District of Oregon

EUGENE, Ore.—A Eugene area white supremacist was sentenced to federal prison today for mailing threatening communications to a former teacher whom he targeted in part because of her sexual orientation.

Gary Franklin, 58, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

“Mr. Franklin’s harassment of the victim in this case was hateful and downright disturbing. Further, the bigoted and racist ideology he espoused and lauded have no place in our community. Nobody should have to live in fear of depraved individuals like Mr. Franklin. Mailing threatening communications is a serious federal crime and will continue to be a top priority for our office,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

“There is no way to undo the damage Gary Franklin did to the victim and her family with his hateful, repulsive, and threatening behavior,” said Kieran L. Ramsey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “The FBI hopes today’s prison sentence can provide them some sense of comfort. No one should ever be targeted or threatened because of who they are. This kind of cruel and hate-filled terror has no place in our community and it won’t be tolerated.”

“Hateful and racist speech hold no place in our society,” said Anthony Galetti, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Seattle Division. “The U.S. Mail remains one of the primary means of communication and commerce in our country, and Mr. Franklin took advantage of that to spread hate and fear to his victim. We hope today’s sentencing sends a clear message that these kinds of mailings will not be tolerated and the U.S Postal Inspection Service will continue to work towards that mission.”

According to court documents, between December 2020 and May 2021, Franklin sent two threatening letters to a former community college professor of his whom he targeted in part because of her sexual orientation. The first letter contained a printout of what appeared to be a deceased, mutilated female. Handwritten wording above and below the image included racial and sexual orientation slurs and stated, “What I’d like to do to you.” The second letter contained another photograph of a deceased, decapitated female in a black trunk. The handwritten wording around the image stated that the photograph represented Franklin’s fantasy of what he wanted to do to the victim.

A forensic analysis conducted by the Oregon State Police Laboratory found Franklin’s fingerprints on the first letter. In May 2021, the FBI subsequently executed a search warrant on Franklin’s Eugene residence. Agents found and seized body armor, a boot spike, multiple knives, collapsible batons, a monkey’s fist flail, a set of brass knuckles, a 12-gauge shotgun shell, metal chain mail, and a black trunk like one depicted in his second letter. Agents also uncovered piles of literature and handbooks on death, dismemberment, murder, torture, and sexually-motivated killings.

As the investigation continued, authorities discovered evidence that Franklin was a white supremacist and may have been motivated by white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideologies. Open source and social media research revealed that Franklin was the administrator of a membership website called Aryan Folk. Investigators also discovered a Twitter account for Aryan Folk with a bio stating “I run a website for White Nationalist[s].” While searching Franklin’s residence, agents also discovered multiple photographs of Franklin with items and clothing bearing Nazi and white supremacist symbols.

On May 20, 2021, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a three-count indictment charging Franklin with stalking and mailing threatening communications. On January 4, 2022, Franklin pleaded guilty to two counts of mailing threatening communications.

U.S. Attorney Asphaug, Special Agent in Charge Ramsey, and Inspector in Charge Galetti made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Adam E. Delph, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Anyone with information about real or perceived threats of violence should call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. For immediate threats to life and safety, please call 9-1-1.

A Pacific Northwest environmental extremist, arsonist and former fugitive pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court for his role in two arson conspiracies targeting commercial and government-owned animal processing facilities in Oregon and California.

Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and arson in the District of Oregon and conspiracy to commit arson in the Eastern District of California.

Yesterday’s plea also resolves Dibee’s pending criminal case in the Western District of Washington.

According to court documents, beginning in October 1996 and continuing through December 2005, Dibee and at least 15 other individuals affiliated with the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, loosely affiliated environmental extremist groups, knowingly conspired with one another to damage or destroy various commercial and government-owned properties.

Dibee and his co-conspirators held meetings to plan arsons of targeted sites, conducted research and surveillance of the sites and discussed their planned actions using code words and code names. The conspirators designed and constructed destructive devices which functioned as incendiary bombs to ignite fires and destroy targeted sites. During their self-described “direct actions,” the conspirators dressed in dark clothing and wore masks and gloves to disguise their appearances. Some conspirators acted as lookouts while others were responsible for placing, igniting or attempting to ignite the improvised incendiary devices.

On or about July 21, 1997, Dibee and others used incendiary devices to destroy the Cavel West Meat Packing Plant, a commercial slaughterhouse and meatpacking facility in Redmond, Oregon. Several years later, in October 2001, Dibee and others attempted to destroy the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse Corrals, a government-owned facility used to remove wild horses from public lands located near Litchfield, California. The group’s attack on the facility caused the destruction of a barn and its contents.

Prior to the second incident, Dibee and others recruited co-conspirators and gathered supplies and fuel to make incendiary devices. The group used Dibee’s residence in Seattle to construct the devices and traveled from Seattle to Northern California in Dibee’s truck.

In 2006, after a long-running domestic terrorism investigation led by the FBI, a federal grand jury in Oregon indicted Dibee and 11 co-conspirators. Dibee and others were later indicted in the Eastern District of California and Western District of Washington. The conspirators, together known as “the Family,” were ultimately linked to more than 40 criminal acts between 1995 and 2001 and caused more than $45 million in damages.

Dibee fled the United States in December 2005. In late summer 2018, Cuban authorities arrested Dibee on an Interpol Red Notice. The Department of State including the U.S. Embassy in Havana, as well as the Department of Homeland Security including the U.S. Coast Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement assisted in returning Dibee to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

With his continued acceptance of responsibility, the government will recommend Dibee receive a sentence of 87 months in federal prison. He will be sentenced on July 27 by U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken in the District of Oregon.

As part of his plea agreement, Dibee has agreed to pay restitution to his victims as determined by the government and ordered by the court.

One of Dibee’s co-conspirators remains at large. Josephine Sunshine Overaker, an American citizen who is either 47 or 50 years old, is believed to have fled to Europe in late 2001. Overaker faces 19 felony charges including conspiracy to commit arson and destruction of an energy facility, attempted arson, and arson in the District of Oregon, the Western District of Washington, and the District of Colorado. The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to Overaker’s arrest.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and U.S. Attorneys Scott Erik Asphaug for the District of Oregon, Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California and Nicholas W. Brown for the Western District of Washington made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Oregon, Northern District of California, and Western District of Washington, and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Pacific Northwest environmental extremist, arsonist, and former fugitive pleaded guilty today in federal court for his role in two arson conspiracies targeting commercial and government-owned animal processing facilities in Oregon and California.

Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and arson in the District of Oregon and conspiracy to commit arson in the Eastern District of California. 

Today’s plea also resolves Dibee’s pending criminal case in the Western District of Washington.

“No matter the agenda, using violence to advance a social or political cause is a serious crime. Over a series of years, Mr. Dibee and his co-conspirators caused millions of dollars in damage to commercial and government-owned properties. Today, after many years on the run, Mr. Dibee admitted to his role in these schemes and will finally face justice,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

“It has taken more than 20 years for Joseph Dibee to face justice. The FBI and our law enforcement partners never gave up. From destroying evidence to fleeing the country, none of Mr. Dibee’s tactics stopped us from making sure he was held accountable for his malicious and destructive actions,” said Kieran L. Ramsey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon.

According to court documents, beginning in October 1996 and continuing through December 2005, Dibee and at least 15 other individuals affiliated with the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front knowingly conspired with one another to damage or destroy various commercial and government-owned properties.

Dibee and his co-conspirators held meetings to plan arsons of targeted sites, conducted research and surveillance of the sites, and discussed their planned actions using code words and code names. The conspirators designed and constructed destructive devices which functioned as incendiary bombs to ignite fires and destroy targeted sites. During their self-described “direct actions,” the conspirators dressed in dark clothing and wore masks and gloves to disguise their appearances. Some conspirators acted as lookouts while others were responsible for placing, igniting, or attempting to ignite the improvised incendiary devices.

On or about July 21, 1997, Dibee and others used incendiary devices to destroy the Cavel West Meat Packing Plant, a commercial slaughterhouse and meatpacking facility in Redmond, Oregon. Several years later, in October 2001, Dibee and others attempted to destroy the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse Corrals, a government-owned facility used to remove wild horses from public lands located near Litchfield, California. The group’s attack on the facility caused the destruction of a barn and its contents.

Prior to the second incident, Dibee and others recruited co-conspirators and gathered supplies and fuel to make incendiary devices. The group used Dibee’s residence in Seattle, Washington to construct the devices and traveled from Seattle to Northern California in Dibee’s truck.

In 2006, after a long-running domestic terrorism investigation led by the FBI, a federal grand jury in Oregon indicted Dibee and 11 co-conspirators. Dibee and others were later indicted in the Eastern District of California and Western District of Washington. The conspirators, together known as “the Family,” were ultimately linked to more than 40 criminal acts between 1995 and 2001 and caused more than $45 million in damages.

Dibee fled the U.S. in December 2005. In late summer 2018, Cuban authorities arrested Dibee on an Interpol Red Notice. The U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security including the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Embassy in Havana assisted in returning Dibee to the U.S.

With Dibee’s continued acceptance of responsibility, the government will recommend a sentence of 87 months in federal prison. He will be sentenced on July 27, 2022 by U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken in the District of Oregon.

As part of his plea agreement, Dibee has agreed to pay restitution to his victims as determined by the government and ordered by the court.

One of Dibee’s co-conspirators remains at large. Josephine Sunshine Overaker, an American citizen who is either 47 or 50 years old, is believed to have fled to Europe in late 2001. Overaker faces 19 felony charges including conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to commit arson and destruction of an energy facility, attempted arson, and arson in the District of Oregon, the Western District of Washington, and the District of Colorado. The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to Overaker’s arrest.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Asphaug, and U.S. Attorneys Phillip A. Talbert of the Eastern District of California and Nicholas W. Brown of the Western District of Washington made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Oregon, Northern District of California, and Western District of Washington, and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland area housekeeper pleaded guilty today for perpetrating a scheme to steal funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kimberly Aralene Wells, 40, a resident of Portland, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

According to court documents, by the summer of 2020, after Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wells devised a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA) by fraudulently applying for CARES Act-authorized Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) using a fictitious shell company.

To perpetrate her scheme, Wells used her fictitious company, Kim’s Cleaning Inc., to apply for PPP loans from Itria Ventures LLC, an online commercial lending platform based in New Jersey. In her loan applications, Wells falsely claimed her business posted gross annual receipts of more than $600,000 and maintained an average monthly payroll of more than $19,000. In reality, Wells’ company existed in name only and had no employees.

As a result of her misrepresentations, in February 2021, Itria disbursed nearly $49,000 in PPP funds to Wells. Wells in turn used the funds to pay for various personal expenses, including travel and gambling. Between July 2020 and May 2021, Wells also submitted three fraudulent EIDL applications that were denied by SBA.

On November 11, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a three-count indictment charging Wells with wire fraud.

Wells faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. She will be sentenced on August 8, 2022 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.

As part of her plea agreement, Wells has agreed to pay $51,457 in restitution to Itria and SBA.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the SBA Office of Inspector General, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan W. Bounds is prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Warrenton, Oregon man was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison today for sexually exploiting at least two children he met online.

Kirk Richard Cazee, 60, was sentenced to 204 months in federal prison followed by a 99-year term of supervised release.

According to court documents, in 2010, the Oregon Department of Justice received a tip that child pornography was being exchanged with an email address later determined to belong to Cazee. After obtaining a search warrant for the email account, investigators located emails wherein Cazee pretended to be a teenage boy or young adult to manipulate and deceive his minor victims. Between September 2006 and March 2010, Cazee persuaded multiple minor victims under the age of 16 to produce and send him sexually explicit content. In at least one instance, Cazee mailed a web cam and teddy bear to a minor victim and convinced her to produce sexually explicit videos for him using the web cam. 

On September 27, 2018, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a 10-count indictment charging Cazee with production, receipt, transportation and possession of child pornography. On April 27, 2021, he pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug for the District of Oregon and Special Agent in Charge Kieran L. Ramsey of the FBI’s Portland Field Office made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Oregon Department of Justice Internet Crimes Against Children task force with assistance from the FBI Salem Child Exploitation Task Force, Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office and the Astoria Police Department. It was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natalie K. Wight and Rachel Sowray from the District of Oregon.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. Child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, child victims suffer re-victimization each time the image of their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s website at www.missingkids.org.

The FBI CETF conducts sexual exploitation investigations, many of them undercover, in coordination with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. CETF is committed to locating and arresting those who prey on children as well as recovering and assisting victims of sex trafficking and child exploitation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland man was sentenced to federal prison today for perpetrating a scheme to steal funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benjamin Tifekchian, 48, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. Tifekchian was also ordered to pay more than $910,000 in restitution, including more than $26,000 to the Small Business Administration (SBA).

According to court documents, in May 2019, Tifekchian incorporated Bencho Jewelry Inc. (Bencho) in the State of Oregon and served as the company’s sole owner and officer. Bencho never had any employees and never generated more than $500 in revenue in any calendar year. 

After Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tifekchian devised and perpetrated a scheme to defraud the SBA by fraudulently applying for CARES Act-authorized Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans on behalf of Bencho.

In EIDL applications submitted to SBA in April and August 2020, Tifekchian falsely claimed Bencho had generated as much as $758,000 in revenue, had been operating for 20 years, and employed 12 people. SBA denied both applications. In June 2020, Tifekchian successfully obtained more than $884,000 in PPP funding after falsely claiming Bencho employed 78 people and had an average monthly payroll of $353,698. SBA guaranteed the loan and paid Bank of America, the FDIC-insured loan issuer, more than $26,000 in fees.

Tifekchian used the PPP loan to pay for gambling, vacations, and other personal expenses. Suspecting fraud, Bank of America froze the loan funds, but only after Tifekchian had spent more than $68,000.

On July 13, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a two-count indictment charging Tifekchian with bank fraud and wire fraud. On January 25, 2022, he pleaded guilty to bank fraud.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI, U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), and the SBA Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan W. Bounds is prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

An Oregon man was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for coercing and persuading multiple minors to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves over the internet.

Kirk R. Cazee, 60, of Warrenton, was sentenced to 204 months in prison after pleading guilty to production of child pornography on April 28, 2021. Cazee was also sentenced to serve 99 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after completion of his prison term.

As described in court documents and testimony, in March 2010, a CyberTipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), identified an email address that had been involved in the exchange of child pornography. Law enforcement traced the email address back to Cazee’s residence. Further investigation showed that beginning in 2006 and continuing to 2010, Cazee engaged in email and text communications with multiple minor victims. During the communications, Cazee posed as a teenage boy and coerced the minors to take sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves and to send the content to Cazee.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug for the District of Oregon and Special Agent in Charge Kieran L. Ramsey of the FBI’s Portland Field Office made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the Oregon Department of Justice and the FBI.

Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalie Wight for the District of Oregon prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org.

Two members of the Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club (GJOMC) were sentenced to life in federal prison yesterday for kidnapping, torturing, and murdering a former club member.

GJOMC Portland clubhouse president Mark Leroy Dencklau, 61, of Woodburn, Oregon, and member Chad Leroy Erickson, 51, of Rainier, Oregon, received life sentences after being convicted at trial in December 2021 of murder in aid of racketeering; kidnapping in aid of racketeering, resulting in death; kidnapping resulting in death; and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, resulting in death. Additionally, Dencklau was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy.

According to court documents and trial testimony, the GJOMC is a criminal organization wherein members and associates maintain their position and status in the organization by participating in, directly or indirectly, various acts of violent racketeering activity including murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and witness tampering. From 2003 until his arrest in 2018, Dencklau served as the president of the GJOMC’s Portland chapter.

According to evidence presented at trial, on July 1, 2015, the body of Robert Huggins, an estranged member of the GJOMC Portland chapter, was found lying in a field in Clark County, Washington. Huggins’ body was badly beaten, and appeared to have been tortured prior to his death. Huggins was previously stripped of his club membership for allegedly stealing from the club and from Dencklau in particular. Following this robbery, Dencklau directed GJOMC members to find Huggins.

According to testimony presented at trial, on the evening of June 30, 2015, Dencklau and others kidnapped Huggins from a residence in Portland and transported him to a rural property in Southwest Washington. Over the course of several hours, Huggins was severely beaten and tortured. He sustained numerous injuries to his head and face, including a fractured skull, as well as lacerations to his chest and torso. Trial evidence showed that Erickson, who took part in the torture of Huggins, slashed Huggin’s tattoo with a knife and then stabbed him in the leg. He then helped load Huggins into a vehicle and left him in a field. A medical examiner ruled that Huggins’ death was caused by multiple blunt and sharp force injuries.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug for the District of Oregon, and Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Seattle Field Division made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau and ATF, with assistance from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), U.S. Marshals Service, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and the Oregon and Washington State Crime Labs.

Trial Attorney Damaré Theriot of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leah K. Bolstad and Steven T. Mygrant for the District of Oregon prosecuted the case.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A federal indictment was unsealed today charging a former WNBA player with assaulting an intimate dating partner on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Shoni Iman Schimmel, 29, of Pendleton, Oregon, has been charged with assault by strangulation of an intimate dating partner and assault resulting in substantial bodily injury.

According to the indictment, on June 13, 2021, Schimmel allegedly strangled her partner on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Schimmel further assaulted her partner causing substantial bodily injury.

Schimmel was arrested by federal authorities today and made her initial appearance in federal court. She was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and released pending a two-day jury trial scheduled to begin on June 14, 2022.

If convicted, Schimmel faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, three years’ supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Umatilla Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley R. Cadotte is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Domestic violence is a serious crime that includes both physical and emotional abuse. It is frequently hidden from public view. Many survivors suffer in silence, afraid to seek help or not knowing where to turn. The traumatic effects of domestic violence also extend beyond the abused person, impacting family members and communities.

If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, please call 911.

If you need assistance or know someone who needs help, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Many communities throughout the country have developed support networks to assist survivors in the process of recovery.

The StrongHearts Native Helpline offers culturally specific support and advocacy for American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of domestic violence. Please call 1-844-762-8483 or visit www.strongheartshelpline.org for more information.

PORTLAND, Ore.—Two members of the Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club (GJOMC) were sentenced to life in federal prison today for kidnapping, torturing, and murdering a former club member.

GJOMC Portland clubhouse president Mark Leroy Dencklau, 61, of Woodburn, Oregon and Portland clubhouse member Chad Leroy Erickson, 51, of Rainier, Oregon, received the life sentences after being convicted at trial in December 2021 of murder in aid of racketeering; kidnapping in aid of racketeering, resulting in death; kidnapping resulting in death; and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, resulting in death. Additionally, Dencklau was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy.

“Mark Dencklau and Chad Erickson will rightfully serve the rest of their lives in federal prison. These men prided themselves in using violence to intimidate others and increase their power and influence among club members and rivals. Organized violent crime has no place in Oregon and will not be tolerated. Today’s sentences were years in the making and required a dedicated and coordinated law enforcement effort. We are grateful to all the law enforcement agencies who participated in bringing these men to justice and exposing the Gypsy Jokers as the ruthless, violent gang they are,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

“The heinous nature of these crimes truly warrant these life sentences,” said ATF Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson. “ATF has vigorously investigated, and will continue to investigate, these outlaw motorcycle gangs when they perpetrate criminal acts.”

According to court documents and trial testimony, the GJOMC is a hierarchical criminal organization wherein members and associates maintain their position and status in the organization by participating in, directly or indirectly, various acts of violent racketeering activity including murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and witness tampering. Since the 1980s, the club has been active in several states including Oregon and Washington and, until recently, operated six clubhouses in the Pacific Northwest. The club also has international chapters in Germany, Australia, and Norway.

From 2003 until his arrest, Dencklau served as the president of the club’s Portland chapter. The GJOMC also oversaw several support clubs in Oregon and Washington including the Road Brothers Northwest Motorcycle Club, Solutions Motorcycle Club, Northwest Veterans Motorcycle Club, High-Side Riders, and the Freedom Fellowship Motorcycle Club. Support club members conducted criminal activities in support of the GJOMC and served as a source of new members and revenue for the club.

On July 1, 2015, the body of Robert Huggins, an estranged member of the GJOMC Portland chapter, was found lying in a field in Clark County, Washington. Huggins’ body was badly beaten, and he appeared to have been tortured prior to his death. Huggins was previously stripped of his club membership for allegedly stealing from the club and, after breaking into Dencklau’s Woodburn residence, tying up Dencklau’s girlfriend and stealing multiple firearms. In the days and weeks following this robbery, Dencklau directed GJOMC members to find Huggins.

Several government witnesses testified at trial to Dencklau, Erickson, and their co-defendants’ roles in the revenge kidnapping, torture, and murder of Huggins. On the evening of June 30, 2015, Dencklau and others kidnapped Huggins from a residence in Portland and transported him to a rural property in Southwest Washington. Over the course of several hours, Huggins was severely beaten and tortured. He sustained numerous injuries to his head and face, including a fractured skull; lacerations to his chest and torso; and removed nipples. A local medical examiner ruled that Huggins’ death was caused by multiple blunt and sharp force injuries.

On June 28, 2018, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Dencklau; Earl Deverle Fisher, 48, of Gresham, Oregon; and Tiler Evan Pribbernow, 40, of Portland, with murder in aid of racketeering; kidnapping in aid of racketeering, resulting in death; kidnapping resulting in death and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, resulting in death.

Later, on November 29, 2018, Dencklau; Fisher; Erickson; Kenneth Earl Hause, 64, of Aumsville, Oregon; Ryan Anthony Negrinelli, 36, of Gresham, Oregon; and Joseph Duane Folkerts, 61, of Battleground, Washington, were charged by superseding indictment with racketeering conspiracy.

In December 2021, the federal jury who convicted Dencklau and Erickson acquitted Erickson and Hause, the GJOMC national president, of racketeering conspiracy.

On April 12, 2022, after previously pleading guilty, Pribbernow was sentenced to 140 months in federal prison. Fisher, Negrinelli, and Folkerts have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Asphaug and Special Agent in Charge McPherson made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau and ATF, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, and the Oregon and Washington State Crime Labs. Leah K. Bolstad and Steven T. Mygrant, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon, prosecuted the case with Damaré Theriot, Trial Attorney for the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the District of Oregon’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities, and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement, community organizations, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.

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

PORTLAND, Ore.—A former member of Portland’s Hoover Criminal Gang was sentenced to federal prison today for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Javontae Nabien Gibson, 28, of Portland, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, as part of a federal racketeering investigation of the Hoover Criminal Gang, law enforcement obtained photos Gibson, a convicted felon, was posting online as advertisements for the sale of firearms and drugs. In August 2020, investigators executed a search warrant on Gibson’s northeast Portland apartment. They found and seized six handguns, two rifles, more than a dozen magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and approximately $5,000 in cash.

On August 19, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Gibson with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. On November 15, 2021, he pleaded guilty to the single charge.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Gresham Police Department, and FBI. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

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

EUGENE, Ore.—A Eugene man on supervised release for a drug trafficking conviction was again sentenced to federal prison today after threatening to shoot at an apartment and then driving to the apartment with a loaded assault rifle.

Billy Lynn Brosowske, 48, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, on February 11, 2020, Brosowske sent a series of threatening messages to a person he knew. Brosowske threatened to shoot at the person’s apartment if Brosowske’s ex-girlfriend was found to be inside. In one message, Brosowske admitted to knowing there were young children in the apartment who could be placed in “harms (sic) way.”

Officers from the Eugene Police Department responded immediately and located Brosowske’s truck near the apartment. Officers searched the truck pursuant to a state search warrant and located a loaded assault rifle with a chambered round and its safety turned off. Law enforcement arrested Brosowske two weeks later in The Dalles, Oregon, and he was taken into federal custody for violating his federal supervised release after a previous drug trafficking conviction.

On August 20, 2020, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned an indictment charging Brosowske with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. On November 10, 2021, he pleaded guilty to the single charge.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Eugene Police Department. It was prosecuted by Jeffrey Sweet and Will McLaren, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon, in close coordination with Erik Hasselman, Senior Prosecutor for the Lane County District Attorney’s Office, who is prosecuting Brosowske for state crimes arising from this incident.

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

PORTLAND, Ore.—On March 30, 2022, a Portland man was sentenced to federal prison for perpetrating a scheme to steal funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eric Wade Lysne, 35, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, in April 2020, Lysne devised and perpetrated a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA) and various financial institutions by fraudulently applying for and obtaining Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans using false borrower information. Lysne created fictitious entities, including Paradigm Consulting Groups (Paradigm), on whose behalf he applied for and received the loans.

In May 2020, Lysne applied for an EIDL, falsely claiming Paradigm employed 10 individuals in the agriculture sector and grossed nearly $1 million for the twelve-month period ending in January 2020. Lysne also falsely claimed that he, as the applicant, had not been convicted of any felonies in the last five years when, in fact, he had been in prison for nearly a year following a May 2019 felony conviction in Washington County, Oregon, and was then on post-prison supervision.

In early June 2020, SBA disbursed a $147,400 EIDL to Paradigm through Lysne’s personal bank account. The deposit was followed by an additional $10,000 advance paid several weeks later. After receiving the funds, Lysne spent them on various personal expenses, including travel bookings and numerous cash withdrawals.

In April 2021, Lysne applied for an increase in his EIDL balance, seeking to borrow an additional $302,600. The application was pending when Lysne was indicted in May 2021. Around the same time, Lysne also applied for a $50,000 PPP loan on Paradigm’s behalf from a bank in Logan, Utah. In the application, Lysne again falsely claimed he had not been convicted of any recent felonies. He further falsely represented that Paradigm employed two individuals and had an average monthly payroll of $20,000. Based on Lysne’s fraudulent misrepresentations, the bank approved the loan application in part and disbursed a $27,700 loan to Lysne.

Lysne made similar misrepresentations in five other successful PPP loan applications to various lenders. All told, Lysne fraudulently procured $360,467 in COVID-relief loans. He was ordered to pay that amount in restitution to the SBA and victim PPP lenders, and the court also ordered Lysne to forfeit an additional $185,100 to the United States Treasury.

On May 19, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a two-count indictment charging Lysne with bank fraud and wire fraud. On November 4, 2021, he pleaded guilty to both charges.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the SBA Office of Inspector General, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan W. Bounds prosecuted the case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

PORTLAND, Ore.—The operator of a Portland area animal rescue, rehabilitation, boarding, and adoption company is facing federal charges for her role in a conspiracy to defraud customers and for illegally dispensing animal drugs.

Tori Lynn Head, 26, has been charged by criminal information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and dispensing animal drugs without proper labeling.

According to the information, in November 2019, Head and others started Woofin Palooza, an animal rescue business with facilities in Multnomah and Columbia County, Oregon. Head and others are alleged to have obtained pets with medical and behavioral issues from out-of-state and made them available for adoption to paying customers. Between December 2019 and January 2021, on more than 280 occasions, Head and others made material misrepresentations about the health and behavior of the animal offered for adoption. Based on these misrepresentations, customers paid Woofin Palooza more than $82,000 in adoption fees. During this same time period, Head sold customers mislabeled animal drugs in violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Head made his first appearance in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jolie A. Russo. He was released pending further court proceedings.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with assistance from the Portland Police Bureau. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight is prosecuting the case.

A criminal information is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

PORTLAND, Ore.—An Indiana man pleaded guilty today in federal court after repeatedly and intentionally jeopardizing the lives of police officers, destroying public property, and encouraging others to commit violence during protests in Portland.

Malik Fard Muhammad, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing unregistered destructive devices.

According to court documents, in late summer 2020, Muhammad traveled to Portland with his girlfriend from their home in Indianapolis to violently engage in area riots. On September 5, 2020, during a large civil disturbance in east Portland, demonstrators threw dangerous objects at police, including commercial grade fireworks, Molotov cocktails, and bottles. At least one demonstrator was seriously burned by a Molotov cocktail thrown in the direction of police. Muhammad was present at this event and provided baseball bats to members of the crowd.

Following Muhammad’s arrest in October 2020, law enforcement seized his cell phone and found messages where he bragged about providing the baseball bats to other rioters. The cell phone also contained a shopping list including common supplies used to make a Molotov cocktail. The day after the demonstration, police located a discarded baseball bat with a Goodwill price tag in the area where the event occurred. Police found the Goodwill store where the bat was purchased and obtained surveillance footage showing Muhammad and his girlfriend buying the bats and several “growler” bottles.

On September 21, 2020, during a large demonstration near the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Penumbra Kelly Building, law enforcement observed an individual light on fire and throw an object toward the building. One officer observed the burning object flying through the air toward his vehicle, landing approximately 15 feet from a police sound truck. Officers recovered the unexploded device. It consisted of a yellow glass growler with a Goodwill sticker on the bottom, a cloth wick, and an ignitable liquid. It was later determined that the growler was one of the items purchased at Goodwill by Muhammad and his girlfriend. A DNA analysis also linked the growler to Muhammad.

On September 23, 2020, protesters set fire to and broke windows at the Multnomah County Justice Center. When officers advanced toward the crowd, an individual threw a Molotov cocktail in a large yellow growler that landed in front of the officers, shattered, and exploded into a large fireball. While some officers were able to move out of the way, one officer’s leg caught fire. Several videos obtained by law enforcement show Muhammad throwing the explosive device.

On October 11, 2020, police were monitoring a protest involving approximately 250 people in downtown Portland. Members of the group began heavily vandalizing various buildings and parks including the Oregon Historical Society, Portland State University, a Starbucks coffee shop, and a Bank of America branch, among others. Law enforcement observed Muhammad in the crowed dressed in black. Portland Police officers reported observing Muhammad using a metal baton to smash the windows of several buildings and arrested him after a short chase. Muhammad possessed a loaded handgun magazine in his pocket. A loaded handgun matching the magazine found on Muhammad’s person was found discarded near the location of his arrest.

Muhammad’s trip to Portland does not appear to be an isolated event. Investigators obtained evidence that he traveled to Louisville, Kentucky in August 2020 to meet with anti-government and anti-authority violent extremist groups to conduct firearms and tactical training. Investigators also obtained several public social media posts by Muhammad promoting violence toward law enforcement in other cities including Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Chicago.

On May 28, 2021, Muhammad was charged by criminal complaint with possession of unregistered destructive devices, engaging in civil disorder and obstructing law enforcement, and using explosives to commit a felony. Later, on June 15, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland indicted Muhammad on the same charges.

Possessing an unregistered destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison per count of conviction. With Muhammad’s continued acceptance of responsibility, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will recommend a sentence of 10 years in federal prison. He will be sentenced on June 21, 2022 before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Marco A. Hernandez.

Today’s change of plea is part of a global resolution of Muhammad’s federal and state criminal cases. He is scheduled to plead guilty and be sentenced in Multnomah County Circuit Court tomorrow.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

The Portland Police Bureau, FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam E. Delph is prosecuting the case.

PORTLAND, Ore.—12 people are facing federal charges for conspiring to distribute counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl in the Pacific Northwest, and laundering millions in drug proceeds.

According to court documents, beginning in fall 2021, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents based in Portland began investigating a drug trafficking organization led by Luis Antonio Beltran Arrendondo, 32, of Las Vegas, who was suspected of importing counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and heroin from Mexico into California, and transporting it to Oregon and Washington State for distribution. Arrendondo formerly resided in Oregon, but later relocated to Las Vegas with his significant other and accomplice Jacqueline Paola Rodriguez Barrientos, 41. Barrientos was also indicted as the chief money launderer for the Arrendondo organization.

As the investigation continued, agents interdicted couriers transporting fentanyl pills and heroin to Oregon. They executed search warrants in Hillsboro, Portland, Tualatin, and Wilsonville, Oregon; Fresno and Hawaiian Gardens, California; and Las Vegas. In total, these enforcement actions resulted in the seizure of approximately 115,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills suspected to contain fentanyl and stamped “M/30”, 41 pounds of methamphetamine, and more than 57 pounds of heroin.

A parallel financial investigation revealed that Barrientos laundered money generated by the Arrendondo organization through the Mazatlán Beauty Salon in Tualatin, Oregon and by buying real estate. The real estate purchases were made with cashier’s checks funded by large cash deposits. Currency Transaction Reports generated by several banks showed that Barrientos made frequent cash deposits ranging from $10,000 to more than $373,000 into accounts held in her name or the name of her salon. These deposits totaled more than $3.5 million during a 9-month period in 2021. Since February 2021, members of the Arrendondo organization purchased a total of nine residential properties in Oregon and Nevada with an estimated total value of more than $4.6 million. All nine properties were purchased outright with no mortgages.

On February 17, 2022, DEA agents arrested Arrendondo and Barrientos at their Las Vegas residence. Agents found and seized two luxury vehicles, several loose receipts documenting high-end retail purchases, credit card statements documenting more than $16,000 spent on tickets to attend a professional boxing match, and other evidence memorializing the couple’s high-end lifestyle.

On March 15, 2022, Arrendondo and Barrientos made their initial appearances in federal court. Both are in custody pending trial. All ten of Arrendondo and Barrientos’ co-conspirators have been arrested and are also pending trial in the District of Oregon.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by DEA with assistance from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI), Tigard Police Department, and Oregon State Police. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Opioid abuse affects communities across the nation. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that there were more than 100,000 drug overdoses in the U.S. during the 12-month period ending April 2021, an increase of nearly 29% from the previous 12-month period. Synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) accounted for more than three quarters of these deaths. Drug overdose continues to be the leading cause of injury or death in the U.S.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. A 3-milligram dose of fentanyl—a few grains of the substance—is enough to kill an average adult male. The availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 911.

If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, please call the Lines for Life substance abuse helpline at 1-800-923-4357 or visit www.linesforlife.org. Phone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also text “RecoveryNow” to 839863 between 8am and 11pm Pacific Time daily.

Seized Heroin and Counterfeit Oxycodone

 

Seized Heroin, Counterfeit Oxycodone, and Cash

 

Seized 2013 Dodge Viper

 

Seized 2021 Range Rover Sport

 

PORTLAND, Ore.—A federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment today charging a Salem, Oregon man for distributing counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and operating the largest known privately made firearm or “ghost gun” manufacturing workshop in Oregon from the basement of his home.

Tyler Ray Harnden, 29, a Salem resident, has been charged with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, distribution of fentanyl, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on February 16, 2022, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and detectives from the Salem Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Section and Strategic Investigations Unit executed a federal search warrant on Harnden’s Salem residence. During their search, investigators discovered a large ghost gun manufacturing operation containing dozens of homemade firearm components and firearms in various stages of completion. Investigators also found and seized two pistols, three completed ghost guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, 15 loaded high-capacity magazines, three drill presses and other assorted firearm manufacturing equipment, and approximately 200 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

Following his arrest, agents discovered additional evidence that Harnden had allegedly been paying people to conduct illegal straw purchases of firearms for him. Harnden would also use people with substance use disorders to purchase firearms for him in exchange for counterfeit oxycodone pills manufactured with fentanyl. Agents also learned that Harnden was storing firearms at a relative’s house and had tried to convince the relative to sell some of his firearms to generate money for his jail spending account. On March 15, 2022, ATF agents and Salem SIU detectives obtained and executed a federal search warrant on the relative’s house and seized four gun safes and 63 additional firearms belonging to Harnden.

Harnden is in state custody on a supervised release violation and will be arraigned on his federal indictment at a later date. If convicted, Harnden faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by ATF and the Salem Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott M. Kerin is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Ghost guns are homemade firearms without serial numbers assembled from kits or materials sold without background checks, making them easily acquired by criminals who otherwise would not be permitted to possess a firearm and nearly impossible for law enforcement to track. In May 2021, the Justice Department issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would update the definition of “firearm” and related parts for the first time since 1968. This updated definition would close a regulatory loophole associated with un-serialized, privately-made firearms increasingly being recovered at crime scenes across the country.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PORTLAND, Ore.—The Justice Department announced today that a Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officer has been selected to receive the Attorney’s General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing.

Officer Kristen Schmidt, of PPB’s North Precinct, is one of 18 law enforcement officers and deputies receiving the award from 12 jurisdictions across the country. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the award recipients in Atlanta today.

“The work of law enforcement has always been difficult—but perhaps no more so than in the recent past, as officers have faced a host of significant challenges. The officers and deputies receiving this year’s awards demonstrate how so many go above and beyond, even in the midst of trying circumstances,” the Attorney General said. “Every day, thousands of people who work in law enforcement forge and maintain strong community ties that are essential for ensuring public safety. The recipients of this award represent quintessential examples of such critical efforts. It is an honor to recognize them.”

“On behalf of everyone at the U.S. Attorney’s Office here in Oregon, we offer our heartfelt congratulations to Officer Kristen Schmidt on her receiving this most distinguished commendation,” said U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug. “The compassion and care she showed in one valued community member’s time of greatest need was exceptional and will serve as a model for officers and deputies throughout the state. We are very grateful for the person and officer Kristen Schmidt is and thank her for her exemplary service.”

Officer Schmidt is being recognized for her work on PPB’s Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team. Recently, she responded to a call from the Oregon Humane Society where a woman trying to recover her cats from a shelter had become belligerent. Responding officers did not know the woman was experiencing an extended period of psychosis and that the sudden appearance of several uniformed officers as well as an ambulance would exacerbate the woman’s condition.

To calm the situation, Officer Schmidt sat with the woman and calmly explained the need for her to go to the hospital. When the woman refused to sit on a gurney and enter an ambulance, Officer Schmidt drove the woman to the hospital herself. The woman later reported that she and Officer Schmidt talked while driving to the hospital and that Officer Schmidt treated her with “dignity and respect and looked for ways to connect.” Officer Schmidt kept in close contact with the woman during her three-week hospitalization, picked the woman up when she was released from the hospital, and drove her to retrieve her dog from the shelter.

One year later, the woman met Officer Schmidt at PPB’s North Precinct to express her gratitude and share how differently she felt the day of her hospitalization could have gone had it not been Officer Schmidt who responded. The woman described Officer Schmidt as a powerful role model for sensitive and compassionate police work for people in vulnerable situations.

The Attorney General’s Award recognizes individual state, local, Tribal, and territorial police officers, deputies, and troopers for exceptional efforts in community policing. The awarded officers and deputies have demonstrated active engagement with the community in one of three areas: innovations in community policing, criminal investigations, or field operations.

The Department of Justice works closely with national law enforcement stakeholder groups during the award review period, taking advantage of their expertise and experience to determine the recipients in a competitive nomination process. The Department also works closely with its components, utilizing the breadth of knowledge within the Department to ensure a successful program that honors the exceptional service of our nation’s law enforcement officers and deputies. 

For more information on the Fifth Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing, please visit https://www.justice.gov/ag/policing-award.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment today charging an Oklahoma City man for sexually abusing a child, capturing the abuse on video, and sharing the video online.

Jeremy L. Peterson, 42, has been charged with production of child pornography.

According to court documents, on February 18, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding a video depicting child sexual abuse. The video was discovered during a review of evidence seized by HSI agents in a separate case in Iowa. 

Agents reviewed the digital video file and determined it was created in a residential apartment complex in Eugene. The agents further identified several distinctive physical characteristics of the abuser in the video, including a scorpion tattoo on the man’s chest. In the video, the minor victim repeatedly asks the man to stop the abuse. Despite these requests, the man continued to abuse the victim.

HSI agents surveilled the apartment complex and interviewed its property manager. They obtained rental documents from a unit in the complex where they believed the abuse video was created and found the name of another adult and child listed as members of the household. The agents then interviewed the principal of a nearby elementary school who positively identified the child from a screen capture taken from the abuse video. The principal checked school records and confirmed that the child’s address matched the apartment in question.

On February 24, 2022, investigators searched the apartment and identified furniture, carpeting, and bed sheets consistent with those appearing in the abuse video. They then found photos of Peterson on Facebook and observed that his likeness matched that of the abuser depicted in the video. Upon searching Peterson’s criminal history records, agents obtained a booking photo from a 2011 arrest in Nebraska that showed Peterson had a scorpion tattoo like the one observed in the video.

On February 28, 2022, Peterson was arrested and made his first appearance in federal court in the Western District of Oklahoma, pleaded not guilty, and was detained pending transfer to Oregon. On Tuesday, March 15, he made his first appearance in the District of Oregon, where he ordered detained pending further court proceedings. He will be arraigned on today’s indictment on April 13, 2022.

If convicted, Peterson faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison with a 15-year mandatory minimum, a $250,000 fine, and a life term of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in the District of Oregon and the Western District of Oklahoma, with assistance from the Eugene Police Department. It is being prosecuted by William McLaren, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to contact HSI at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at www.ice.gov/tips.

Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. Child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, child victims suffer re-victimization each time the image of their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the NCMEC’s website at www.missingkids.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

EUGENE, Ore.—A Portland man who serves as the head men’s basketball coach at Mt. Hood Community College and as an educational assistant at Hall Elementary School, both in Gresham, Oregon, is facing federal charges for soliciting and receiving sexually explicit images from a minor he met at a high school basketball camp.

Nathan Ezell Bowie, 35, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with sexually exploiting a child, coercion and enticement, and receipt of child pornography.

According to in-court statements, after holding a high school basketball camp in Douglas County, Oregon, Bowie is alleged to have communicated on social media with a minor female. Bowie solicited and received sexually explicit images from the child and threatened to disclose them to others if she did not send more. Bowie also discussed meeting the minor in person.

On March 16, 2022, he was transferred from state to federal custody to make his first appearance in federal court. A detention hearing will be held on March 18, 2022.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was first investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and FBI Portland’s Eugene Resident Agency Office will assume the ongoing investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Jeffrey S. Sweet, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. Child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, child victims suffer re-victimization each time the image of their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s website at www.missingkids.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland, Oregon tax return preparer was sentenced to federal prison today for preparing and filing false and fraudulent tax returns for clients and for herself.

Elizabeth Munoz, 38, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release. Munoz was also ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution to the IRS and $82,400 to the Oregon Department of Human Services.

According to court documents, from 2015 to 2018, Munoz operated a federal and state income tax return preparation business from her home in Southeast Portland. Munoz advertised on business cards that she would obtain for her clients the “Biggest Refund Guaranteed.” Munoz prepared more than 1,300 false and fraudulent individual income tax returns for more than 600 clients, resulting in an approximately $1.8 million tax loss through fraudulent refunds.

Munoz used fraudulent tax schedules, tax credits, and filing statuses to carry out her refund fraud. Though Munoz charged her clients up to $150 per tax return, she reported no business income on her own personal income tax returns from 2014 through 2017, causing a $22,764 tax loss. Munoz additionally submitted six years’ worth of false applications to obtain more than $82,000 in public benefits designed to support poor and indigent community members.

On August 5, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a 25-count indictment charging Munoz with filing false income tax returns and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns. On December 15, 2020, Munoz pleaded guilty to 13 counts of preparing and filing false income tax returns for clients and four counts of filing false income tax returns for herself.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI) and the Oregon Department of Human Services (Oregon DHS). It was prosecuted by Seth D. Uram, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

IRS:CI reminds taxpayers to be careful when selecting a tax professional. Though most tax professionals provide honest, high-quality service, a minority of dishonest preparers operate each filing season perpetrating refund fraud, identity theft and other scams that hurt innocent taxpayers. Well-intentioned taxpayers can be misled by preparers who deceive people into taking credits or deductions they aren’t entitled to claim.

Resources to help taxpayers, including tips on choosing a preparer, the differences in credentials and qualifications, as well as how to submit a complaint regarding an unscrupulous tax return preparer, are available at www.irs.gov/chooseataxpro.

EUGENE, Ore.—A Lane County, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today after sexually abusing multiple children entrusted to a daycare run by his wife, possessing thousands of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, and distributing child pornography.

Eric Wade Rogers, 55, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, in June 2017, an undercover law enforcement agent was on a website commonly used to trade child pornography. While investigating another target, the agent identified two online photo albums containing photos of minor girls shared by Rogers’ account. Four days later, Rogers uploaded two more albums containing covertly-taken photos of a minor girl who appeared in the first albums. Rogers wrote various comments on the photos including “I really miss playing with her” and “hot sexy little body.”

The undercover agent initiated a ruse to chat and email with Rogers and determine if he had in fact made sexual contact with any minors. In these conversations, Rogers admitted to touching and kissing one of the children. He further admitted he was no longer allowed to be alone with the child, told the agent that the child attended his wife’s daycare, and that “things kind of went south.” In subsequent conversations, Rogers provided explicit details of how he sexually abused the child.

On June 14, 2017, investigators obtained and executed a search warrant on Rogers’ Eugene residence while he was traveling for work. Rogers’ wife confirmed running a daycare in their home and recalled previous inappropriate conduct by Rogers which she reported to law enforcement. On the same day, investigators contacted Rogers in California. He admitted to possessing thousands of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, including some that portrayed sadistic conduct involving toddlers. He again admitted to abusing the child referenced in his online chats with the undercover agent as well as a second child.

On June 15, 2017, Rogers was charged by criminal complaint with distribution of child pornography. Later, on November 19, 2019, he was charged by criminal information with the same. On December 2, 2021, Rogers waived indictment and pleaded guilty to the single charge.

All families affiliated Rogers’ wife’s in-home daycare have been contacted by law enforcement.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the FBI and the Eugene Police Department. It was prosecuted by William McLaren and Amy Potter, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to contact HSI at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at www.ice.gov/tips.

Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. Child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, child victims suffer re-victimization each time the image of their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s website at www.missingkids.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A resident of the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho and former CEO of the Warm Springs Economic Development Corporation (WSEDC) pleaded guilty today for his role in a fraud scheme targeting the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Roderick Ariwite, 66, pleaded guilty to theft of funds from a tribal organization and interstate transportation of a security taken by fraud, resolving two separate criminal cases against him.

According to court documents, WSEDC, also known as Warm Springs Ventures (WSV), is a Tribal organization owned and operated by the Warm Springs Tribes. WSV operates as the management organization for several Tribal business entities, including the Warm Springs Construction Enterprise (WSCE).

Ariwite and an accomplice, Thomas Valentino Adams, 49, a Nevada resident and the former manager of WSCE, created a construction company called Warbonnet Construction Services LLC. While drawing tribal salaries and travel reimbursements, Ariwite and Adams engaged in work projects for Warbonnet. In 2018, Ariwite and Adams used tribal funds to hire a subcontractor for a Warbonnet project and submitted vouchers for expenses they incurred on behalf of themselves and Warbonnet, which were reimbursed with tribal funds. In total, Ariwite and Adams’ scheme cost the Warm Springs Tribes more than $50,000.

On September 24, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a six-count indictment charging Ariwite and Adams with conspiracy and theft of funds from a Tribal organization. In a separate indictment, Ariwite was charged with one count of interstate transportation of a security taken by fraud.

Ariwite faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a $500,000 fine and three years’ supervised release. He will be sentenced on June 6, 2022 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman.

As part of his plea agreement, Ariwite has agreed to pay $39,613 in restitution to the Warm Springs Tribes and $3,000 to an unnamed adult victim.

On August 23, 2021, Adams pleaded guilty to theft of funds from a Tribal organization. He will be sentenced on March 29, 2022 before Judge Mosman.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Warm Springs Police Department. It was prosecuted by Meredith Bateman and Seth Uram, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A federal indictment was unsealed today charging a former Oregon Department of Corrections employee with sexually assaulting a dozen female inmates while serving as a nurse at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF), Oregon’s only women’s prison.

Tony Daniel Klein, 37, of Clackamas County, Oregon, is charged with 21 counts of depriving the victims of their constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by sexually assaulting them. The indictment alleges that from 2016 through 2017, Klein committed various forms of sexual assault, some of which included aggravated sexual abuse and some resulting in bodily injury. Klein is also charged with four counts of perjury for giving false testimony during a 2019 deposition related to a federal lawsuit alleging he committed sexual misconduct while serving as a corrections nurse.

If convicted, Klein faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Portland Field Office with assistance from the Oregon State Police and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Rykken and Hannah Horsley of the District of Oregon, and Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold and Trial Attorney Cameron A. Bell of the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

MEDFORD, Ore.—A Eugene, Oregon man who formerly resided in Southern Oregon pleaded guilty today in federal court to violating the Lacey Act by illegally importing and exporting hundreds of live scorpions.

Darren Dennis Drake, 39, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to commit Lacey Act violations, a federal misdemeanor.

According to court documents, between September 4, 2017 and March 21, 2018, Drake imported and exported dozens of live scorpions from and to contacts in Germany without first obtaining an import-export license from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). On one parcel intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Drake falsely labeled the package contents as “chocolates.” Drake also mailed or received several hundred live scorpions from other U.S. states, including Michigan and Texas, in violation of federal mailing laws. 

On February 23, 2022, Drake was charged by criminal information with conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act.

Drake faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine and three years’ supervised release. He will be sentenced on June 22, 2022 before U.S. District Court Judge Ann L. Aiken.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FWS Office of Law Enforcement with assistance from CBP and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by John C. Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for protecting America’s wildlife from poaching, illegal commercialization, and other kinds of wildlife crime. If you have information related to a wildlife crime, please call 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-397-8477) or email fws_tips@fws.gov.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Tigard, Oregon man is facing federal charges for sex trafficking by force and laundering proceeds through Necci Hydrate, a bottled water company based in Portland.

Johnell Lee Cleveland, 40, has been charged with sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; money laundering; and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

This is the second time in five months Cleveland has been indicted in federal court. In November 2021, he was indicted for perpetrating insurance and Covid-relief fraud schemes while on federal supervised release.

According to the indictment, beginning in August 2020 and continuing until his arrest in November 2021, Cleveland used force and coercion to cause an adult victim to engage in commercial sex acts. Cleveland used funds generated by the sex trafficking to pay business expenses for Necci Hydrate, including costs for bottling and manufacturing, rental of a corporate office in Portland, merchandising, and a monthly retainer with a modeling agency. These payments were made to conceal and disguise the nature of his sex trafficking proceeds.

If convicted, Cleveland faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Portland Police Bureau Human Trafficking Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter D. Sax is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If you or someone you know is in danger, please call 911. If you are a human trafficking victim or have information about a potential human trafficking situation, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or by texting 233733. Calls and texts are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Human trafficking is a serious federal crime where individuals are compelled by force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex, labor, or domestic servitude against their will. Traffickers exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society and cause unimaginable harm. In January 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland launched a new national strategy to combat human trafficking that aims to prevent all forms of trafficking, prosecute trafficking cases, and support trafficking victims and survivors.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A federal jury in Portland found a local man guilty today for transporting two young teen girls across state lines, drugging and sexually abusing them, and selling them to other grown men for sex.

Johnl Jackson, 34, of Vancouver, Washington, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking; three counts of sex trafficking of a child; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; and three counts of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity.

“Trafficking in human lives is a despicable crime, here made worse by Johnl Jackson’s exploitation of young women for profit” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “Sex trafficking minors has a profoundly negative impact on survivors and their loved ones. I want to thank the brave women who agreed to step out of the shadows to testify against their abuser and hope that this experience offers them closure and a path to a new and better life. Our office will continue to prioritize all trafficking cases and do everything in our power to prevent further victimization.”

“Johnl Jackson preyed upon vulnerable youth. He used violence, drugs and manipulation to control these young teenage girls,” said Kieran L. Ramsey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “The agents and officers on the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force are committed to finding and helping victims of human trafficking, to protect them from further abuse, and to keep their traffickers from hurting anyone else.”

According to court documents and trial testimony, in 2016, Jackson met and befriended Keonte Desmond Scott, 23, also of Vancouver, after Scott’s release from prison. Jackson sold Scott cocaine and eventually began coaching him in commercial sex trafficking. In late 2016, Scott met and began a relationship with Jackson’s future co-defendant and fellow Vancouver resident Diana Petrovic, 23. Jackson helped Scott traffic Petrovic, showing him how to post online prostitution ads and, at times, posting the ads himself on Scott’s behalf. Scott paid Jackson for the ads and purchased drugs from him using a portion of Petrovic’s prostitution earnings. Soon, Jackson and Scott began using Petrovic to recruit and traffic other minor females.

By early 2019, several minors reported to law enforcement that they had been trafficked by Scott and Petrovic. During the ensuing investigation, authorities learned of two teen girls, then 14- and 15-years-old, respectively, who together had run away from their homes in Lane County, Oregon and were introduced to Scott and Petrovic at a mall in Vancouver, Washington. Petrovic took the girls to a home the girls believed was Jackson’s and gave them drugs and alcohol. Scott and Petrovic told the girls they would take them to an upscale party, but, instead, took them to a location in Portland where they were sold for sex. Eventually, the girls separated themselves from Scott and Petrovic, spent the night elsewhere, and were driven back home by one of the girl’s mothers the next day.

By the summer of 2018, Scott returned to prison and Petrovic began working directly with Jackson. Petrovic maintained contact with one of the girls from Lane County over social media and repeatedly asked her to return to Portland. Petrovic eventually convinced the girl to meet and, in late August 2018, Jackson, Petrovic, and another adult woman drove to Eugene to pick her up. When the group arrived, the girl was accompanied by a 15-year-old friend. On the drive back to Portland, Jackson gave both girls drugs. At some point during the drive, Jackson gave Petrovic money to buy the girls new clothing and underwear.

The group took the girls to Vancouver where they were given more drugs and, at some point, stopped at a house to resupply on cocaine. Inside the house, they sent one of the girls back to a room to engage in sexual acts with the drug supplier in exchange for the drugs and money. Later, a person believed to be Jackson’s uncle notified the group of potential prostitution customers gathering at an auto shop in Battle Ground, Washington. Petrovic and Jackson took the girls to the auto shop and offered them for sex, but the men gathering appeared uninterested and so the group returned to the Vancouver house. Back at the Vancouver house, Jackson and Petrovic engaged in sex acts with the girls, who were now heavily intoxicated.

The group eventually returned to the Battle Ground gathering where one of the girls was forced to have sex with an adult man. Jackson and Petrovic warned the girls to say they were 19 years old to avoid getting them in trouble for trafficking children. Throughout the evening, the girls were not allowed to sit without being harassed by Petrovic and Jackson about needing to make more money. When one of the girls protested, Petrovic slapped her. Later in the evening, one of the girls escaped with a man who she convinced to intervene on her behalf. Petrovic convinced the other girl that her friend had betrayed her by leaving.

Jackson and Petrovic took the remaining girl to a hotel near Portland International Airport where they spent the night. The next day, they took her to a residence in Northeast Portland where she was forced to have sex with one man for $300 and forcibly raped by another. One day while Jackson and Petrovic were sleeping in their hotel room, the girl managed to escape and was rescued several hours later by her grandfather.

On May 8, 2019, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a six-count indictment charging Scott, Petrovic, and an accomplice with sex trafficking of children and transporting minors with intent to engage in sexual activity.

On October 9, 2019, in a separate criminal case, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a three-count indictment charging Jackson and Petrovic with sex trafficking of a child by force, fraud, and coercion; sex trafficking of a child; and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity. Later, on December 4, 2019, Jackson and Petrovic were charged by superseding indictment with conspiring to engage in sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking of a child; sex trafficking of a child by force, fraud, and coercion; and transporting a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity. Jackson was additionally charged with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, but the charge was dismissed before trial.

On July 22, 2020, Petrovic was charged by criminal information with distributing a controlled to a person under 21 and pleaded guilty, resolving both of her criminal cases. She will be sentenced on April 3, 2023.

On December 9, 2021, Scott pleaded guilty to two counts of sex trafficking. He will be sentenced on April 13, 2022.

Jackson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He will be sentenced on June 6, 2022 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman.

U.S. Attorney Asphaug and Special Agent in Charge Ramsey made the announcement.

This case was investigated by FBI Portland’s Child Exploitation Task Force (CETF) with assistance from the Tigard Police Department and Portland Police Bureau. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Cadotte and Pamela Paaso with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly Zusman, Suzanne Miles, and Thomas Ratcliffe, and Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Glen Ujifusa.

The FBI CETF conducts sexual exploitation investigations, many of them undercover, in coordination with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. CETF is committed to locating and arresting those who prey on children as well as recovering and assisting victims of sex trafficking and child exploitation.

If you or someone you know is in danger, please call 911. If you are a human trafficking victim or have information about a potential human trafficking situation, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or by texting 233733. Calls and texts are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Human trafficking is a serious federal crime where individuals are compelled by force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex, labor, or domestic servitude against their will. Traffickers exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society and cause unimaginable harm. In January 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland launched a new national strategy to combat human trafficking that aims to prevent all forms of trafficking, prosecute trafficking cases, and support trafficking victims and survivors.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Gresham, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for stealing financial and identification documents from more than 100 people in and around Portland.

Robert Loren Finanders, 41, was sentenced to 74 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, between April 2019 and April 2020, Finanders stole financial and identification documents from dozens of people in the Portland area with the intent to steal money from them and from local businesses. Finanders spent tens of thousands of dollars using stolen credit cards and other personal information. Some of the identity material recovered had been located in wallets and purses stolen from vehicles.

In late September 2019, the Portland Police Bureau’s (PPB) East Precinct Street Crimes Unit began investigating Finanders after finding a fraudulent Oregon driver’s license in the name of an adult victim during an arrest. The license had Finanders’ photo on it in place of the named victim. Investigators learned that around the same time, police officers in Bend, Oregon had arrested Finanders and a co-conspirator after receiving a report of a person using a stolen credit card at a local restaurant.

Bend police searched the vehicle driven by Finanders’ co-conspirator and found a passport, W2s, and a retail credit card matching the name of the victim whose stolen driver’s license was recovered by PPB. A search of Finanders’ Bend hotel room returned several additional W2s in the name of another victim and a victim profile notebook.

PPB officers linked Finanders to additional identity theft crimes in Portland, Gresham, and Lake Oswego, Oregon and, on January 22, 2020, executed a search warrant at his Gresham residence. Officers seized stolen profiles of more than 80 individuals; dozens of stolen and fraudulent identification and personal documents including passports, government-issued identification cards, and driver’s licenses; an embosser; a card reader; stolen mail; additional victim profile notebooks; three handguns; a dismantled AR-15; body armor; and evidence of drug trafficking.

On March 12, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a nine-count indictment charging Finanders and, on April 1, 2020, he was arrested by PPB. On August 19, 2021, Finanders pleaded guilty to unauthorized access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the PPB East Precinct Street Crimes Unit, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

PORTLAND, Ore.—An Oregon City, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for his leadership role in a conspiracy to traffic large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl from Mexico for resale in Oregon and Washington State and for illegally reentering the U.S.

Victor Alvarez Farfan, 50, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, Farfan received approximately 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, half a kilogram of heroin and two kilograms of fentanyl from a drug cartel based in Michoacan, Mexico. He and his associates would then resell the methamphetamine and heroin in Hillsboro, Gresham, Portland and Hood River, Oregon, and Tacoma, Washington. Farfan also oversaw the manufacturing of crystal methamphetamine from its liquid form. As part of the conspiracy, one of Farfan’s co-conspirators, Eduardo Alvarez Farfan, 27, of Gresham, provided the two kilograms of fentanyl to a co-conspirator, Noe Antonio Machado-Madrano, 26, who had flown in from Baltimore, Maryland. Investigators arrested Machado-Madrano at a bus station and seized the fentanyl.

Farfan, a citizen of Mexico, was found in the U.S. on October 16, 2018 after having previously been removed in June 2015 following multiple federal convictions. Previously, in 2006, in the District of Oregon, Farfan was convicted for drug trafficking and illegally reentering the U.S. and sentenced to 120 months in federal prison.

On October 17, 2018, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a nine-count indictment charging Farfan and 21 co-defendants with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine; use of a communication facility, including cellular telephones, in the commission of a controlled substances felony; maintaining drug-involved premises to manufacture and distribute controlled substances; interstate distribution of drug proceeds and money laundering.

On October 24, 2018, a coordinated law enforcement operation led by the FBI with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Westside Interagency Narcotics (WIN) Task Force and the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force (CCITF) resulted in the arrest of Farfan and 17 co-defendants.

Later, on November 27, 2018, Farfan was charged in a second indictment with illegal reentry. 

On November 23, 2021, Farfan became the last of 23 co-defendants charged in the drug trafficking conspiracy to plead guilty. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances and illegal reentry.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon and is the result of a joint investigation by FBI, HSI, WIN, and CCITF. Forfeiture was litigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Division. 

WIN includes representatives from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, Beaverton Police Department, Hillsboro Police Department, Tigard Police Department, Oregon National Guard Counterdrug Program, and FBI. CCITF includes representatives from Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Canby Police Department, Oregon State Police, HSI, and FBI.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

PORTLAND, Ore.—Dennis “Denny” Doyle, the former mayor of Beaverton, Oregon, is facing federal charges for illegally possessing child pornography.

Doyle, 73, a Beaverton resident, has been charged by criminal information with one count of possession of child pornography.

According to the information, between November 2014 and December 2015, Doyle is alleged to have knowingly and unlawfully possessed digital material containing child pornography, including images depicting minors under twelve.

Doyle will make his first appearance in federal court today.

If convicted, Doyle faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and a life term of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by FBI Portland’s Child Exploitation Task Force (CETF). It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

A criminal information is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. Child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, child victims suffer re-victimization each time the image of their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s website at www.missingkids.org.

The FBI CETF conducts sexual exploitation investigations, many of them undercover, in coordination with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. CETF is committed to locating and arresting those who prey on children as well as recovering and assisting victims of sex trafficking and child exploitation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

PORTLAND, Ore.—On March 2, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging the owner of Ground Zero Seeds, a grass seed production and wholesale company based in Yamhill, Oregon, for his role in a scheme to defraud the J.R. Simplot Company and its former subsidiary the Jacklin Seed Company.

Gregory McCarthy, 68, has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Jacklin, headquartered in Liberty Lake, Washington, regularly purchased grass seed from Ground Zero. McCarthy was longtime friends with Richard Dunham, a former Jacklin employee who oversaw the company’s order-fulfillment and warehousing operations in Oregon. In his position, Dunham had the authority to purchase grass seed from certain Oregon growers over others.

Beginning in April 2015, McCarthy and Dunham agreed that Ground Zero would pay Dunham a per pound kickback for grass seed purchased by Jacklin. These kickbacks were built into the prices reflected on Ground Zero’s invoices to Jacklin. Between April 2015 and September 2019, McCarthy caused Ground Zero is pay Dunham more than $191,789.

In facilitating their scheme, McCarthy and Dunham regularly corresponded by email, referring to Ground Zero’s kickbacks to Dunham as “shoes” or contributions to his “shoe fund.” To conceal their scheme, Dunham maintained an LLC through which he claimed to provide consulting and brokering services. Dunham negotiated kickbacks and fees from Ground Zero and other Jacklin suppliers through the LLC’s business checking account.

McCarthy will be arraigned on March 15, 2022, by a U.S. Magistrate Judge.

If convicted, McCarthy faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, a $380,000 fine, and three years’ supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

In July 2021, the former general manager of Jacklin was sentenced to federal prison for a similar fraud scheme targeting Simplot and its customers. Later, in September 2021, ProSeeds Marketing, Inc., a Willamette Valley grass seed distributor, pleaded guilty after knowingly concealing a scheme to defraud Jacklin.

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Ryan W. Bounds, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

EUGENE, Ore.—A Eugene man was sentenced to federal prison today for supplying a University of Oregon student with fentanyl-laced counterfeit Oxycodone pills that caused the student’s overdose death.

Micaiah Wendell Ray Hill, 21, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and 3 years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, in late December 2020, Emanuel “Manny” Dreiling, 20, an urban development student at the University of Oregon, died of a fatal overdose in his Eugene apartment. On December 24, 2020, officers from the Eugene Police Department responded to the scene and found a small baggie containing what appeared to be Oxycodone pills near Mr. Dreiling’s body. A toxicology report later confirmed Mr. Dreiling died of a fentanyl overdose.

A forensic analysis of Mr. Dreiling’s phone revealed text message conversations between Mr. Dreiling and a longtime friend wherein they discussed purchasing Oxycodone pills from another individual later determined to be Hill. Mr. Dreiling’s friend told investigators that he had been purchasing pills from Hill for nearly a year. Law enforcement soon identified Hill and a West Eugene home he used to distribute counterfeit Oxycodone. They also found evidence of Mr. Dreiling arranging to purchase and physically retrieving counterfeit pills from the same West Eugene home.

On December 31, 2020, law enforcement executed a state search warrant on the residence and arrested Hill. In an interview after his arrest, Hill admitted to selling the victim and others pills he suspected were counterfeit and contained fentanyl.

On April 14, 2021, Hill was charged by criminal complaint with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl. On November 18, 2021, Hill waived indictment and pleaded guilty to the single charge.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Eugene Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Joseph H. Huynh and Jeffrey S. Sweet, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

In compliance with the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, the U.S. Attorney’s Office does not name victims in court filings or press releases to protect their dignity and privacy. In honor of Mr. Dreiling’s memory, Mr. Dreiling’s family specifically requested he be named in this release.

Opioid abuse affects communities across the nation. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that there were more than 100,000 drug overdoses in the U.S. during the 12-month period ending April 2021, an increase of nearly 29% from the previous 12-month period. Synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) accounted for more than three quarters of these deaths. Drug overdose continues to be the leading cause of injury or death in the U.S.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. A 3-milligram dose of fentanyl—a few grains of the substance—is enough to kill an average adult male. The availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 911.

If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, please call the Lines for Life substance abuse helpline at 1-800-923-4357 or visit www.linesforlife.org. Phone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also text “RecoveryNow” to 839863 between 8am and 11pm Pacific Time daily.

 

PORTLAND, Ore.—On March 1, 2022, a coordinated law enforcement operation targeting four drug traffickers operating in the Portland Metropolitan Area led to the seizure of approximately 150,000 counterfeit prescriptions pills containing fentanyl and 20 pounds of suspected bulk fentanyl, the largest single fentanyl seizure in Oregon state history with an estimated street value of approximately $4 million.

The operation, led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Clackamas County Inter-agency Task Force (CCITF) with assistance from the FBI, came after federal agents learned that Ufrano Orozco Munoz, 27, was knowingly and intentionally conspiring with others to traffic large quantities of fentanyl manufactured in Mexico and elsewhere to Oregon for distribution and sale in the Portland area.

Three of Orozco’s associates were also arrested during this week’s operation. They include Abraham Vera Enriquez, 29; Jesus Miguel Zamora Cruz, 36; and Jose Javier Valdez Paramo, 32. 

Orozco, Vera, Zamora, and Valdez have been charged by criminal complaint with conspiring with one another to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. All three made their first appearances in federal court today and were ordered detained pending further court proceedings.

HSI began investigating Orozco in February 2022 for his role in trafficking large quantities of fentanyl from Mexico to the U.S. for distribution in several western states including Arizona and Oregon.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case is being investigated by HSI and CCITF with assistance from the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott M. Kerin is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

CCITF, led by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, works to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in Clackamas County, and reduce illegal drugs and related crimes throughout the community. The task force is comprised of members of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Canby Police Department, Oregon State Police, HSI, and FBI. 

 

PORTLAND, Ore.—A federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment today charging two local men for trafficking and selling large quantities of methamphetamine and counterfeit prescription pills across the Portland Metropolitan Area.

Juan Manuel Angulo, 50, of Gresham, Oregon, and Enrique Ocegueda, 31, of Beaverton, Oregon, have been charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.

According to court documents, on February 2, 2022, Angulo and Ocegueda were arrested when they showed up to a drug deal with an undercover law enforcement informant in Clackamas County, Oregon. Investigators found and seized a combined 50 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 10,000 counterfeit pills suspected to contain fentanyl from Angulo and Ocegueda’s vehicles. Later that same evening, agents executed federal search warrants on both men’s residences and a storage locker belonging to Ocegueda. They seized several thousand additional counterfeit prescription pills, 15 additional pounds of methamphetamine, one pound of heroin, and approximately $50,000 in cash.

Both defendants will be arraigned on March 4, 2022. If convicted, they face maximum sentences of life in prison with ten-year mandatory minimum sentences.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Scott M. Kerin, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 

PORTLAND, Ore.—A known member of Portland’s Hoover Criminal Gang was sentenced to federal prison today for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Cocoa Dalonta Taplin, 27, of Fairview, Oregon, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents and testimony, as part of a federal racketeering investigation of the Hoover Criminal Gang, law enforcement obtained photos of Taplin, a convicted felon, holding and posing with two firearms. On April 6, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Taplin with illegally possessing a firearm. On April 16, 2021, federal agents arrested Taplin and executed a search warrant on his Fairview residence. On November 30, 2021, Taplin pleaded guilty.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Gresham Police Department, and FBI. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. 

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

EUGENE, Ore.—An Oregon man faces federal charges after twice breaking windows and destroying property at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Grants Pass, Oregon because the clinic provides reproductive health services.

Devin Friedrick Kruse, 26, a Grants Pass resident, has been charged by misdemeanor criminal information with two counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

According to court documents, on November 23, 2021, Kruse is alleged to have intentionally broken security cameras and a window at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Grants Pass. He returned three days later, on November 26, 2021, and threw a concrete block through a window at the clinic and tore down the clinic’s intercom system. The clinic has remained closed since these incidents occurred.

Kruse will make his first appearance in federal court on March 14, 2022. 

Misdemeanor violations of the FACE Act are punishable by up to one year in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Grants Pass Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Gavin W. Bruce and John C. Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon, and Cameron A. Bell, Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

A criminal information is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

In 1994, Congress passed the FACE Act in response to an increase in violence toward patients and providers of reproductive health services. The FACE Act prohibits violent, threatening, damaging and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with an individual’s right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.

If you or someone you know is in danger, please call 911.

Suspected violations of the FACE Act can be reported to the FBI by calling (503) 224-4181 or by visiting tips.fbi.gov.

PORTLAND, Ore.—After fleeing federal prosecution and being re-arrested, a former Lake Oswego, Oregon, man was sentenced to federal prison today for stealing funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

David Unitan, aka Daniel Cohen, 47, was sentenced to 61 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

Unitan took advantage of economic relief programs administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), as authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans and small businesses suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents, in July 2020, a small business owner contacted the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office to report that an unknown person had obtained and used personal information belonging to himself, his wife, and their business to establish accounts at a bank in Boston. Sometime later, IRS Criminal Investigation independently opened an investigation into EIDLs and PPP loans obtained under suspicious circumstances by someone purporting to be Daniel Cohen and later confirmed to be Unitan.

A review of SBA records revealed that six EIDL applications had been submitted using the small business owner’s social security number. Of the six applications, two were funded for a total of $295,000. These funds were disbursed into the Boston bank account in June and July of 2020. Investigators soon discovered that a transfer of $100,000 was made from the Boston account to another bank account on June 24, 2020, and that, on the same day, a wire transfer of $77,898 was made to Mackenzie Motor Company in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Investigators contacted the general manager of Dick’s Mackenzie Ford in Hillsboro and learned that an individual named Daniel Cohen had recently purchased a 2020 Ford F-350 Super Duty Lariat truck for $77,898 using a counterfeit California driver’s license. The general manager also told investigators that the individual had shown up at the dealership driving a 2020 Tesla Model X and had provided his insurance card for the Tesla as part of the truck purchase. A review of law enforcement records revealed that the Tesla had recently been impounded by the Lake Oswego Police Department because Unitan had been operating the vehicle with a suspended license.

Investigators compared Unitan’s Oregon DMV photo with the photo on the California driver’s license provided to dealership; the likenesses appeared to match. The small business owner who had originally reported the fraud later confirmed that his company had previously hired Unitan for video production services. The business owner also confirmed the photo on the counterfeit California driver’s license used to purchase the Ford pickup was indeed Unitan.

On December 22, 2020, federal agents and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Unitan at his home on a federal criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. The federal agents also seized the Ford pickup and Tesla sedan, as well as digital evidence that would later confirm Unitan had applied for dozens of EIDL and PPP loans. After his arrest, Unitan appeared contrite and offered to assist the government in investigating other individuals defrauding COVID-relief programs. After his Pretrial Services officer discovered Unitan was spending money from an unauthorized account and asked to meet with him, Unitan fled.

By January 29, 2021, Unitan had taken his girlfriend and her young child on what would be a seven-week run from law enforcement. On March 17, 2021, the U.S. Marshals Service located Unitan and his girlfriend in a Marysville, Washington hotel and arrested him without incident.

On February 17, 2021, while Unitan remained a fugitive, a federal grand jury in Portland formally indicted Unitan on charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. On October 29, 2021, he pleaded guilty to all three charges.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Ryan W. Bounds, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A drug trafficker known to frequent Hood River, Oregon, and other communities in the Columbia River Gorge, was sentenced to federal prison today after fleeing a traffic stop at nearly 120 mph, crashing his vehicle, and being found in possession of methamphetamine, heroin, and two firearms.

Jonathen Michael Martinez, 42, most recently a Portland resident, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, on January 25, 2019, a Hood River Police Department officer observed Martinez driving an Audi sedan in Hood River. The officer recognized Martinez from previous contacts and was aware he had an outstanding arrest warrant. When the officer initiated a traffic stop, Martinez fled eastbound on Interstate 84 at nearly 120 mph. Martinez exited the highway, lost control of his vehicle, crashed, and briefly fled on foot before surrendering. His vehicle was found to contain more than 600 grams of methamphetamine, 30 grams of heroin, and two firearms.

At the time of his arrest, Martinez was on probation for a state drug trafficking conviction. He has 23 prior criminal convictions for various drug, weapon, theft, and assault offenses as well as several for resisting, eluding, and obstructing officers during previous encounters with law enforcement.

On June 9, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a three-count indictment charging Martinez with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin. On November 15, 2021, he pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Hood River Police Department with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Thomas H. Edmonds and Byron Chatfield, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Canadian man was extradited to the United States and arraigned in federal court today for his leadership role in an international sex trafficking organization operating illegal Asian brothels in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Zongtao Chen aka Mark Chen, 49, of Toronto, Canada made his first appearance in federal court today in the District of Oregon and was arraigned by U.S. Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta on charges of conspiring to use and using interstate facilities to promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate a racketeering enterprise. Chen was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.

According to court documents, Chen led a criminal enterprise that recruited women, primarily from China, to travel to the United States and elsewhere to engage in prostitution and other sex trafficking activities. In cities where the organization operated, a “boss” would oversee and manage a local brothel in a hotel or apartment complex. Customers seeking to engage in acts of illegal prostitution would call a number listed on www.supermatchescort.com or related websites, or send a text, email, or encrypted internet message. The organization employed dispatchers who would receive incoming requests for “dates” from potential customers. The dispatchers would coordinate and schedule dates with women working in the various brothels.

Dispatchers used a computer program to schedule and track the prostitution dates. When seized by law enforcement, this computer program contained a customer database with more than 30,000 phone numbers and records from previous dates. In Oregon, Chen promoted illegal prostitution activities brothels in Portland, Tigard and Beaverton.

On November 15, 2018, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a two-count indictment charging Chen and four co-conspirators—Weixuan Zhou aka Marco Zhou, 40, of Guangzhou, China; Yan Wang aka Sarah Wang, 36, of Temecula, California; and Chaodan Wang, 35, and Ting Fu, 38, both of Beaverton—with conspiring to use and using interstate facilities to promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate a racketeering enterprise.

On January 15, 2019, the FBI partnered with local law enforcement agencies in more than a dozen cities across the United States to conduct sting operations targeting Chen’s organization along with other Asian sex trafficking networks. As part of the coordinated law enforcement operation, the FBI seized www.supermatchescort.com and approximately 500 other associated domains, including 25 location-specific sub-domains.

At around the same time, Chen was arrested by the Toronto Police Service Human Trafficking Enforcement Team and Fugitive Squad at the request of the United States. On November 2, 2021, Canada’s Minister of Justice approved Chen’s extradition to the United States to face prosecution. This week, the U.S. Marshals Service transported Chen to Portland.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by FBI Portland’s Child Exploitation Task Force (CETF) with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Omaha, Nebraska. The Toronto Police Service provided assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Canada to secure the arrest and extradition of Chen to the United States. Participating CETF member organizations include the Portland Police Bureau, Beaverton Police Department, Tigard Police Department and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

Julia Jarrett, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon is prosecuting the case.

The FBI CETF conducts sexual exploitation investigations, many of them undercover, in coordination with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. CETF is committed to locating and arresting those who prey on children as well as recovering and assisting victims of sex trafficking and child exploitation.

The National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) assisted in the seizure of the websites related to this investigation. The NCFTA, established in 2002, is a nonprofit partnership between private industry, government and academia for the sole purpose of providing a neutral, trusted environment that enables two-way collaboration and cooperation to identify, mitigate and disrupt cybercrime.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Houston, Texas man has been indicted for his leadership role in a conspiracy to traffic large quantities of marijuana illegally grown in Oregon for redistribution and sale in other states.

Fayao “Paul” Rong, 51, has been charged with conspiring to manufacture and possess with intent to distribute marijuana.

According to court documents, beginning at an unknown time and continuing until early September 2021, Rong conspired with others to illegally manufacture and possess with intent to distribute thousands of marijuana plants. As part of the conspiracy, Rong purchased numerous residential houses in Oregon using several different identities and converted them for use as indoor marijuana grows. Rong’s organization grew, harvested, and transported the marijuana to states where the possession and use of marijuana remains illegal. Investigators believe that, in a 12-month period beginning August 2020, Rong trafficked more than $13.2 million dollars in black market marijuana.

On September 8 and 9, 2021, a coordinated law enforcement operation led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Oregon State Police (OSP) Northwest Region Marijuana Team targeted Rong’s organization. Federal, state, and local law enforcement partners executed search warrants on 25 Oregon residences and Rong’s Houston home. During the investigation and ensuing search warrants, investigators seized nearly 33,000 marijuana plants, 1,800 pounds of packaged marijuana, 23 firearms, nine vehicles, $20,000 in money orders, and more than $591,000 in cash. In the weeks following the operation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon filed an action in federal court seeking to forfeit 16 properties used for the illegal manufacturing of marijuana. Together, the properties are worth approximately $6.5 million.

The Rong organization takedown followed a 14-month investigation by OSP initiated after the agency learned of excessive electricity use at the various properties, which, in several instances, resulted in transformer explosions. Multiple citizen complaints corroborated law enforcement’s belief that Rong was leading a large black market marijuana operation. With the assistance of the Columbia and Polk County Sheriff’s Offices, OSP found associated marijuana grows in Clatsop, Columbia, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, and Polk Counties.

Rong was arrested today by DEA agents in Houston and made his initial appearance in federal court before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Texas. He was released on conditions pending his first appearance in the District of Oregon.

If convicted, Rong faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with a ten-year mandatory minimum, a $10 million fine, and five years’ supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the DEA, OSP, and U.S. Marshals Service with assistance from the FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; Oregon Department of Justice; Portland Police Bureau; the Yamhill, Clatsop, Marion, Multnomah, Columbia, and Polk County Sheriff’s Offices; Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team; and Linn Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team. 

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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

PORTLAND, Ore.— A federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment today charging an Oregon Department of Human Services employee with kidnapping a woman with significant disabilities in his care, driving her to a secluded location, and engaging with her in sexual misconduct.

Zakary Glover, 28, of Lebanon, Oregon, is charged with depriving the victim of her constitutional right to bodily integrity, while acting under color of law. The indictment alleges that his conduct included attempted sexual abuse and kidnapping. Glover is also charged with kidnapping.

According to the indictment, Glover served as a direct support crisis specialist for the Oregon Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Disabilities Stabilization and Crisis Unit (SACU). SACU operates several 24-hour crisis residential programs in Oregon that serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Glover was tasked with ensuring the health, safety and security of the individuals who lived at the residential facility where he worked.

The victim, who has severe autism, cognitive deficits and communicates mostly by using pictures, videos and drawings, was one of the individuals under Glover’s care. As part of his duties, Glover took the victim on outings in a secure van to fast-food restaurants.

On November 2, 2021, while on an outing with the victim, Glover is alleged to have driven down a dead-end road toward a cemetery in Aumsville, Oregon. Upon reaching the dead-end, he parked the van, opened the passenger rear door where the victim was sitting, lowered his shorts, grabbed the victim, and engaged in sexual misconduct. 

If convicted, Glover faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke and U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug made the announcement.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Portland Field Office with assistance from the Oregon State Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin Bruce of the District of Oregon, and Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold and Trial Attorney Daniel Grunert of the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Copy of the redacted Indictment

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Tillamook County, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Travis Edmond Samson, 40, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, on April 30, 2020, Tillamook Police Department officers responded to a report of Samson, who had three active arrest warrants, slashing the tires of a minivan parked at a motel in Tillamook. Shortly after the officers arrived on scene, Samson exited the motel’s office and approached the officers. The officers attempted to place Samson under arrest, but he resisted and began reaching for his back pants pocket. The officers managed to subdue Samson and located a loaded .25 caliber handgun in his back pants pocket.

On April 13, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Samson with felon in possession of a firearm. On September 20, 2021, he pleaded guilty to the single charge.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Tillamook Police Department with assistance from the FBI and ATF. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassady A. Adams.

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

PORTLAND, Ore.—A federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment today charging the former president and event director of the Portland Marathon for defrauding the charitable organization that had backed the event since the early 1980s.

Lester V. Smith, Jr., 80, of Tomball, Texas, has been charged with wire fraud and tax evasion. 

According to court documents, for nearly 35 years, Smith served as the president and event director of Portland Marathon Inc. (PMI), the charitable organization formerly responsible for planning and operating the Portland Marathon. In these roles, Smith managed the organization’s day-to-day operations and finances, and had sole authority to approve expenses paid from PMI’s business bank account. 

Beginning in January 2012 and continuing until at least April 2018, Smith is alleged to have made or directed others to make unauthorized transfers of funds from PMI’s bank account to his own personal checking account, paid various personal credit cards with PMI funds, and wrote unauthorized checks from PMI payable to himself. On one occasion, Smith used a PMI check to purchase a $60,000 Infiniti sport utility vehicle. Smith also used stolen funds to pay for home remodeling projects, shopping sprees at department stores, home décor, furniture, and other luxury goods and services. While defrauding PMI, Smith is also alleged to have substantially underreported his taxable income to the IRS in at least four different tax years. 

In total, Smith is alleged to have stolen more than $1 million from PMI.

Smith will make his first appearance in federal court on March 10, 2022.

Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Tax evasion is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. Claire M. Fay, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland man was sentenced to federal prison today for possessing with intent to distribute large quantities of cocaine from his Pearl District apartment.

Antonio Bernal Osorio, Jr., 40, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison.

According to court documents, in September 2020, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents learned that Osorio was selling drugs from his apartment in Northwest Portland. Between November 2020 and January 2021, DEA agents conducted multiple successful controlled purchases of cocaine from Osorio, and, on January 21, 2021, executed a search warrant on his apartment. They seized approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine, a .40 caliber pistol, an AR-15-syle semi-automatic rifle, a 9mm handgun, $46,000 in MGM Casino chips, and more than $450,000 in cash.

On May 10, 2021, Osorio was charged by criminal information with possession with intent to distribute cocaine. On June 8, 2021, he waived indictment and pleaded guilty to the single charge.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was prosecuted by DEA with assistance from the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force. It was prosecuted by Cassady A. Adams, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland man is facing federal charges after attempting to open an emergency exit on a commercial airline flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to Portland.

Michael Brandon Demarre, 32, has been charged by criminal complaint with threatening to interfere and interfering with a flight crew and attendants.

According to court documents, on February 11, 2022, while on a Delta Airlines flight from Salt Lake City to Portland, Demarre attempted to open the aircraft’s emergency exit door while it was in flight. According to witness statements taken by police, Demarre removed the plastic covering over the emergency exit handle and forcefully pulled on the handle. A flight attendant demanded Demarre cease touching the handle and move to the rear of the aircraft. Demarre complied and was physically restrained by the flight crew. Once in Portland, Demarre told officers he created the disturbance so other passengers would video record him sharing his personal views.

Demarre made his initial appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. He was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case is being investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Portland Police Bureau. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mira Chernick is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland man affiliated with the Hoover Criminal Gang and Unthank Park Hustlers, two allied Portland street gangs, pleaded guilty today after robbing a Eugene marijuana dispensary.

Timothy Christopher Gaines, 30, pleaded guilty to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to court documents, on December 20, 2019, Gaines and an accomplice robbed Green Therapy, a marijuana dispensary in Eugene, of several jars of marijuana and $912 in cash. Gaines brandished a firearm during the robbery and pointed it at a store employee cowering on the floor.

On June 25, 2020, Gaines was charged by criminal complaint with Hobbs Act robbery. Later, on July 23, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Gaines with the same. A superseding indictment returned on October 20, 2020 added a charge of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Gaines faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with a seven-year mandatory minimum, a $250,000 fine, and a five-year term of supervised release. He will be sentenced on April 26, 2022 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Eugene Police Department and Portland Police Bureau. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah K. Bolstad is prosecuting the case.

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

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland man faces federal charges after he and several accomplices used a sledgehammer to break into a local pawn shop and steal forty-seven firearms.

Kory Dean Boyd, 38, has been charged by criminal complaint with stealing firearms from a federal firearm licensee and illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on January 31, 2022, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) were notified of a burglary at a Southeast Portland pawn shop. Early that morning, shop owners discovered two large holes in a concrete block wall on the building’s exterior and concrete debris littering the inside of the business. The room exposed by the holes contained dozens of firearms, 47 of which—including pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns—were reported stolen.

ATF agents reviewed exterior surveillance video from the pawn shop and observed two vehicles and five individuals present near the holes in the building during the late evening and early morning hours of January 29 and 30, 2022. Two individuals carried a large-handled tool believed to be a sledgehammer. Several other individuals were seen carrying long firearm cases to the vehicles.

On February 4, 2022, ATF agents applied for and obtained search warrants for Boyd’s Southeast Portland residence. The same day, agents recovered eight firearms, including seven stolen from the pawn shop, from the residence. Boyd was arrested without incident and admitted to his involvement in the burglary. Boyd’s four accomplices are still at large. 38 of the firearms stolen from the pawn shop have yet to be recovered by law enforcement.

Boyd made his initial appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman. He was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case is being investigated by ATF with assistance from FBI, Portland Police Bureau and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Multnomah County, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for transporting an adult victim from California to Oregon and selling access to her for sex.

Eddie Lewis West III, 37, was sentenced to 104 months in prison and a three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents and in-court testimony, West knowingly transported an adult victim across state lines, from California to Bend, with the intent of posting the victim on a dating website called Skip the Games for the sale of sexual services. In April 2019, local police saw the ad, set up an undercover meeting with West, and arrested him.

Upon further investigation, federal law enforcement authorities learned the victim felt trapped in an abusive relationship with West and feared for her safety. After West was arrested in September 2020 in a related assault case in Washington County Circuit Court, the victim felt safe enough to come forward and speak with authorities about West’s crimes.

On October 20, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a two-count indictment charging West with sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion and transportation of a person across state lines with the intent of having the person engage in prostitution. On August 3, 2021, he pleaded guilty to the latter charge.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Tigard Police Department and Bend Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalie K. Wight.

If you or someone you know is in danger, please call 911. If you are a human trafficking victim or have information about a potential human trafficking situation, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or by texting 233733. Calls and texts are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Human trafficking is a serious federal crime where individuals are compelled by force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex, labor, or domestic servitude against their will. Traffickers exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society and cause unimaginable harm. In January 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland launched a new national strategy to combat human trafficking that aims to prevent all forms of trafficking, prosecute trafficking cases, and support trafficking victims and survivors. 

PORTLAND, Ore.—Today, U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon issued the following statement on National Black History Month, 2022.

“This February, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon joins its law enforcement partners in celebrating National Black History Month. Together, we honor the countless contributions of Black Americans and the legacies and achievements of our country’s Black leaders, past and present. We recommit ourselves to confronting historic injustices that persist today. Created more than 150 years ago, the Justice Department’s first mission was to protect Black rights after the Civil War. This sacred mission continues. Black communities across the country are disproportionately victimized and impacted by gun violence. The same is true here in Portland. We are working vigorously with our partners to stop these deadly shootings. Protecting Black rights starts with protecting Black lives. We are deeply committed to advancing equity, racial justice, and opportunity for Black Americans and doing everything in our power to support and foster safe, healthy, vibrant, and resilient Black communities.”

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland woman was sentenced to federal prison today for her role in a fraud scheme whereby she and a co-conspirator stole mail from residential mailboxes and used stolen personal identification information to defraud local banks.

Latanya Jenkins, 51, was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, beginning on an unknown date and continuing until at least July 7, 2020, Jenkins and an accomplice, Demontae Sanders, 48, also of Portland, conspired with one another to steal mail from residential mailboxes throughout the Portland Metropolitan Area. Jenkins and Sanders stole checks, credit cards, and other personal identity information that they used to impersonate victims and open accounts at several local credit unions and banks. The pair used the accounts to defraud these financial institutions.

To further their scheme, Jenkins and Sanders communicated with one another by text and used the internet at Jenkins’ residence to open several bank accounts using stolen information. Together, they collected hundreds of stolen financial documents including bank statements, checks, tax returns, U.S. Passports, and other government-issued identification documents. They also stole and cashed an Economic Impact Payment check issued by the U.S. Treasury.

On September 24, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an 18-count indictment charging Jenkins and Sanders with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and mail theft. On August 23, 2021, Jenkins pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud, mail theft, and aggravated identity theft.

Sanders pleaded guilty to the same charges on May 4, 2021. On November 1, 2021, he was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated jointly by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Uram prosecuted the case.