Eastern District of Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA - Adriano Sotomayor, 55, of Margate, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for 17 counts of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud members of the Dominican Sisters of the Rosary of Fatima (“Sisters of Fatima”), and others, out of more than $1 million. Sotomayor carried out his fraud scheme between May 2009 and February 2012. He was indicted on November 15, 2011 and went on the run. He was captured by the FBI Fugitive Squad in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 27, 2012 and pleaded guilty to his fraud scheme on February 22, 2013.

Sotomayor launched his scheme by causing an elderly nun to believe that she had been named in a will as the beneficiary of an estate estimated at approximately $2.1 million. In order to lure the elderly nun into this scheme, the defendant caused his victim to believe that the man who notified her about the will was a Catholic priest from New Jersey, and the testator was one of his parishioners. Sotomayor fraudulently induced the elderly nun to begin sending money to him in Atlantic City, New Jersey, by telling her that she needed to pay taxes, processing fees, and various legal fees associated with the fictitious will. He went on to target other victims in Levittown and Philadelphia who initially sent money to him on the elderly nun’s behalf. Sotomayor caused at least 50 victims to send a total of at least $1.3 million from Pennsylvania and elsewhere to him in New Jersey over a two year period. The defendant received wire transfers at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, the Showboat Hotel and Casino, and Bally’s Park Place, among other places.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo C. Robreno ordered restitution in the amount of $1,506,533, three years of supervised release, and a $1,700 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen M. Klotz.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – Joel Tillett, 36, of Whitehall, PA, was sentenced today to four years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $979,562.20 in connection with a mortgage fraud conspiracy.  Tillett, the former general manager of Madison Funding, Inc., a now-defunct Allentown mortgage loan origination company, pleaded guilty on May 14, 2013 to conspiracy and to uttering and publishing false documents to obtain a loan insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  The fraud conspiracy caused mortgage lending businesses to issue millions of dollars’ worth of loans that were based on false information. 

            Between October 2006 and at least June 2008, Tillett conspired to defraud mortgage lenders by submitting loan applications that contained false information about the borrowers which was often supported by falsified, forged, and altered documents.  The mortgage lenders, which included Washington Mutual Inc., Countrywide Home Loans, Mortgage IT, International Mortgage Corporation, and Security Atlantic Mortgage Company, relied on the fraudulent representations and provided Madison Funding’s clients with millions of dollars in loans to purchase real estate.  Each funded loan generated thousands of dollars’ worth of commissions to Madison Funding and its employees.  Many of those loans have since defaulted and some of them were insured by the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”), which was an agency within HUD. Fannie Mae incurred losses of $1.2 million after purchasing approximately 65 mortgages that were originated at Madison Funding during the time frame of the scheme.

            In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Harvey R. Bartle ordered three years of supervised release.  Tillett must also pay a $200 special assessment.

            The case was investigated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Dubnoff.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Masai Skief, 32, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to an information charging him with two counts of wire fraud, arising from the abuse of his leadership positions at a Philadelphia charter school, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  Skief was the chief executive officer of Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School (“Harambee Charter School”) and the president and chief administrative officer of a related non-profit organization, Harambee Institute, Inc. (“Harambee Institute”). 

Harambee Charter School, a non-profit corporation, was established to educate children from kindergarten to eighth grade, and it promoted itself as Pennsylvania’s first African-centered charter school.  Harambee Institute was a separate non-profit corporation that had been established to provide students with educational services and vocational training.  Harambee Institute owned the school building that was used by Harambee Charter School and collected rent from the school.  For its students, Harambee Charter School created a scholarship fund intended to benefit those who intended to attend a “historically black institution of higher education in the United States.”

During a guilty plea hearing before the Honorable Paul S. Diamond, Skief admitted that he engaged in a scheme to improperly obtain the funds of both the scholarship fund and Harambee Institute.  First, Skief improperly withdrew $9,000 from the scholarship fund in order to purchase a house for himself in Philadelphia.  Then, through his control of the bank accounts of Harambee Institute, Skief converted for his own personal use approximately $79,000 from Harambee Institute.  He did this primarily through a series of improper cash withdrawals from the bank accounts of Harambee Institute. 

Skief also made substantial efforts to conceal his illegal activities, both during and after the fraud.  In particular, he attempted to disguise a significant portion of his improper cash withdrawals from the accounts of Harambee Institute as labor costs for Harambee Institute, when there were no such labor costs associated with the improper withdrawals.  Skief directed an accountant to create IRS forms to reflect this false information.  Skief also directed others to lie for him to federal agents and to a federal grand jury about the use of the funds that the defendant had unlawfully converted. 

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 14, 2013.  Skief faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison and an expected advisory sentencing guideline range of at least 21 to 27 months imprisonment, plus full restitution to the scholarship fund and to the Harambee Institute. 

“Masai Skief stole scholarship money, mortgaging children’s futures to help buy himself a house,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Edward Hanko. “His further theft from the education non-profit taught Philadelphia’s kids a harsh lesson about unmitigated greed.”

“Today’s action shows that Mr. Skief not only abused his position of trust for personal gain, but did so at the expense of students.  That is unacceptable,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Steven Anderson, of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Office.  “OIG will continue to aggressively pursue those who misappropriate education funds for their own purposes.  America’s students and taxpayers deserve nothing less.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Education Office of Inspector General.  It is being prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen and Assistant United States Attorney Joseph J. Khan.

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UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Tarik Hooks, 35, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to robbing six banks and attempting to rob three others between February 2, 2013, and February 21, 2013. Hooks admitted that: on February 2, 2013, he robbed the Citizen’s Bank branch located inside the Acme supermarket at 121 East City Avenue, in Bala Cynwyd, PA; on February 8, 2013, he robbed the Wells Fargo Bank branch at 65 West Baltimore Avenue in Lansdowne, PA; on February 12, 2013, he robbed the TD Bank at 401 West Lancaster Avenue in Haverford, PA; on February 14, 2013, Hooks robbed the Sovereign Bank at 1 Belmont Avenue in Bala Cynwyd, PA; on February 17, 2013, he robbed the TD Bank at 5501 Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia, PA; and on February 21, 2013, he robbed the TD Bank at 2200 Garrett Road in Drexel Hill, PA.

Hooks also pleaded guilty to unsuccessful robberies at: the Citizen’s Bank branch inside the Giant supermarket, at 543 North Oak Avenue in Clifton Heights, PA, on February 7, 2013; the Citizen’s Bank branch, at 543 North Oak Avenue in Clifton Heights, PA, on February 9, 2013; the TD Bank branch, at 5501 Ridge Avenue, in Philadelphia, PA, on February 14, 2013.
In addition to the nine counts of the indictment, the defendant also admitted today to robbing a
Citizen’s Bank located inside an Acme market at 2084 Naamans Road, in Wilmington, Delaware, on February 10, 2013, at approximately 11:20 a.m. The defendant has agreed that, for purposes of calculating his Sentencing Guideline range and restitution, the February 10 bank robbery shall be treated as if the defendant had been convicted of the offense.

Hooks faces a maximum possible sentence of 180 years in prison, a fine of up to $2.25 million, and $900 in special assessments when sentenced on November 12, 2013.

The case was investigated by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Lower Merion Township Police Department, Landsdowne Police Department, Aldan Police Department and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Pedro de la Torre.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
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            Hashim Sharif, 39, of Philadelphia, PA was charged today by Information with one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme that, collectively, defrauded victims out of approximately $1 million, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

            Sharif, who also went by the name “Adam Ford,” operated a website (phoniexgoldllc.com) where he advertised gold and other precious metal products for sale.  After receiving money from customers Sharif did not send the purchased products and spent the money on luxury vehicles, real estate, and other goods.  

            If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years imprisonment, three years supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Axelrod.

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An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Jose Rodriguez, 25, of Sharon Hill , PA, and Edwin Fernandez, 35, of Philadelphia were charged in a six count Indictment, unsealed today, in a case involving an alleged drug trafficking organization, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The defendants are charged with conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine, importation of five kilograms or more of cocaine, attempted importation of five kilograms or more of cocaine, conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and two counts of attempted possession with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.

According to the indictment, between December, 2011 and July, 2012, Rodriguez and Fernandez, worked with a Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic drug trafficking organization (“Santo Domingo DTO”) to smuggle at least 71 kilograms of cocaine into the United States through the Philadelphia International Airport. Rodriguez, an employee of US Airways, recruited other US Airway employees, including Person #1, Person #2, and Person #3, to assist in the smuggling of bags which contained kilograms of cocaine.

The indictment further alleges that the Santo Domingo DTO employed several individuals, including airport employees in Santo Domingo, to ensure that bags filled with kilograms of cocaine were safely loaded aboard commercial airplanes destined for Philadelphia, PA. After the bags were safely loaded onto the plane in Santo Domingo, members of the Santo Domingo DTO alerted defendants Fernandez and Rodriguez who then notified the recruits to assist in the offloading of the bags at the Philadelphia Airport. Once the plane arrived in Philadelphia, the recruited US Airways employees would offload the baggage from the plane and divert the bags with the drugs onto domestic baggage claim belts, rather than the international baggage claim belts. This avoided inspection by United States Customs and Border Protection officials. Defendants Fernandez and Rodriguez then arranged for those bags to be retrieved from domestic baggage claim belts for distribution elsewhere.

According to the indictment, on January 7, 2012, United States Customs and Border Protection officials recovered three bags which contained approximately 50.81 kilograms of cocaine that had been offloaded from an incoming US Airways Flight from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to Philadelphia, PA. Additionally, on April 14, 2012, law enforcement officials in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, recovered a suitcase filled with approximately 20.84 kilograms of cocaine that was intended to be loaded onto a US Airways flight destined for Philadelphia, PA.

If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison with a maximum possible sentence of life.

The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Maureen McCartney and Kishan Nair.

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UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – Eric Vern Fox, 45, a pharmacist living in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to a money laundering conspiracy, in violation of federal money laundering laws. These charges were transferred from the Eastern District of Texas for guilty plea and sentencing. Between June 2002 and September 2007, Fox owned and operated two compounding pharmacies in this district: the Medicine Shoppe, located at 578 Lancaster Avenue, Berwyn, PA, and Compounding Rx Apothecary, located at 81 Lancaster Avenue, Store #4, Malvern, PA.

The indictment alleges that from June 2002 until September 2007, Fox agreed with the owners and operators of an illegal internet pharmacy, the Madison Pain Clinic, located in Texas, to compound millions of hydrocodone pills that the Madison Pain Clinic sold to internet customers under fraudulent “prescriptions,” outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.

The money laundering charge, to which Fox pleaded guilty, alleges that between June 2002 and September 2007, Fox was paid by the Madison Pain Clinic for the hydrocodone pills that the clinic sold to its internet customers, and agreed to launder the proceeds of this illegal activity totaling at least $4.5 million. The plea agreement calls for Fox to receive an agreed-upon sentence of 12 months and a day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The plea agreement also requires Fox to forfeit the sum of $2 million and pay an assessment of $100. U.S. District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick scheduled a sentencing hearing for November 8, 2013.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations. In this district it is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mary E. Crawley.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Carl Anthony Goodwin, 28, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by indictment in several robberies in Philadelphia, one of which was committed while he was a resident of a halfway house, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Goodwin is charged with five robberies, one attempted robbery, and escape from the residential reentry center.

Goodwin had been released to the Kintock Residential Reentry Center at 301 East Erie Avenue (“Kintock”) after completing a 30-month prison sentence for two attempted robberies on banks in Philadelphia. According to the indictment, on June 17, 2013, Goodwin robbed the Dunkin Donuts store at 3705 Germantown Ave. It is further alleged that on June 19, 2013, Goodwin escaped from confinement at the Kintock Residential Reentry Center. It is further alleged that on June 20, 2013 and July 2, 2013, Goodwin robbed the Citizens Bank branch, at 6324 Stenton Ave., and that on June 21, 2013, Goodwin attempted to rob the Bank of America branch located at 3705 Aramingo Avenue. Goodwin is also charged with the June 24, 2013 robbery of the Beneficial Bank branch at 5301 Chew Ave., and the July 7, 2013 robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank branch at 861 East Allegheny Avenue.

If convicted of all charges, Goodwin faces a maximum possible sentence of 125 years in prison, a fine of up to $1.75 million, three years of supervised release, and a $700 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul G. Shapiro.

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UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Richard Dean Russell, 52, of New Holland, PA, was charged today, by information, with possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment charges Russell with one count of possessing child pornography on October 17, 2012.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Albert S. Glenn.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Steven Pitchersky, 64, of Rancho Mirage, California, was charged today by Information with one count of wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Pitchersky, who operated Nationwide Mortgage Concepts, a California mortgage lender, is accused of engaging in a scheme to defraud Ally Bank that caused the bank a loss of approximately $5.3 million.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years imprisonment, three years supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Axelrod.

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UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Sophia Beltz, 55, of Philadelphia, PA was sentenced today to nine months in prison for the theft of $172,133 in government funds.  Beltz stole Social Security Administration Retirement Insurance Benefits intended for her father who had died in February 1997.  Beltz carried out her fraud scheme until it was discovered in August 2012.  She pleaded guilty on April 30, 2013.  U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis noted that Beltz collected the funds every month for over 15 years which amounted to approximately 180 fraudulently collected checks.  

In addition to the prison term, Beltz must pay restitution to the Social Security Administration in the amount of $172,133 and she must serve three years of supervised release following her prison term.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General and was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Nicholas Suozzo, 32, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged by Indictment with nine counts, including: possession of unregistered firearms, which included machine guns and explosive devices; distribution and possession with intent to distribute marijuana within a school zone; and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, a mandatory consecutive 5 years imprisonment, at least 4 years up to lifetime supervised release, a $770,000 fine, and $600 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Whitehead, Jr.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Cheryl Mobley, 55, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to three years probation and four months of home confinement for failing to timely file a federal income tax return for 2005 and for failing to file a federal income tax return for 2006. Mobley earned more than $260,000 in income during those years as a consultant for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) and the Educational Advancement Alliance (EAA). IRS records show that Mobley filed her 2005 return on June 21, 2010, after she was under investigation by federal agents, but did not pay the balance of $23,718 in taxes due for 2005. She pleaded nolo contendere to that charge on March 20, 2012. Mobley also never filed a federal income tax return for year 2006 or paid taxes for that year. She pleaded guilty to that charge. In total, Mobley failed to report gross income totaling approximately $264,755 for 2005 and 2006, on which there is a total tax due of approximately $52,713.

In addition to the probationary term, U.S. District Court Judge Joel H. Slomsky ordered restitution to the IRS of $61,491.00, a $3000.00 fine, and a $50 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul Gray.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Enoch Smith, 36, a/k/a “Drees,” a/k/a “Idris,” of Philadelphia, PA, was convicted today of all charges including sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography. According to evidence and testimony presented at trial, Smith operated a prostitution business in Philadelphia between April 1, 2009 and June 30, 2011. He recruited young women, including a minor (“Minor 1”), to work as prostitutes. Smith would photograph each female in his home with his camera and, using his laptop computer, would create an Internet advertisement for each on a website known as Backpage.com. Smith gave each of his recruits a cellular telephone, which he paid for, and then included that phone number in the Backpage advertisement.

Smith also had sexual relations with the females who worked for him. Smith lived with several of the females who were working for him. The “dates” would take place at the home that Smith leased and the females gave 100 percent of their cash earnings to Smith. The Philadelphia Police Department learned of the prostitution operation by surveying Backpage advertisements and conducted an undercover “sting” operation at the premises in June 2011. A subsequent forensic examination of Smith’s laptop computer revealed two sexually explicit images of Minor 1, both of which were taken prior to her 18th birthday. Smith was charged locally and was later charged in a federal indictment.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 31, 2013. Smith faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment on Count One, a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment on Count Two, a $500,000 fine, a lifetime period of supervised release and a $200 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Philadelphia Police Department Vice Unit, with assistance from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle L. Morgan.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Amos Singleton, 58, of Philadelphia, was sentenced late yesterday to 30 years in prison for the armed robbery of an employee of the Walnut Lane Apartments, at 236 West Walnut Lane in Philadelphia, in November 2010. Singleton and Corey Pasley, who worked at the apartment complex as a security guard, made off with cash, money orders, and checks, after Singleton struck the victim and fired his gun, striking the victim in the head. Despite severe injuries, the victim broke free, ran from the office and alerted residents to the robbery. Singleton and Pasley stole approximately $2,645 in cash and $1,265 in money orders and checks from the office safe. U.S. District Court Judge Norma Shapiro also ordered restitution, a $2,500 fine, and five years of supervised release.

On June 22, 2012, a jury returned guilty verdicts against both defendants on all charges, including: conspiracy to commit robbery which interferes with commerce, robbery, and using a firearm in the course of a robbery. Singleton, who was already a convicted felon, was additionally convicted of knowingly possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Pasley is awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Miller.

This investigation and prosecution is part of a joint initiative by the United States Attorney's Office, the District Attorney's Offices in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, to identify and prosecute dangerous firearms offenders in federal court where the defendants are likely to receive a substantial sentence upon conviction.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Angel Garcia, a/k/a “Angel Ramos,” 56, of Philadelphia, PA was charged today by Information with one count of theft of government funds, in connection with his alleged scheme to collect Social Security Administration Supplemental Security Income benefits to which he was not entitled, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the information, the defendant applied for and received benefit payments from the Social Security Administration under one Social Security number while working under a second Social Security number. The information alleges that his conduct resulted in a loss to the government of approximately $106,566.60.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years imprisonment; 3 years of supervised release; a $250,000 fine; restitution of $106,566.60; and a $100 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Edith Warren, a/k/a “Jourdon Warren-McPherson,” “Jourdon Edith Reed,” “Jourdon Edith Warren-McPherson,” “Edith Reed,” and “Jourdon Edith Warren,” 56, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to nine months in prison followed by six months of home confinement for a scheme to defraud the government. Warren was collecting Supplemental Security Income and welfare benefits she was not entitled to receive. She pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds and one count of Social Security fraud.

Warren concealed her work activity under a second Social Security number, as well as her ownership of two homes, and her marital status. She filed for and received Supplemental Security Income, medical assistance, benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and cash assistance benefits. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Gene E. K. Pratter ordered restitution to the Social Security Administration of $42,360, to the Department of Health and Human Services of $88,970, and to the U.S. Department of Agriculture of $11,024, as well as three years of supervised release with 50 hours of community service per year.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Amin A. Rashid, a/k/a “Lawrence D. Wilson,” 63, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 240 months in prisoin for mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a three-year fraud scheme. The scheme defrauded former property owners and their families of over $650,000. Rashid was convicted at trial on July 12, 2011. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe ordered restitution of $782,391, a $1700 special assessment, and five years of supervised release.

From at least December 2005 to August 2008, Rashid operated “The Center for Constitutional and Criminal Justice” under the guise of assisting former owners of properties sold at Sheriff’s sale. Rashid told these clients that he could help recover their properties or the proceeds from the Sheriff’s sale. Rashid took fees from these clients and photocopies of their drivers licenses but typically did nothing in return.

Rashid altered his clients’ driver’s licenses and submitted them to a title company along with forged power of attorney documents to steal Sheriff’s sale proceeds due to other former property owners. The forged power of attorney documents carried signatures of former property owners who actually died years before they purportedly signed the documents. In addition, Rashid submitted bogus corporate resolutions that purportedly authorized him to collect Sheriff's sales proceeds that were due to these corporations. Rashid used his family members to pose as officers of these corporations.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Philadelphia County District Attorney’s Office, and the Philadelphia Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vineet Gauri.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – An indictment was unsealed today charging Rahim McIntyre, 36, of Philadelphia, PA, with three counts of sex trafficking of a minor and by force, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  McIntyre was arrested today.

            According to the indictment, McIntyre, a/k/a “King Kobra,” caused Internet advertisements to be created in which he advertised various females as available for purchase for purposes of prostitution. One of these females, whom McIntyre recruited, was under the age of 18.  The advertisements featured pictures of the females, either scantily clad or partially nude, a description of each female, and a phone number to call to arrange a meeting with a female employed by McIntyre as a prostitute.

            If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, with a minimum mandatory of 15 years, a $750,000 fine, five years supervised release and a $300 special assessment. 

            McIntyre’s brother, Rashaad McIntyre, was charged in December 2012 with sex trafficking of minors and production of child pornography.

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Intelligence Center, and the Philadelphia First Judicial Court Warrant Unit. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan.  The defendant’s arrest is part of the FBI’s Operation Cross Country, a nationwide effort during July 2013 to apprehend sex traffickers and identify and rescue victims of human trafficking.

Click here to view the indictment

An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Stephen Easterling, 28, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was charged by Information today with one count of Hobbs Act Robbery, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the indictment, the defendant attempted to rob K/V Jewelers, Inc., trading as Main Line Jewelers, located at 7553 Haverford Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 1, 2013.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, restitution, and a $100 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ewald Zittlau.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative designed to identify and prosecute firearms offenders in federal court, where the defendant is likely to receive a substantial sentence upon conviction.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – Damion Canalichio, 43, of Turnersville, NJ, was sentenced today to 137 months in prison and a $1,000 fine for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving loan sharking and illegal gambling.  In addition to his prison term, U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno ordered three years of supervised release.

On Feb. 5, 2013, after a four-month trial, a jury convicted Canalichio of conspiring to conduct and participate in the affairs of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family through a pattern of racketeering activity.  The evidence at trial proved that, in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, Canalichio, as a “made” member, engaged in loan sharking and illegal sports bookmaking activities on behalf of the mob.  Canalichio exploited the violent reputation of the Philadelphia LCN Family in extending usurious loans and collecting payments on the loans, leaving the borrowers in fear of physical harm if they did not pay promptly.  Canalichio also directed and supervised the participation of associates in his crew to carry out these racketeering crimes.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.  Additional assistance was provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor III and Suzanne B. Ercole, and Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.  Valuable prosecutorial assistance was provided by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – Gary Battaglini, 52, of Sewell, NJ, was sentenced today to 96 months in prison and a $1,000 fine for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving loan sharking and illegal gambling.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno ordered three years of supervised release.

On Feb. 5, 2013, after a four-month trial, a jury convicted Battaglini of conspiring to conduct and participate in the affairs of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family through a pattern of racketeering activity.  The evidence at trial proved that, in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, Battaglini, as an “associate,” engaged in loan sharking and illegal sports bookmaking activities on behalf of the mob.  Battaglini exploited the violent reputation of the Philadelphia LCN Family in extending usurious loans and collecting payments on the loans, leaving the borrowers in fear of physical harm if they did not pay promptly. 

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. Additional assistance was provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor III and Suzanne B. Ercole, and Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.  Valuable prosecutorial assistance was provided by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Timothy James Kane, 32, of Telford, PA, was charged today by Indictment1 with one count of possession of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

If convicted, Kane faces a maximum sentence of 50 years imprisonment, a five year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release, a $750,000 fine, and a $300 special assessment.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul G. Shapiro.

Click here to view the indictment

1An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Joseph Massimino, 63, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 188 months in prison for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving extortion, loan sharking, and illegal gambling.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno ordered three years of supervised release.  Massimino must also pay a $5,000 fine.

On Feb. 5, 2013, after a four-month trial, a jury convicted Massimino of conspiring to conduct and participate in the affairs of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family through a pattern of racketeering activity.  The evidence at trial proved that, in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, Massimino, as a “made” member and underboss, extorted “street tax” payments from a bookmaker, used threats of violence against debtors to collect loan sharking payments, and forced the owners of a vending company to sell the portion of their business related to the operation of illegal video poker machines.  In addition, Massimino ran an illegal electronic gambling device business for the mob, providing video poker machines and other gambling devices for bars, restaurants, convenience stores, coffee shops and other locations in Philadelphia and its suburbs.  In one of these locations, Massimino also operated an illegal sports bookmaking business. 

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. Additional assistance was provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor III and Suzanne B. Ercole, and Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.  Valuable prosecutorial assistance was provided by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Richard Lewis, 54, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment unsealed today, with conspiracy to steal property from the Philadelphia Housing Authority where Lewis was employed at the time, in the amount of approximately $348,910, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  Lewis was arrested this morning by the FBI.

According to the indictment, between September 2002 and July 2011, Lewis conspired with Richard Perri, Jaquel Crews, and Mark Miller, each charged elsewhere, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, to purchase building materials with PHA funds, sell those materials at a discount, and conceal those fraudulent sales.  Crews, Miller and others ordered the building materials from Lewis who then directed Perri - a materials coordinator for PHA - to purchase materials from Sawbell Lumber and Home Depot.  Perri fraudulently disguised the purchases as for PHA use, submitted the bills to the PHA Accounts Payable Department for payment, and arranged for the fraudulently purchased materials to be delivered to private properties specified by Lewis, Crews, Miller and others.  Lewis and Perri were paid approximately 30 to 50-percent of the value of the materials by the purchasers and they split those payments.  The indictment further alleges that Lewis made false statements about the purchase of those materials to law enforcement officers and provided false information about his sales of those building materials.                                    

If convicted, Lewis faces a maximum possible sentence of 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. 

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, and the PHA Police Department, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney K.T. Newton.

Click here to view the indictment

1An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Jermaine Coleman, 31, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by Indictment with three counts of bank robbery, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

According to the indictment, Coleman robbed the Alliance Bank at 9 East Baltimore Avenue in Lansdowne on March 7, 2013; the Alliance Bank at 201 South 69th Street in Upper Darby on March 9, 2013; and the Beneficial Savings Bank at 727 Church Lane in Yeadon on March 11, 2013.

If convicted of all counts, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 years in prison,  a $750,000 fine, a three year period of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alicia M. Freind.

Click here to view the indictment

1An Indictment is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – A settlement agreement, resulting from a whistleblower lawsuit, was announced today between the United States and two of the country’s largest commercial shredding services companies.  Shred-It Incorporated and Iron Mountain, Incorporated were named in a whistleblower lawsuit that alleged that Shred-It and Iron Mountain contracted with the government to provide shredding services but did not cut the government’s documents to the size required under the General Services Administration’s standards.  Accordingly, their claims for payment for these services were false.  United States Attorney Zane David Memeger announced that Iron Mountain will pay $800,000 to the government, plus attorneys’ fees; Shred-It will pay $300,000 to the government, plus attorneys’ fees. 

The case was originally filed under the False Claims Act by Douglas Knisely, who operates a paper shredding business in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.  The False Claims Act permits ordinary citizens (known as “relators”) to bring lawsuits in the name of the United States alleging fraud against the government.  The relator is entitled to a portion of the settlement.   

Shred-It and Iron Mountain are two of the largest companies in the United States that provide commercial shredding services to the government.

This matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Johnson and Gregory Pearson of the Department of Justice Civil Frauds Unit. 

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Kermit Gosnell, 72, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to 12 counts in connection with running a pill mill out of his clinic located at 3801-3805 Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia.  Gosnell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including oxycodone, alprazolam, and codeine; distribution and aiding and abetting the distribution of oxycodone; and maintaining a place for the illegal distribution of controlled substances.  U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe scheduled a sentencing hearing for October 4, 2013.  He faces an advisory sentencing guideline range of 292 to 365 months in prison.

            Gosnell, with the assistance of several of his former office staff at Family Medical Society, A Division of Women’s Medical Society, Inc. (“WMS”), ran a prescription pill mill from June of 2008 through February 18, 2010.  Gosnell wrote fraudulent prescriptions for thousands of prescription pills and the frequently-abused syrups Phenergan and Promethazine with Codeine, to drug “seekers,” who met with Gosnell briefly for a cursory exam or no exam.  Gosnell and his staff allowed customers to purchase multiple prescriptions under multiple names; customers could place orders for refills in person, over the phone, or by leaving a message on a WMS office answering machine; the WMS office staff would give the refill orders to Gosnell, who, without seeing the customer, would write the requested prescription and give it to WMS staff who would then collect cash and “tips” from customers.  Gosnell went from writing several hundred prescriptions for controlled substances per month filled at pharmacies in 2008 to over 2,300 filled at pharmacies in January of 2010.  Gosnell charged from $115.00 to $150.00, with a follow up visit fee of $50.00 and a $20 fee for refills of controlled substances for cash paying customers.

“Prescription drug abuse is a growing epidemic, made worse by unscrupulous doctors and other professionals who use their licenses to distribute dangerous drugs to addicts and those who have no actual medical need for the drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger.  “The investigation and prosecution of those involved in the illegal distribution of prescription drugs is a priority of the Department of Justice and this United States Attorney’s Office.”

“Doctors who deal powerful drugs to vulnerable people are violating their own oath – and our country’s laws,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Edward J. Hanko. “The FBI and its partners are committed to investigating illegal drug distribution, whether it’s via a street pusher or a prescription pad.”       

“The Drug Enforcement Administration wishes to thank all of the law enforcement agencies that participated in this investigation as well as the U.S. Attorney’s office for their support in the prosecution of Kermit Gosnell,” said DEA Special Agent-in-Charge David G. Dongilli. “The investigation included undercover purchases of oxycodone, a highly addictive Schedule II Controlled Substance, and it revealed that Gosnell and members of his staff were using his medical license and DEA Registration as a shield to cover his drug distribution operation.”

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Office of Inspector General, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joan E. Burnes and Jessica Natali.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE       Contact:  PATTY HARTMAN
EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA                          Media Contact
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street                                           215-861-8525
Philadelphia, PA  19106        

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Joel Ernesto Esquerra-Cervantes, a/k/a “Luis Gonzalez-Solivan,” a/k/a “Raul Salazar-Trujillo,” a/k/a “Armando Espinoza Padilla,” 34, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by Indictment with illegal reentry after deportation, announced United States Attorney David Memeger.  The indictment alleges that on or about April 28, 2012, Esquera-Cervantes, an alien, and native and citizen of Mexico, was found in the United States after having been deported from the United States on or about September 13, 1998, March 3, 1999, February 20, 2000, February 28, 2000, May 13, 2003, September 12, 2003, October 27, 2003, January 13, 2009, January 15, 2009 and January 24, 2009.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of two years.

The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”) and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bea Witzleben.

Click here to view the indictment

An Indictment is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE Contact: PATTY HARTMAN
EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA Media Contact
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street 215-861-8525
Philadelphia, PA 19106

COPIES OF NEWS MEMOS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT
HTTP://www.justice.gov/usao/pae

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Tung Pham, 48, pled guilty on July 1st, 2013 to seven counts of an indictment that charged him with wire fraud and theft of trade secrets. Mr. Pham pled guilty to the wire fraud charges, and agreed that when calculating his Sentencing Guidelines, the court could consider the theft of trade secret charges. Mr. Pham entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Anita Brody, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for November 6, 2013. Pham faces a maximum penalty of 140 years in prison.

Mr. Pham worked as a research scientist in the solar technology field. The wire fraud charges involved an attempt by Mr. Pham to escape a non-compete clause in his employment contract that prevented him from working for any competitor for a period of one year. Mr. Pham had signed an agreement with a start-up Chinese company to work in the same area as he was already working. The wire fraud charges involved his efforts to create a fake employment contract that he could show to his employer to get out of the non-compete agreement. The theft of trade secret charges involved his taking the product formulas for existing, successful solar technology products from his employers. At the time that the FBI executed a search warrant on Mr. Pham’s home and found the trade secrets, he was planning to leave a few days later for China to start working for his new employer.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael L. Levy.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE Contact: PATTY HARTMAN
EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA Media Contact
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street 215-861-8525
Philadelphia, PA 19106

COPIES OF NEWS MEMOS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT
HTTP://www.justice.gov/usao/pae

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Since the United States of America’s filing of a civil Complaint on May 29, 2013, against Philadelphia food warehouse New Rich City Trading Corporation, its president and owner, Ms. Xiaoping Sun, and its manager, Mr. Si Yan Chuen, the parties have entered into a Consent Decree to resolve allegations that the defendants held food under insanitary conditions, in violation of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act.  United States Attorney Zane David Memeger announced today that the resolution was accepted by the United States District Court.

  The Complaint alleged that United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) inspections of the facility established that food stored by the defendants was adulterated because the food had been held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth.  The insanitary conditions and filth included the widespread presence of animals such as rodents, birds, cats, and dogs, as well as the animals’ feces and urine, throughout the facility, including on and around articles of food.  The Food Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibits companies and individuals from causing articles of food to become “adulterated” while held for sale after shipment of one or more of their components in interstate commerce. 

 The Consent Decree resolves the allegations in the Complaint, and requires defendants to:

• Immediately implement a sanitation control program developed by an expert, which will be subject to FDA approval.
• Recall and destroy adulterated food.
• Undergo periodic audit inspections by an independent auditor who shall report findings to the FDA.

The Consent Decree prohibits defendants from committing future violations of the Act.  Any future violations could result in a shutdown of the facility and/or monetary penalties. 

 “This consent decree advances the Department of Justice’s and the FDA’s goal of ensuring the safety and integrity of our food supplies,” said United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  “We are pleased to have reached a resolution with the defendants that calls for prompt corrective measures, as well as the implementation of forward-looking procedures designed to ensure future compliance.”

This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey L. B. Smith, together with David Sullivan, Trial Attorney from the United States Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Branch.  The matter was investigated by the United States Food and Drug Administration, with legal assistance provided by Scott Kaplan, FDA Associate Chief Counsel

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Aaron Thomas, 47, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for committing six bank robberies.  On March 14, 2013, Thomas pleaded guilty to robbing six banks: (1) PNC Bank located on Old York Road in Abington on August 10, 2012; (2) TD Bank located on City Avenue in Philadelphia, on August 8, 2012; (3) TD Bank located on City Avenue in Philadelphia on May 17, 2011; (4) TD Bank located on Moreland Road in Abington, on September 17, 2009; (5) TD Bank located on Grant Avenue in Philadelphia, on September 17, 2009; and (6) TD Bank located on Old York Road in Abington on July 24, 2009.  Thomas was apprehended by Abington Police following the PNC Bank robbery on August 10, 2012 after a vehicle and foot pursuit through the streets of Abington and Philadelphia which resulted in two police officers being injured and several vehicles damaged.  Thomas has two prior convictions for bank robbery. 

            In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence F. Stengel ordered Thomas to pay $30,905 in restitution, a $600 special assessment, and ordered three years of supervised release.

            The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Abington Township Police Department, and the Philadelphia Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Livermore.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Constant Damas, 45, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to two counts of wire fraud in connection with a “Ponzi” scheme that defrauded more than 20 investors out of more than $1 million, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 30, 2013.

Between 2007 through the end of 2012, Damas, who was an account manager at Coca-Cola Company, misrepresented to various individuals, including family members and friends in his Haitian community, that he was an investment manager at Coca-Cola.  He told his victims that, through this position, he could invest their money in Coca-Cola’s investment opportunities.  In fact, Damas did not hold this position and no such opportunities existed.  To entice his victims, Damas often made the following false representations to them:  he would collect a sum of money from the victims as their “principle” investment; the victims would receive an interest payment of a certain amount every month; and they could receive their principle payment upon request.  Damas, however, did not return the full “principle” investment amount back to his victims, and many of the victims did not receive any of their funds back or any interest payments.  Upon his arrest in February 2013, Damas admitted to federal agents that this was a “scam business.”

Damas faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison, a three-year period of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, a $200 special assessment, and the imposition of full restitution.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Securities Investigations.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Murray.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Jonathan Brownlee, 28, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to four counts stemming from a tax fraud scheme that sought to bilk the government of over $600,000.  Brownlee admitted that he conspired with others to file false tax claims by obtaining and using the personal identifying information of several individuals, including their Social Security numbers, sometimes under false pretenses.  Brownlee used the information to prepare and file bogus tax returns claiming fraudulent refunds and directed the refunds to be deposited into bank accounts that he and his co-conspirators controlled.  He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and three counts of filing a false claim.  A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 10, 2013.

Brownlee’s co-conspirators - Christopher Brownlee, 36, Anthony Foster, 43, and Paul Rawls, 53, all of Philadelphia - were each charged with conspiracy and filing false claims on tax returns with the IRS.  Rawls pleaded guilty to conspiracy and one count of filing a false claim on June 25, 2013.  A sentencing hearing for Rawls is scheduled for September 24, 2013.

The tax returns fraudulently reported that the individuals for whom Brownlee had prepared the returns, were entitled to receive a $7,500 refundable tax credit under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.  The returns were false because those individuals had not purchased new homes and thus were not eligible to apply for the refundable tax credit.  Some of the individuals---in whose name the returns had been prepared and filed---were not aware that Brownlee and his co-conspirators had used their Social Security numbers for the purpose of filing the false returns.  The indictment was the first in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania involving fraud effecting the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.   

Brownlee faces a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Office of Inspector General for the United States Social Security Administration.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Floyd J. Miller and Patrick J. Murray.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Gerard Joseph, 36 years old, of La Jolla, California, is charged by indictment1, unsealed today, with conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  Joseph was arrested last night.

Joseph was in the business of buying, renovating, and selling properties in the Philadelphia area.  According to the indictment, between 2007 and at least 2008, Joseph conspired with Richard Bell, charged separately, to purchase properties at Sheriff’s sale for ten percent of the sale price.  Joseph would pay the ten percent deposit on the day of the sale, and pay the remaining 90-percent within 30 days of the sale.  Bell, who worked in the accounting department, would remove the 90-percent payment before it was deposited into the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office bank account, thereby, allowing Joseph to buy the properties for ten percent of the sale price.  Joseph would then resell the properties at a profit and would pay Bell a fee.

Between April 2007 and November 2007, Joseph purchased approximately four properties at Sheriff’s sales through this fraudulent scheme and, in June 2008, he resold two of them receiving the profit that should have gone to the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office.

If convicted of all charges, Joseph faces a statutory maximum sentence of 60 years in prison, a fine of up to $750,000, full restitution, and three years of supervised release.  Bell pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and the City of Philadelphia Office of Inspector General.  The City of Philadelphia Office of the Controller has also assisted the investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah L. Grieb and Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Diviny.

Click here to view the indictment

1An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Louay Shaman, 30, of Cliffside Heights, New Jersey, was charged by Indictment, unsealed today, with one count of enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity on March 3, 2012, and with one count of transporting a minor interstate on March 4, 2012, with the intent that the minor engage in illegal sexual activity, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  Shaman was arrested today and appeared in court. 

If convicted of all charges,Shaman faces mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison with a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, a maximum period of supervised release of life with a mandatory minimum of five years of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, and a $200 special assessment. 
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Albert S. Glenn and Karen Fox.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Click here to view the indictment

An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Niyaz Sainudeen, 42, of Bethlehem, PA, was sentenced yesterday to 151 months in prison for  distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography.  Federal agents found hundreds of images and dozens of videos depicting child pornography on Sainudeen’s computer during a March 8, 2012 search of his home.  In July 2011, Sainudeen engaged in a chat session with an undercover agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.  As a result of the chat, Sainudeen gave the undercover agent access to a password-protected folder containing child pornography.  After being questioned by agents during the March 8, 2012 search of his home, Sainudeen attempted to flee to his native India and was arrested at JFK Airport.  Sainudeen pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography. 

            In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge James Knoll Gardner ordered $10,000 restitution, a $400 special assessment and five years of supervised release.

            The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joan E. Burnes.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Antonio Jeffcoat, 25, was charged today by indictment with Hobbs Act robbery, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime, and possession with the intent to distribute Schedule II narcotics.  The indictment charges that the defendant committed these offenses in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on or about April 23, 2013.
If convicted of all charges, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison with a maximum of life in prison, a mandatory minimum of six years of supervised release, a $2,500,000 fine, and a $300 special assessment.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney V. Paige Pratter.

Click here to view the indictment

An Indictment is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Danny Ray Evans, Jr., age 26, of Reading, PA was charged today by Indictment with two counts of production of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 years imprisonment, with a 15 year mandatory minimum sentence, a $500,000 fine, a lifetime of supervised release and a $200 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Berks County Detectives, and the Berks County District Attorney's Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Calvin Johnson, Jr., 35, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for participating in tax fraud conspiracies with a former IRS employee and several others.  Johnson was convicted of conspiracy and filing false claims/tax returns to the IRS in a series of schemes that defrauded the U.S. Government of more than $1 million.  Johnson was also found guilty of filing false claims while he was on pretrial release.   U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell ordered Johnson to pay restitution in the amount of $1.24 million and ordered three years of supervised release.

Johnson and two co-conspirators, former IRS employee Patricia Fountain and Larry Ishmael, were convicted at trial in March 2013.  The defendants solicited claimants whose personal information they used to file false tax returns claiming the Telephone Excise Tax Refund (TETR) in 2007 and the First Time Homebuyer Credit in 2009.   These three defendants each received fraudulently obtained TETR refunds.  Fountain also used one of the claimant’s information to file a false tax return in 2008.  Fountain and Johnson also participated in separate schemes to file false tax returns between 2010 and 2012.   Johnson continued his scheme while he was awaiting trial in this case.

            For each of the schemes, the defendants charged claimants a cash fee.  With respect to her TETR scheme, which Fountain engineered using inside information from the IRS, Fountain warned that she would “red flag” those claimants who received a refund without paying her $400 fee.  She then filed amended returns for certain claimants whom she believed had not paid the fee, causing the IRS to demand repayment from them.  Fountain and Ishmael pooled their cash fees for their mutual use, including an $11,299 down payment on a Mercedes Benz R350, which Fountain structured by paying $9,900 in cash and charging the rest to a credit card.

In addition to the charges of conspiracy and filing false claims/tax returns, Fountain was convicted of abusing her public office and extortion under color of official right.  She was sentenced last week to 19 years in prison.  Ishmael’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 26, 2013.  Andre Bruce, Howard Chilsom, William Martin, and the defendant’s father, Calvin Johnson Sr., were all sentenced in April 2013.

The case was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joe Khan and Department of Justice, Tax Division Trial Attorney Tiwana L. Wright.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Jesus Estaban Reynoso, 34, of Camden, NJ, and Jose Francisco German-Vallejo, 31, of Lindenwold, NJ, are charged by indictment, unsealed today, in a drug conspiracy involving heroin, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The defendants were arrested this morning

According to the indictment, the defendants had co-conspirators in Panama who would hide shipments of drugs in stereo speakers and ship them to addresses provided by Reynoso. German-Vallejo allegedly recruited people to provide shipping addresses. When the parcels arrived, the recruits would either deliver the parcels to the defendants or the defendants would pick up the parcels. The recruits were paid for providing the addresses for the shipments. It is further alleged that Reynoso and German-Vallejo knowingly and intentionally attempted to possess with intent to distribute approximately1,066 grams of a mixture containing heroin. The indictment charges each defendant with one count of conspiracy to import one kilogram or more of heroin, one count of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, and one count of attempted possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin.
If convicted of all charges, Reynoso faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison, a fine, and a $300 special assessment; German-Vallejo faces a 10 year mandatory minimum sentence up to life in prison, a fine, up to five years of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nancy Rue.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Richard M. Gordon, 65, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was charged today by Information with one count of theft of Government funds, announced United States Attorney Zane D. Memeger. The information alleges that between June 4, 2004 and December 31, 2012, Richard Gordon implemented a scheme to steal funds from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by using his brother’s identity to obtain unauthorized medical care. It is further alleged that he used the identity of his brother to receive VA non-service connected disability pension benefits resulting in total losses to the government of approximately $178,607.20.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of ten years incarceration, a $250,000.00 fine, and three years supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Moshang III.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - David Brister, 56, of Philadelphia, was charged by indictment, unsealed today, in a counterfeit check scheme that victimized dozens of people across the United States, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Brister is charged with one count of conspiracy, five counts of mail fraud, 12 counts of wire fraud, two counts of presenting and transmitting counterfeit money orders, and four counts of passing and uttering counterfeit checks. He was arrested this morning.

According to the indictment, Brister teamed up with at least one person located outside the United States to defraud Americans in a series of Internet-based schemes. He allegedly duped the recipients of counterfeit checks and money orders into depositing the items into their bank accounts and wiring money to him. In one alleged scheme, Brister and his co-conspirators posted advertisements on the website, Craigslist.com, for fake jobs, which included phony positions such as “secret shoppers” and “administrative assistants.” Whenever a person answered the advertisement and was “hired” for the fake job, Brister or a co-conspirator would allegedly send counterfeit money to the “new employee” along with a set of instructions on how to complete their new “employment” obligations. The instructions generally involved depositing the checks or money orders into their own bank accounts, keeping a portion as their “salary,” performing some simple task, and sending the rest of the money to Brister via Western Union or MoneyGram. Only after wiring the funds to Brister did the would-be employees learn that the checks and money orders they had deposited into their bank accounts were counterfeit.

In a different scheme, an alleged co-conspirator of Brister’s would respond to advertisements on Craigslist.com for the sale of merchandise, agree to buy the advertised item, send counterfeit checks or money orders to the seller in excess of the sales price, and indicate that the difference was to be spent on a third-party delivery company. Brister’s co-conspirator would identify Brister as the representative of the third-party delivery company and ask the seller to deposit the check or money order into his account, keep enough to cover both the sales price and a little bonus, and then wire the rest to Brister. As with the fake job-offer scheme, the sellers followed the instructions and wired thousands of dollars to Brister, only to learn that the monetary instruments they had received were counterfeit, and their bank accounts had been debited.

In total, Brister allegedly received more than $98,000 in fraudulent proceeds from the various Internet-based schemes between January 2008 and August 2012. It is further alleged that Brister and at least one co-conspirator planned to send more than $5.8 million worth of additional counterfeit checks and money orders to unsuspecting victims in the United States as part of their schemes

Each mail fraud count and each count of wire fraud count carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison; each counterfeit check count carries a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison; each conspiracy and each money order transmittal count carries a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison. Brister also faces a fine of up to $6 million, a $2,500 special assessment, and three years of supervised release, if convicted.

If convicted of all charges, Brister faces a maximum possible sentence of 395 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $6 million, and a $2,500 special assessment.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Dubnoff.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – Robert Ranieri, 37, of Glendora, N.J., pleaded guilty today to committing loan sharking activities on behalf of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family.  U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 25, 2013.  Ranieri faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

Through court documents and statements made in court, Ranieri admitted that he conspired with Philadelphia LCN Family capo Anthony Staino and others to make a usurious loan to an undercover FBI agent and used threats of violence to collect payments on the loan. 

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.  Additional assistance was provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor III, Suzanne Ercole, and Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.  Valuable prosecutorial assistance was provided by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - The federal jury that voted in favor of death for drug kingpin Kaboni Savage, today voted in favor of life for Savage co-defendant Steven Northington, 41.  Savage was formally sentenced to death last week by U.S. District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick.  He is the first defendant in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to receive the death penalty in federal court.  He was convicted on May 13, 2013 of 12 counts of murder in aid of racketeering, one count of retaliating against a witness by murder, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, and one count of conspiracy to participate in a Racketeering Enterprise.  Savage ordered the October 9, 2004 firebombing of the home of Eugene Coleman’s family.  Coleman was a federal witness at the time.  Six people were killed in the arson murder, including four children.  The jury had found Northington guilty of the murders of Barry Parker in 2003 and of Tybius Flowers in 2004, in addition to Racketeering (RICO) conspiracy.  Northington will be formally sentenced on June 19, 2013. 

Co-defendants Kidada Savage, Kaboni Savage’s sister, and Robert Merritt face mandatory life sentences.  They were convicted at trial of the RICO conspiracy and Kidada Savage was also convicted of the Coleman family murders.  

Today’s penalty verdict was announced by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent-in-Charge Edward J. Hanko of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.

“Achieving justice sometimes requires us to ask the citizens on a jury to make the most difficult sentencing decision imaginable,” said Memeger.  “In this case, after convicting the defendants of crimes involving murder, the jurors chose death for Kaboni Savage and life for Stephen Northington.  The defendants’ horrific conduct struck at the very heart of our criminal justice system which depends on witnesses testifying without fearing for their lives or the lives of their family members.  We appreciate the time and effort that the jury committed to reaching a fair verdict as to each defendant.  While the verdicts cannot restore the loss of life taken by members of the Kaboni Savage drug organization, we hope that the jury verdicts bring some sense of closure to the victims’ families and friends.  I want to thank the phenomenal investigative and trial team that worked so hard over many years to bring the defendants to justice for their despicable crimes.” 

“For more than a decade, Kaboni Savage and members of his organization used murder and violence to intimidate and retaliate against anyone who threatened their drug trade, and along the way mercilessly killed a cooperating witness’s family members, including innocent children,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman. “We are hopeful that the jury’s verdict brings some measure of justice to the victims of Savage’s heinous crimes.”

“Kaboni Savage and his crew murdered men, women, and children – for money, power, and, ultimately, just for revenge,” said Edward J. Hanko, FBI Special Agent in Charge. “They thought no more of taking lives than of taking a phone call. After more than a decade of brutality, Northington’s life sentence and Savage’s death sentences are justly deserved.”

Savage’s drug enterprise operated primarily in the North Philadelphia area from at least late 1997 to 2010.  After Savage was indicted on drug charges in 2004, he ordered the murders of the family of government witness Eugene Coleman.  Lamont Lewis, who has pleaded guilty, firebombed the Coleman family home on Savage’s orders which Kidada Savage relayed to Lewis.

In addition to the murders of the six people inside the Coleman home, Savage was convicted of:

- the March 19, 1998, murder of Kenneth Lassiter, age 44, of Lansdale, PA, near the corner of 8th and Butler Streets in Philadelphia;

- the September 6, 2000 murder of Mansur “Shafiq”Abdullah, age 22, of Philadelphia.  Abdullah was shot and his burned body was later recovered in the 4200 block of North Park Avenue, in Philadelphia;   

- the September 13, 2001 murder of Carlton “Mohammed” Brown, age 27, of  Philadelphia;

- the February 26, 2003 murder of Barry Parker, age 32, of Philadelphia, in the 3900 block of North Franklin Street, in Philadelphia;

- the March 14, 2003 murder of Tyrone Toliver, age 26, of Cherry Hill, NJ, in the 3500 block of North Palmetto Street in Philadelphia; and

- the March 1, 2004 murder of Tybius Flowers, age 32, in the 3700 block of N. 8th Street in Philadelphia;

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and the Maple Shade, New Jersey Police Department.  The United States Bureau of Prisons, the United States Marshals Service, and HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) also assisted in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David E. Troyer and John M. Gallagher and Trial Attorney Steve Mellin, of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Unit at the U.S. Department of Justice.           

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Former Internal Revenue Service employee Patricia Fountain, 36, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 19 years in prison for a series of tax refund schemes that defrauded the U.S. Government. Fountain was convicted on March 13, 2013, along with co-defendants Larry Ishmael, and Calvin Johnson, Jr., also of Philadelphia, who are awaiting sentencing. A federal jury found each of the three defendants guilty of multiple counts of both conspiracy and filing false claims/tax returns to the IRS. For abusing her public office, Fountain was also found guilty of extortion under color of official right. Collectively, the defendants’ schemes cost the IRS well over $3 million. U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell also ordered Fountain to pay restitution in the amount of $1.7 million, a $1,300 special assessment, and ordered three years of supervised release.

“Our system of government is based upon a tax system which requires truthful disclosure by taxpayers of the amounts due to the IRS,” said Memeger. “When individuals defraud the system to avoid their obligation to pay taxes or steal money from the United States Treasury, the rest of the tax paying public bears the cost. Today’s sentence sends a strong message to deter this type of criminal behavior. We will continue to prosecute tax cheats to the fullest extent of the law, particularly those government employees who abuse the public trust and tarnish the reputation of honest and hard-working federal employees.”

“Federal employees must not use their positions of public trust for private gain, especially those employees who are entrusted with the fair and honest administration of our Nation’s tax laws,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “In safeguarding the integrity of the Federal system of tax administration, TIGTA will vigorously investigate allegations of corruption and ensure that those responsible for misconduct are held accountable.”

“At the IRS, protecting taxpayer money is a matter we take extremely seriously,” said Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent-in-Charge Akeia Conner. “The defendants who perpetrated this scheme systematically defrauded the government and the taxpaying public. Today's sentencing of Patricia Fountain and prior sentencings of her co-defendants Calvin Johnson Sr., William S. Martin, and Andre Bruce demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protecting the interests of law-abiding taxpayers.”

Each of the defendants solicited claimants whose personal information the defendants used to file false tax returns claiming the Telephone Excise Tax Refund (TETR) in 2007 and the First Time Homebuyer Credit in 2009. Fountain also claimed the TETR by filing false tax returns for herself and for Ishmael, and used one of the claimant’s information to file a false tax return in 2008. Fountain also filed false claims claiming the American Opportunity Tax Credit between 2010 and 2012. Johnson, Jr. also used claimants’ information to file false tax returns in 2012, including while he was being supervised on pretrial release in this case.

For each of the schemes, the defendants charged claimants a cash fee. With respect to her TETR scheme, which Fountain engineered using inside information from the IRS, Fountain warned that she would “red flag” those claimants who received a refund without paying her $400 fee. She then filed amended returns for certain claimants whom she believed had not paid the fee, causing the IRS to demand repayment from them. Fountain and Ishmael pooled their cash fees for their mutual use, including an $11,299 down payment on a Mercedes Benz R350, which Fountain structured by paying $9,900 in cash and charging the rest to a credit card.

Johnson’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 18, 2013 and Ishmael’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 26, 2013. Pending sentencing, Ishmael and Johnson Jr. are being detained in federal custody. Judge Dalzell previously sentenced co-defendants Andre Bruce, Howard Chilsom, William Martin, and Calvin Johnson, Sr. in April 2013.

The case was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joe Khan and Department of Justice, Tax Division Trial Attorney Tiwana L. Wright.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – A federal jury, today, found Dr. Norman Werther, 74, of Ft. Washington, PA, guilty of more than 300 counts, including distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death.  In addition to the charge of distribution resulting in death, the jury found Werther guilty of 184 counts of illegally distributing oxycodone, 116 counts of money laundering, six counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises. Werther faces a mandatory 20 years and maximum sentence of life in prison.  A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. Werther remains free on bail until Friday, June 14, 2013.

Werther was part of a multi-million dollar drug conspiracy involving illegal prescriptions, phony patients, and multiple drug trafficking organizations.  At the time, Werther was a Montgomery County physician, running a physical therapy and rehabilitation practice in Willow Grove.  He conspired with six separate groups of drug dealers. 

“Dr. Werther turned his back on his professional code of ethics, becoming nothing more than a common drug pusher,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen. “He is the antithesis of a physician.  The sentence mandated for his crimes should ensure that he will never again be free to harm another human being.”

“Drug diversion is a growing epidemic in our society made worse by the professional people who turn their backs on their ethics to line their pockets at great risk to others,” said DEA Special Agent-in-Charge David G. Dongilli.  “We will continue our diligent efforts to crackdown on this growing problem.”

“The diversion of dangerous prescription drugs is a public health epidemic and a serious  problem,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Nick DiGiulio with Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in Philadelphia. “We work with our partners to dismantle these lethal drug trafficking organizations and to bring physicians like Dr. Werther to justice.”

Werther worked with drug traffickers who recruited large numbers of pseudo-patients.  Werther set aside a specific block of time each business day to see the pseudo-patients recruited by Ronald Campbell, Anthony DiPasquale, Angel DuPrey, Kyle Jones, and William Stukes. With the help of Werther’s office staff, those “patients” were transported to Werther’s medical office, at 301 Davisville Road in Willow Grove, PA, for cursory examinations.  The “patients” paid an office visit fee, usually $150, by cash, check, or money order, and Werther wrote prescriptions for them to obtain oxycodone-based drugs without there being a legitimate medical purpose for the prescription and outside the usual course of professional practice.  The “patients” were then driven to various pharmacies, including Northeast Pharmacy, to have their prescriptions filled.  The drugs were then turned over to the drug dealers so their organizations could sell the narcotics to numerous drug dealers who resold the drugs on the street. 

In September 2010, Werther knowingly dispensed approximately 150 pills containing 30 milligrams each of oxycodone, and 30 pills containing 15 milligrams each of oxycodone, to Nathaniel Backes for no legitimate medical purpose and Nathaniel Backes’ death resulted from the use of that substance.

The drug conspiracy involving Dr. Werther operated between February 2009 and August 2011 and resulted in the illegal distribution of more than 700,000 pills containing oxycodone. At least one of the drug trafficking organizations working with Werther trafficked pills valued at more than $5 million that Werther illegally prescribed.

The crimes of conspiracy, distribution of controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute, and money laundering each carry a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Philadelphia Police Department, the North Coventry Police Department, the Upper Moreland Police Department, and the Montgomery Township Police.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy Beam Winter and Jason Bologna. 

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - David Husmann, 53, of Elizabethtown, PA, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography while on supervised release for possession of child pornography.  On March 13, 2013, a federal jury found Husmann guilty of the latest charges – his fourth conviction for charges involving crimes against children with a fifth, unrelated, conviction.

Husmann was on supervised release from a 2005 conviction when, on January 26, 2011, his probation officer made an unannounced visit to the home of Husmann’s mother, where he was living at the time.  As part of the conditions of his release, after serving his sentence for the 2005 conviction, computer monitoring software was installed on the computer Husmann used.  The probation officer had received an alert from the monitoring software that indicated that Husmann had accessed pornographic websites and images, and which also provided the probation officer with static screen shots of the images.  Upon entering Husmann’s basement bedroom, the probation officer found Husmann in the act of viewing child erotica.

Among the thousands of images in the defendant’s collection were those of children who were sexually abused and who had already been identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).  Their images have been distributed around the world through the Internet. 

Husmann’s record shows he was first convicted of three counts of cruelty to animals in 1995.  During the same time period that he committed that crime, he was also engaging in a pattern of sexual exploitation and abuse of young girls who were under his care as a house parent at the Hershey School in Dauphin County.  Between September 1995 and March 1996, the defendant downloaded pornography onto a school computer and showed it to eight young girls who resided at that school and were under his care.  He was also convicted of indecent assault on two of the girls.  Husmann was sentenced and moved to Florida to serve out his probationary term on his second conviction, which required him to register as a sex offender.  However, once he moved back to Lancaster County into his mother’s home in 2002, he failed to register.  That resulted in a conviction for failure to register as a sex offender.  He had been living with his mother, unregistered, for more than two years, again, failing to register as a sex offender and becoming actively engaged in trading child pornography and purchasing memberships in child pornography websites.  As a result, a search warrant was issued and the defendant was ultimately convicted in federal court of possession of child pornography.  In August 2005 he was sentenced to 51 months incarceration, followed by three years supervised release.  That was his fourth conviction.  After his release from federal prison, and while still on supervised release, Husmann continued his crimes against children by trading and collecting the images and videos of children being sexually exploited that led to his conviction in this case. 

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence F. Stengel ordered Husmann to pay a fine in the amount of $2,000 and a $400 special assessment.  Upon completion of his prison term, Husmann will be supervised by the United States Probation Department for the rest of his life.   

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Doris Rotondi, 86, and her daughter Joy Taylor 55, both of Colwyn, Pennsylvania, were charged today by Indictment with conspiracy to commit passport fraud and making, uttering and possessing counterfeit checks, false statements in United States passport applications, passport mutilation, theft of government property, and failure to disclose income to the Social Security Administration, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

The indictment charges that the defendants have provided false information to obtain passports and then used the passports to open bank accounts in false names and for other purposes.

If convicted, Rotondi faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 years’ imprisonment, a $1.75 million fine, 5 years supervised release and a $400 special assessment.

If convicted, Joy Taylor faces a maximum possible sentence of 95 years’ imprisonment, a $2.5 million fine, 5 years supervised release and a $700 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Department of State Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Pamela Foa.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Carnell Ragan, 47, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged today by Indictment with conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 12 years imprisonment, including a mandatory minimum of 2 years imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Virgil B. Walker.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525