drug dealer to “get him in the game.” Billups’ query led to the June 28th and July 17th drug stings by the FBI, whereby Billups protected the drug dealer in the pickup of purported drug money. He later provided protection for the drug dealer during a transaction which Billups believed involved the distribution of heroin. Billups provided protection during the second transaction while he was on duty, armed with his service weapon, and in a Columbus Division of Police unmarked detective vehicle. Billups received a total of $5,000 in exchange for providing protection to the drug dealer during these transactions.  

“Public confidence in our police to ‘do the right thing’ is undermined with each case of police corruption,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Squires told the court. “It is a police officer’s duty to uphold the law and protect the public…. Billups’ intent to aid and further the problems that heroin has brought to our communities for his own profit indicates the serious nature of this offense.”  

“Using a police officer’s badge and gun to commit crime is a particularly disturbing threat to the community,” stated SAC Kevin Cornelius.  “This case highlights the fact that local, state, and federal agencies are working together to root out corruption and bring to justice those who betray the public’s trust.”

“Ohio Casino Control Commission and its gaming agents are committed to working with our federal and local law enforcement partners to investigate criminal activity occurring at the casinos,” said Karen Huey.  “The Commission will not tolerate money laundering or drug dealing at any of Ohio’s casinos.”

U.S. Attorney Stewart praised the cooperative investigation by the Ohio Casino Control Commission and the FBI’s Central Ohio Public Corruption Task Force which includes agents from the FBI and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).

Mr. Stewart commended the Columbus Division of Police and Police Chief Kim Jacobs for the cooperation they provided during the course of this investigation and thanked the Homeland Security Investigations Bulk Cash Smuggling Task Force for helping initiate this investigation. The Bulk Cash Smuggling Task Force includes agents with Homeland Security Investigations and detectives with the Columbus Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Stewart also acknowledged Assistant United States Attorneys Doug Squires and David DeVillers, who prosecuted the case.
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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Mercedes Emelinda-Silie, 41, of Grove City, Ohio was sentenced to 36 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,415,492.58 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for her role in a conspiracy to defraud the IRS by filing false claims for federal income tax refunds.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office; and Dugan T. Wong, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced the sentence that was handed down by U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost.

On April 4, 2014 Jose Luis Martinez, 47, of Columbus, Ohio was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost to 60 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,415,492.58 in restitution to the IRS for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the IRS by filing false claims for federal income tax refunds and for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

According to court documents, during 2010 and 2011 Martinez and Silie jointly owned and operated San Isidro Cargo in Columbus. San Isidro Cargo was registered with the U.S. Treasury Department as a Money Service Business to provide services such as check-cashing, wire transfers, tax-preparation, notary services, and title services among others.

Martinez operated San Isidro Cargo without a check-casher’s license knowing that one was required by the Ohio Revised Code.  Martinez used San Isidro Cargo to assist co-conspirators, primarily located in New York and New Jersey, in carrying out the income tax refund scheme which came to be known as “Operation Mass Mail.”

This scheme involved the mass filing of hundreds of false income tax returns with Social Security Numbers and identifying information of residents of Puerto Rico. The false income tax returns contained fictitious information including employee wages and employee withholding.  The false income tax returns were accompanied by counterfeit Forms W-2 that used, without legal authority, the names and Employer Identification Numbers of legitimate U.S. businesses. The income tax refund checks were mailed to pre-arranged addresses, usually apartments in New York.  Many of the income tax refund checks shared the same street address, but different apartment numbers, making it easier for co-conspirators to collect the checks from one location.  The checks were collected by corrupt letter carriers and apartment managers or by other perpetrators who simply waited for the checks to be delivered by unknowing mail carriers.  The conspirators then used couriers to travel to other states, including Ohio, to cash the checks at various check-cashing services, including San Isidro Cargo.

Martinez and Silie knew the U.S. Treasury checks they received from persons from New York and New Jersey stemmed from fictitious income tax returns.  Martinez and Silie also knew the endorsements on the checks were forged.  Martinez allowed one individual to cash bulk quantities of sizable income tax refund checks bearing the names of others and addresses located primarily in New York.  Silie made several over the counter cash withdrawals and provided these funds to co-conspirators.  Martinez and Silie received and retained copies of hundreds of counterfeit driver’s licenses from co-conspirators in order to conceal the fraudulent nature of the scheme.

Everyone involved in the scheme, from the income tax return preparer to the check-casher, was paid a cut of the fraudulent income tax refund.  Martinez charged a fee of seven to eight percent of check’s face value.  This fee was a premium for the conversion of the ill-gotten checks, and was well above the three percent fee permitted by Ohio Revised Code for the cashing of government checks, and the two percent fee charged to legitimate customers.

After San Isidro Cargo’s bank accounts were closed by the bank, Martinez continued the scheme by recruiting others to cash the fraudulent checks on their own bank accounts.

From February 2010 through February 2011, Martinez, Silie and others assisted in the conversion and laundering of approximately 696 fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury checks totaling $4,415,492.58.  During 2010, Martinez, Silie and others conducted bank withdrawals in excess of $4 million from San Isidro Cargo’s business accounts.

A third person, Suheidy A. Warner, 30, of Columbus, was also charged in this case in an April 2013 indictment alleging one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS by filing false claims for federal income tax refunds, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, four counts of aggravated identity theft and 25 counts of converting U.S. monies to her own use.  Warner is currently a fugitive.

“These defendants systematically defrauded the government and the taxpaying public and these sentences demonstrate our unwavering commitment to protecting the interests of law-abiding taxpayers,” said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.  “We will continue to partner with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Postal Inspection Service in investigating the criminals who engage in such brazen and fraudulent conduct, ensuring that the only citizens who receive tax refunds are those who are entitled to them.”

These cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Brown and they were investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

DAYTON, OHIO – A federal grand jury has indicted Eric A. Spicer, 44, of Beavercreek, Ohio, charging him with using fraudulent and forged documents to obtain a machine gun illegally. Spicer formerly held the rank of major with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Michael Boxler, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Columbus Field Division (ATF), announced the indictment returned today.

The seven-count indictment alleges that Spicer forged the Greene County Sheriff’s name on documents he provided to a firearms dealer in New York in 2009. The documents claimed that the machine gun would be used for official law enforcement purposes. The ATF began investigating Spicer, executed a search warrant at his home in March 2014 and seized the machine gun. At the time of the search, Spicer told the ATF that he was a sworn and commissioned police officer of the Jackson Township Police Department.

The indictment charges Spicer with one count each of illegal possession of a machine gun, making a false statement to a law enforcement official, making a false statement in conjunction with the purchase of a firearm, possession of an unregistered firearm, and possession of a firearm transferred in violation of the National firearms Act. He is charged with two counts of making a false entry on an application to acquire a firearm.

Making a false statement to a law enforcement official is punishable by up to five years in prison. All other counts carry a possible punishment of ten years’ imprisonment.

Spicer will be summoned to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge for an initial appearance on the charges.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by ATF agents and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight Keller, who is prosecuting the case. Stewart also acknowledged the cooperation of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation, and the assistance of the Beavercreek Police Department during the search of Spicer’s residence.

An indictment is a formal accusation and is not proof of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are found guilty.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS – Addison R. Richardson, 24, of Lima, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to serve 264 months in prison for enticing minors to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott and members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), and Lima Police Chief Kevin Martin announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr.   

Richardson pleaded guilty on January 30, 2014 to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, and to one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. During the plea hearing, Richardson admitted to using the internet and a cellular phone to engage in sexual conversations with a 14-year-old boy who resided in northern Ohio, and that he travelled to a residence in northern Ohio where he engaged in sexual activity with the boy. During the conversations with the boy, Richardson asked the boy to send nude photographs of himself and the boy complied.

Richardson also admitted that he had communicated via e-mail and text message with an undercover officer posing as the father of 14 and 9-year-old boys and that during those communications, he had indicated his desire to engage in various illegal sexual acts with the minor children, and that he had travelled to Columbus, Ohio for the purpose of engaging in those sex acts with the children. ICAC officers arrested Richardson when he arrived in Columbus for the meeting on February 11, 2013.

“The government believes that the sentence in this case will deter other potential defendants by sending a clear message: Individuals who engage in this criminal conduct in the Southern District of Ohio will face the severe and lengthy prison sentences mandated by Congress and anticipated by the sentencing guidelines,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill told the court.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by ICAC task force officers, FBI Special Agents with the Lima resident agency, and Lima Police officers, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather Hill with the Southern District of Ohio and Alissa Sterling in the Northern District of Ohio, who prosecuted the case.

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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

DAYTON – A federal grand jury has returned a 42-count superseding indictment against Lance Ealy, 28, of Dayton, alleging that he bought hundreds of stolen identities online and used the identities to file more than 150 fraudulent federal income tax returns seeking refunds to which he was not entitled. 

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS), and Mark Porter, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service announced the superseding indictment today following Ealy’s appearance before U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett, who released Ealy on electronic monitoring and set a trial date for August 18, 2014.

Ealy was initially charged in a federal complaint filed on October 28, 2013 following in investigation by Secret Service agents that revealed that Ealy had purchased hundreds of stolen identities from an online source. A federal grand jury initially indicted Ealy in November 2013, charging him with one count of knowingly possessing 5 or more access devices with intent to defraud.

The superseding indictment charges him with 41 additional charges, including 11 counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds with the IRS, 14 counts of wire fraud, 14 counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of mail fraud, and one count of using unauthorized access devices to obtain items of $1,000 or more in value in a one-year period. An access device includes things such as payment cards and bank account numbers used to access financial accounts.

The superseding indictment alleges that between approximately January 2013 and October 2013, Ealy electronically filed at least 150 fraudulent federal income tax returns, which include filing at least 50 fraudulent returns using the personal information of others that he had unlawfully acquired or purchased from an online broker.  The superseding indictment further alleges that Ealy opened dozens of bank accounts at multiple financial institutions using the names and social security numbers of other individuals – without their knowledge or permission – in order to electronically deposit the fraudulent tax refunds. 

Illegally possessing fifteen or more unauthorized access devices with intent to defraud and using unauthorized access devices to obtain items of $1,000 or more in value carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000; filing false claims for income tax refunds with the IRS carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; wire fraud and mail fraud each carry a maximum penalty 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000; and aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutive to whatever sentence may ultimately be handed down.

IRS Special Agent in Charge Enstrom said, “Individuals who commit refund fraud and identity theft of this magnitude and with this degree of trickery, dishonesty and deceit, deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.  IRS Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney's Office, remain vigilant in identifying, investigating and prosecuting those individuals who seek to willfully defraud the United States Treasury and blatantly disregard the victims of their schemes.”

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation of this case by the Secret Service and IRS-Criminal Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex R. Sistla and Andrew J. Hunt, who are prosecuting the case.

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

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS –Ashkir Ali, 46, of Columbus was sentenced to 18 months for billing two area school districts more than $100,000 for tutoring sessions that were never provided.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Thomas D. Utz, Jr., Special Agent in Charge for the North Central Region of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General and Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr.

Ali pleaded guilty on November 14, 2013 to one count of making false statements in invoices he sent to the U.S. Department of Education’s Supplemental Education Services Program.

“These crimes were committed in order to abuse a program set up to help central Ohio schoolchildren,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said. “We will continue to work with federal and state law enforcement to uncover and prosecute such crimes.”

“Ali’s students never learned the meaning of the word ‘sentence’ from him,” Auditor Yost said. “But he’ll have plenty of time to ponder what it means while serving his.”

“We appreciate the excellent working relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and look forward to continuing our work for the cause of fiscal integrity.”

Ali owned WAISS Network Technologies. According to court documents, Ali created fraudulent forms using forged tutor, student and parent names and other information. He billed Columbus City Schools and was paid for tutoring 51 students who either never attended tutoring or who went very few times. Investigators determined the fraudulent scheme netted Ali approximately $100,000 over a two-year period.

Ali used the same method to defraud Southwestern City Schools out of approximately $20,000 in the 2010-2011 school year. Investigators did not find a single student from Southwestern City Schools who attended tutoring allegedly provided by WAISS.

Allegations surfaced of possible misconduct by providers of the Supplemental Education Services Program in January 2011.  The Auditor of State’s Special Investigations unit conducted a special audit of the Columbus City School District in June 2011. 

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General and State Auditor Yost’s Special Investigations Unit, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Affeldt who prosecuted the case.

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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS –Andrew Scott Boguslawski, 44, of Moores Hill, Indiana pled guilty in U.S. District Court to illegally possessing 13 unregistered destructive devices when he was stopped by an Ohio State trooper on January 1, 2014 on Interstate 70 in Madison County, Ohio.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Michael Boxler, Special Agent in Charge, Columbus Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Ohio Fire Marshal Larry Flowers, Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Paul Pride and Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen J. Pronai announced the plea entered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King.

Boguslawski pled guilty to possession of nine fully-assembled unregistered destructive devices and four unregistered destructive devices consisting of component parts, designed and intended for use in conversion into bombs, and from which bombs could be readily assembled. 

According to court documents, Boguslawski has agreed to forfeit all destructive devices and bomb making materials seized by the government.

A destructive device is an explosive device that is capable of causing property damage and personal injury and/or death to persons near the explosion. Federal law requires that destructive devices be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

Troopers arrested Boguslawski at the scene. He was charged in Madison County on state charges. Those charges have been dismissed. Boguslawski was charged by a federal complaint on March 3, 2014.

U.S. Attorney Stewart and Madison County Prosecuting attorney Pronai commended the cooperative investigation by ATF, the State Fire Marshal, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Columbus Bomb Squad, as well as the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which participated in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana Peters and Salvador Dominguez are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Marietta Industrial Enterprises, Inc. (MIE) has been ordered to pay a $37,500 fine and make a $12,500 community service payment to the Warren Township Fire Department for failing to report violations of the company’s permit in connection with its mineral processing operation.

Carter Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Randall K. Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, and Craig W. Butler, Director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.

Company president William Scott Elliott was sentenced to serve 48 consecutive hours in jail followed by five months and 28 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. Elliott pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of being an accessory after the fact for failing to notify Ohio Environmental Protection Agency of the violations.

In addition to the fine and community service, the company will perform 416 hours of community service (at least 208 of those hours must be performed by Elliott), serve three years of probation, conduct an environmental audit of their facilities and correct any deficiencies identified in that audit.

According to court documents, one of MIE’s manufacturing processes is crushing medium carbon ferromanganese alloy, referred to as medium carbon, in a mill line. Emissions from the mill lines are captured by equipment known as a baghouse using a large electric fan to ensure that air pollution from the facility is limited. According to court documents, company employees began turning off the fan when processing medium carbon sometime in 2006. In May 2009, Elliott learned that the baghouse fans were being turned off when medium carbon was crushed and put an end to the practice. 

MIE’s permit calls for the company to disclose any instances that the baghouse has not operated properly in its quarterly and annual reports to Ohio EPA.  Between 2006 and 2009, MIE never reported that the baghouse fans were turned off during the processing of medium carbon. From July 19, 2009 through August 10, 2010, Elliott, on behalf of MIE, submitted reports to Ohio EPA.  None of the reports stated that the baghouse fans were turned off during the processing of medium carbon.

“Mr. Elliott and his company endangered Ohioans by allowing hazardous air pollutants to be emitted when they could have and should have been operating existing pollution control equipment,” Attorney General Mike DeWine said.  “I will aggressively prosecute anyone who intentionally threatens Ohio families with this kind of irresponsible behavior.”

“This success is a result of the work of dedicated investigative experts at Ohio EPA’s Office of Special Investigations who work with our partners to prosecute these cases,” said Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler.

This case was jointly investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Ohio EPA, and the U.S. EPA Criminal Investigation Division, all members of the Central Ohio Environmental Crimes Task Force. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Beeson and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous prosecuted the case.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI – Christopher A. McGlown Jr., 27, of West Chester, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison for distributing child pornography through a peer to peer file sharing program.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office (FBI), and other agencies in the Greater Cincinnati Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the sentence handed down yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott.

McGlown pleaded guilty on November 20, 2012 to one count of distribution of child pornography. According to court documents, an FBI agent patrolling the internet in August 2012 downloaded two images and six videos containing child pornography from an IP address determined to be assigned to McGlown. Agents searched McGlown’s house in November 2012 and found file sharing software running on a laptop computer in McGlown’s bedroom. The system showed that the application had been actively running for approximately eight hours.

Further investigation confirmed that McGlown had a collection of more than 600 images of child pornography. His collection included numerous images or video files depicting children younger than 12 years old engaging in various sex acts, including acts considered sadistic or violent.

McGlown was also sentenced to 20 years of court supervision following his prison sentence. While under court supervision, Andriot must register as a sex offender anywhere that he lives, works or goes to school.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Stewart commended the investigation by the FBI and the Greater Cincinnati ICAC Task Force, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy, who prosecuted the case.

Agencies participating in the Greater Cincinnati ICAC include the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil, and the police departments in Amberley Village, Blue Ash, Cincinnati, and West Chester.

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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

CINCINNATI –Reginald S. “Reggie” Myers, 55, Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 232 months imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release for leading a multistate drug trafficking conspiracy that brought between 120 and 180 kilograms of powder cocaine into the greater Cincinnati area between 2005 and 2007.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.

Myers was convicted in January 2013 following a five day trial. According to testimony presented during the trial, the organization spread over several states, with Chicago, then Atlanta as the main “distribution centers” and “branch offices” in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New York City, Raleigh, NC, and elsewhere, and in total moved in excess of 600 kilograms of cocaine (plus heroin and marijuana) out of Atlanta, generating more than $5 million in profits.

Myers used a hair care business known as Unique from Head 2 Toe, located at 4142 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio, for the purpose of carrying out narcotics transactions, and his residence, located at 2032 First Avenue, Cincinnati, for the purpose of discussing business related to narcotics trafficking. FBI agents arrested Myers on February 3, 2009.

Following the verdict, Myers was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals and has been held without bond.

Agencies assisting in the investigation include the U.S. Attorneys’ offices in the Southern District of New York, Northern District of Illinois and the District of Maryland, FBI Field Divisions in New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago, the Cincinnati Police Department, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Athens, Tennessee Police Department.

Stewart commended the investigation conducted by the FBI, as well as Criminal Chief Kenneth Parker and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl Kadon, who represented the United States in the case.

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CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

DAYTON, OHIO – Lamont Scott, 40, of Trotwood, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to eight years in prison after police found Scott, a convicted felon, in possession of eight firearms and drugs in two Dayton-area homes.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Michael Boxler, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Columbus Field Division (ATF), and Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer announced the sentence imposed yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Walter H. Rice.

According to court documents, task force officers with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office RANGE Task Force executed a search warrant at a residence in Trotwood on May 15, 2013. They found seven firearms (one of which was stolen), ten grams of heroin and approximately $61,000 in cash. That same day, police searched a second residence, this one within 1,000 feet of a school, and found another firearm, 272 grams of cocaine and 15 grams of heroin. Scott was arrested and has been in custody since his arrest.

Scott has prior felony convictions in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court of having a weapon under disability and intimidation of a crime victim. Both are felonies. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from owning or possessing firearms.

“Through his recidivism and non-compliance with lesser sanctions, Defendant has exhibited a lack of respect for the law and the need to be deterred from future crimes,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Hunt told the court prior to sentencing. “Furthermore, the Defendant’s continued involvement in drug and firearm offenses demonstrate a threat to the community’s safety, and require a significant term of incarceration to provide a just punishment.”

Scott pleaded guilty on November 19, 2013 to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Stewart acknowledged the cooperative investigation by ATF agents and the RANGE task force, along with Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew Hunt and Alex Sistla, who prosecuted the case.

CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer

DAYTON, OHIO – Richard Castle, 47, a resident of the United Kingdom, has been sentenced to serve 192 months in prison in connection with a trip he made to Ohio from his home in the United Kingdom in order to have sexual relations with a juvenile in June 2011.

Mythili Raman, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Special Agent in Charge Marlon Miller of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Ohio and Michigan made the announcement after the sentencing proceeding today before U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black in Dayton, Ohio.

Members of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Extradition Team and International Assistance Unit, housed within New Scotland Yard, arrested Castle at his home in Northampton, England on Jan. 12, 2012.

A federal grand jury indicted Castle on February 15, 2012 and Castle pleaded guilty on October 3, 2013 to charges of coercion of a minor, travelling with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact with a minor and transferring obscene material to a minor. Castle admitted that, posing as a male named Richard Joshua Parker, he used the Internet between March 2009 and June 2011 to coerce a juvenile to engage in illicit sexual activity. He flew to Dayton in June 2011 to engage in illicit sexual relations with the juvenile and stayed approximately three weeks. Castle also admitted that he transferred obscene materials to this same juvenile.

“Threats against our children can come from any corner of the globe,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said. “We must become partners with law enforcement agencies around the world in order to fight child exploitation effectively.”

The case was investigated by HSI, the Englewood Police Department, and the Vandalia Police Department. The Department is grateful for the invaluable support provided by the Miami Valley Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, and the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, the HSI Attaché London Office, and the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance with Castle’s extradition.

“This case is a disturbing reminder that international borders are no longer a hindrance for child predators,” said Miller. “However, today’s significant sentencing should assure victims around the world that HSI and our partners in the international law enforcement community are committed to aggressively targeting those engaged in these heinous acts.”  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheila Lafferty of the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Mi Yung Claire Park of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.