Western District of Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – JASON BARBER, 41, of Bethany, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty today to depriving a pretrial detainee of his civil rights by using unreasonable force, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to charges filed on October 31, 2017, Barber was a ranking Lieutenant and employed as a Correctional Officer during 2014 at the Canadian County Jail in El Reno, Oklahoma.  On December 23, 2014, L.T. was an individual held at the jail after an arrest but before conviction of a crime.  The charges allege that Barber willfully deprived L.T. of his constitutional right to due process of law when he struck L.T. while participating in a disciplinary hearing concerning L.T.  Because Barber was acting under color of law, his unreasonable use of force violated federal criminal law.  In the absence of bodily injury, the offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison.

 

Today Barber pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Shon T. Erwin.  Barber and the government have agreed he should receive a sentence of probation.  He could also be fined up to $100,000.  He will be sentenced in approximately 90 days.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Investigations Division of the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia E. Barry is prosecuting the case.  Reference is made to court records for further information.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – DENNIS LEE, 44, of Nichols Hills, pled guilty today to possession of stolen property that crossed a state boundary and to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.  U.S. Attorney Yancey also announced that KENNETH DALE SMITH, 53, of Oklahoma City, has pled guilty to misprision of a felony in connection with interstate theft.

 

According to Count 1 of a five-count indictment filed on June 20, 2017, Lee and Smith were members of a conspiracy that stole motor vehicles and other items from Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.  Conspirators transported the stolen property to the Oklahoma City area, where they "fenced" it for profit.  The indictment alleges that some of the property was stored at Richardson Homes, LLC, on South Portland Avenue in Oklahoma City.  Counts 2 through 4 charge Lee with possession of particular stolen vehicles during the summer of 2016.  Smith is also charged in Count 4 with possessing a stolen vehicle.  According to the indictment, the stolen property was worth a total of approximately $325,000.

 

Lee is charged in Count 5 with being a felon in possession of a firearm.  It also alleges that Lee had been convicted of a crime punishable by one year or more in prison, which made it a federal felony for him to possess a firearm.

 

Today Lee pled guilty to one of the possession-of-stolen-property counts and to the firearms count.  At sentencing, he could receive on each count up to 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  He will forfeit 16 firearms that were in his possession on November 10, 2016, in McClain County.  The remaining charges against Lee will be dismissed at sentencing.

 

Smith pled guilty today to misprision of a felony, charged in a separate filing on November 2, 2017.  He admitted in court that in June 2016, he concealed the offense of possessing stolen property that had crossed a state boundary when he instructed someone by text message not to disclose the circumstances under which he had acquired stolen property.  This offense carries a maximum punishment of 3 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.  The United States has agreed to dismiss other charges against Smith at sentencing.  Both defendants will be sentenced in approximately 90 days.

 

Four others have already pled guilty in this investigation.  On March 8, 2017, Amanda Czermak pled guilty to the interstate-theft conspiracy.  On August 21, 2017, Auston Slater pled guilty to the same conspiracy, and Dakota Epperly and Dakotah Henderson pled guilty to possessing stolen property that had crossed a state boundary.  All four of these defendants are awaiting sentencing.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Major Theft Task Force, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry Investigative Service ("ODAFF"), and the Oklahoma City Police Department.  The Major Theft Task Force consists of the FBI, ODAFF, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Garvin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward J. Kumiega, Mark R. Stoneman, and Ashley L. Altshuler are prosecuting the case.  Reference is made to court records for further information.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – LEONARD RAY FOSTER, of Oklahoma City, has pled guilty to fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud retailers of millions of dollars through gift cards, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to charges filed earlier this week, Foster owned and operated Acquisitions Unlimited, LLC, also known as A-to-Z Giftcards.  This business bought unused or partially used retail gift cards, also known as store value cards, for a fraction of the cards’ face value.  With Foster’s personal involvement, the business then sold the value on the cards to Giftcard Zen, an online retail gift card exchange based in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

According to the charges, from May 2015 to March 2017, individuals affiliated with Foster or his business shoplifted large quantities of high-dollar items from retail stores, including Walmart, Lowe’s, Target, and Home Depot.  They then returned these stolen items, without a receipt, to the retailer for a store value card in the amount of the returned merchandise.  Each day, Foster purchased multiple cards from these individuals for a small fraction of the cards’ face values.  He knew the cards had been obtained through fraud.  Indeed, Foster sometimes directed the shoplifters himself.  Through A-to-Z Giftcards, he then sold the face value on the cards to Giftcard Zen, in violation of terms of service that prohibited selling store value cards obtained through fraud.

 

Foster is charged in two separate counts.  First, he is charged with wire fraud in connection with a particular wire during the scheme: a $59,035.38 transfer on December 9, 2015, from Giftcard Zen’s out-of-state bank to an account of Acquisitions Unlimited at Bank of America in Oklahoma.  Second, he is charged with money laundering, based on a December 10, 2015, withdrawal from Bank of America in the amount of $18,000.  The charges also include forfeiture allegations that seek a 1969 Ford Mustang, currency seized from accounts at First Fidelity Bank, and proceeds of the offenses generally.

 

Today Foster pled guilty to both wire fraud and money laundering.  In a plea agreement, he has acknowledged that the losses associated with his scheme are between $3.5 million and $9.5 million.  At sentencing, he could receive up to 20 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release on Count 1.  On Count 2, he could receive up to 10 years in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.  He will also be subject to mandatory restitution in an amount to be determined by the court and fines of up to $250,000 per count.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Oklahoma City Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia E. Barry, Ashley L. Altshuler, and Wilson McGarry.  Reference is made to court records for further information.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – CURTIS A. ANTHONY, 51, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison for child sex trafficking, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On June 16, 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Anthony and four other defendants for conspiring to engage in child sex trafficking.  One of these defendants, Tonya Gay Gum, operated at least twenty phone numbers listed in the escort section of the Oklahoma City Yellow Pages.  On October 24, 2014, at a commercial property he owned in Edmond, Oklahoma, Anthony met with 14- and 15-year-old girls who were being trafficked by Gum, along with pimps Maurice Johnson and Hiram Mitchell.  After paying both girls to take off their clothes, Anthony paid to have sex with one of the girls.

 

On June 19, 2017, at the conclusion of a four-day trial, a jury convicted Anthony of conspiracy and child sex trafficking for his role as a customer of underage escorts.  The judge instructed the jury that it could convict if Anthony had a reasonable opportunity to observe a minor victim, even if he did not know or recklessly disregard that victim’s age.  The jury heard evidence that Anthony saw the girls in their underwear, touched both of them, and drove one of them to an ATM to get cash for the commercial sex transaction.

 

Today U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron sentenced Anthony to 120 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.  The United States anticipates he will also be required to pay restitution to victims; the court will conduct a hearing to determine the amount of restitution within 90 days.

 

The cases against three of Anthony’s four co-defendants have already been resolved.  On  November 19, 2015, Gum pled guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking.  She was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release.  Trung N. Duong, another customer of Gum, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking on May 9, 2017, and was sentenced to two years in prison on August 29, 2017.  Russell D. Ehrens, another customer, was acquitted on December 9, 2015, under jury instructions that required knowledge or reckless disregard of the victim’s age.  In a government appeal in the cases against Duong, Anthony, and William M. Baker, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held on February 14, 2017, that “reasonable opportunity to observe” the victim is sufficient to support a conviction under the federal statute prohibiting child sex trafficking.  Baker’s case remains pending.

 

Johnson and Mitchell were also prosecuted.  Johnson is currently serving 240 months in federal custody, and Mitchell is serving 120 months.

 

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by United States Department of Homeland Security and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys McKenzie Anderson and David Petermann prosecuted the case.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – This Saturday, October 28, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the Drug Enforcement Administration and its local law enforcement, community, and tribal partners will give the public its fourteenth opportunity in seven years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.

 

This DEA initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.  Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 91 Americans die each day from an opioid overdose.  Some painkiller abusers move on to heroin: four out of five new heroin users started with painkillers.

 

DEA launched its prescription drug take back program when both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration advised the public that their usual methods of disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—posed potential safety and health hazards.  Last April, the public turned in 450 tons (900,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at almost 5,500 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its law enforcement partners.  Overall, in its 13 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 8.1 million pounds—more than 4,050 tons—of pills.

 

"Disposing of leftover painkillers or other addictive medicines in the house is one of the best ways to prevent a member of your family from becoming a victim of the opioid epidemic," said DEA Acting Administrator Robert W. Patterson.  "More people start down the path of addiction through the misuse of opioid prescription drugs than any other substance.  The abuse of these prescription drugs has fueled the nation’s opioid epidemic, which has led to the largest rate of overdose deaths this country has ever seen."

 

To locate collection sites nationwide, visit https://takebackday.dea.gov/#collection-locator, or call 1-800-882-9539.  In the Oklahoma City area, collection sites include the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s offices, at 201 North Shartel in Oklahoma City and at 8029 S.E. 29th Street in Midwest City.  In Lawton, collection sites include the Comanche Nation Police Department, at 8527 N.W. Madische Road.  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.  DEA cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps.  The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs operates a similar, year-round prescription drug disposal program throughout the state. 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – KEN EJIMOFOR EZEAH, 35, and AKUNNA BAIYINA EJIOFOR, 33, have been sentenced to 11 and 7 years in federal prison respectively for their roles in a fraudulent romance scheme involving victims throughout the United States, announced Mark A. Yancey, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. 

 

On February 16, 2016, a grand jury indicted Ezeah and Ejiofor for conspiracy and wire fraud.  According to the indictment, the scheme involved using false profiles to open accounts on online dating web sites and then courting victims by pretending to be successful financial advisors or affiliated with charitable causes.  Over time, through supposedly romantic relationships, the defendants caused victims to share personal information about their finances and then encouraged victims to wire them money on the pretext of managing their investments.  The conspirators actually kept the money for personal use.  The two wire fraud counts concerned wire transfers from a victim in Oklahoma City that totaled more than $1 million.  On June 22, 2016, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment that added one count of aggravated identity theft and 16 counts of wire fraud relating to additional victims.

 

Both Ezeah and Ejiofor were arrested in Houston, Texas, on January 27, 2016.  Ezeah has been in federal custody since that time.  He pled guilty to conspiracy on February 1, 2017.  Ejiofor, who was released on bond after her arrest, exercised her right to a jury trial and was convicted on all counts on March 30, 2017.  She has been in federal custody since her conviction.

 

Today United States District Court Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced Ezeah to 11 years in prison and three years of supervised release.  Ezeah was also ordered to pay $4,678,302.79 in restitution to ten individual victims.  At a separate sentencing on September 28, 2017, Ejiofor received 7 years in prison and three years of supervised release.  She owes the same restitution to the same ten victims, jointly and severally with Ezeah.  Reference is made to public filings for further information.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy W. Ogilvie.

Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced several Department of Justice actions to reduce violent crime in the United States.  Foremost of those actions is the reinvigoration of "Project Safe Neighborhoods," a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  According to the FBI, violent crime rates, including homicides, have risen the past two years.  "As a former Project Safe Neighborhoods and Violent Crime Coordinator, I am pleased by the Attorney General’s commitment to reducing violent crime, an endeavor all Oklahomans can embrace," said Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

In announcing this recommitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Attorney General issued a memo directing United States Attorneys to implement an enhanced violent crime reduction program that incorporates the lessons learned since Project Safe Neighborhoods launched in 2001.

In a statement on the program, the Attorney General said, in part:

***

"We cannot be complacent or hope that [a rising violent crime rate] is just an anomaly: we have a duty to take action."

"Fortunately, we have a President who understands that and has directed his administration to reduce crime.  The Department of Justice today announces the foundation of our plan to reduce crime:  prioritizing Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that has been proven to work.

"Let me be clear – Project Safe Neighborhoods is not just one policy idea among many.  This is the centerpiece of our crime reduction strategy.

"Taking what we have learned since the program began in 2001, we have updated it and enhanced it, emphasizing the role of our U.S. Attorneys, the promise of new technologies, and above all, partnership with local communities.  With these changes, I believe that this program will be more effective than ever and help us fulfill our mission to make America safer."

          Additional information and the Attorney General’s full remarks are available at: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-sessions-announces-reinvigoration-project-safe-neighborhoods-and-other.

The Department of Justice has awarded more than $18 million in grants to Oklahoma tribal governments to enhance public health and safety, announced Mark A. Yancey, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma; R. Trent Shores, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma; and Brian J. Kuester, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

 

These grants are part of more than $100 million in grants to 125 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia, and tribal designees, announced today by Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand.  Many of these awards were made through the Department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a single application for tribal-specific grant programs. The Department developed CTAS through its Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Office of Justice Programs and Office on Violence Against Women, and administered the first round of consolidated grants in September 2010.

 

CTAS grants are designed to enhance law enforcement practices, expand victim services, and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts.  Awards cover nine areas: public safety and community policing, justice systems planning, alcohol and substance abuse, corrections and correctional alternatives, children’s justice act partnerships, services for victims of crime, violence against women, juvenile justice, and tribal youth programs.

 

"Reducing violent gang and gun crimes in Indian Country is crucial to protecting citizens who live in and around tribal communities.  The justice community must also look to help those with mental health and substance abuse issues to re-enter society as productive citizens.  These Federal grant allocations will help to further those goals," said U.S. Attorney Shores of the Northern District of Oklahoma.  U.S. Attorney Kuester of the Eastern District of Oklahoma said, "I am pleased and excited about DOJ’s awards to the tribal governments in Oklahoma.  These grants will fund programs that will assist victims of crimes, reduce crime against women, and enhance the resources available for tribal governments to combat violent crime, increase public awareness, and provide prevention programs for youth.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office looks forward to assisting in any way possible as these programs are implemented."  U.S. Attorney Yancey of the Western District of Oklahoma said, "I join my fellow United States Attorneys in welcoming the federal law enforcement assistance to our Oklahoma tribes.  I look forward to working with all tribes in the Western District to reduce crime and aid victims."

The Oklahoma CTAS recipients are:

Cherokee Nation (total: $3,087,900)

      Public Safety and Community Policing: $565,241
      Comprehensive Tribal Justice Systems Strategic Planning: $74,995
      Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse: $749,993
      Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $898,100
      Comprehensive Tribal Victim Assistance Program: $449,925
      Tribal Youth Program: $349,64

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (total: $1,994,588)                  

      Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $897,851
      Comprehensive Tribal Victim Assistance Program: $449,999
      Juvenile Healing to Wellness Courts: $350,000
      Tribal Youth Program: $296,738

Citizen Potawatomi Nation (total: $1,098,106) 

      Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse: $749,593
      Tribal Youth Program: $348,513

Comanche Nation (total: $749,348)

      Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse: $749,348

Delaware Tribe of Indians (total: $424,845)

      Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $424,845

Muscogee Creek Nation (total: $803,912)

      Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $803,912

Pawnee Nation (total: $700,000)

      Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $700,000

Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma (total: $1,800,000)    

      Corrections and Correctional Alternatives: $1,000,000
      Comprehensive Tribal Victim Assistance Program: $450,000
      Tribal Youth Program: $350,000

Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma (total: $4,590,422)

      Public Safety and Community Policing: $232,929
      Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse: $446,714
      Corrections and Correctional Alternatives: $3,910,779

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (total: $900,000)

      Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $900,000

Seneca Cayuga Nation (total: $825,000)

      Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $825,000

Wyandotte Nation (total: $200,189)

      Public Safety and Community Policing: $200,189

In addition to CTAS grants, the Department awarded $889,975 to four Oklahoma tribes under the Adam Walsh Act Implementation grant program, part of the Office of Justice Program’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking.  These grant awards enable states, the District of Columbia, territories, and tribal jurisdictions to develop and enhance programs that implement the requirements of the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.  Funding supports staff, information-sharing technology, infrastructure development, law enforcement training, and stakeholder collaboration.

The Oklahoma recipients of Adam Walsh Act Implementation grants are:

     Caddo Nation: $200,000
     Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes: $400,000
     Seneca Cayuga Nation: $198,181
     United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians: $91,794

Finally, through the Office of Justice Programs, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center will receive $1.5 million under the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Fiscal Year 2017 Tribal Youth Program Training and Technical Assistance grant.  This program provides culturally-sensitive, trauma-informed and developmentally-appropriate training, support, resources, information, and related technical assistance to help tribes meet the needs of their youth.

The Department of Justice’s national press releases on these and related grants are available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-awards-more-130-million-improve-public-safety-address-violence-against.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma –  ROBERT SHANE APGAR, 34, of Oklahoma City, has pled guilty to falsely and maliciously reporting that his estranged ex-wife intended to blow up the Grady County Courthouse, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.  Apgar has also entered a guilty plea to sending child pornography.

 

According to the first count of a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on July 18, 2017, Apgar used the internet on December 1, 2015, to send false information about an attempt to bomb the Grady County Courthouse.  An affidavit filed on May 2, 2017, explains that this threat was made anonymously to the FBI by email and triggered precautions at the Grady County Sheriff’s Office.  The email stated that the bombing would be carried out by a person later identified as Apgar’s ex-wife, whom he had threatened before.  On December 8, 2015, after further investigation, the FBI executed a search warrant at an Oklahoma City residence where Apgar was living with his mother.

 

The search yielded pornographic images of prepubescent children from October 2015.  According to Count 2 of the indictment, Apgar attempted to persuade, induce, and entice a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of transmitting video images of that conduct.  According to Count 3, Apgar used a facility of interstate commerce to send images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  And according to Count 4, Apgar possessed images of that sort with intent to view them after they had been sent through a means of interstate commerce.

 

Today Apgar pled guilty to making a bomb threat, as alleged in Count 1, and sending child pornography, as alleged in Count 3.  At sentencing, he could receive up to 10 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release on Count 1.  On Count 3, he will receive no less than 5 and no more than 20 years in prison, followed by up to life on supervised release.  He will remain in custody until sentencing, which will take place in approximately 90 days.  Reference is made to court records for further information.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Grady County Sheriff’s Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Hale.

 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – TAMI LEE JOHNSON, of Midwest City, Oklahoma, formerly known as Tami L. Davis, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison today for check forgery, in connection with $624,265.01 of embezzlement from a local real estate management company, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. 

 

On April 25, 2017, Johnson was charged by information with one count of forging a security.  From January 2012 until August 2015, she was the bookkeeper and office manager at Edmond real estate management company Worx Property Management.  As part of her job, she had access to her employer’s bank accounts.  On May 23, 2017, she pled guilty to preparing an unauthorized company check to herself in February 2014 in the amount of $2,226.00.  She admitted that she did not have her employer’s permission to issue the check and that she forged the signature of her boss and then cashed the check for herself.  As part of her plea, Johnson admitted that she embezzled funds from her former employer from January 2012 through August 2015 and that the total loss to the real estate management company from her embezzlement scheme was $624,265.01. 

 

At sentencing today, United States District Court Judge Robin J. Cauthron sentenced Johnson to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  She was also ordered to pay $622,765.01 in restitution to the victim. Reference is made to the information and other public filings for further information.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. McKenzie Anderson. 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – ERICKA K. SMITH, 33, of Moore, Oklahoma, was sentenced yesterday to 63 months in federal prison for defrauding Frontier State Bank and committing bankruptcy fraud, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On December 14, 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Smith with one count of bank fraud and one count of bankruptcy fraud.  It alleged that she operated Longhorn Ranch Trailer Sales, which bought and sold vehicles and horse trailers.  According to the charges, she defrauded Frontier State Bank in May 2011 by making false statements about her income when she applied for a loan to buy a truck for $68,000.  The truck served as collateral to protect the bank’s funds.  Her fraud also involved creating a false lien release for the truck and selling it to a Longhorn Ranch Trailer Sales customer in Texas for $73,000 without notifying the bank.  According to the charges, Smith also committed fraud during her 2012 bankruptcy by testifying falsely that she had sold the truck financed by Frontier State Bank to a person in California for only $16,000.

 

Smith pled guilty to both counts on January 6, 2017.

 

On September 26, 2017, U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange sentenced Smith to 63 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.  The court found that Smith’s similar fraudulent conduct caused losses totaling $1,476,009.96.  It also found that her fraudulent conduct involved sophisticated means.  After imprisonment, Smith must pay restitution to eight different financial institutions in the total amount of $1,163,981.81.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kerry A. Kelly.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Today a federal grand jury charged WESTON SLATER, 25, of Yukon, with concealing a federal crime and making a false statement to federal investigators, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to the two-count indictment, Slater was an officer with the Oklahoma City Police Department ("OCPD") in early 2016, when the FBI, OCPD, and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry Investigative Service ("ODAFF") were investigating the federal crime of conspiring to receive, possess, or conceal stolen goods that had crossed state boundaries.  That conspiracy charge is included in a six-defendant second superseding indictment filed on May 18, 2017, and a three-defendant third superseding indictment filed on June 20, 2017, both in case number CR-17-11-R.

 

Count 1 of today’s indictment alleges Slater committed the federal crime of "misprision of felony" beginning on February 4, 2016, when he used an OCPD computer at the request of one of the conspirators to determine that a certain vehicle had been stolen in Texas.  This count further alleges that Slater made a false statement to the dispatcher about his reason for running the search on the vehicle.  According to the indictment, Slater failed to bring the federal crime to the attention of relevant law enforcement authorities.

 

Count 2 alleges Slater knowingly and willfully made a materially false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the FBI on February 28, 2017.  In particular, it charges he told the FBI he had not accessed OCPD’s "Varuna" database to search for information on certain law enforcement officers on October 1, 2016, when he actually knew that he had searched for that information for an improper purpose.

 

If convicted, Slater could be imprisoned for a maximum of three years on Count 1, to be followed by one year of supervised release.  He could receive a maximum of five years on Count 2, in addition to three years of supervised release.  He could also be fined up to $250,000 on each count.

 

The public is reminded these charges are merely accusations and that Slater is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  Reference is made to court filings for further information.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Major Theft Task Force, OCPD, and ODAFF.  The task force consists of the FBI, ODAFF, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Garvin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward J. Kumiega and Ashley L. Altshuler are prosecuting the case.

 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – KASHARA STEWART, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and her mother, WONICA STEWART POPE, also of Oklahoma City, were sentenced yesterday to federal prison respectively for tax-refund fraud and making a false statement to a federal agent, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On February 22, 2017, a federal grand jury returned a Superseding Indictment charging Kashara Stewart with seven counts of tax fraud and seven counts of aggravated identity theft.  It alleged that from January 2012 through December 2012, Kashara Stewart filed false federal income tax returns in the names of individuals, without their knowledge or permission, and attached false W-2s for employers that did not employ the purported tax filers in the relevant tax years.  Those false tax returns directed the IRS to deposit the claimed tax refunds into Kashara Stewart’s bank account.

 

The Superseding Indictment also charged Kashara Stewart’s mother, Pope, with one count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement officer.  On August 27, 2013, during the investigation of Kashara Stewart’s stolen identity refund fraud, Pope left a voicemail for an IRS–Criminal Investigations Special Agent in which she falsely confessed to the crime.  Pope falsely stated she was her sister, Wenoca Stewart Williams, to shift blame away from her daughter.

 

On November 1, 2016, based in part on Pope’s phone call to IRS–Criminal Investigations, a federal grand jury charged Wenoca Stewart Williams, along with Kashara Stewart, with conspiracy and tax fraud.  After learning that Pope had framed Williams, the United States moved to dismiss the charges against Williams, who is no longer charged with any federal crime.

 

On May 5, 2017, Kashara Stewart pled guilty to filing a false claim for a tax refund.  Pope entered a guilty plea the same day to making a false statement to a federal official.  She admitted she left a voicemail message for an IRS Special Agent in which she posed as Williams and purported to confess to Kashara Stewart’s tax fraud.

 

Yesterday Chief U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton sentenced Kashara Stewart to 38 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  She must also pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $352,449.  Judge Heaton sentenced Pope to 30 months in prison.  He found that she substantially interfered in the administration of justice by giving three separate false confessions in late August and early September 2013.  After imprisonment, she will serve two years on supervised release.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by IRS–Criminal Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. McKenzie Anderson.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – WILLIAM G. HORN, of Edmond, Oklahoma, pled guilty today to making false statements on federal tax returns for The Tommie Harris Foundation, a non-profit corporation, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to charges filed on September 6, 2017, Horn was a sports marketing agent who operated charitable organizations associated with NFL and NBA athletes.  He registered one of these, The Tommie Harris Foundation, with the Oklahoma Secretary of State in late 2006 and used his home as the Foundation’s principal office.  Horn sought and received tax-exempt status from the IRS under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.  He personally solicited donations for the Foundation, which held an annual celebrity golf event to raise money for those in need.  He also managed the Foundation’s finances and filed its Forms 990, which are federal tax returns for tax-exempt organizations.  According to the charges, Horn signed and filed Forms 990 for the Foundation for tax years 2007 through 2012.  During those years, the Foundation is alleged to have reported total donations received of $1,840,495 and total distributions to other organizations of $705,699.  The majority of the difference of $1,134,796 was reported as “functional expenses.”

 

Horn was charged with making false statements on Forms 990 for the 2011 and 2012 tax years.  He reported falsely on both returns that he received no compensation from the Foundation.  According to the charges, he actually diverted approximately $136,620.06 to personal bank accounts in 2011 and made approximately $39,205.42 in purchases for personal use on a Foundation credit card.  In 2012, according to the charges, he diverted approximately $129,451.04 to himself and made approximately $41,126.37 in purchases for personal use on a Foundation credit card.  He also allegedly made false statements on these returns about having distributed tens of thousands of dollars to other charities—Straight From the Heart Foundation, Mercy Church West Coast, and Opportunity Knox—when in fact he controlled those charities and spent the money on himself.

 

At a plea hearing today before United States District Judge David L. Russell, Horn admitted he made false statements on the 2011 and 2012 federal tax returns for The Tommie Harris Foundation, as alleged.  In a plea agreement, he has agreed to pay restitution to The Boys & Girls Clubs of America in an amount not to exceed $721,947.81, which accounts for his diversion of funds from the Foundation’s charitable giving.

 

Horn faces a maximum sentence for the 2011 false statement of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  For the 2012 false statement, he faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigations and the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Brown.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – FRANCIS MICHAEL BOSTICK, of Oklahoma City, pled guilty today to filing a false federal income tax return for 2012 that failed to report more than $325,000 of income, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On June 6, 2017, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Bostick with four counts of false statements on tax returns. The four counts related to tax years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. According to the indictment, Bostick was the owner and operator of an oil field service company, Bostick Services Corporation. It was also alleged that Pioneer Trucking, one of Bostick Services Corporation’s customers, regularly purchased from Bostick’s company "tank bottoms," which are the heavier substances that settle at the bottom of wastewater tanks. Bostick was alleged to have directed Pioneer Trucking to pay for the tank bottoms by checks to Bostick individually, instead of to Bostick Services Corporation. He also allegedly asked Pioneer Trucking to split payments over approximately $9,000.00 into multiple checks, and then he cashed those checks instead of depositing them into any bank account. As a result, it was alleged, Bostick’s CPA was never given information on that additional income, and it was omitted from Bostick’s individual tax returns. The indictment alleged Bostick omitted over $250,000.00 in income in 2010, over $350,000.00 in income in 2011, over $325,000.00 in income in 2012, and over $275,000.00 in income in 2013.

 

At the plea hearing today before United States District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange, Bostick admitted he filed a false tax return for 2012, which claimed $1,506,305.00 in income, when he knew he had made at least an additional $325,000.00 that he had diverted by cashing personal checks from Pioneer Trucking. Bostick admitted he knew he needed to report his entire income, but he intentionally diverted funds and filed a false tax return that did not include his entire income. As part of his Plea Agreement, Bostick has agreed that the total tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service for his conduct is between $250,000.00 and $550,000.00. Bostick has also agreed to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for all taxes due and owing for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

 

At sentencing, Bostick faces a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison, 1 year of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and restitution to the IRS for all related fraudulent tax filings. Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. McKenzie Anderson.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – JAMES LEE WARD, JR., of Luther, was sentenced today to 34 months in federal prison for making a forged security and filing a false tax return in connection with his embezzlement of more than $250,000 from a metro real estate company, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

Ward is a former Title Closing Coordinator at Paradigm AdvantEdge, LLC ("Paradigm"), a real estate company in Oklahoma City. According to the Information filed in the case, Ward forged a $6,900 check from Paradigm payable to a bogus business entity under his control, made to look like a legitimate payee in Paradigm’s real estate transactions. At his plea hearing on March 16, 2017, Ward admitted that he forged the signature of a Paradigm owner and issued the $6,900 check to himself without the approval of Paradigm. In a plea agreement, Ward agreed that the total loss from his embezzlement was $250,415.00. The Information also alleged that Ward submitted a false federal income tax return for 2014 by failing to report substantial income from the embezzlement. At his plea hearing, Ward admitted that he omitted approximately $140,000 of embezzled income from Paradigm on his 2014 return.

 

United States District Judge Joe Heaton sentenced Ward to 34 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Ward was ordered to pay restitution to Paradigm and its insurers in the total amount of $250,415.00. He was also ordered to pay $50,777.72 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for federal income tax due from his unreported embezzlement income. Ward must report to federal prison on October 6, 2017.

 

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris M. Stephens prosecuted the case.

 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – An indictment was unsealed today charging RALPH ALLAN LEE SHORTEY, 35, of Oklahoma City, with federal crimes involving child pornography and child sex trafficking, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On September 5, 2017, a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Shortey. Counts 1 and 2 charge him with using a facility of interstate commerce on October 10 and 15, 2013, to transport child pornography. In particular, these child pornography counts allege Shortey used his smartphone to send a video involving a prepubescent girl and videos involving young boys from his AOL email address to a Hotmail address and a Yahoo! address. Count 3 alleges Shortey produced child pornography by persuading a minor identified as John Doe to send him at least one image of Doe’s penis. This count alleges Shortey began communicating with Doe on Kik, a social media application, in February 2016 and that the production of child pornography took place between February 14, 2016, and March 8, 2017.

 

Count 4 charges Shortey with child sex trafficking for soliciting a minor to engage in a commercial sex act on March 8 and 9, 2017. According to the indictment, Doe advised Shortey via Kik on March 8 that he needed money for spring break. Shortey is alleged to have replied: "I don’t really have any legitimate things I need help with right now. Would you be interested in ‘sexual’ stuff?" The indictment states that after Doe responded "yes," the Kik conversation included explicit references to sexual conduct. The indictment further alleges that just after midnight on March 9, Shortey drove Doe from Doe’s house to a Super 8 Motel in Moore, Oklahoma, where Shortey rented a room with his credit card. Based on information provided by Doe’s father, officers of the Moore Police Department knocked on the motel room door at approximately 1:00 a.m. and allegedly discovered Doe with Shortey, whose backpack contained an open box of condoms.

 

If convicted, Shortey faces mandatory minimum sentences on each count. Counts 1 and 2 carry no less than 5 and up to 20 years in prison. Count 3 carries no less than 15 and up to 30 years in prison. And Count 4 carries no less than 10 years and up to life in prison. Shortey would also face supervised release after incarceration of at least 5 years and up to life, in addition to fines of up to $250,000 per count, mandatory restitution, $100 special assessments on Counts 1 and 2, and $5,000 special assessments on Counts 3 and 4.

 

Count 4 relates to facts charged in a three-count information filed in Cleveland County District Court on March 16, 2017, in case number CF-2017-430. In light of the federal indictment, that information will be dismissed. "I believe this case is best handled in one venue and have every confidence the U.S. Attorney’s Office will prosecute this matter expeditiously," said Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn. "It was an honor to work with the various law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation."

 

The public is reminded these charges are merely accusations and that Shortey is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Reference is made to court filings for further information.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Moore Police Department, with assistance from the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys K. McKenzie Anderson and Brandon Hale are prosecuting the case.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – James Brett Krablin, M.D., has agreed to pay $65,000 to settle civil penalty claims stemming from allegations that he violated the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and its regulations, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney of the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

Dr. Krablin practices medicine primarily in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, at the Krablin Medical Clinic. The United States alleges that between August 2014 and September 2016, he dated prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances on dates other than when he signed them, which violates DEA regulations. More specifically, he allegedly signed and post-dated written prescriptions so his nurse practitioner or physician assistant could deliver them to patients at regular monthly appointments when Dr. Krablin was not in the office.

 

To resolve the allegations brought by the United States, Dr. Krablin agreed to pay $65,000.

 

In reaching this settlement, Dr. Krablin did not admit liability and the government did not make any concessions regarding the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency, Office of Diversion Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gallegos prosecuted the case.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – VANESSA L. POLLARD, of Mustang, Oklahoma, pled guilty today to wire fraud and signing a false federal income tax return in connection with a $1.3 million embezzlement from an insurance agency in Canadian County, Oklahoma, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On August 8, 2017, Pollard was charged by information with one count of wire fraud and one count of signing a false federal income tax return. According to the charges, Pollard worked for an insurance agency as a bookkeeper from April 1999 until early August 2016. As part of her job, she reviewed monthly bank statements, made entries in an internal accounting system, and reconciled those records with a business checking account at Yukon National Bank. She was accused of writing unauthorized checks and making unauthorized interstate wire transfers from the business checking account to pay her personal credit card accounts. The information also alleged that she altered bank statements to conceal these payments from the agency’s management.

 

Today, Pollard pled guilty to transmitting $3,178 through interstate wires with the intent to defraud the insurance agency in January 2014. In a plea agreement, she has agreed to forfeit property purchased with funds traceable to her embezzlement, including her house in Mustang, two trucks, a sports car, three motorcycles, a boat, two jet skis, and a retirement account. She also stipulated that the total loss from her embezzlement was $1,344,915.02.

 

In addition to pleading guilty to wire fraud, Pollard pled guilty to signing a false tax return. She admitted that on May 13, 2013, she signed a personal federal tax return for the 2012 calendar year that she knew was false because it reported only $50,736 in total income when she knew her 2012 income was substantially higher.

 

At sentencing, Pollard faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count, plus three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution. She also faces up to three years in prison on the tax count, in addition to one year of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for the tax loss. She will be sentenced in approximately 90 days. Reference is made to the information and other public filings for further information.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigations and the United States Secret Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark R. Stoneman.

 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Dr. Gordon P. Laird has agreed to pay $580,000 to settle civil claims stemming from allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare program, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

Laird is a physician licensed in the State of Oklahoma. He is a former owner and employee of the companies Blackwell Feet Plus, LLC, and Feet Plus, LLC, which later did business as Prevention Plus.

 

The United States alleges Laird caused false claims to be submitted to the Medicare Program for services he did not provide or supervise. First, the United States alleges that in 2011, he allowed Prevention Plus to use his National Provider Identifier numbers (NPIs) to bill Medicare for evaluation and management physical therapy services that he did not provide or supervise. Second, the United States alleges that in December 2011, he separated from Prevention Plus, did not provide any additional services for Prevention Plus, and deactivated his NPIs associated with Prevention Plus. However, Laird reactivated his NPIs associated with Prevention Plus around March 2012 so Prevention Plus could use them to bill Medicare for services in January and February 2012 that he did not perform or supervise.

 

To resolve these allegations, Laird agreed to pay $580,000. In reaching this settlement, he did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions about the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.

 

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Maule and Ronald R. Gallegos prosecuted the case.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – An indictment was unsealed Wednesday charging CHARLES DANIEL LYNN, 34, of El Reno, Oklahoma; ARMANDO TABARES, 30, of Mission, Texas; and JOSE TOMAS CASTILLO-GARZA, 39, currently an inmate in United States Bureau of Prisons custody, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bribery, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On August 16, 2017, a federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging that Lynn was a correctional officer at Great Plains Correctional Facility, a Federal Bureau of Prisons-contracted low-security facility in Hinton, Oklahoma. Great Plains houses over 1,800 federal inmates.

 

The indictment alleges that in the summer or early fall of 2016, inmate Castillo-Garza asked Lynn to smuggle cell phones into the facility. Lynn and Castillo-Garza allegedly agreed that Lynn would be paid thousands of dollars by wire transfer in exchange for his smuggling of cell phones and other contraband into the facility. The indictment further alleges Castillo-Garza arranged with Lynn to have Castillo-Garza’s brother-in-law, Tabares, send wire transfers and contraband to Lynn.

 

According to the indictment, Castillo-Garza and/or other inmates working with him threatened another inmate’s safety to secure that inmate’s promise to arrange for money to be wired to Lynn outside the facility. Castillo-Garza is alleged to have coordinated with another inmate to have additional funds sent to Lynn. In total, approximately $7,750.00 was sent to Lynn as bribes to smuggle contraband into the facility, according to the indictment.

 

The indictment states that Tabares and Lynn communicated about the types of contraband to be smuggled and that Tabares purchased the materials and sent approximately 8-9 packages to Lynn between October and December 2016. After Lynn received the packages, he smuggled the items, including cell phones, into the facility and delivered the items to Castillo-Garza, according to the indictment. It is also alleged that Lynn escorted Castillo-Garza to various parts of the facility to distribute the contraband to other inmates.

 

Count 1 charges all three defendants with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, defendants each face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine. Count 2 charges Lynn with accepting a bribe as a public official, and Count 3 charges Castillo-Garza and Tabares with bribing a public official. If convicted on the bribery counts, each defendant faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.

 

The public is reminded these charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Reference is made to court filings for further information.

 

This case is the result of a joint investigation by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. McKenzie Anderson.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Jasmuel Ray Robertson and Blaine County Deputy Sheriff Monty Goodwin acted in self-defense when shooting Jonathan Richard Daukei, age 38, on July 19, 2017, in Blaine County, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

Daukei, a member of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes, was shot after a vehicle pursuit ended on tribal land. Daukei survived the shooting and is facing a state felony charge for attempting to elude officers. "After a thorough review of the FBI’s investigation, I have determined the officers in this case reasonably believed Trooper Robertson was at risk of death or great bodily harm given Mr. Daukei’s reckless operation of his vehicle," said Yancey.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – MAURICE MORLEE JOHNSON, 37, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to 240 months in federal prison for child sex trafficking of 14- and 15-year-old girls, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. In a related case, TONYA GAY GUM, 44, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking.

 

According to court records, in October 2014, Maurice Johnson, assisted by Hiram Mitchell, engaged in sex trafficking of two juvenile females (aged 14 and 15) and an adult female. As soon as the 14-year-old was recruited, Johnson instructed her to start calling phone numbers from the escort section of the Yellow Pages to find Tonya Gum, whom he knew as "Carmen." At the time, Gum operated at least twenty phone numbers listed in the escort section of the Oklahoma City Yellow Pages. The 14-year-old victim made contact with Gum and sent her photographs of herself and the adult female. After that, Gum began arranging commercial sex transactions between her established customer base (or new customers who called her phone lines) and the females under Johnson’s control. Johnson drove the girls to hotels, residences, and commercial spaces, where the customers paid in cash for sex. After each commercial sex transaction, Gum met the girls at different locations in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area to receive the proceeds, which Gum and Johnson split. They did not give any money to the victims they trafficked.

 

A federal grand jury indicted Johnson on December 3, 2014. He pled guilty to child sex trafficking on January 30, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron. He will serve five years on supervised release after his 240-month prison term.

 

Gum was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 16, 2015, along with co-defendant customers. On November 19, 2015, she pled guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking, also before Judge Cauthron. She will serve three years on supervised release after her 48-month sentence.

 

Hiram Mitchell is currently serving a prison term of ten years after his guilty plea to child sex trafficking on January 29, 2015.

 

In June 2017, one of the group’s customers, Curtis Anthony, was found guilty of conspiracy to engage in child sex trafficking and the substantive offense of child sex trafficking after a jury trial. Trung N. Duong, another customer co-defendant of Gum and Anthony, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking on May 9, 2017. Duong and Anthony await sentencing.

 

These cases are the result of an investigation conducted by United States Department of Homeland Security and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. The case against Johnson was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys McKenzie Anderson and Brandon Hale. The case against Gum was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys McKenzie Anderson and David Petermann.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — Jerry Drake Varnell, 23, of Sayre, Oklahoma, was arrested early Saturday morning in connection with a plot to detonate a vehicle bomb at BancFirst, 101 N. Broadway, in downtown Oklahoma City, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to a criminal complaint filed in the Western District of Oklahoma yesterday, the FBI arrested Varnell at approximately 1:00 am on August 12, 2017, after he attempted to detonate what he believed to be an explosives-laden van he had parked in an alley next to BancFirst. The complaint alleges that Varnell initially wanted to blow up the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C., with a device similar to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing because he was upset with the government.

 

The complaint explains that after Varnell’s intentions came to the attention of law enforcement, an undercover FBI agent posed as a person who could assist him. According to the complaint, Varnell took a series of actions to advance his plot. He identified BancFirst as the target, prepared a statement to be posted on social media after the explosion, helped assemble the device, helped load it into what he believed was a stolen van, drove the van by himself from El Reno to BancFirst in downtown Oklahoma City, and dialed a number on a cellular telephone that he believed would trigger the explosion.

 

Varnell is charged with attempting to use explosives to destroy a building in interstate commerce. If convicted, he would face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment. He is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Oklahoma City today at 3:00 pm.

 

This arrest is the culmination of a long-term domestic terrorism investigation involving an undercover operation, during which Varnell had been monitored closely for months as the alleged bomb plot developed. The device was actually inert, and the public was not in danger. "There was never a concern that our community’s safety or security was at risk during this investigation," said Kathryn Peterson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oklahoma. "I can assure the public, without hesitation, that we had Varnell’s actions monitored every step of the way."

 

U.S. Attorney Yancey said: "I commend the devoted work of the FBI and our state law enforcement partners in ensuring that violent plots of this kind never succeed."

 

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, including members from the Oklahoma City FBI; Homeland Security Investigations, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; the Oklahoma City Police Department; the Edmond Police Department; the Oklahoma Highway Patrol; the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs; and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. The FBI worked in conjunction with BancFirst during the investigation. Oklahoma District Attorney Angela Marsee, of District 2, also provided assistance. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Dillon, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.

 

Reference is made to court records for further information. The public is reminded that this complaint is only an allegation and that Varnell is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma –dorothy d. barney, 58, of Dallas, Texas, pled guilty today before United States District Court Judge Stephen P. Friot to disaster fraud for her claim for federal assistance after the May 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

A devastating tornado hit Moore on May 20, 2013. Later that day, the President issued a disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, which provides for assistance administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA"). Today Barney admitted in court that on June 5, 2013, she used the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of another person on an application for FEMA assistance related to a purportedly damaged property at 854 S.W. 10th Street in Moore. She also admitted that she did not have the other person’s permission to complete the FEMA application and that neither she nor the other person ever lived at that address. According to Barney, she forged the other person’s signature on FEMA forms and then e-mailed them to a FEMA investigator in support of the false application. A federal grand jury indicted her on December 6, 2016.

 

Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days. Barney faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and $14,974.83 in restitution to FEMA.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Maxfield Green is prosecuting the case.

 

The public may report suspected disaster benefits fraud by contacting the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General (www.oig.dhs.gov or 1-800-323-8603) or by calling the Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721.

 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – JESSE MICHAEL O’DAY, 23, of Norman, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for bank robbery, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On January 18, 2017, a federal grand jury charged O’Day with robbing a BancFirst branch in Norman, Oklahoma, on October 24, 2016, and a MidFirst Bank in Oklahoma City on November 15, 2016. A bank surveillance photo from the BancFirst robbery revealed that O’Day was wearing a black t-shirt featuring a cat posing for a jail booking photograph.

 

On March 8, 2017, O’Day entered a plea of guilty to robbing the BancFirst branch.

 

Today U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot sentenced O’Day to 42 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. After his prison term, O’Day will serve three years on supervised release. O’Day was also ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution to BancFirst and $1,158.50 to MidFirst Bank.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma City Police Department, and the Norman Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Patterson prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Mark A. Yancey of the Western District of Oklahoma jointly announced that a former McClain County, Oklahoma, Jail Administrator, Wayne Barnes, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen P. Friot to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for his conviction on a charge that he violated an inmate’s civil rights by depriving him of medical care, resulting in the inmate’s death. Barnes pleaded guilty to the charge on February 9, 2017.

Barnes was indicted by a grand jury in October 2016 and charged with a one-count federal criminal civil rights violation arising out of the death of K.W., a detainee who was housed at the jail in June 2013. The indictment alleged that K.W. was an insulin-dependent diabetic who received neither insulin nor medical evaluation between June 16, 2013, until the afternoon of June 19, 2013. On that day, according to the Indictment, Barnes observed K.W. lying on the floor of his cell, unresponsive. Only then did Barnes direct a corrections officer to call emergency medical services, who found K.W.’s pupils fixed and dilated upon their arrival. K.W. died on June 21, 2013, having never regained consciousness. The indictment alleged that Barnes knew that K.W. had a serious medical condition and willfully failed to provide him with necessary medical care, and that his failure to do so resulted in K.W.’s death.

At his change of plea hearing, Barnes admitted that he was made aware between June 16 and June 19, 2013, that K.W. had been booked into the McClain County Jail, and that K.W. represented that he was a Type-1 diabetic who required insulin. Barnes further admitted that he failed to obtain medical care for K.W. and that, in doing so, he willfully denied K.W.’s Constitutional right to medical care. Barnes also admitted that his failure to obtain the required medical care resulted in K.W.’s death.

"Every law enforcement officer in this country takes an oath to uphold the United States Constitution," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Gore. "The Constitution ensures that persons detained pending the adjudication of charges against them are entitled to necessary medical care. This sentence affirms the importance of that right and underscores the continuing commitment of the Civil Rights Division to hold officers accountable to their oaths."

"Inmates deserve and the law requires that adequate medical care be provided by penal institutions," said U.S. Attorney Yancey. "Denying necessary medical treatment is inhuman and unconstitutional."

This case was investigated by the Oklahoma City Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julia Barry of the Western District of Oklahoma and Deputy Chief Kristy Parker of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – LYLE LIVESAY, 29, of Delray Beach, Florida, and BRANT HOLLOWAY, 36, of Del City, Oklahoma, have both pled guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud against seven financial institutions, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On May 2, 2017, in a nine-count indictment, a federal grand jury charged Livesay and Holloway with conspiracy to commit bank fraud against multiple financial institutions in Oklahoma and elsewhere. The indictment also charges Livesay with making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution and money laundering and charges Holloway with making a false statement to an FBI agent.

 

According to the indictment, Livesay and Holloway submitted false loan applications in the name of Holloway’s roommate, T.M., purportedly for the purpose of purchasing vehicles from True Cars Express, a luxury car dealership in Florida. T.M., however, did not intend to purchase any vehicles—rather, T.M. and Holloway planned to use the loans to open a used car lot. In addition, the applications inflated T.M.’s income by falsely indicating that T.M. worked at Thunder Vapor, a business that sold electronic cigarettes and related products in Del City, Oklahoma. In exchange for a commission, Livesay gave Holloway and T.M. vehicle purchase agreements and certificates of title from True Cars Express, as well as fabricated Thunder Vapor pay stubs.

 

Last week, Livesay pled guilty to one count of money laundering, based on his transfer of fraud proceeds from his True Cars Express bank account to one under the control of Beta Capital Group, his financial consulting firm. At a plea hearing yesterday, Holloway pled guilty to a superseding information that charges him with conspiracy for his role in the fraud scheme.

 

At sentencing, Livesay faces up to 10 years in prison; Holloway faces up to 5 years of imprisonment. Both defendants face up to three years of supervised release and a maximum $250,00.00 fine. They have also agreed to pay restitution to victims.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia E. Barry.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Assistant U.S. Attorneys David P. Petermann and Matt Dillon have been recognized as Region 1 Prosecutors of the Year by the Association of Oklahoma Narcotic Enforcers, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

The Association, also known as A-ONE, has facilitated the exchange of information among Oklahoma narcotics investigators since 1989. Through regional meetings and training sessions, it keeps members informed of current investigative techniques, patterns of drug abuse, changes in the law, and other topics.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Petermann and Dillon received their awards at the Association’s Annual Training Conference on August 3, 2017. This recognition is the result of the successful prosecution of a large drug-distribution and money-laundering organization. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, and the Oklahoma City Police Department participated in the investigation, which involved more than a dozen wiretaps.

 

Mr. Petermann has prosecuted drug and violent crimes in the Oklahoma City U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2007. He also serves as the office’s Senior Litigation Counsel. Before 2007, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Arizona. Mr. Dillon joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2014, after serving as a Team Leader in the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office. He is also the office’s liaison to the Joint Terrorism Task Force for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – JACOB SHANE McCAIN, 28, of Elk City, Oklahoma, was sentenced on July 27, 2017, to 60 months in prison for transporting stolen property across state lines and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On September 6, 2016, McCain pled guilty to two separate crimes: transporting stolen goods across state lines and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. According to court filings, McCain rented a 2012 skid steer valued at $73,000 from Warren Caterpillar in Oklahoma City in February 2015. A few days later, he sold the skid steer to an individual in Kansas for $10,000. Warren Caterpillar promptly reported the theft to the Oklahoma City Police Department, and the skid steer was recovered and returned. Further investigation determined that McCain had pawned two firearms in the summer of 2015. Because he had two felony convictions out of Beckham County, Oklahoma, he committed a federal felony when he possessed these weapons.

 

On July 27, 2017, U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced McCain to 60 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. After his prison term, McCain will serve three years on supervised release. McCain was also ordered to pay $258,616 in restitution, based in part on similar crimes he committed.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Major Theft Task Force, which consists of partners from Oklahoma City FBI, OSBI, the Garvin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry. The Tulsa Police Department also provided investigative assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Kumiega prosecuted the case.

 

 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – KAY ANN LOCKE, of Edmond, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and signing a false federal income tax return, in connection with a $454,000 embezzlement from Delta Promotions Team Corporation, a metro company, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On July 14, 2017, Locke was charged by information with one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false federal income tax return. From 2005 until April 2016, Locke worked as a bookkeeper at Delta Promotions Team Corporation in Oklahoma City. As part of her job, Locke could access bank accounts of her employer and use a Delta Promotions credit card for authorized purchases. Today, Locke pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud by using her employer’s credit card for an unauthorized purchase in December 2015 for her personal benefit. As part of her plea, Locke further admitted that she embezzled funds from her former employer from around 2010 through April 2016, and stipulated that the total loss to Delta Promotions from her embezzlement scheme was $454,824.69.

 

In addition to pleading guilty to wire fraud, Locke pleaded guilty to signing a false tax return. She admitted that on March 15, 2016, she signed a personal federal tax return for the 2015 calendar year that she knew was false because it reported only $29,337 in total income. At today’s plea hearing, Locke admitted that she omitted on the 2015 return more than $120,000 of embezzled income for that year from Delta Promotions. As part of her plea, Locke further admitted that she owes $97,843 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for taxes owed from 2010 through 2015.

 

At sentencing, Locke faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count, plus three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Locke also faces up to three years in prison on the tax count, in addition to one year of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Locke will be sentenced in approximately 90 days. Reference is made to the information and other public filings for further information.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations and United States Secret Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris M. Stephens.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – JULIEROSE BAQUERA MOLINA, 38, of Cache, Oklahoma, has been charged with felony embezzlement from the Comanche Nation Tax Commission, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury yesterday, from October 2014 through March 2016, Molina was employed by the tribe’s Tax Commission, which funds government operations. The indictment alleges that she took more than $1,000 from the Tax Commission illegally.

 

If convicted, Molina could be sentenced to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. She will also be required to pay restitution to the Comanche Nation Tax Commission.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Comanche Nation Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Cárdenas Jarvis.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – DREW BLANTON, 35, and MARLAND GENE HADLEY, JR., 28, have been charged in separate indictments with bank robbery, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury yesterday, Blanton robbed the Bank of America branch at 2101 West Memorial Road in Oklahoma City on June 21, 2017. He is also charged with conspiring to rob the bank. As described in an affidavit filed on June 23, 2017, Blanton led law enforcement on a short high-speed chase that ended when Blanton crashed into two unoccupied cars in a parking lot. A large amount of money was on the passenger floorboard, consistent with the $54,890 he allegedly took during the robbery. Blanton has been in custody since his arrest.

 

According to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury today, Hadley robbed Security National Bank at 210 North Oakwood Road in Enid, Oklahoma, on June 5, 2017. He is charged with using an air pistol that resembled a firearm. As described in an affidavit filed on June 15, 2017, Hadley held what witnesses described as a black handgun and yelled for everyone in the bank to "get on the floor." An audit determined the bank lost $26,353.40 as a result of the robbery. Hadley has also been in custody since his arrest.

 

If convicted of bank robbery, Blanton could be sentenced to twenty years in prison and three years of supervised release. He could also receive five years in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiring to rob the bank. If convicted, Hadley could be sentenced to 25 years in prison and five years of supervised release for robbing a bank with a dangerous weapon.

 

Reference is made to court records for further information. The public is reminded that Blanton and Hadley are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

The case against Blanton is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oklahoma City Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David McCrary. The case against Hadley is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Enid Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Stoneman and Nicholas Patterson.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – ROBERT SHANE APGAR, 33, of Oklahoma City, has been charged with falsely and maliciously reporting that his estranged ex-wife intended to blow up the Grady County Courthouse and with child exploitation and child pornography crimes, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to the first count of a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury yesterday, Apgar used the internet on December 1, 2015, to send false information about an attempt to bomb the Grady County Courthouse. An affidavit filed on May 2, 2017, explains that this threat was made anonymously to the FBI by email and triggered precautions at the Grady County Sheriff’s Office. The email stated that the bombing would be carried out by a person later identified as Apgar’s ex-wife, whom he had threatened before. On December 8, 2015, after further investigation, the FBI executed a search warrant at an Oklahoma City residence where Apgar was living with his mother.

 

The search yielded pornographic images of prepubescent children from October 2015. According to Count 2 of yesterday’s indictment, Apgar attempted to persuade, induce, and entice a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of transmitting video images of that conduct. According to Count 3, Apgar used a facility of interstate commerce to send images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. And according to Count 4, Apgar possessed images of that sort with intent to view them after they had been transported using a means of interstate commerce.

 

If convicted of making a bomb threat, Apgar could be sentenced to ten years in prison and three years of supervised release. A conviction on Count 2 would carry a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison. Count 3 would lead to a sentence of five to 20 years in prison, while a conviction on Count 4 would carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

 

Reference is made to court records for further information. The public is reminded that Apgar is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Grady County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Hale.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – TERRANCE TRENT MOSLEY, 29, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced today to 480 months in prison by the Honorable David L. Russell, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On January 26, 2017, Mosley, a civilian, pled guilty to orally and anally sodomizing a boy who was under the age of 12 at the Fort Sill Army Post in October 2015. Mosley lived with the family of the juvenile victim, who was the dependent of a soldier. At sentencing, Judge Russell noted that Mosley’s abuse of the boy had been forcible, painful, and repeated. The Court also considered Mosley’s threat to kill the boy if he reported the abuse and Mosley’s molestation of two other boys in the past. Judge Russell announced that the 40-year sentence would both punish Mosley and protect the public.

 

Upon release from prison, Mosley will be on supervised release for the rest of his life. He will also have to register as a sex offender.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, with assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and Jessica Cárdenas Jarvis prosecuted the case.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – DEBORAH A. GRAY, 51, and KEITH B. GRAY, II, 27, both of Oklahoma City, were sentenced to prison this week by United States District Judge David L. Russell for submitting false claims to Medicaid for behavioral health counseling, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, and Mike Hunter, Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma. Deborah Gray, who was sentenced on Thursday, will serve 37 months in federal prison. Keith Gray, who was sentenced today, will serve 12 months and one day in federal prison. Both will serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment. The Court also ordered the Grays to pay $769,578.38 in restitution to Medicaid.

 

On July 6, 2016, the Grays were indicted on 151 counts of health care fraud. The indictment alleged that from October 2011 through May 2014, Deborah Gray owned and operated DAG Counseling Services, PLLC, which held itself out as providing behavioral health counseling services to Medicaid-eligible children. Keith Gray was a DAG Counseling employee. According to the indictment, the Grays devised and executed three schemes to defraud Medicaid through DAG Counseling. First, they caused to be submitted to Medicaid claims for "targeted case management services" for periods when children were actually being transported between home or school and the DAG Counseling offices, in violation of Medicaid regulations. Second, they submitted or caused to be submitted to Medicaid claims for one-on-one "psychosocial rehabilitation services" that exceeded the billing maximum of 90 minutes per child per day, also in violation of Medicaid regulations. Finally, they submitted or caused to be submitted to Medicaid claims for one-on-one "psychosocial rehabilitation services" that (a) were not actually provided, (b) were actually provided in groups of two or more children, or (c) were provided for less time than was billed to Medicaid.

 

Both defendants pled guilty on January 4, 2017, to one count of executing each of the three schemes.

 

"I commend and appreciate the work of our Medicaid Fraud unit, the FBI, and the United States Attorney," stated Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter. "The sentences in this case should send a message that fraud against our children and our taxpayers will not be tolerated."

 

Reference is made to the indictment and other public filings for further information.

 

Medicaid is funded jointly by the federal government and the State of Oklahoma and administered by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. This case is the result of a cooperative federal and state investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Maxfield Green and Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Lory Dewey.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – DANIELLE DANA LAYMAN, 37, of Ponca City, Oklahoma, has been charged by criminal complaint with soliciting someone to murder her former husband with ricin, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to the complaint and supporting affidavit, filed July 1, 2017, Layman used craigslist to locate someone interested in a "10 day gig overseas." On May 9, 2017, she met in Ponca City with a person who responded to the craigslist post. According to the affidavit, Layman gave that person written instructions on traveling to Tel Aviv, Israel, and using ricin to poison a specific taxi driver in exchange for $4,000 plus expenses. The affidavit states that Layman also gave the person a baggie that she claimed contained the ricin to be used in the murder. Ricin is an extremely hazardous substance derived from castor beans. According to the complaint, the taxi driver in Tel Aviv appears to be Layman’s former husband.

 

On June 30, 2017, the FBI executed a search warrant at Layman’s residence in Ponca City. The affidavit states that agents found castor beans in the kitchen, along with a mortar and pestle with residue that could be remnants of ground castor beans. According to the affidavit, agents also found instructions on how to make ricin. Layman was arrested late the same day. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Goodwin this afternoon and will remain in federal custody pending further proceedings.

 

If convicted of using a facility of interstate commerce to solicit murder, Layman could be sentenced to ten years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

 

Reference is made to the complaint affidavit and court record for further information. The public is reminded that Layman is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David P. Petermann and Ashley Altshuler.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – DEANGELO ANTOINE McDANIEL, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and TORIE L. ADKINS, of Edmond, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty yesterday to preparing and submitting a false income tax return to the IRS, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

At his plea hearing before the Honorable Robin Cauthron, Mr. McDaniel admitted that as a tax preparer, he prepared and submitted to the IRS a fraudulent tax return for the 2012 calendar year on behalf of Ms. Adkins. He also admitted he submitted two fabricated Form W-2s: one listing wages in the amount of $7,680.00 from Express Services, and another listing wages in the amount of $7,800.00 from OnTrack Staffing. Mr. McDaniel further admitted he knew Ms. Adkins never worked at either Express Services or OnTrack Staffing and that she earned no wage income in 2012. Ms. Adkins also pleaded guilty for her role in the offense. Pursuant to their respective plea agreements, both Mr. McDaniel and Ms. Adkins agreed that they caused losses between $40,000.00 and $100,000.00 to the IRS, and further agreed to pay restitution in an amount to be determined by the Court.

 

At sentencing, Mr. McDaniel and Ms. Adkins both face up to three years of imprisonment, a $250,000.00 fine, and one year of supervised release.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by IRS, Criminal Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia E. Barry.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – BIRDIE JO HOAKS and BECKY JO HOAKS, both 47, of Choctaw, Oklahoma, each pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of postage stamps, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On May 18, 2017, the Hoaks sisters, who are identical twins, were indicted on one count of conspiracy and one count each of theft of government property. The Indictment alleges that from June 2016 through February 2017, they opened personal checking accounts at various banks, using small cash deposits ranging from $5 to $200. It is alleged that, working together, they wrote dozens of bogus checks – i.e., checks backed by insufficient funds and checks written on closed accounts – at United States post offices and contract postal units throughout the Western District of Oklahoma to obtain thousands of U.S. postage stamps.

 

The sisters have extensive criminal histories of fraud spanning more than two decades and jurisdictions from New York to California. In May 2007, for example, they were featured in a Chicago Tribune article entitled "The Incredible True-Life (mis)Adventures of the Hoaks Sisters: Deception, Confusion, Theft, Betrayal, Foot Surgery." And in July 2012, Birdie Jo Hoaks was the subject of a Dateline NBC investigative report. These are their first federal criminal convictions.

 

As part of their pleas, the Hoaks sisters agreed to pay restitution to the United States Postal Service in the amount of $58,958.64 and a combined $3,034.74 to four other victims.

 

At sentencing, they face up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date will be set by the court in approximately 90 days. Reference is made to the Indictment and other public filings for further information.

 

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Maxfield Green is prosecuting the case.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – SUSAN MICHELLE TYSON, 50, of Yukon, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton to wire fraud relating to her theft of $467,352.43 from the Oklahoma Operating Engineers Welfare Plan ("the Plan"), announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On June 12, 2017, the United States Attorney filed an Information charging Tyson with devising a wire fraud scheme to steal from the Plan, which provides health and welfare benefits to eligible participants and their dependents pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with Local Union 627 of the International Union of Operating Engineers. Tyson worked in Oklahoma City as a bookkeeper for Zenith American Solutions, Inc., which managed the Plan’s assets. Her responsibilities included receiving bills from vendors that provided services to the Plan and paying the bills by initiating cash transfers from the Plan’s accounts to the vendors’ accounts. According to the Information, between July 11, 2014, and January 20, 2017, Tyson transferred cash from the Plan’s operating account to her personal bank accounts approximately 33 times. She submitted duplicate invoices to the Plan to make it appear that the transfers were legitimate. She used the proceeds for her personal benefit, including attempting to make a down payment on a house.

 

At sentencing, Tyson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. As part of her plea agreement, she has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $467,352.43. Sentencing will be set by the Court at a future date.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Oklahoma City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and William Farrior prosecuted the case.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Orthopedic AND Sports Medicine Center-Norman, P.C., and its physician-owners, Dr. Mark Moses, Dr. David Bobb, Dr. William Harris, Dr. Vytautus Ringus, Dr. Steven Schultz, and Dr. Brad Vogel (collectively "OSC") have paid $1,537,796 to settle civil claims stemming from allegations that they submitted false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and TRICARE.

 

OSC is a medical practice that provides general orthopedic medical services in Norman, Oklahoma. Following an internal review and audit, OSC discovered irregularities in prior billing processes and practices. In August of 2016, OSC proactively contacted the United States to voluntarily disclose the billing irregularities and documentation deficiencies they had identified. Thereafter, the United States investigated the disclosures and issues raised by OSC. Throughout the investigation, and to its credit, OSC provided cooperation and access to both privileged and non-privileged internal documentation, audit, and medical records, as well as access to their consultant statistician.

 

The voluntary disclosure and investigation revealed that the United States and State of Oklahoma have certain civil claims against OSC for false claims arising under Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and the Veterans Health Administration. Specifically, from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2015, OSC improperly billed the health care programs for the following: (i) physician extenders without documentation in progress notes to support billing, evaluation, and management codes; (ii) durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies ("DMEPOS") where bills had incorrect CPT codes, where documentation did not support proof of delivery of the DMEPOS, and where documentation did not support that the DMEPOS was ordered or medically necessary for the patient; (iii) evaluation and management codes related to hospital consults that were not supported by documentation in progress notes; and (iv) physical therapy where the documentation did not support CPT codes billed and or the number of physical therapy units billed.

 

In reaching this settlement, OSC did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions regarding the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.

 

This case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General’s Office of Investigations and Office of Audit Services of the United States Department of Health and Human Services; the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The case was prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Troester.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – CURTIS ALLEN ANTHONY, 50, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, was convicted today by a federal jury on one count of child sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking based on his role as a customer who used two children for commercial sex in October 2014, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. After the jury announced its verdict, Anthony was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending his sentencing.

 

In January 2016, a federal grand jury charged Anthony in a superseding indictment with child sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking. Anthony was charged for his role as a customer who obtained juvenile females for commercial sex in October 2014.

 

Today, after hearing three days of trial evidence, a jury returned guilty verdicts against Anthony on both counts. The jury heard that in October 2014, two juvenile females and an adult female were under the control of two adult male pimps, Maurice Johnson and Hiram Mitchell. The jury also heard that Tonya Gum, known as Carmen, operated at least twenty phone numbers listed in the escort section of the Oklahoma City Yellow Pages. The trial evidence showed that the pimps would drive the girls to the appointments, where sex acts would occur. The pimps and Gum split the money.

 

The jury heard that on October 24, 2014, Anthony called one of Gum’s phone lines and scheduled an appointment at an industrial building he owned in Edmond, Oklahoma. The evidence showed that the pimps delivered a 14-year-old victim to that building and left her alone with Anthony. When he could not locate his wallet to pay her, Anthony drove her to a convenience store to use an ATM but still could not get money, so the pimp drove away with the victim and a 15-year-old victim. The jury heard that Anthony then called one of the girls back directly, told her he found his money, and asked them to return. The jury heard that both victims went into Anthony’s building, where Anthony paid them to take off their clothes and have sex.

 

In December 2015, a defendant charged in the same original indictment, Russell D. Ehrens, was acquitted at trial of child sex trafficking. After that acquittal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office took Anthony’s case to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that mistake of age is no defense to child sex trafficking when the defendant is alleged to have encountered a child victim personally, as Anthony is alleged to have done. Based on that law, the jury was required to determine whether Anthony had a reasonable opportunity to observe the juvenile victims, not whether he knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that they were under the age of 18.

 

Maurice Johnson and Hiram Mitchell previously pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking. Tonya Gum and Trung N. Duong, a customer co-defendant of Anthony, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking. Mitchell is currently serving a prison term of ten years. Johnson, Gum, and Duong await sentencing.

 

At sentencing, Anthony faces up to life imprisonment, including a mandatory minimum of ten years of imprisonment, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000.00 fine, in addition to paying restitution to the victims. His sentencing will be set by the court at a future date.

 

These convictions are the result of an investigation conducted by United States Department of Homeland Security and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys McKenzie Anderson and David Petermann.

Oklahoma City, OK – Denise E. Gibson, Budget Officer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Oklahoma, was one of 179 members of the Department of Justice recognized by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson at the 33rd Director’s Awards Ceremony Friday in Washington D.C., announced Mark A. Yancey, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

The Western District of Oklahoma was one of 35 districts represented at the ceremony, which was held in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.

 

In his prepared remarks, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein told the awardees: "These 179 award recipients embody the best of the Department of Justice. Today’s honorees have earned the esteem of their colleagues. But most importantly, you have earned the gratitude of your fellow citizens, whose communities you have made safer, whose lives you have improved, and whose trust you have rewarded."

The Department of Justice recognized Ms. Gibson for providing financial excellence to her district. She began her service to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1988 as a legal assistant. She has also served as a debt collection agent and an administrative services specialist. The district promoted her to budget officer in 2006.

 

"Denise has shown throughout her 29 years of exemplary government service her dedication to the mission of the U.S. Attorney’s Office," said U.S. Attorney Yancey. "She richly deserves this recognition from senior leadership in the Department."

 

EOUSA provides oversight and general executive assistance to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country. For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – JASON MICHAEL GOMEZ, 38, of Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty today to accepting a bribe in return for committing a fraud on the United States, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

On May 1, 2017, Gomez was charged by information with one count of bribery. Gomez worked in Oklahoma City as a urinalysis collector for Catalyst Behavioral Services (CBS), which contracts with the United States Probation Office to provide drug testing and treatment services for individuals supervised by U.S. Probation. As part of his job, Gomez collected urine specimens from individuals required to undergo court-ordered drug testing as a condition of their supervision. According to the information, from June 2016 until February 6, 2017, Gomez solicited and accepted cash payments in exchange for allowing individuals to smuggle into CBS "clean" urine samples for drug testing, rather than requiring individuals to provide their own urine sample. Gomez also falsely certified on U.S. Probation Office chain of custody forms that he had observed individuals provide their own samples.

At his plea hearing today, Gomez admitted that he accepted cash bribes in exchange for allowing individuals under U.S. Probation supervision to provide fraudulent urine samples for drug testing. Gomez also admitted that he submitted false chain of custody forms to the U.S. Probation Office.

At sentencing, Gomez faces up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Perry.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – A federal judge has sentenced JANIS ANN EDWARDS, of Oklahoma City, to 36 months in federal prison for tax evasion, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

According to an indictment filed in June 2016, Edwards was the sole owner of Corporate Resource Management, Inc., and a number of related companies with their principal place of business in Oklahoma City. These companies operated as "professional employer organizations," or "PEOs."  In essence, they served small businesses in several states in the central part of the United States by, among other things, taking on responsibilities for paying their employees’ payroll and collecting and paying payroll taxes to the IRS. The employees of small businesses became employees of one of Edwards’s entities, and their payroll taxes were to be paid under the tax identification number of one of those entities.

 

According to the indictment, Edwards failed to pay substantial amounts of payroll taxes collected from small businesses that had contracted with one of the CRM-related entities. The 23 counts related to quarterly payroll tax returns filed by Oklahoma Corporate Resource, Inc.; Missouri Corporate Resource, Inc.; and Texas Corporate Resource, Inc., for various quarters in 2010 and 2011. The indictment alleged Edwards regularly and intentionally directed her own employees to alter these quarterly tax returns to reflect less payroll tax liability than what was actually owed.

 

On January 6, 2017, Edwards pled guilty to one count of tax evasion, including causing the filing of a federal payroll tax return she knew was false. In a plea agreement, she agreed she would be held responsible in this criminal case for failing to pay between $3.5 million and $25 million in payroll taxes.

 

Today U.S. District Judge David L. Russell ordered Edwards to serve 36 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In determining the sentence, the court found she obstructed justice by testifying falsely in March 2016 at a bankruptcy proceeding concerning the tax obligations of four of her companies. The court also ordered Edwards to pay $22,720,242.04 in restitution to the IRS.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott E. Williams and Jessica L. Perry.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – MELISSA DAY MORTON, of Edmond, Oklahoma, pled guilty today to bank fraud and signing a false federal income tax return, in connection with a $2.6 million embezzlement from the Oklahoma Beef Council, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On May 10, 2017, Morton was charged by information with one count of bank fraud and one count of filing a false federal income tax return. From October 1995 until late July 2016, Morton worked as the Accounting and Compliance Manager at the Oklahoma Beef Council in Oklahoma City. As part of her job, Morton prepared checks, paid invoices, and generated financial statements for audits. Today, Morton pled guilty to preparing an unauthorized company check, in the amount of $5,652.25, made payable to herself in February 2016. Morton admitted that she forged the signature of the Beef Council’s executive director on the check and later presented that check for payment against the Beef Council’s bank account at a local bank. As part of her plea, Morton further admitted that she embezzled funds from her former employer from around 2009 through 2016, and stipulated that the total loss to the Oklahoma Beef Council from her embezzlement scheme was $2,681,400.73.

 

In addition to pleading guilty to bank fraud, Morton pled guilty to signing a false tax return. She admitted that on October 12, 2015, she signed a personal federal tax return for the 2014 calendar year that she knew was false because it reported only $183,545 in total income. At today’s plea hearing, Morton admitted that she omitted on the 2014 return more than $388,000 of embezzled income for that year from the Oklahoma Beef Council.

 

At sentencing, Morton faces up to 30 years in prison on the bank fraud count, plus five years of supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine. Morton also faces up to three years in prison on the tax count, in addition to one year of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for the tax loss. Morton will be sentenced in approximately 90 days. Reference is made to the information and other public filings for further information.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations, United States Secret Service, and United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris M. Stephens.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – TAMI LEE JOHNSON, of Midwest City, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty yesterday to check forgery, in connection with approximately $624,265.01 of embezzlement from a local real estate management company, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On April 25, 2017, Johnson was charged by information with one count of a forged security. From January 2012 until August 2015, Johnson was the bookkeeper and office manager at an Edmond real estate management company. As part of her job, Johnson had access to bank accounts belonging to her employer. Yesterday, Johnson pleaded guilty to preparing an unauthorized company check, in the amount of $2,226.00, to herself, in February 2014. She admitted that she did not have her employer’s permission to issue the check and that she forged the signature of her boss and then cashed the check for herself. As part of her plea, Johnson further admitted that she embezzled funds from her former employer from January 2012 through August 2015, and she stipulated that the total loss to the real estate management company from her embezzlement scheme was $624,265.01.

 

At sentencing, Johnson faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine, in addition to paying restitution to the victim. Johnson will be sentenced on August 29, 2017. Reference is made to the information and other public filings for further information.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. McKenzie Anderson.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – KASHARA STEWART, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and her mother, WONICA STEWART POPE, also of Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty today to federal crimes related to stolen identity tax refund fraud before the Honorable Joe Heaton, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

On February 22, 2017, a federal grand jury returned a Superseding Indictment charging Kashara Stewart with seven counts of tax fraud and seven counts of aggravated identity theft. It alleges that from January 2012 through December 2012, Kashara Stewart filed false federal income tax returns in the names of individuals, without their knowledge or permission, attaching false W-2s for employers that did not employ the purported tax filers in the relevant tax years. Those false tax returns directed the IRS to deposit the claimed tax refunds into Kashara Stewart’s bank account.

 

The Superseding Indictment also charged Kashara Stewart’s mother, Pope, with one count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement officer. On August 29, 2013, during the investigation of Kashara Stewart’s stolen identity refund fraud, Pope left a voicemail for an IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in which she falsely confessed to the crime. Pope falsely stated she was her sister, Wenoca Stewart, to shift blame away from her daughter.

 

On November 1, 2016, based in part on Pope’s phone call to IRS Criminal Investigations, a federal grand jury charged Wenoca Stewart, along with Kashara Stewart, with conspiracy and tax fraud. After learning that Pope had framed Wenoca Stewart, the United States moved to dismiss the charges against Wenoca Stewart on February 28, 2017. Wenoca Stewart is no longer charged with any federal crime.

 

At the plea hearing today before Judge Heaton, Kashara Stewart admitted she filed a false tax return in October 2012, claiming a tax refund based on a false W-2, for someone who did not give her permission to file a false tax return in his name. She admitted that the false tax return directed the IRS to deposit a tax refund in her account, which it did, and that she kept that refund. Pope also entered a guilty plea. She admitted to leaving a voicemail message for an IRS Special Agent who she knew was investigating false tax returns filed by Kashara Stewart. Pope admitted she had claimed to be her sister, Wenoca Stewart, and had told the agent she was responsible for the conduct he was investigating. She admitted she said in the voicemail she had lost her husband and didn’t have anything else to lose, when in fact her sister Wenoca had recently lost her husband. Pope further admitted she left that voicemail because she was trying to protect her daughter, who she knew at that time was responsible for the stolen identity refund fraud.

 

At sentencing, Kashara Stewart faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and restitution to the IRS for all related fraudulent tax filings. Pope faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing for both will be set by the Court on a future date.

 

This case is the result of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. McKenzie Anderson.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – On April 26, 2017, ANGELA RENEE RENEAU, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced by United States District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange to serve 18 months in federal prison for committing wire fraud and for failing to file an income tax return, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. Reneau was ordered to pay restitution totaling $386,236.27 to five of her former clients. Reneau was also ordered to pay $137,352 in restitution to the IRS. She will serve three years of supervised release at the end of her prison term.

 

Reneau was charged by Information and pled guilty on November 22, 2016. She admitted that between 2010 and 2014, she provided real estate management services to owners of commercial office buildings in the Edmond, Oklahoma, area through her business, Reneau Properties, LLC. She further admitted that during this time she made unauthorized transfers of her clients’ rental income into her Reneau Properties bank account and used those funds for her personal expenses. Specifically, she admitted that she caused Citizens Bank of Edmond, Oklahoma, to use interstate wire communications with the bank’s processor, which is located out-of-state, to transfer $11,000 from the bank account of her client, 750 West Covell, LLC, into her Reneau Properties bank account. Reneau admitted that her client did not authorize this transfer and that she used the funds for her personal expenses. In addition, Reneau admitted that she knowingly and willfully failed to file a federal income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service for the 2014 tax year.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Maxfield Green.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Jennifer Dismukes, D.O., has agreed to pay $60,000.00 to settle civil penalty claims stemming from allegations that she violated the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and the regulations promulgated under that Act, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

 

Dr. Dismukes formerly resided and practiced medicine in Texas. During that time, she provided medical services to Texas patients, as well as Oklahoma patients who traveled to her office in Texas. She then moved her main medical practice to New Jersey and transferred her DEA registration. After moving to New Jersey, she continued to see patients in Texas and began providing medical services to Oklahoma patients by telemedicine.

 

The United States alleges that between January 1, 2013, and March 8, 2016, Dr. Dismukes issued prescriptions for Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances for patients in Oklahoma without proper authority because she was not licensed to practice medicine in Oklahoma and did not have required DEA or Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics registrations. In addition, Dr. Dismukes issued prescriptions for Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances for patients in Texas without proper authority because she did not have a DEA registration for Texas.

 

In order to resolve the allegations brought by the United States, Dr. Dismukes agreed to pay $60,000.00.

 

In reaching this settlement, Dr. Dismukes did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions regarding the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency, Office of Diversion Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ronald R. Gallegos.