Northern District of Texas

GUILTY PLEA – CHUPEE ERNEST JOE

On August 20, Chupee Ernest Joe, 37, pled guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent individual income tax returns. Mr. Joe operated an income tax preparation business located in Irving, Texas. From 2013 to 2016, he assisted in the preparation of fraudulent individual tax returns. Mr. Joe routinely falsified or inflated deductions and credits including education credits and unreimbursed employee business expenses to create inflated refunds. Mr. Joe faces up to 6 years in federal prison for his crimes. This case was investigated by IRS – Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes is prosecuting this case.

GUILTY PLEA – ROGELIO ALVARADO

On August 20, Rogelio Alvarado, 35, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Mr. Alvarado purchased crack cocaine and cocaine from other co-conspirators which were his source of supply. Mr. Alvarado used a cellular phone to negotiate, discuss, and facilitate his drug transactions. Mr. Alvarado faces up to 20 years in federal prison for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phelesa Guy is prosecuting this case.

GUILTY PLEA – RASHID WALKER

On August 25, Rashid Walker, 48, plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. Mr. Walker purchased methamphetamine from a supplier to distribute into the community. On five separate occasions, Mr. Walker supplied an undercover agent posing as a narcotics buyer with methamphetamine. Mr. Walker faces up to 20 years in federal prison for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Walt Junker is prosecuting this case.

SENTENCING – CHRISTOPHER LATHAM

On August 27, Christopher Latham, 46, was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison for six counts of wire fraud. Mr. Latham devised a scheme to defraud and obtain money from two victims. He misrepresented the ownership and control over an oil and gas lease by telling the victims that the lease was lucrative. Mr. Latham made lies and material omissions to obtain approximately $70,000 from the victims which he used for his personal use, including to pay off debt, gamble, and make cash withdrawals. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fabio Leonardi is prosecuting this case.

A Mexican cartel boss and 27 coconspirators have been charged with laundering more than $10 million in drug proceeds through a local clothing retailer, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

In a 38-count superseding indictment unsealed today, a federal grand jury charged 28 individuals connected to Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion – one of Mexico’s most violent and powerful drug cartels – with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and other financial, drug, and gun crimes, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to distribute heroin, and possession of a firearm by an undocumented alien.

“Drug cartels like CJNG wreak havoc across the globe, driving the spread of deadly drugs like meth and heroin,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “We’re committed to tracking the money and disrupting these organizations by attacking their bottom line. By striking both the money and the drugs, we can more effectively impact the organization.”

“Addiction to drugs has many different faces.  In this instance, the addiction to money and greed has met its consequence”, said Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division.  “Despite CJNG’s efforts to disguise their illegal activities into our North Texas communities, the DEA will seek to starve it of every last drug dollar and achieve justice for all those involved.”

According to court documents, Jose Valdovinos Jimenez, a plaza boss who goes by “La Roca” or “The Rock,” allegedly conspired with his codefendants to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine and heroin across the Mexican border, distribute the drugs within the United States, launder the proceeds, and then transfer the money back to CJNG leaders.

In order to insulate himself from law enforcement activity and limit losses from law enforcement raids, Mr. Jimenez and other leaders of CJNG implemented a compartmentalized infrastructure, relying on couriers to smuggle the drugs across the border, recrystallization laboratories to purify drugs for sale, fortified stash houses to store the drugs before distribution, and a multi-level dealer network to handle the cash.

At Mr. Jimenez’s direction, mid- and upper-level dealers transported drug proceeds to Yoli’s Western Wear, a clothing retailer located on Buckner Boulevard in Dallas. The 23-year-old manager of Yoli’s, Ivan Noe Valerio, and his family members then counted the money and separated it into thousands of transactions, sending it through a money remitter back to CJNG in Mexico.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, Mr. Jimenez and Mr. Valero face life in federal prison.

Other defendants charged in the scheme include:

• Teodoro Valerio Perez (Valerio’s father)
• Yolanda Mercado Valerio (Valerio’s mother)
• Iris Yaneli Valerio (Valerio’s sister)
• Laurentino DelaCruz, aka “Tino,” (alleged meth dealer)
• Carlo LNU, aka “Gordo,” (alleged wire transactions handler)
• Jesus Manuel Juarez Aguilar, aka “Chucho,” (alleged wire transactions handler)
• Cuauhtemoc Gonzalez Del Rio  (alleged wire transactions handler)
• Jonathan Rene Jacobo Mata  
• Oscar Mario Flores Daza
• Antonio Pena, Jr.
• Eduardo Galdean Gress (alleged stash house distributor)
• Lorenzo Piedra Chavez (alleged heroin dealer)
• Blanca Flor Hernandez
• Aniano Chavez Avila (alleged stash house distributor)
• Raul Ceja Barajas (alleged laboratory operator)
• Alejandro Garcia Lopez (alleged laboratory operator)
• Joel Guillermo Torres (alleged drug courier)
• Roberto Macias (alleged stash house distributor)
• Alexander Alvarez  (alleged stash house distributor)
• Edgar Eduardo Vicente Miranda  (alleged meth dealer)
• Manuel Garcia Gomez (alleged laboratory operator)
• Jorge Humberto Larios Velazco (alleged laboratory operator)
• Arthur Ernest Rubalcaba (alleged stash house distributor)
• Jose Alfredo Penalozo Perdomo
• Carlos Michael Hernandez (alleged meth dealer)
• Hobedt Moreno (alleged meth dealer)
   

During the course of this investigation, agents seized approximately 700 kilograms of methamphetamine, approximately 80 kilograms of heroin, and approximately $500,000 in drug proceeds. Dozens of the charged defendants have already been arrested.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the Texas Department of Public Security, the U.S. Marshals Service, and ICE Enforcement & Removal Operations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Midlothian Police Department and Ellis County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys PJ Meitl and Travis Elder are prosecuting the case.

GUILTY PLEA – WILLIAM DODD

On August 11, William Dodd, 34, pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance and aiding and abetting. Dallas Police Department executed a search warrant and arrested Mr. Dodd at his Dallas-based stash house. Authorities seized 12.43 kilograms of marijuana, 5.67 grams of cocaine, 2.73 grams of N-ethylpentylone, 87 Norco pills containing hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen, 65 Percocet pills, 141 grams of a red liquid containing codeine and promethazine, 33.69 grams of purple liquid containing codeine and promethazine, digital scales, multiple cellular phones, $4,530 in drug proceeds, and a stolen firearm. Mr. Dodd faces up to 20 years in federal prison for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kull is prosecuting this case.

SENTENCING – WILLIAM ROSS POTTER

On August 12, William Ross Potter, 62, was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison for attempted enticement of a minor. Mr. Potter admitted to using his computer to persuade and induce multiple minors to engage in sexual activity. He placed ads on a social media site in which he looking for a sexual encounter. When officers went to Potter’s home in Garland, he refused to come out of the house. Eventually, Mr. Potter fled out of the back of the home and hid in a bush until officers arrested him. This case was investigated by the Grand Prairie Police Department, Garland Police Department, Dallas Police Department, McClennan County Sherriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is prosecuting this case.

SENTENCING – PABLO SALGUERO RAMIREZ

On August 14, Pablo Salguero Ramirez, 31, was sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. Officers executed a search warrant on Mr. Ramirez’s home and located methamphetamine, $1,252 in U.S. currency, multiple firearms and an assorted ammunition. Mr. Ramirez admitted that he possessed the weapons in furtherance of his drug crimes and the cash was proceeds from his drug trafficking operations. This case was investigated by the ICE and Garland Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Strittmatter Max is prosecuting this case.

SENTENCING – ARMANDO QUIROZ

On August 17, Armando Quiroz, 29, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Mr. Quiroz was staying at a Greenville, Texas hotel which served as a distribution point for his drug trafficking operations. Mr. Quiroz sold 7 grams of methamphetamine to a government source. Three days later the Hunt County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant on Mr. Quiroz’s hotel room where they recovered additional methamphetamine and a .380 pistol. This case was investigated by the ATF, DEA, and Hunt County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanna Etessam is prosecuting this case.

An ex-Dallas police officer has pleaded guilty to possessing sexually explicit images of little girls, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Daniel Lee Collins, a 35-year-old former senior corporal, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cureton Friday morning.

According to plea papers, Mr. Collins admitted he accessed child pornography via his Google email account in spring 2020.

Mr. Collins further admitted he knew the images depicted actual minors, including a nude prepubescent female, and portrayed “sadistic or masochistic conduct.” He also acknowledged that on one occasion, he knowingly distributed a file containing sexually explicit images of a child.  

According to a criminal complaint filed in July, the investigation was triggered when Google detected sexually explicit images uploaded to Mr. Collin’s Google account via the City of Dallas’ internet network.

Google flagged the images – one uploaded on May 13 to an account tagged “Dan Collins” and two more uploaded on June 29 to an account tagged “John Smith” –  to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which filed a Cyber Tipline report with the Dallas Police Department.

A Dallas IT specialist traced the IP addresses used for the uploads to the City of Dallas internet network. Investigators determined that the same Google accounts were also accessed from Mr. Collin’s residence.

Mr. Collins, who resigned from the Dallas Police Department earlier this week, now faces up to 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing is slated for Jan. 8, 2021.

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is prosecuting the case.

A Dallas mystic shop owner has pleaded guilty to trafficking dried hummingbird carcasses in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Cynthia Macias-Martinez, 48, pleaded guilty to the sale of wildlife taken in violation of federal law before United States Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver on Tuesday.

According to court documents, Ms. Macias-Martinez, owner of a Dallas mystic shop, admitted to selling dried hummingbird carcasses known as “chuparosas” without a valid permit or authorization. “Chuparosas” are believed by some to have mystical benefits and are commonly used as amulets or charms.

The hummingbird, a migratory bird, is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Pursuant to Federal regulations, it is illegal to take, possess, import, export, transport, or sell a hummingbird, or its parts, nests, or eggs, except under the terms of a valid permit.

Ms. Macias-Martinez admitted the dried hummingbird carcasses she acquired were illegally imported and smuggled into the United States from Mexico. Without a valid permit or authorization, Ms. Macias-Martinez offered the dried hummingbird carcasses for sale in her store.

She further admitted to both possessing and selling dozens of dried hummingbird carcasses of different species each of which are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Ms. Macias-Martinez faces up to 5 years in federal prison, a$250,000 fine, and restitution for her crimes. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, IRS-Criminal Investigations, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Douglas Brasher is prosecuting this case.

A Denison, Texas woman who faked stomach cancer in order to delay a prison sentence has been sentenced to an additional five years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Kassie Bond Carpenter, 42, pleaded guilty in February to obstruction of justice. She was sentenced Thursday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

In plea papers, Ms. Carpenter – who’d already been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for wire fraud – admitted she attempted to delay her prison reporting date by submitting to the Court at least nine sets of forged medical records indicating she had been diagnosed and was receiving treatment for adenocarcinoma, a cancer that begins in the glandular cells that line the stomach and other organs.  

Ms. Carpenter “is now receiving radiation therapy for her stomach cancer,” her attorney wrote in an motion asking to delay her reporting date, noting that the defendant had access to only some of the medical records related to her treatment.

“Without proper treatment, [her] cancer will turn malignant and metastasize,” he added.

Based on the sham medical records, the Court  granted multiple extensions, delaying her prison reporting date from Aug. 22, 2017 to Jan. 30, 2018, then to Aug. 7, 2018, then to Nov. 6, 2018, then to Jan. 29, 2019, and finally to April 29, 2019.

On Jan. 29, 2019, her defense attorney moved to withdraw from the case, stating that he believed he had been “an unwitting tool in a fraud on this Court” due to potential deceit by his client. Two days later, U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater vacated his order extending Ms. Carpenter’s reporting date, and ordered her arrested.

The 60-month sentence handed down today will be served consecutive to the 41-month sentence handed down by Judge Fitzwater in the wire fraud case.

In that case, Ms. Carpenter pleaded guilty to embezzling money from a property management company where she worked. She admitted she fraudulently issued at least $133,000 in checks payable to herself, $157,000 in checks payable to a fictitious company she created, and used company money to pay off personal accounts with JC Penny, DirectTV, TXU Energy, and Verizon, resulting in more than $372,000 of losses to the property management company.  

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office investigated both the wire fraud case and the obstruction case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes prosecuted both cases.

A pharmacy marketer who allegedly collected more than $60 million in illegal kickbacks has been charged with violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Northern District of Texas First Assistant U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah announced today.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury indicted Vinson Woodlee, owner of Med Left LLC, on one count of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks and three counts of soliciting and receiving healthcare kickbacks.

According to the indictment, Mr. Woodlee, 68, served as a marketer for NextHealth, a pharmacy and laboratory services company controlled by Andrew Hillman and Semyon Narosov.

NextHealth allegedly identified the industry’s most profitable prescriptions – including compound pain cream, scar cream, pain patches, and wellness supplements – then illegally paid physicians to prescribe those medications through NextHealth pharmacies, funneling some of the kickbacks through marketers like Mr. Woodlee.

In exchange for enlisting physicians to participate in the scheme, Mr. Woodlee allegedly demanded roughly 50% of the profits from each prescription and refill written by the doctors he recruited. He then funneled a portion of the money on to prescribing physicians and sub-marketers, keeping the rest for himself.

From 2012 to 2018, Mr. Woodlee allegedly collected more than $60 million in kickbacks. Of the $60 million, he passed $16.8 million on to “his” physicians and $30.6 million on to sub-marketers who likely passed a portion along to “their” physicians.  (Over that same period, NextHealth fraudulently billed insurers more than $700 million and received hundreds of millions of dollars in tainted proceeds.)

Because NextHealth billed federal insurers like Medicare, TRICARE, CHAMPVA, and FECA in addition to private insurers, NextHealth and its marketers were subject to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), which prohibits the knowing and willful payment of remuneration to induce or reward referrals for drugs or services payable by federal healthcare programs.  Knowing that some of the NextHealth kickbacks likely violated the AKS, Mr. Woodlee allegedly took a number of steps to conceal them:

First, he attempted to exploit the AKS’s bona fide employee exception, which allows employers to pay W2 wages to legitimate employees.  From 2013 to 2014, under the auspice of an employment relationship, he and NextHealth disguised the kickbacks as his “salary” and “bonuses.”

Later, he agreed that rather than disguising the kickbacks as his wages, NextHealth would disguise the payments as wages to three of his family members, Persons A, B, and C, who NextHealth “hired” as account executives in December 2014. On multiple occasions between 2014 and 2016, Mr. Woodlee corresponded with NextHealth about their compensation.

Then, in spring 2016, Mr. Woodlee executed a new contract with NextHealth, increasing his commission on non-federal insurance prescriptions from 50 percent to 58 percent, effectively compensating himself for federal insurance prescriptions written in violation of the AKS.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Woodlee is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces up to 35 years in federal prison.

In a separate case, NextHealth’s Andrew Hillman and Semyon Narasov pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. According to court documents, the pair admitted NextHealth used marketers to funnel illegal kickbacks to physicians, attempted to conceal the payments, and submitted fraudulent claims to insurers. Mr. Hillman was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison; Mr. Narasov was sentenced to 76 months.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, DOD’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General, and HHS’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chad Meacham and Andrew Wirmani are prosecuting the case.

U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox has been recused from this matter.  Per direction from  Department of Justice ethics officials, Northern District of Texas First Assistant U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah will act as U.S. Attorney with respect to this matter pursuant to the authority conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515.

A Grapevine child sexual predator was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Chansellor Ormon Hill, 26, pled guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of children in April following an investigation led by FBI’s Dallas Field Office and the Grapevine Police Department. Mr. Hill was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O'Connor.

“Today’s sentence should put those who seek to commit harm to innocent children on notice,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “No matter what dark shadows these pedophile predators hide in, law enforcement will shine a light on them and hold them accountable for their conduct. Our prosecutors and law enforcement partners will not rest until every victim of child sexual exploitation is rescued and defendants like Hill are behind bars.”

“The FBI and our partners at the Grapevine Police Department worked together to pursue a child predator who is accused of continuously abusing and exploiting the victim in this case,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “The Grapevine community can rest assured that Mr. Hill is being held accountable for his actions. He will no longer threaten the safety of any child.”

According to a criminal complaint, Mr. Hill entered the family restroom at the City of Grapevine’s recreation center. Inside the restroom, Mr. Hill induced an 11-year old boy to take sexually explicit photos. Using his cell phone, Mr. Hill produced two images of the unclothed minor.

According to court documents, Grapevine Police interviewed Mr. Hill at the recreation center where he admitted to committing sex acts on the child multiple times over a six month period. When asked by law enforcement about the photos of the minor on his cell phone, Mr. Hill responded “I knew it was wrong . . . he’s 12 and I am 25. It’s pretty messed up.”

The FBI's Dallas Field Office and the Grapevine Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney A. Saleem is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative designed to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The initiative organizes 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.

A man who allegedly threatened to commit a church shooting in Lubbock has been charged with a firearm offense following an investigation led by FBI Dallas’ Lubbock Resident Agency with support from ATF and HSI, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.

Hieu Tran Trung, a 45-year-old North Vietnamese refugee living in Lubbock, has been charged via criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant, Jr., Monday afternoon.  

According the complaint affidavit, a friend reached out to the FBI after Mr. Trung allegedly stated that he would “spray up” random people at his church.

Mr. Trung – who was barred from possessing firearms due to a 1998 conviction for assault on a public servant – allegedly asked the friend to “get me one of them straps,” a slang term for firearms. The friend refused.

A week later, on July 7, Mr. Trung allegedly texted the friend a photo of himself with two firearms. He later texted the friend a photo of a large amount of ammunition, along with the phrase “locked and leaded.”

Mr. Trung allegedly told the friend he felt people weren’t taking him seriously, and mentioned that he could easily kill someone and skip town. In late July, he vowed he would “show who he can be.”

A subsequent search of Mr. Trung’s residence revealed a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol stashed inside a briefcase. The gun was loaded, with one round in the chamber, nine rounds in the magazine, and two additional loaded magazines in a shoulder holster.

“I’m grateful to the citizen who reported his friend’s concerning behavior to federal authorities. His courage in speaking out may well have saved lives,”  said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “It’s critical that we act quickly when we get information like this and I commend our law enforcement partners who immediately intervened before the defendant could inflict real harm.”

“The defendant knew he was prohibited from possessing firearms, but still went out of his way to illegally obtain them. He also threatened to use these illegal firearms against his perceived enemies. As a result, we moved quickly to prevent a violent crime,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to detecting and assessing possible threats as they arise. We work hard to protect our communities from violent individuals and encourage the public to report any suspicious activity that poses a threat to public safety.”

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Trung is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. 

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Lubbock Police Department and the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Haag is prosecuting the case.

The case was brought under Project Guardian, the Justice Department’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence using federal firearm laws.

An anesthesiologist at the center of the $200 million Forest Park Medical Center fraud has been sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $82.9 million in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Richard Ferdinand Toussaint, Jr. – who is already serving a 41-month federal prison sentence for a separate health care fraud conviction  – pleaded guilty to his involvement in the Forest Park scheme in March 2018, admitting to one count of conspiracy to pay health care bribes and kickbacks and one count of illegal remuneration under the Travel Act.  The 66-month sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary will be served concurrent to the 41-month sentence.

In plea papers, Dr. Toussaint, 61, acknowledged that he teamed up with co-defendant Dr. Wade Neal Barker, a bariatric surgeon, to launch Forest Park Medical Center, a physician-owned hospital for bariatric and spinal surgery patients, in 2008. Together with Forest Park hospital manager Alan Andrew Beauchamp, Dr. Toussaint, Dr. Barker, and their colleagues conspired to steer lucrative patients – particularly those with high-reimbursing, out-of-network private insurance – to the now defunct hospital by paying surgeons for referrals.  

Most of the kickbacks, which totaled more than $40 million, were disguised as consulting fees or “marketing money,” doled as a percentage of surgeries each doctor referred to Forest Park, Dr. Toussaint admitted. Email correspondence proved he and Dr. Baker were kept up to date about how much surgeons were being paid.

Instead of billing patients for out-of-network co-payments, instituted by insurers to de-incentivize the high costs associated with out-of-network treatment, Forest Park allegedly waived co-insurance, assured patients they would pay in-network prices. Because they knew insurers wouldn’t tolerate such practices, they concealed the patient discounts and wrote off the difference as uncollected “bad debt.”

Dr. Toussaint was one of 18 convicted in the scheme.

Defendants who pleaded guilty before trial include: Wade Neal Barker, Alan Andrew Beauchamp, Kelly Wade Loter, David Daesung Kim, Israel Ortiz, Andrea Kay Smith, Frank Gonzales, Jr., Andrew Jonathan Hillman, and Semyon Narosov.

Defendants convicted at trial include: Wilton McPherson “Mac” Burt, Jackson Jacob, Douglas Sung Won, Michael Bassem Rimlawi, Shawn Mark Henry, Mrugeshkumar Shah, and Iris Kathleen Forrest.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Defense - Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Wirmani, Marcus Busch, Mark Tindall, and Gail Hayworth are prosecuting the case.

An ex-employee of the Los Angeles Angels has been charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in connection with the 2019 overdose death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Former Angels Communications Director Eric Prescott Kay, 45, was charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute a mixture containing detectable amounts of fentanyl. He was arrested  in Fort Worth, Texas and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton at the Mahon Federal Courthouse Friday morning.

U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox and DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez of the Dallas Field Division made the announcement in a video posted online this morning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc9E_Tyy1u0.

According to the criminal complaint, filed on July 30 and unsealed Friday, the investigation began on July 1, 2019, when the Southlake Police Department received a 911 call stating that Mr. Skaggs, then just 27 years old, had been found dead in his hotel room at the Southlake Town Square Hilton. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office later determined that Mr. Skaggs had a mixture of ethanol, fentanyl, and oxycodone in his system at the time of his death; it was later ascertained that but for the fentanyl, Mr. Skaggs would not have died.

Inside Mr. Skaggs’s hotel room, investigators discovered a number of pills, including a single blue pill with the markings M/30.  An analysis of the pill  – which closely resembled a 30-milligram oxycodone tablet – revealed it had been laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opiate.

In an initial interview with law enforcement, Mr. Kay allegedly denied knowing whether Mr. Skaggs was a drug user. He claimed the last time he’d seen Mr. Skaggs was at hotel check-in on June 30. However, a search of Mr. Skaggs’s phone revealed text messages from June 30 suggesting that he had asked Mr. Kay to stop by his room with pills late that evening.

Hotel key card records indicated that Mr. Kay’s room, no. 367, was opened at 11:29 p.m., and Mr. Skaggs’s room, no. 469, was opened nine minutes later, at 11:38 p.m.

Investigators later learned that, contrary to what he’d told law enforcement the day Mr. Skaggs’s body was discovered, Mr. Kay had allegedly admitted to a colleague that he had, in fact, visited Mr. Skaggs’s room the night of his death.

In the course of their investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration determined that Mr. Kay allegedly regularly dealt the blue M/30 pills – dubbed “blue boys” – to Mr. Skaggs and to others, dolling out the pills at the stadium where they worked.

“Tyler Skaggs’s overdose – coming, as it did, in the midst of an ascendant baseball career – should be a wakeup call: No one is immune from this deadly drug, whether sold as a powder or hidden inside an innocuous-looking tablet,” U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox said.  “Suppressing the spread of fentanyl is a priority for the Department of Justice.”

“Fentanyl does not discriminate in its potential deadly consequences,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez.  “With the prevalence of fentanyl in many of the counterfeit prescription drugs sold on the streets, every pill taken could be your last.  The Dallas DEA mourns not only with the Skaggs family, but with all families who have endured loved ones taken too soon due to a drug overdose.  As with Mr. Kay’s arrest, we will continue to identify and investigate those who distribute these drugs to ensure they face justice.”

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Kay is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division and the Southlake Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Beran and Errin Martin are prosecuting the case. 

A Dallas real estate developer has pleaded guilty to bribery of a Dallas City Council Member, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.  

Devin Hall, 44, pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to conspiracy to commit bribery of an agent of local government receiving federal benefits.

“We have repeatedly pledged to tackle public corruption from every angle – prosecuting bribe payers, recipients, and facilitators,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “In this case, yet again, we saw a real estate developer who purchased political influence, and a city council member who chose to line her pockets at the expense of taxpayers. The citizens of Dallas deserve to know that their elected leaders have only the city’s best interests at heart, and that money doesn’t interfere with government proceedings.  With our partners at the FBI, we will relentlessly pursue these investigations until this sort of corruption is eradicated from City Hall.”  

“Taxpayers and businesses expect the contract and development process to be fair and unbiased,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “Public corruption is a top priority for the FBI. We will continue to work with our partners and the public to identify individuals and organizations who use bribes to influence government officials, and we will hold them accountable for their crimes.”

In plea papers unsealed today, Mr. Hall admitted that between 2013 and 2015, he paid “Council Member A” – who represented Dallas City Council District 7 and served as the Chair of the City of Dallas’ Housing Committee – at least $8,000 to use her political influence to further his real estate projects.  

In return, the Council Member voted to allocate $650,000 in City of Dallas forgivable loans toward Mr. Hall’s Grand Park Place apartment project. She later moved to extend the project’s completion date by two years, and urged her colleagues to do the same.  The Dallas City Council approved both requests.

Mr. Hall admitted he paid Council Member A in $750 to $1,000 installments, either directly in cash or via payments funneled through an intermediary. He also promised her a consulting job following her term-limited tenure on the City Council.

Both individuals knew the agreement was illegal, Mr. Hall admitted in his plea papers.

The City Council Member, now deceased, was not charged in conjunction with the above scheme, though she did plead guilty to engaging in a bribery scheme with another real estate developer before her death.

Mr. Hall now faces a statutory maximum of up to five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and IRS-Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcus Busch and Andrew Wirmani are prosecuting the case.  

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution on Tuesday, Aug. 4. You can watch the full hearing -- entitled "The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Free Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence" -- here. 

Below is the U.S. Attorney's prepared opening statement for the subcommittee:

Good afternoon Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Hirono, and members of the Subcommittee.  I’m Erin Nealy Cox, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.

Thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the Justice Department’s efforts to counter violent anti-government extremism.  For me, it’s a topic that hits close to home. 

A little over a year ago, in June, a gunman clad in military gear and carrying an AR-15 style rifle opened fire on the federal courthouse in Dallas, which houses not only the federal judiciary, but also the United States Attorney’s Office and many other offices. The sudden violence ripped through the morning, just as we were arriving for work that day. Several of my prosecutors and others were caught in the midst of the attack. They resorted to hiding behind a cars in parking lot and one was pushed into the doorway by a FPS officer just as the bullets whizzed past them both.  

Our office will be forever grateful to the FPS officers who engaged the shooter, ending the attack before innocent lives were lost.  But to this day, we remain rattled by the gunman’s anti-government motives.  He chose his location for a reason: A courthouse is one of the essential nodes within the body politics.  It’s where laws are upheld, where justice is meted out. To target a courthouse, and those who work there, is to target the core of our lawful society.

And Dallas is no stranger to assaults on the rule of law. Three years prior – just blocks from the federal courthouse – a gunman, targeting law enforcement, ambushed police during a Black Lives Matter protest. Five officers were killed. Eleven others were injured, including nine officers. This was deadliest single incident for law enforcement in the United States since 9/11.

That day in July 2016 is certainly something etched in our memory. Just as the bullet holes still etched into the federal courthouse remind us daily: Anti-government fanaticism didn’t emerge with the 2020 protests.

But as our citizens have organized lawful demonstrations across this country following the tragic events in Minneapolis, anarchists have continue to exploit this lawful First Amendment activity as a shield for their violent behavior. Somehow, the notion of committing violence in the name of an anti-government dogma – be it Antifa, Boogaloo, or any of the other espoused ideologies – has been gaining traction at an alarming rate.

Unlike the lawful protestors whose demonstrations they undermine, these anti-government extremists aim to tear down the rule of law in America, not improve it.  In fact, in resorting to violence, they are drowning out the voices of the protesters that this country wants to hear.

We’ve seen the anti-government violence making headlines across the nation. Just a few examples:

• In Seattle, during the anarchist occupation of the Capitol Hill area, an individual allegedly set fire to a Police Precinct. Thankfully, protesters rushed in to extinguish the blaze.

• In Portland, a would-be anarchist outside the Federal Courthouse allegedly attacked a Deputy U.S. Marshal with a large hammer, landing blows on the officer’s neck and shouting expletives  and as other deputies pulled him off.  On the courthouse barricade were scribbled the letters, A.C.A.B. – an acronym for “all cops are bastards.” 

• In Oakland, a violent extremist allegedly used a peaceful protest as cover to murder an FPS Officer stationed at the Federal Courthouse, firing at the officer and his partner before taking off.

In response to this type of violence, Attorney General Barr directed U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito in the District of New Jersey and me to stand up a Task Force to Combat Violent Anti-Government Extremism.

Working in close collaboration with the FBI, the Task Force aims to investigate, prosecute extremists of all persuasions.

We will follow where the evidence leads us, investigating any person or group who plans to commit or commits violence in the name of anarchist ideology.

Our goal is to focus on cases where violent extremists commit federal crimes and to seek ways to disrupt these criminal acts before they harm Americans. 

Of course, let me be very clear with this final point — adhering to repugnant ideologies is not a crime, nor is expressing those beliefs. The right to freedom of speech is enshrined in our First Amendment.  But committing violence or inciting violence in order to further that dogma is a criminal act, and it’s one that we should all take very seriously.

Extremist violence endangers our community.  It endangers law enforcement.  But as importantly, it also interferes with citizens’ right to speak freely and assemble peaceably.

I look forward to taking your questions.

 

In addition to servinga as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Northern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox chairs the Attorney General's Advisory Committee and was recently tapped to stand up his Taskforce on Violent Anti-Government Extremists. 

 

SENTENCING – ZODERICK JACKSON

On July 20, Zoderick Jackson, 50, was sentenced to five and a half years for possession with the intent to distribute a cocaine base. Jackson package crack cocaine into eleven small baggies. He met two confidential sources at his home in Greenville, Texas where he sold the bags of crack cocaine. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Hunt Count Sheriff’s Office conducted this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanna Etessam is prosecuting the case.

SENTENCING – HERNAN ORDUNA

On July 22, Hernan Orduna, 25, was sentenced to 46 months for conspiracy to acquire a firearm from a licensed dealer by a false and fictitious statement. On two separate occasions, Orduna purchased a 9mm Glock and a Ruger AR556 from an Irving, Texas licensed firearms dealer by falsely answering the ATF’s Firearms Transaction Record. Following the sale of the firearms, Orduna transferred the firearms to a 17-year drug dealer. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Irving Police Department conducted this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Walt Junker is prosecuting the case.

SENTENCING – CARLOS ACOSTA-ENRIQUEZ

On July 24, Carlos Acosta-Enriquez, 35, was sentenced to six and a half years for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers stopped Aocsta-Enriquez for a traffic related violation. During the stop, officers searched Aocsta-Enriquez’s vehicle and located six-kilograms of cocaine inside the car. Federal agents also searched Aocsta-Enriquez’s home and recovered $18,604.00 in drug proceeds, digital scales, and a drug ledger. The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanna Etessam is prosecuting the case.

CHARGED – OSWALD AGUILERA-ADAME, JUAN JOSE CAMACHO, & MIGUEL ANGEL MARTINEZ-SERGURA*

On July 21, a federal grand jury indicted Oswald Aguilera-Adame, 28, Juan Jose Camacho, 35, and Migel Angel Martinez-Sergura, 53, for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and aiding and abetting possession with the intent to distribute. The defendants allegedly trafficked 500 or more grams of methamphetamine throughout the Northern District. During the defendants’ arrest, law enforcement seized a .380 caliber firearm and approximately $180,000 of drug proceeds. The defendants face up to life years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kull.

CHARGED – DEVIONN HOLMES*

On July 21, a federal grand jury indicted Devionn Holmes, 24, for bank robbery. Holmes allegedly robbed a bank in Carrollton a by force and intimidation while in the presence of bank employees. The defendant face up to 20 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Magliolo.

 

*All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The health care executive at the center of a $70 million compounded pain and scar cream fraud has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

In December 2019, after six days of deliberation, a federal jury convicted John Paul Cooper, 56, of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of receipt of illegal kickbacks, and six counts of payment of illegal kickbacks. Mr. Cooper was sentenced Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn.

“This defendant siphoned millions of dollars from Defense Department’s health insurance program,  with little regard for whether its patients would actually benefit from the prescriptions he pushed,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “His greed tainted their care.”

"The Defense Criminal Investigative Service is committed to ensuring that TRICARE, the U.S. military healthcare program, continues to provide safe and superior medical care to America's Warfighters," said Michael C. Mentavlos, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Southwest Field Office. "Fraudulent healthcare schemes not only expose beneficiaries to potential harm, but also waste valuable taxpayer dollars.  Today's sentencing is a culmination of DCIS' efforts, along with our partners, to combat such fraud."

According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Cooper, president and co-owner of pharmaceutical marketing group CMGRX, conspired with Richard Robert Cesario, CMGRX CEO and co-owner, to defraud TRICARE, the Defense Department’s health insurance program for military servicemembers and their families.

The evidence showed that CMGRX hired marketers to recruit more than 2,300 patients, many of whom were on active duty at Fort Hood, and incentivized them to obtain costly pain and scar cream prescriptions with their TRICARE benefits in exchange for kickbacks of $250 per prescription. 

Mr. Cooper and Mr. Cesario disguised these illegal kickbacks by claiming they were payments for participation in a bogus medical study and by funneling the money through the “Freedom from Pain Foundation,” a sham charity they funded, directed, and controlled.

Evidence showed that CMGRX also paid multiple doctors, who had no prior relationship with the patients, to write their prescriptions after brief telephone calls.  However, instead of giving the prescriptions to the patients, Mr. Cooper and Mr. Cesario instructed the doctors to send the signed prescriptions back to CMGRX, so that the company could send the prescriptions to partner pharmacies. In exchange for those prescription referrals, the pharmacies billed TRICARE for the drugs and kicked back a percentage of the reimbursement to CMGRX.

From September 2014 through May 2015, CMGRX caused over $124 million in claims to be billed to TRICARE, $70 million of which were paid.

Mr. Cesario – who pleaded guilty before trial to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and receipt of illegal remuneration – is awaiting sentencing. CMGRX marketers Joe Straw and Luis Rios also pleaded guilty before trial and are likewise awaiting sentencing.

The owners of CMGRX partner pharmacy Trilogy, Jeff Fuller and Andrew Baumiller, and one of their employees, Liz Valdez, pleaded guilty before trial as well.  Mr. Fuller was sentenced by Judge Lynn to five years in prison. Mr. Baumiller and Ms. Valdez are awaiting sentencing. Ravi Morisetty, the owner of CMGRX partner Alpha Pharmacy, pled guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison.  Mr.  Morisetty did not report to the Bureau of Prisons to serve his sentence and remains a fugitive.

Two doctors associated with CMGRX, Walter Simmons and William Elder-Quintana, are scheduled to be retried later this year, after the jury failed to reach unanimous verdicts on counts against them.

The Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas Brasher and Renee Hunter are prosecuting the case.

Two owners of a Garland chiropractic clinic were sentenced yesterday to 37 months in federal prison and ordered to repay approximately $350,000 for tax fraud, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Tammy Boulyaphonh, 51, was convicted by a federal jury on all five counts against her, including one count of conspiring to defraud the United States by underreporting income and four counts of filings false tax returns in February. Her husband, 59-year-old Khamlor Boulyaphonh had pleaded guilty to similar counts days before trial. The defendants were sentenced yesterday before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

“This sentencing is a reminder that there are consequences to criminal tax evasion that include going to prison, being branded a convicted felon for the rest of their lives, and paying back all of the taxes owed,” said Special Agent in Charge Tamera Cantu of the IRS Criminal Investigation Dallas Field Office. “This should resonate with those contemplating similar fraudulent actions.”

According to court documents, Mr. and Ms. Boulyaphonh owned and operated chiropractic clinics in Dallas-Fort Worth that provided medical care principally to patients injured in motor vehicle accidents. The majority of the couples’ business income was derived from payments received from insurance companies and payments received from attorneys who had received insurance settlement payments on behalf of their patients.

Ms. Boulyaphonh directed multiple personal injury attorneys to make checks out to her and her husband personally, then diverted the attorney payments to the couple’s personal bank accounts. Mr. and Ms. Boulyaphonh concealed the diverted income from their tax preparer and provided him with false documents to advance the scheme.

At trial, prosecutors established that the couple had paid less than $4,000 total tax on gross receipts of more than $2 million, all while owning two homes, two luxury vehicles, $1 million life insurance policies, and luxury goods.

Between 2010 and 2013, the couple concealed more than $1.2 million in business income from the IRS.

IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas Brasher is prosecuting the case.

A Dallas Police Officer has been charged with uploading sexually explicit images of children using the City of Dallas’ employee internet, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Daniel Lee Collins, a 35-year-old senior corporal assigned to DPD’s Auto Theft Unit, was charged via criminal complaint with one count of transportation of child pornography.

“Law enforcement officers take an oath to protect and serve,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “This defendant allegedly undermined that vow, preying upon our most vulnerable. The Department of Justice will not tolerate the exploitation of children – especially by our public servants.”

According to court documents, Mr. Collins allegedly uploaded sexually explicit photos of prepubescent girls to his various Google accounts via the City of Dallas’ internet network.

Google flagged the images – one uploaded on May 13 to an account tagged “Dan Collins” and two more uploaded on June 29 to an account tagged “John Smith” –  to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which filed a Cyber Tipline report with the Dallas Police Department. In the report, they noted that one of the profiles included a photo of a man in a police uniform, later determined to be Mr. Collins.

A Dallas IT specialist traced the IP addresses used for the uploads to the City of Dallas internet network. Investigators determined that the same Google accounts were also accessed from Mr. Collin’s residence.

In an interview with federal agents, Mr. Collins allegedly admitted to accessing the Google accounts and saving child pornography.

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Collins – who has been placed on administrative leave by the police department pending the results of an internal investigation – is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is prosecuting the case.

A U.S. citizen who formerly resided in the Dominican Republic has pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to steal debit cards from bank customers, announced U.S. Attorney  for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Gregory Jean-Louis, 46, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton in Fort Worth.

Mr. Jean-Louis, a U.S. citizen living in the Dominican Republic at the time of his crime, was charged via criminal complaint in November 2019.  He was removed from the Dominican Republic to the United States in May 2020. A federal grand jury in Texas returned an indictment against him a week after his arrest.

According to plea papers, Mr. Jean-Louis admits that he and his coconspirators used stolen PII (personal identification information) to obtain debit cards in the names of customers of Bank of America and Citizens Bank.

Posing as actual customers of the financial institutions, Mr. Jean-Louis – also known to his coconspirators as “G.” –  reached out to the banks, requesting that they mail duplicate debit cards and PIN numbers to customers’ actual addresses, he admits.

He then directed coconspirators to steal the debt cards and PIN numbers from the customers’ mailboxes, and to send him photos of the cards and PINs so he could activate them.  

Using the fraudulently obtained cards, the group withdrew thousands of dollars from customers’ accounts from ATMs across the country, including in Texas, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, California, and Pennsylvania. Much of the money was wired to Mr. Jean-Louis.

The defendant now faces up to 30 years in federal prison. Sentencing has been set for Nov. 20 before U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth.

The United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation; the U.S. Marshals Service assisted in Mr. Jean-Louis’ apprehension. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Boudreau is prosecuting the case.

GUILTY PLEA – AMBER RENEE PRICE

On July 14, Amber Renee Price, 33, pled guilty to possession of stolen mail. While an employee of the United States Postal Service (USPS), Price admitted to have in her possession a gift card which had been stolen from a mailbox. Price admitted to stealing serval gift cards and cash during her employment with the USPS. She faces up to five years in federal prison for the crimes. The United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Bray is prosecuting the case.

SENTENCING – MIKAI WILLIAMS

On July 16, Mikai Williams, 34, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for theft of a firearm from a licensed dealer. Williams entered Shoot Smart in Grand Prairie, Texas, a federally licensed firearms dealer, to practice shooting on the indoor firing range. While a store clerk was attending to other customers, Williams pocketed a 9mm handgun before exiting the store without purchasing the firearm. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht is prosecuting the case.

SENTENCING – JEREMY ALLAN ISBELL

On July 17, Jeremy Allan Isbell, 39, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for possession of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. While at his home in Jacksboro, Texas, Isbell used his cell phone to communicate with another user via Kik, a messaging app popular among teenagers, to obtain child pornography. Isbell admitted to authorities that the images stored on his Samsung cell phone were of a minor female performing sex acts. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jacksboro Police Department, and Wise County District Attorney conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is prosecuting the case.

United States Attorney Erin Nealy Cox has appointed Prerak Shah as First Assistant United States Attorney, the office’s second in command, she announced today.

“Prerak Shah is a great addition to the Northern District of Texas and I am confident he will do a wonderful job working with our team, our law enforcement partners, and our judges,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.  “We are glad that he has returned to Dallas and know his extraordinary depth of experience – inside both federal and state government as well as the private sector – will no doubt inform our strategic approach to Justice Department priorities moving forward.”

Mr. Shah’s first day with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas was Monday, July 13.

Prior to joining the office, Mr. Shah served in various senior leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Justice, including as a Deputy Associate Attorney General in the office overseeing the civil and criminal work of the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions. He also previously served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General directly supervising the approximately 75 trial lawyers of the Department's Natural Resources Section in investigations and trials across the country.

Before joining the Justice Department, Mr. Shah served as an attorney in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, as Senior Counsel to the Attorney General of Texas, as an Assistant Solicitor General of Texas, and Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.  He graduated with honors from the University of Chicago Law School and clerked for the Hon. Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

"Pre is an extraordinarily talented attorney and was an invaluable member of the Associate's Office.  The Department is grateful for his past work and looks forward to everything he will accomplish in the Northern District of Texas,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Claire Murray.

“Pre was a tremendous Deputy Assistant Attorney General, ably overseeing some of the most controversial litigation in the Environment Division at Main Justice. My loss is definitely USA Nealy Cox's and Dallas's gain,” echoed Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division Jeff Clark.

Mr. Shah took the reins from Northern District of Texas Criminal Chief Steve Fahey, who served as Acting FAUSA from January to July.

“Steve’s extraordinary contributions during this challenging time have made it possible to continue to advance a number of mission-critical objectives while facing the unprecedented challenges presented by the pandemic,” U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox wrote in an office-wide email. “I have felt so lucky to be able to call upon his wise counsel.”

Mr. Fahey will return to his role as Criminal Chief, where he’ll focus on a number of important strategic objectives facing the Northern District of Texas’ Criminal Division.

Prior to this, U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox's first FAUSA was Tanya Pierce, who had worked as a Northern District of Texas AUSA for 18 years and then served the Drug Enforcement Administration as Chief of Staff and Division Counsel for 11 years. Ms. Pierce retired at the end of 2019 after 30 years in federal service.  

Established in 1879, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas has prospective responsibility for 96,000 square miles of Texas, a population of approximately eight million. The office is charged with vigorously enforcing the laws and defending the interests of the United States, and with promoting a peaceful and lawful community.

SENTENCING – BRIAN MODESTER

On July 6, Brian Modester, 36, was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Dallas Police conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Modester was riding as a passenger. Police searched the vehicle and discovered Modester with $12,348 in drug proceeds. Officers also searched the residence that Modester had left and recovered a loaded firearm, multiple bags of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phelesa Guy is prosecuting this case.

GUILTY PLEA – LARRY DONELL BOOKER

On July 7, Larry Donell Booker, 60, pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute Hydrocodone. Booker met a confidential government source to arrange a transaction of Hydrocodone. Two days later, Booker sold the government source 1,000 pills of suspected Hydrodone in exchange for cash. Booker faces up to 20 years in federal prison for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Myria Boehm is prosecuting this case.

GUILTY PLEA – NOLBERTO VASQUEZ

On July 7, Nolberto Vasquez, 30, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Vasquez executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain credit cards and lines of credit from financial institutions using victims' personal identifying information to open credit cards at retain stores which would then be used to make unauthorized purchases.  Vasquez faces up to 30 years in federal prison for his crimes. This case was investigated by the United States Secrete Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Damien Diggs is prosecuting this case.

GUILTY PLEA – TEMIOPE AMINAT FOLORUNSHO

On July 7, Temitope Aminat Folorunsho, 33, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, two counts of laundering monetary instruments, and two counts of use of a false passport. Folorunsho and her co-conspirators used email phishing scams, social engineering, and spoofing email addresses in order to cause victims to wire and electronically transfer funds to fraudulently opened bank accounts. Prior to Folorunsho’s guilty plea, other co-defendants pled guilty as well, with the most recent being Opeyemi Abidemi Adeoso in June 2020 who pled guility to 33 counts. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Eggers is prosecuting this case.

SENTENCING – ARMANDO SILVA

On July 9, Armando Silva, 26, was sentenced to 105 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. As Samson Park Police approached Silva’s vehicle during a traffic offense, officers noticed a marijuana odor emitting from the car. Officers conducted a search of vehicle and recovered a handgun, Xanax pills, and over one-ounce of methamphetamine. This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas is prosecuting this case.

A notorious Amarillo crack cocaine dealer was sentenced today to 188 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Earnest Tywane Drone, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base in March following his arrest by the Amarillo Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) Task Force.

Launched in January 2019, PSN Amarillo Task Force identified a 7.5 square mile block in the San Jacinto and North Heights neighborhoods of Amarillo long plagued by gang activity, drug traffickers, and violent crime as the targeted enforcement area for PSN Amarillo Task Force operations.

Mr. Drone, who lived in the North Heights neighborhood of Amarillo, was widely known in the community as a crack cocaine dealer who used his residence as a distribution point for his drug trafficking operations. In May 2019, Mr. Drone sold crack cocaine to a confidential government source at his residence. Days later, law enforcement executed search warrants at two crack houses, located in the heart of the North Heights neighborhood. During the PSN Task Force raid, Mr. Drone, along with three others, were arrested.

“The Department of Justice will never tolerate drug trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “Today’s sentencing highlights the dedicated work of the Amarillo Project Safe Neighborhood Task Force to bring one of Amarillo’s most ruthless drug dealers to justice.”

Drone’s high-profile prosecution is just the latest success for the PSN Amarillo Task Force. The initiative saw a 13 percent decrease in violent crime inside the targeted San Jacinto/North Heights neighborhood of Amarillo; this trend continued into 2020, dropping an additional 3 percentage points for a total violent crime reduction of 16 percent.

Additionally, PSN Amarillo experienced a 30 percent decrease in robberies and a 46 percent reduction in aggravated robberies in the targeted enforcement area during the first year of operations.

The Amarillo PSN was launched as the second PSN in the Northern District of Texas and other PSN hotspots include Dallas, Fort Worth and Lubbock. More information on PSN Amarillo can be found here.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Marshals Service, Randall County Sheriff’s Office, Potter County Sherriff’s Office, and Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Taylor and Joshua Frausto are prosecuting the case.

A Fort Worth man has been sentenced to more than four-and-a-half years in federal prison for lying to the U.S. Department of Defense about the metal used inside his company’s aircraft parts, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Richard Ross Hyde, the 64-year-old owner of Vista Manufacturing Company, pleaded guilty in August 2019 to making a false claim against the United States. He was sentenced Thursday to 55 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman.

In his plea papers, Mr. Hyde admits that he invoiced the Navy for aircraft components which DOD later discovered were constructed from a different metal than the one his company said it would use.

On Aug. 18, 2014, Vista Manufacturing submitted a bid to the government to provide critical parts for a Naval Air Warfare Center aircraft, Mr. Hyde told the court. In the $12,897.50 bid, the company included a diagram noting measurements, specifications, and descriptions of the materials required for production – notably, aluminum alloy 2024.

Six days later, the government accepted Vista’s bid, and Mr. Hyde began seeking out manufacturers for the 22 wiper back retainers included in the bid.

He found a company that offered to manufacture the parts with a different aluminum alloy, 6061, for $8,492. Despite the fact that Vista’s contract with the Navy required them to use aluminum alloy 2024, Mr. Hyde admits he accepted the offer, and allowed the part to be manufactured with aluminum alloy 6061.

Mr. Hyde admits that on Jan. 21, 2015, he had the completed parts – made with the 6061 alloy – delivered to a Defense Logistics Agency distribution facility. He invoiced the DOD’s Defense Financing and Accounting Services for $12,897.50 and received the full payment on Feb. 4, 2015.

A subsequent examination of the parts he delivered revealed that the metal used to manufacture the wiper back retainers did not match the diagram on Vista’s bid; testing revealed that Mr. Hyde’s company had substituted the 6061 alloy for the 2024 alloy – rendering his bid false.

The U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Defense Logistics Agency; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Army Criminal Investigative Division’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; and the Defense Contract Management Agency conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bradford prosecuted the case.

A four-person cabal has been charged with plotting a hit on a DEA task force officer, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

A federal grand jury indicted Manuel Garcia Gomez, 22, Jorge Humberto Velazco Larios, 27, Eva Denisse Gomez Garcia, 38, and Alicia Yuritzi Juarez Martinez, 31, for conspiracy to use interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire.

Mr. Gomez and Mr. Larios have been arrested and will make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver this afternoon at 2 p.m. Ms. Garcia and Ms. Martinez remain fugitives and are believed to be in Mexico.

“The Justice Department will not stand for retaliatory violence against officers and agents,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “These defendants were plotting to murder a federal task force officer – a man who routinely risks his life to combat the scourge of drugs in our community. We are grateful to our partners at the DEA and FBI who worked tirelessly to keep the officer safe and help bring his would-be killers to justice.”

According to the indictment, unsealed today, Mr. Gomez – who was behind bars at Johnson County Jail on a methamphetamine charge – allegedly told another individual at the jail he wanted to “off” the DEA agent assigned to his case. He set the budget at $20,000: $5,000 up front and $15,000 following the hit.

In a subsequent phone call with an individual outside the jail, Mr. Gomez confirmed he wanted the agent murdered.

Mr. Gomez then called his girlfriend, Ms. Martinez, and his sister, Ms. Garcia, to arrange for delivery of the murder-for-hire fee. He advised them that the co-defendant in his drug case, Mr. Larios, would also contribute to the up-front payment.

Meanwhile, Mr. Larios, also behind bars, called an unindicted co-conspirator and asked him to deliver money to a workshop “so we can take care of something.”

On June 11, the unindicted co-conspirator, referred to in court documents by the nickname “Roberto,” made a $3,000 “down payment” for the murder of the agent. Five days later, he made an additional $2,000 payment on behalf of Mr. Gomez and Mr. Larios.

Mr. Gomez once again called his contact outside the jail. He described the DEA agent he wanted killed, then instructed the individual to call Ms. Martinez and Ms. Garcia, who he said had documents that could help the hit man figure out the name of the target. Mr. Gomez said the women were “badasses” who “know everything that is going on.”

Shortly thereafter, Ms. Garcia received a photo of DEA task force officer “T.H.” via the messaging app, WhatsApp. The following day, she flashed the image during a jailhouse video call with Mr. Gomez.  

“Yes, that’s him,” Mr. Gomez told Ms. Garcia, smiling.

“Drug trafficking is inherently violent and traffickers will stop at nothing to protect their profits and their lifestyle,” said Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division.  “DEA agents and task force officers constantly put themselves in harm’s way to ensure these individuals are brought to justice. We appreciate our federal partners’ swift efforts to bring accountability to their nefarious intentions.”   

"The Dallas Violent Crime Task Force is dedicated to protecting our citizens. This includes ensuring the safety of our law enforcement partners," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. "The defendants wanted to harm a DEA task force officer and that is unacceptable. Fortunately, we were able to prevent a dangerous act from occurring and successfully apprehend a group of violent criminals."

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, these defendants face up to 10 years in federal prison. (Had the hit been carried out as planned, they would have faced a possible death sentence or life imprisonment.)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, Violent Crime Task Force, conducted the investigation in close collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administrations’ Dallas Field Division. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Customs & Border Protection assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert is handling the prosecution. 

GUILITY PLEA – FLOYD ALLEN HAWKINS

On June, 30, Floyd Allen Hawkins, 30, pled guilty to production of child pornography. In March, 2019, Yahoo submitted cybertips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning several images of child pornography uploaded by Hawkins. Dallas Police Department executed a search warrant on Hawkins’ home where he was questioned about the images. Hawkins admitted to producing multiple images of child pornography of a two-year-old girl. Hawkins faces up to 30 years in federal prison for his crimes. This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is prosecuting this case.

GUILTY PLEA – ERIC JACKSON

On June 30, Eric Jackson, 34, pled guilty to transportation of stolen goods or monies in interstate commerce. Jackson and his co-conspirators travelled around the United States to commit burglaries of cash safes. The group target grocery stores, check-cashing locations, and businesses with a significant amount of cash on hand. The safe crew received alarm codes from an insider at a national alarm company to aid in avoiding detection. Jackson and his co-conspirators caused losses between $250,000 and $1,500,000. Jackson faces up to 10 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould is prosecuting this case.

SENTENCING – RICKY CARDENAS

On June 30, Ricky Cardenas, 41, was sentenced to 165 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Investigators with Parker County Sheriff’s Office received information that Cardenas was distributing methamphetamine at a local hotel in Weatherford, Texas. The same day, Cardenas left the hotel for a nearby gas station where he engaged in drug transaction with several individuals. After leaving the gas station, Cardenas was stopped by law enforcement and found with methamphetamine in his car. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Parker County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson is prosecuting this case.

GUILTY PLEA – KENNETH JERNARD NARGO

On June 30, Kenneth Jernard Nargo, 22, pled guilty two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of using, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of crime of violence. Nargo and his c0-consrpators robbed multiple pawn shops in north Texas. Once inside the pawn shops, the group discharged a firearm to scare customers and employees so they would not interfere with the robberies. During two robberies in Duncanville, Texas and Dallas, Texas, Nargo admitted to jumping over the counter and stealing a cash register drawer and jewelry. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dallas Police Department, DeSoto Police Department, and Duncanville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Walt Junker is prosecuting this case.

SETENCING – SHARROCCA BLOCKER

On July 6, Sharrocca Blocker, 41, was sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for aiding and assisting the preparation and presentation of a false and fraudulent return. Blocker prepared a tax return on behalf of another taxpayer in which she fraudulently claimed a net profit from running a call center business the taxpayer did not owned or operate. The false tax return made Blocker’s client eligible for the earned income tax credit. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Allen is prosecuting this case.

A Fort Worth man who set fire to his neighbor’s house using a homemade Molotov cocktail has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Mearvin Eugene Hamilton, 53, was charged via criminal complaint with possession of an unregistered destructive device, a Molotov cocktail, in August 2019, and indicted on the same charge in January 2020. He pleaded guilty in February 2020 and was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, who made an upward departure from the sentencing guidelines due to the circumstances of the offense.

In plea papers, Mr. Hamilton admitted he had constructed an incendiary device by filling a 12-ounce beer bottle with an ignitable liquid and attaching a cloth wick. He acknowledged the homemade Molotov cocktail was a destructive device not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

According to information provided to the Court, the investigation began on July 12, 2019 when a passerby told police he’d witnessed a man throw a lit incendiary device at a home in Fort Worth, setting the home ablaze.  Four people inside – two adults and two children – escaped without physical injury.

Fort Worth Fire Department Arson and ATF investigators responded to the scene and spotted Mr. Hamilton sitting on the porch of the home next door, next to containers of gasoline and lighter fluid. Mr. Hamilton – who claimed he feared the individuals next door were trying to kill him – later waived his Miranda rights and admitted to investigators that he “started throwing bottles of gas as the house” in order to “set it on fire.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Fort Worth Fire Department’s Arson Investigations Unit and the Fort Worth Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rob Boudreau and Frank Gatto prosecuted the case.

GUILTY PLEA – TRAVON WILSON

On June 23, Travon Wilson, 32, pled guilty to transportation of stolen money, securities, and goods in interstate commerce. Wilson and his co-conspirators travelled around the United States to commit burglaries of cash safes. The group target grocery stores, check-cashing locations, and businesses with a significant amount of cash on hand. In sum, Wilson and his c0-conspiratiors caused losses greater than $550,000. Wilson faces up to 10 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould.

GUILTY PLEA – CLEMENTE CASTILLO ZAMUDIO

On June 23, Clemente Castillo Zamudio, 28, pled guilty to possession of firearm by an illegal alien. Zamudio was driving alone and pulled over by police. Inside his truck officers located a .45 caliber pistol. At the time of the traffick stop, Zamudio was an illegal alien in the United States under a valid removal order. Zamudio faces up to 10 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Walt Junker.

GUILTY PLEA – ANTONIO JAVON LANG

On June 25, Antonio Javon Lang, 38, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm. Lang was stopped by Desoto, Texas Police Department for speeding. During the traffic stop, Lang could not produce his driver’s license. Officers conducted a search of Lang where they found approximately $9,000 on his person and $48,000 in a bag located in his vehicle. Additionally, officers recovered a .45 caliber handgun, marijuana, and oxycodone pills. Lang faces up to 10 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phelesa Guy.

GUILTY PLEA – GUILLERMO O’BRIEN

On June 25, Guillermo O’Brien, 19, pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. At a Dallas, Texas gas station, O’Brien took delivery of 20 kilograms of cocaine. After O’Brien left the gas station a Dallas County Sheriff deputy initiated a traffic stop. Once the deputy had O’Brien pulled over, he fled the scene at a high speed striking a law enforcement vehicle. Deputies counted to pursue O’Brien until he exited the vehicle and ran on foot into a wooded area until his surrender to law enforcement. O’Brien faces up 40 years in federal prison for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Jones.

SENTENCING – DAMORION DENTE ROBERTSON

On June 25, Damorion Dente Robertson, 36, was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a felon and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Robertson did knowingly possess a stolen firearm following a conviction of a felony offense. Additionally, Robertson admits he unlawfully possessed marijuana. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, and Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Boyle is prosecuting this case.

SENTENCING – JOSE SANCHEZ

On June 25, Jose Sanchez, 36, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for money laundering charges related to the possession and distribution of cocaine. Sanchez conspired with others to distribute 14 kilograms of cocaine that was sent from Mexico to Dallas, TX and valued at $378,000. Sanchez admitted to collecting drug proceeds and then sending it back to Mexico. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Leal and Phelesa Guy are prosecuting this case.

A federal grand jury has indicted three Arlington healthcare professionals for drug crimes and fraud, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Clinton Battle, an Arlington physician, and Donna Green, his nurse practitioner, have been charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Dr. Battle and his medical assistant, Yajaira Lopez, have also been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.  His current practice, “Arlington Occupational & Medical Clinic,” is located on East Abram Street in Arlington.

According to the indictment, Dr. Battle, 67, routinely issued prescriptions for controlled substances – including hydrocodone, codeine, tramadol, Xanax, phentermine, and other controlled substances – allegedly without conducting a proper medical examination of his patients, knowing that the drugs would likely be diverted for illicit distribution. At times, Dr. Battle allegedly issued prescriptions for controlled substances without conducting any medical examination at all, sometimes telling office staff to issue prescriptions for whichever controlled substance the patient wanted.

In return for these phony prescriptions, Dr. Battle allegedly received multiple forms of remuneration – including illicit drugs.

Dr. Battle also allegedly allowed Ms. Green to use his DEA registration number and medical credentials to issue prescriptions for controlled substances, knowing that Ms. Green was not legally authorized to issue such prescriptions.

Meanwhile, Dr. Battle and Ms. Lopez allegedly worked together to submit falsified claims to health insurers, including the Texas Workers’ Compensation system. For example, they allegedly “up-coded” claims for medical procedures, billing for higher reimbursement levels than were authorized based on the medical service provided.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, Dr. Battle faces up to 15 years in federal prison. Ms. Green and Ms. Lopez face up to 10 and 5 years, respectively. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Postal Service, the IRS, and the Texas Department of Insurance conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht is prosecuting the case.

A former sheriff’s deputy who preyed on children at his church has been sentenced to life in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.

Davin Seth Waters, 26, a former deputy with Parmer County, Texas Sheriff’s Office, was convicted in November 2019 for transportation of minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

“This life sentence confirms the important message that exploiting children in any form will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “While this sentence will not repair the pain and damage done to the victims, it will ensure that Mr. Waters will never have the opportunity to prey upon children of our community again.”

"Today's life sentence demonstrates the FBI's commitment to holding sexual predators accountable for their crimes and removes a dangerous threat from our community," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. "We will continue working with our partners to ensure that children are protected from abuse and exploitation."

During a two hour sentencing on Thursday, the court heard how Mr. Waters lured minor victims into engaging in sex acts by leveraging positions of power and trust as a sheriff’s deputy, childcare volunteer, and Tae Kwon Do instructor. Many of Mr. Waters’ victims that he sexually abused were “afraid” of him because he was “big” and thought he might “hurt” them, according to court documents.

Authorities began investigating Mr. Waters following a report from a church member at Frist Baptist Church Texico, New Mexico that a fellow member, identified as Mr. Waters, had sexually abused a child. Mr. Waters who served in the children’s ministry as a volunteer, admitted to unlawfully touching a minor 8-year-old child on multiple occasions while in his capacity as a volunteer at the church.

Mr. Waters resided in Farwell, Texas and owned Tae Kwon Do (TKD) Studio in Bovina, Texas where he instructed many young students. Mr. Waters admitted that he engaged in illicit sexual conduct at his studio with a 13-year-old minor and a TKD student between the ages of 9 and 10-years-old.

According to court documents, Mr. Waters also drove two minors from New Mexico to the Farwell, Texas to spend the night. At his home, Mr. Waters preformed sexual acts on the 11-year-old and 10-year-old while also after giving the 10-year-old pills to induce unconsciousness.

Through the course of the investigation, agents determined that Mr. Waters sexually exploited and abused seven children in the greater Amarillo-area.

The FBI's Dallas Field Office, the Texas Rangers, and Curry County, New Mexico Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Sean Taylor prosecuted the case. United States District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk handed down the sentence.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative designed to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The initiative organizes 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.

GUILTY PLEA – DALTON HARRIS

On June 16, Dalton Harris, 21, pled guilty to making a false statement to a firearms dealer. Harris visited a local firearms deal to purchase a Ruger AR-556 rifle. To purchase the rifle, Harris made fictitious statements intended to deceive the firearms dealer into believing that he was the actual transferee or buyer of the firearm. Harris faces up to 57 months in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebekah Ricketts.

 

GUILTY PLEA – JESSE KLU

On June 16, Jesse Klu, 33, pled guilty to possession with intent to use unlawfully five or more false identification documents. During a search warrant executed at Klu’s residence, agents discovered multiple passports and driver’s licenses all displaying Klu’s photograph, each counterfeit and not lawfully issued by the purported government entity. Klu admits to using the counterfeit identification to establish accounts at United States financial institutions. He faces up to 5 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by Diplomatic Security Services and Department of Homeland Security and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Martin.

 

GUILTY PLEA – MONEE WILLIAMS

On June 18, Monee Williams, 34, pled guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen money, securities, and goods in interstate commerce. Williams worked at a national alarm company where she had access to the alarm codes of customers. Williams unlawfully provided the alarm codes of small businesses her co-conspirators in exchange for money. Her co-conspirators used the alarm codes to break into the businesses to steal cash and other items of value. The losses caused by the burglaries was valued at more than $550,000. Williams faces up to 5 years in federal custody for her crimes. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould.

 

GUILTY PLEA – GEOVANNI AARON LUNA

On June 18, Geovanni Aaron Luna, 22, pled guilty to possession of an unregistered firearm silencer.  Luna was pulled over in Garland, Texas for a traffic offense. During the traffic stop, troopers uncovered a homemade silencer created from a modified fuel filter with an aluminum tube and threaded adapter to fit his .22 caliber pistol. Luna admitted that the silencer was not registered to in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Luna faces up to 10 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Texas Department of Public Safety and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin.

 

GUILTY PLEA – TIFFANY LANE

On June 18, Tiffany Lane, 44, pled guilty to destruction of mail. While an employee of the United States Postal Services, Lane began stealing mail by targeting credit cards from customers on the routes she worked. Lane admitted to providing the credit cards to another unauthorized individual after stealing them from her mail route. Lane faces up to 5 years in federal custody for her crimes. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Bray.

The website CityXGuide.com — a leading source of online advertisements for prostitution and sex trafficking that users described as “taking over from where Backpage left off” — has been seized and its owner charged in a 28-count federal indictment, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Wilhan Martono, 46, was indicted on June 2 on one count of promotion of prostitution and reckless disregard of sex trafficking, one count of interstate racketeering conspiracy (facilitating prostitution), nine counts of interstate transportation in aid of racketeering (facilitating prostitution), and 17 counts of money laundering.  He was arrested on June 17 in Fremont, California by Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Secret Service.

Shortly after the defendant’s arrest, CityXGuide was replaced with a splash page notifying users that the website had been seized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security pursuant to a warrant.

According to the indictment, Mr. Martono allegedly netted more than $21 million off a suite of illicit websites promoting prostitution and sex trafficking.  He allegedly registered the domain names for several of the sites just one day after the FBI shut down Backpage.com, then the internet’s leading source of prostitution and sex trafficking advertisements.

Despite Terms of Use purportedly forbidding the advertisement of illegal sexual services, CityXGuide and its affiliated websites (Backpage.co, CAPleasures.com, and BodyRubShop.com, among others) allegedly allowed brothels, pimps, and prostitutes to post hundreds of thousands of advertisements for sexual services, which users could then filter by geography and preference. 

In correspondence with Mr. Martono, one of his CityXGuide advertisers noted that the website was “taking over from where Backpage left off.”

CityXGuide and its companion websites allegedly allowed advertisers to select from a pre-populated list of “intimate activities,” then add nude photographs, descriptions, work hours, methods of payment, and contact information for the women being advertised.  In order to secure premium placement, the websites offered paid “upgrades,” which could be purchased in Bitcoin or in exchange for gift cards from Walmart, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Amazon, and other retailers.  Mr. Martono allegedly used CardCash, a third party gift card reseller, to exchange these gift cards for U.S. currency.

Mr. Martono allegedly took steps to conceal his online activity by routing website traffic through an IP address in Europe, using a VPN to mask his IP address while conducting CardCash transactions, and funneling his proceeds through a network of business and personal bank accounts.  (At the time of Mr. Martono’s arrest, the Department of Homeland Security seized millions of dollars from accounts controlled by Mr. Martono.)

CityXGuide, which served clients across the globe, included a list of 14 “Favorite Cities,” including Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, and Boston. 

Law enforcement has identified numerous minor victims in CityXGuide advertisements, including a 13-year-old Jane Doe recovered in North Texas in November 2019.

“As soon as DOJ shut down one despicable site, another popped up to take its place,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “Like the owners of Backpage, this defendant made millions facilitating the online exploitation of women and children. The Justice Department will not rest until these sites are eliminated and their owners held accountable for their crimes.”

“This case is a harsh reminder of the ruthlessness of human traffickers and lengths to which they go, including victimizing women and children, to make a profit,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office. “HSI maintains its unwavering commitment to investigate these heinous crimes, rescue victims, and prosecute the offenders to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The Secret Service remains committed to investigating and pursuing those responsible for cyber-enabled financial crimes.  Although the explosive expansion of the cyber domain has forced us to develop innovative ways of conducting these types of investigations, our proven model remains the same,” said Secret Service Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Office William Smarr, adding, “This investigation is an excellent example of a partnership between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies working together to successfully prosecute numerous violations of federal statutes.  There are real innocent victims due to these crimes.  The Secret Service also thanks the Northern District of Texas United States Attorney’s Office for their aggressive support.”  

“I’m proud of our team who, with our federal partners, relentlessly pursued this investigation for more than a year. Today, we have made a significant impact on one of the world’s largest digital marketplaces for prostitution and sex trafficking. We know many lives will be saved through this joint effort,” said Michael C. Miller, Chief of Police for the Colleyville Police Department.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence.  Like all defendants, Mr. Martono is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in federal prison. 

Mr. Martono was charged in part under FOSTA, a law passed in the wake of the Backpage scandal in April 2018 that allows the federal government to prosecute websites that facilitate sex trafficking.

The North Texas Trafficking Task Force conducted the investigation, led by Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office, the United States Secret Service, and the Colleyville Police Department, with assistance from HSI’s El Paso and San Jose Field Offices as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety.  Assistant United States Attorneys Sid Mody, Rebekah Ricketts, and John de la Garza are prosecuting the case.

A Dallas doctor has pleaded guilty to a felony for prescription drug diversion crimes perpetrated on elderly victims, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.

Dr. Edward Agura, 63 pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver on Tuesday for possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation or fraud.

“Elder abuse by anyone, particularly by health professionals,  is deeply disturbing,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.   “Those who exploit the elderly and perpetrate crimes on our seniors will be held accountable for their criminal actions.  Importantly, the Department of Justice recently observed World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and we reconfirmed our commitment to rooting out fraud that preys on the elderly.”

“Using one’s trusted status as a medical professional for unlawful acts cannot go unpunished,” stated Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of the D.E.A. Dallas Field Division.  “The Dallas D.E.A. will always seek justice against those who take advantage of unsuspecting individuals, especially the elderly, to fuel their drug addiction through fraudulent means.”

Beginning in May 2016, Dr. Agura admitted to issuing prescriptions in the names of elderly victims without their knowledge or consent.  The controlled substances were for his own personal use.

According to court documents, Dr. Agura issued fraudulent prescriptions for Hydrocodone, Fentanyl, Oxycodone, Alprazolam, Triazolam, and Lorazepam were dispensed to himself at Dallas area pharmacies under the guise he was obtaining them for elderly patients.

To further perpetuate the fraud, Dr. Agura admitted to creating phony medical records in the names of the elderly victims. While Dr. Agura did personally know each victim, the victims were not patients and had not sought medical treatment for the prescriptions that he issued in their name. Dr. Agura admitted obtaining the unlawful prescriptions to utilize for his personal consumption.

Dr. Agura faces up to four years in federal prison for the felony conviction. A sentencing date has been set for October 8th.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Dallas Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Strittmatter Max is prosecuting the case.

A Mexican national has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for trafficking nearly a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.

On June 12, 2020, Roberto Rodriguez-Salinas, 39, of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to two 57 month sentences that will run concurrently for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

According to court documents, on March 28, 2018, Mr. Rodriguez-Salinas transferred a black bag containing United States currency to another person that knew his money was drug proceeds. Mr. Rodriguez-Salinas admitted that he intended the money to be transferred from the United States to individuals in Mexico.

Court documents further reflect that on March 30, 2018, Mr. Rodriguez-Salinas was stopped by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department for a traffic violation. During the traffic stop, deputies found Mr. Rodriguez-Salinas in possession of approximately eight kilograms of cocaine, a firearm, and $115,931. Mr. Rodriguez-Salinas admitted that the money seized by authorizes was derived from the sale and distribution of the cocaine.

According to agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the cocaine found in Mr. Rodriguez-Salinas vehicle had a street value ranging from $192,000 to $208,000 in the Dallas, Texas area.

Fourteen individuals have been indicted in this case. Two defendants are fugitives and one defendant is pending trial. Co-defendant, Marcus Morones, was previously sentenced to a term of 41 months confinement in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Dallas Police Department. Assistance in this case was also provided by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Leal and Rachel Jones are prosecuting the case.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, June 16. You can watch the full hearing -- entitled "Police Use of Force and Community Relations" -- here.

Below is the U.S. Attorney's prepared opening statement: 

Good afternoon Chairman Graham, Ranking Member Feinstein, and members of the Committee; thank you for inviting us to testify today. I also want to thank my home state Senators, Senators Cornyn and Cruz, for their unwavering support all our efforts in my District.

I am Erin Nealy Cox, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. In those roles, I’m proud to serve as the chief federal law enforcement officer for more than 8 million Texans, as well as an advocate for prosecutorial priorities nationwide.

I know I’m appearing at a time of great turmoil in this country. I start with this: Police brutality in any form is repugnant and unacceptable.  It is impossible not to feel anger and sadness when watching the video of George Floyd’s tragic killing.   Actions like this and others we have witnessed rightly erode trust in law enforcement as a whole and tarnish the badge of the vast majority of officers who serve honorably.   

It’s vital that law enforcement speak out against officers who bring great dishonor upon the profession.  At the Department, our character and commitment to justice compel us to speak out as well as listen to and empathize with those who suffer the most when law enforcement falls short in our duty to protect them.  So on behalf of the 93 United States Attorneys, we condemn this conduct and we commit to be united, determined, deeply engaged, and thoughtful in our collective efforts to help bring about meaningful change on the issues at this moment in history.  We steadfastly join with the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General in their commitment to restore confidence in the American criminal justice system for all.

Mr. Floyd’s death, and the resulting outrage, tears at the very fabric of our communities.  This divide is particularly disheartening to me, because for the past two years, in my District we’ve been spearheading a public safety program built on the notion that positive, meaningful relationships between police and the people they serve can transform struggling communities. Project Safe Neighborhoods – the cornerstone of DOJ’s anti-violent-crime strategy – can help us ensure equal justice under the law. 

We launched our first PSN project in Dallas in April 2018, targeting a neighborhood that – for decades -- was plagued by violent crime.  As with any law enforcement initiative, one of PSN Dallas’s goal was to root out offenders – members of violent gangs, and drug traffickers who terrorized residents daily. 

Importantly though, we felt that we needed to build relationships of trust within the community for our program to be successful.  So we deployed a consistent and compassionate team of Officers and Agents that earnestly wanted to form relationships with the people in the neighborhood. And we took steps to foster a community that felt empowered to approach our officers for help – with the assurance that they would be met with respect.

To accomplish this, we took several steps: 

- We’ve hosted more than 100 community meetings with neighborhood groups, apartment managers, faith leaders, and school teachers to share our vision for the neighborhood and solicit advice on how to achieve it.

- Based on community feedback, our PSN task force worked to shut down seedy convenience stores, game rooms, and other establishments that were spawning crime. 

- And we’ve used important grant money to implement what’s called “crime prevention through environmental design,” working with a non-profit organization to redesign a central community square. This vibrant plaza now boasts a mini-lending library, recreation tables, and a child’s craft area. Since completion of the project, the plaza hasn’t seen a single act of violence.
 

Our PSN engagement has yielded real results. Even as Dallas’ citywide crime rate increased dramatically, inside the PSN area, violent crime decreased. Community members have been vocal in their support.

USAs across the country are having similar success stories and success breeds success.  And so we launched programs out of our other district offices – in Amarillo, Lubbock, and elsewhere.

The results have been undeniably positive. In its first year, PSN Amarillo achieved a 13% reduction of violent crime inside the targeted areas, and PSN Lubbock, using the same community-based approach, achieved a 26% reduction in aggravated assaults, and a 25% reduction in business robberies. 

That is tangible results:  violence going down, trust within the community is coming up, and lives impacted for the better. 

The people of these communities have joined together with law enforcement – united in a singular goal.  I have witnessed it working first hand in the communities we serve.

I look forward to telling you more about my experience and answering your questions.

For more on the Northern District of Texas' Project Safe Neighborhoods initiatives, click here. 

 

A Red Oak, Texas couple pleaded guilty today to their roles in a $15 million retirement plan embezzlement scheme, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Vantage Benefits Administrators co-owner Wendy Richie, 59, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of theft from an employee benefit plan and one count of aggravated identity theft. Her husband, Vantage co-owner Jeffrey Richie, 55, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting theft from an employee benefit plan. Their company served as third party administrator for dozens of pension and retirement funds.

According to plea papers, Ms. Richie admitted to using fund beneficiaries’ personal information to submit $15.2 million in fraudulent distribution requests to Matrix Trust, the funds’ custodian.  Instead of depositing the money into beneficiaries’ accounts, however, she transferred it into Vantage’s operating account, then into personal bank accounts.

Even after a Vantage employee confronted Mr. Richie about Ms. Richie’s conduct, Ms. Richie continued to embezzle money from the funds. At least $6.2 million of the $15.2 million Ms. Richie embezzled was taken with Mr. Richie’s knowledge, he admitted.

In total, the pair admitted to submitting more than 90 unauthorized distribution requests from 13 pension plans and 7 retirement plans from 2014 and 2017.

“This couple took advantage of innocent people who were working hard and saving for their future,” U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox said in October 2018 when the couple was charged. “We cannot permit such brazen financial misconduct to go unchecked.”

Ms. Richie now faces up to 12 years in federal prison, while Mr. Richie faces up to 10 years. They may be required to pay restitution as well as a $500,000 fine.

The Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Texas State Auditor’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes is prosecuting the case.

An Abilene man was convicted at trial for attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

On Monday, a federal jury deliberated for just seven minutes before finding Carlito Santiago Santos, 47, guilty of attempted enticement of a minor. Mr. Santos was indicted in October 2019.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Abilene Police Department created an undercover online persona of “Tyler,” a 15-year-old boy, and placed his profile on Grindr, a social media dating platform for GBTQ men.

Mr. Santos sent multiple illicit message to Tyler. In reply, Tyler told Mr. Santos that he was 15 years old and sent an age-regressed photo of a 15-year-old boy. Mr. Santos agreed to meet Tyler at an apartment complex in Abilene to engage in sexual activity. When Mr. Santos arrived he was arrested by law enforcement.

During interviews conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Mr. Santos, a native of the Philippines where he worked as a pediatrician, admitted that he had a sexual interest in children because he found them “energetic” and “innocent.” Mr. Santos said he frequently viewed child pornography and ultimately admitted to molesting approximately fifteen children while in the Philippines.

The defendant faces a potential sentence of up to life in federal prison. His sentencing date is set for September 15, 2020.

The investigation was led by Abilene Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Juanita Fielden and Jeffrey Haag are prosecuting the case.

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

A north Texas bodybuilder has been charged with conspiring to sell steroids, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.

Philip Russell Archibald, 29, of Lancaster, was charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.  Coconspirator Danielle Bocanegra, 30, of Lampasas, was also charged.

“The Northern District of Texas will not tolerate the peddling of steroids in our community. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for helping us dismantle this steroid trafficking ring,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.  

According to the complaint, Mr. Archibald, a self-proclaimed bodybuilder and personal trainer, allegedly ran a steroid distribution ring that spanned across north Texas.

In March 2019, agents discovered Mr. Archibald’s fingerprints on a zip-lock baggie filled with steroids, which Ms. Bocanegra sold to an undercover officer for $900, the complaint alleged. They later tracked several packages of steroids sent via the U.S. Postal Service to Ms. Bocanegra’s residence to several USPS kiosks used by Mr. Archibald.

In July 2019, agents followed Mr. Archibald from his residence to a local post office, where he allegedly mailed a priority mail flat rate box. Pursuant to a federal search warrant, the agents seized the parcel and sent the contents to the USPIS Forensic Laboratory, which identified 64 red capsules containing oxandralone, a known steroid compound.

On June 8, 2020, agents also searched Mr. Archibald’s residence, where they found steroids and multiple firearms, prosecutors told the Court.

At Mr. Archibald’s detention hearing, prosecutors argued that the defendant posed a threat to the community, noting that the defendant, who has been tied publicly with the anti-government Boogaloo movement, used his social media accounts to advocate vigilante “guerrilla warfare” against the National Guardsman patrolling Black Lives Matter protests. In a recent Facebook post, he claimed to be “hunting Antifa” and threatened to “kill” looters.  The Court granted the government’s motion and ordered Mr. Archibald detained pending trial. 

“Drug trafficking and violence go hand in hand. Whether we are talking about Mexican Cartels and methamphetamine or illegal steroids and vigilantes, all pose a real threat to the safety and security of our Nation,” stated Steven S. Whipple, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Houston Division. “DEA, along with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, remain especially focused on bringing to justice those drug traffickers who use, or threaten to use violence in any way or for any purpose.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nations mail system from illegal use,“ said Adrian Gonzalez, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge of the Houston Division. “This includes ensuring individuals like Mr. Archibald do not use the U.S. Mail as a tool to distribute controlled substances to our communities.  We remain steadfast in our resolve to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of our communities and of the U.S. Postal Service.“

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, not evidence. These defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, both Mr. Archibald and Ms. Bocanegra face up to 10 years in federal prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Austin Field Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Houston Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiffany H. Eggers and Rebekah Ricketts are prosecuting the case.

A Grand Prairie man was sentenced 57 months in federal prison for his role in a more than $2.8 million tax return preparation scheme, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Oma Michel Ungu, 61, pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiring and aiding in the preparation of a false tax return. He was sentenced Tuesday morning by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means.

“When our tax laws are ignored, especially by those trained as professionals, everyone loses,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “We are committed to protecting the integrity of our tax system by giving taxpayers confidence that everyone plays by the same rules. Tax return preparers who exploit their clients and the tax system to file fraudulent returns will be prosecuted and held accountable for their criminal conduct.”

“Return preparer fraud is a priority for IRS Criminal Investigation and we have committed many resources to investigating and prosecuting cases just like these," said Kevin Caramucci, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Dallas Field Office. "Taxpayers should be selective in choosing a return preparer, and have confidence knowing that person will prepare accurate tax returns and safeguard their financial information."

According to plea papers, between 2013 and 2016, Mr. Ungu admitted that Super Professional Tax Services, which he owned and operated, prepared and filed false tax returns on behalf of its clients. Mr. Ungu admitted he personally prepared a tax return in 2015 that claimed that one of his clients had significant unreimbursed business expenses which provided the client a with substantial reduction in his taxable income. Mr. Ungu knew the client was not entitled to claim a deduction for unreimbursed business expenses.

A former employee of Mr. Ungu, Robert Poteet previously pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns in January 2019 and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.

The defendants are jointly and severally liable for more than $2.8 million in restitution.

The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A. Allen is prosecuting this case.

Two former executives of EarthWater Limited (EarthWater), a Dallas-based company, have pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges for their role in a multi-million dollar high-yield investment fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims. 

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas and Inspector in Charge Delany DeLeon-Colón of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group in Washington, D.C., made the announcement.

John Mervyn Price, 64, of Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 10 counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver of the Northern District of Texas.  Price will be sentenced on Oct. 7, 2020, before U.S. District Court Judge Ed Kinkeade.

Cengiz Jan Comu, 59, of Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty on March 10, 2020, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 10 counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Toliver.  Comu’s sentencing is currently scheduled for July 8, 2020, before Judge Kinkeade. 

As part of his guilty plea, Price, who had been EarthWater’s chief operating officer, admitted that, beginning in or about 2013 and continuing through on or about Sept. 30, 2016, he and Comu, who had been EarthWater’s chief executive officer, managed and supervised a scheme to defraud individuals by convincing them to invest in EarthWater under the false pretense that their investment would increase substantially in value in the immediate future.  Price further admitted that, in truth and in fact, he and his co-conspirators knew that the proceeds of EarthWater stock sales were not invested in EarthWater as described to investors, but paid out to Price and his co-conspirators to be used for their personal benefit.  Price also admitted that Comu lied to investors about being a successful Wall Street veteran and that Comu had, in fact, defrauded EarthWater investors by misusing investor funds for Comu’s personal benefit.

Price also admitted that he and Comu partnered with two stock promoters, Richard Laurence Kadish, 59, of Miami, Florida, and Richard Lawrence Green, 69, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, to sell EarthWater stock and that whenever Kadish, Green or a salesperson that Kadish or Green recruited, made a sale of EarthWater stock to a victim, Comu and Price paid Kadish and Green a commission of approximately 50 percent of the victim’s funds.  Price further admitted that, starting in or about 2016, through in or about January 2019, Price also worked directly with another stock promoter, Russell Filippo, 69, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to sell Price’s personal shares of EarthWater stock for approximately 30 percent commission.  Price told Filippo that Comu lied about being a successful Wall Street veteran and that Comu had, in fact, defrauded EarthWater investors by misusing investor funds for Comu’s personal benefit.  In addition, Price admitted he and Comu had engaged in monetary transactions in excess of $10,000 in funds obtained by defrauding investors through a company called Regus Advisors, Inc.

As part of his guilty plea, Comu similarly admitted that he conspired to obtain EarthWater investor funds through a scheme to defraud in which he made materially false and fraudulent misrepresentations to investors that the majority of their funds would be used to support EarthWater’s operations, when, in fact, the funds were used to pay undisclosed, excessive commissions to those selling EarthWater stock on Comu’s behalf.  Comu further admitted that he knowingly engaged in monetary transactions in amounts greater than $10,000 involving investor funds obtained as part of the fraudulent scheme.

In addition to Price and Comu, Kadish, Green, Filippo, and six other defendants have been charged in the Northern District of Texas for their roles in the EarthWater fraud, including Harley E. “Buddy” Barnes, III, 61, of Plano, Texas; Daniel Thomas Broyles Sr., 63, formerly of Malibu, California; Suzanne Aileen Gagnier, 66, of Huntington Beach, California; Joe Edward Duchinsky, 65, of Alhambra, California; Joseph Lucien Duplain, 79, of Murrieta, California; and Donald Andrew Rothman, 72, of Coral Springs, Florida.  All of these defendants, except for Kadish and Rothman, were charged by a federal grand jury in a superseding indictment unsealed on Nov. 8, 2019.  Kadish was charged by a federal grand jury in an indictment filed on March 5, 2019, and Rothman was charged in an information filed on Sept. 6, 2019.  Kadish, Green and Rothman have pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 18, 2020, before Judge Kinkeade.   The remaining defendants are awaiting trial, which is currently set for Jan. 19, 2021, before Judge Kinkeade. 

Barnes and Beth Ellen DeGroot, 59, of Plano, Texas, were separately charged by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Texas with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and obstruction of justice relating to the ongoing investigation into EarthWater, in a superseding indictment returned on March 5, 2020.  Barnes and DeGroot are awaiting trial, which is currently set for Oct. 5, 2020, before Judge Kinkeade. 

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  Trial Attorneys Christopher Fenton and Amanda R. Vaughn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary F. Walters of the Northern District of Texas are prosecuting the case. 

The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section plays a pivotal role in the Department of Justice’s fight against white collar crime around the country.

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

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

An Iranian-born, U.S. naturalized 40-year-old man who launched multiple international cyber-attacks on media, bloggers, and legal news aggregation websites was sentenced on Monday to five years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $520,000 in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

The defendant, born Kamyar Jahanrakhshan, changed his name to Andrew Rakhshan when naturalized as a US citizen. Mr. Rakhshan pleaded guilty in February 2020 to conspiracy to commit computer fraud. The sentencing judge, U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey, accepted the plea agreement which statutorily limited the defendant’s maximum sentence to 60 month incarceration.

According to plea papers, Mr. Rakhshan admitted to conspiring with others to launch a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack in January 2015 on Leagle.com, a legal aggregation site that had posted publicly available information about his prior criminal conviction in Canada.  Leagle.com’s website was hosted by a provider located in Dallas, Texas.

Upon his arrest in July 2017, at his residence in a suburb of Seattle, Washington, Mr. Rakhshan was detained pending the outcome of the case.

At his original trial in March 2018, a federal jury voted to convict Mr. Rakhshan of knowingly causing the transmission of a command to a protected computer, an offense that carried a 10 year maximum prison term. However, in July 2018, Judge Godbey granted a defense motion for a new trial based on the defense attorneys’ sworn admissions that they were ineffective in representing their client at trial.  In April 2019, the government superseded the original indictment, adding the conspiracy charge. Mr. Rakhshan elected to plead guilty to the conspiracy charge on the morning his re-trial was to begin.  He received the statutory maximum sentence for his guilty plea, although the Judge implied that the sentence would have been higher had there not been a statutory maximum.

Testimony and evidence from the trial established that when attacking each victim, Mr. Rakhshan followed the same pattern.  First he would contact the targeted site and request that the site remove any publically available information about his 2013 criminal conviction in Canada.  Mr. Rakhshan initially claimed that the similarity of his name to the convicted person’s name was ruining his life.  When the websites refused to remove the data, Mr. Rakhshan first offered bribes to compel their compliance, then escalated his conduct through emails and faxes, by threatening to attack the site or associated sites.  In some instances, Mr. Rakhshan threatened to call in bomb threats.  Often, after initiating a successful DDoS attack, Mr. Rakhshan would contact the victim, admit to being the convicted person, brag about the successful attack, and threaten additional attacks.

Mr. Rakhshan purchased services from various booter services, such as ItsFluffy and RageBooter, to deploy the DDoS attack. The services offered by Rakhshan’s coconspirators allowed Mr. Rakhshan to flood the websites with traffic, overwhelming the servers and disabling the sites.  Mr. Rakhshan initiated multiple DDoS attacks against each victim, and most victims removed the data to stop the attacks.

At the sentencing hearing, the Judge also found that Mr. Rakhshan had obstructed justice by perjuring himself during a hearing in 2017.  Mr. Rakhshan lied about possessing 10 email addresses he used to facilitate the offense.  Mr. Rakhshan also lied about illegally returning to Canada after having been deported.  Mr. Rakhshan committed offense from at least December 2014 through at least August 2015 while residing in various states in the United States and in Vancouver, Canada.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Toronto Police Service and the Australian Federal Police. 

An Amarillo drug dealer who sold a deadly dose of heroin has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Cynthia Marie Carrasco, 58, pleaded guilty in Federal District Court to possession with the intent to distribute heroin resulting in death.

On April 19, 2019, Amarillo Police Department officers were called to a hotel in Amarillo, Texas, to investigate a suspected heroin overdose. The deceased 33-year-old victim had been staying at the hotel with 37-year-old Jeffery Michael Smith.

According to court documents, Smith agreed to be interviewed by Amarillo Police Department narcotics agents where he admitted to buying heroin from Cynthia Carrasco for a period of time. Smith admitted that he purchased the heroin for his acquaintance used shortly before her death from Carrasco.

During a non-custodial interview with Carrasco at her home, she admitted that she knew Smith and had previously sold him heroin. Carrasco stated that she repackaged heroin into smaller quantities for sale.  Carrasco allowed officers to seize her phone. On the phone, officers located evidence that Carrasco was purchasing heroin from Andrew Olguin.  In a subsequent interview, Carrasco admitted that her heroin had killed the victim on the night of April 19, 2019.

Agents identified Austin Potts as suspect in the investigation. During an interview with agents, Potts admitted to delivering heroin to individuals for Carrasco.

Other co-defendants also received the following sentences for their involvement: Austin Ryan Potts, 26, 5 years, Andrew Olguin, 64, 10 years, Jeffrey Michael Smith, 37, 10 years.

The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of Randall County Sheriff’s department and the Amarillo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Marie Bell is prosecuting the case.

A third Dallas man who exploited the chaos of the Black Lives Matter protests to steal firearms has been charged with gun crimes, announces U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Erick Montgomery, 18, was charged via criminal complaint with theft from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) and possession of stolen firearms.

Montgomery is the third defendant in a criminal trio which includes Demonte Kelly, 18, and Lejael Rudley, 19, all charged with burglary of DFW Gun Range in Dallas, Texas.

According to the complaint, a surveillance camera recorded three men exiting DFW Gun Range around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday, May 31, shortly after the theft of more than 40 firearms.

In the span of just 80 seconds, the men allegedly pried open the side entrance of the facility, grabbed three rifles posted on the wall, and smashed glass cases to snatch several dozen handguns stored inside.

Following ATF’s release of the surveillance video, the Dallas Police Department received a credible lead in the investigation. A tipster claimed to know the identities of the three men, including Montgomery, that were shown in the surveillance video which aired on a local news channel.

ATF Special Agents tracked Montgomery to a Dallas apartment where he waived is Miranda rights and agreed to speak with agents. Montgomery admitted that he was present the night of the gun range burglary and stole multiple firearms.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, not evidence. Montgomery is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

ATF has recovered a total of eight firearms from the burglary. ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office urge the public to report any information they have on the whereabouts of the outstanding stolen weapons: 888-ATF-TIPS, ATFTips@atf.gov, http://atf.gov/contact/atftips, @Reportitcom, or text ATFDAL to 63975.

Montgomery made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford today. If convicted, Montgomery, Kelly, and Rudley each face up to 20 years in federal prison.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary Tromblay, Joe Magliolo, and Keith Robinson are prosecuting the case.

 

 

 

Two men who exploited the chaos of Dallas’ Black Lives Matter protests to steal firearms have been charged with gun crimes, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Demonte Kelly, 18, and Lejael Rudley, 19, were charged via criminal complaint with theft from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) and possession of stolen firearms.

“Theft of firearms will always trigger swift law enforcement action,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “We are thankful to the members of the public who stepped up to help law enforcement track down these men and their stolen guns.  This prosecution sends a message: Federal law enforcement will not allow criminals to use the turmoil facing our city as cover for their own lawless ends.” 

“Recovering stolen firearms is a priority for ATF and the community,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Division Jeffrey C. Boshek II. “My thanks to the agents, investigators and members of the public who worked swiftly to identify these men so quickly after the burglary.”

According to the complaint, unsealed today, a surveillance camera recorded three men exiting DFW Gun Range around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday, May 31, shortly after the theft of more than 40 firearms.

In the span of just 80 seconds, the trio allegedly pried open the side entrance of the facility, grabbed three rifles posted on the wall, and smashed glass cases to snatch several dozen handguns stored inside.

Following ATF’s release of the surveillance video, a tipster identified one of the men as Demonte Kelly, of Dallas.

Dallas police officers tracked Mr. Kelly to a hotel in southeast Dallas, where they observed him interacting with two men: Mr. Rudley and a third man, later identified as S.J. Mr. Kelly then drove off in a red Jeep with paper plates.    

With ATF running point on surveillance, Dallas police conducted a traffic stop on the Jeep. Inside the vehicle, officers discovered one of the stolen firearms.

During a subsequent interview with ATF, Mr. Kelly identified himself in the surveillance video, admitted to burglarizing the gun range, and gave agents written consent to search his hotel room. He also admitted to selling one of the stolen firearms to an unknown individual. Inside his hotel room, agents recovered four additional stolen firearms, 76 rounds of assorted ammunition, and baggies of crack cocaine.

ATF also interviewed Mr. Rudley, who also admitted to burglarizing the gun range and gave agents written consent to search his hotel room, where agents recovered a sixth stolen firearm.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, not evidence. Mr. Kelly and Mr. Rudley are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The defendants made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan Friday. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in federal prison.

The third individual allegedly involved in the burglary, identified as S.J., remains at large. ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office urge the public to report any information they have on the whereabouts of S.J. or the stolen weapons: 888-ATF-TIPS, ATFTips@atf.gov, http://atf.gov/contact/atftips, @Reportitcom, or text ATFDAL to 63975. ATF has partnered with the National Shooting Sports Foundation to offer a $10,000 reward.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary Tromblay, Joe Magliolo, and Keith Robinson are prosecuting the case.

On Tuesday, demolition crews began razing Han Gil Hotel Town, the drug-infested Dallas motel at the center of a 23-defendant drug trafficking probe, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Shuttered since the U.S. Attorney’s Office obtained a Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting use of the property in March 2019, the Han Gil was forfeited to the government and sold, interlocutory, by the U.S. Marshals to a local developer. The contract negotiated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office included a condition that the developer buy the property “as is,” and demolish the building within 120 days of closing.  

In a civil case, the government argued that for years, the hotel – which was located caddy corner to a local elementary school – served as home base for multiple drug dealers selling heroin, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine. The building functioned as a “safe haven for drug distributors” and a “breeding ground for escalating criminal activity,” prosecutors said.  The Court agreed, stating that the building “endangers the general welfare of the community.”

At least three victims are known to have died of drug overdoses inside the hotel, their bodies dumped by “cleanup crews” who failed to report their deaths. Numerous other drug users, who often injected themselves while still on the premises, were subjected to beatings, sexual abuse, and brutality by the dealers headquartered there.

“For far too long, the Han Gil played host to a parade of despicable criminals engaged in drug dealing, murder, and human trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “With the destruction of the building, we have closed a chapter of the Han Gil horror story – but rest assured, our work taking down the many drug dealers that once frequented the facility is far from over.”

“Drug trafficking and the violent acts that accompany it destroy lives and leave families shattered.  Now, the Han Gil, through its shattered glass and destroyed walls, will no longer be a visible symbol of the abhorrent crimes committed within its walls,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Division Eduardo A. Chávez . “The North Texas Strike Force will continue its relentless pursuit of justice to ensure those who prey on the addicted are held accountable.”

The Han Gil’s former owner, Su Amos Mun, was charged in parallel criminal proceedings with maintaining a drug-involved premises, a violation of the Controlled Substances Act. He pleaded guilty in August 2019 and was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

According to his plea papers, Mun, 65, admitted that despite being aware of deadly overdoes, he allowed dealers to openly sell illicit drugs from inside his hotel rooms, charging them an inflated daily rate, or “drug tax,” to operate with impunity.

To date, 23 defendants have been charged in the Han Gil cases; 17 have pleaded guilty, including the hotel’s top dealers.

Eric Dewayne Freeman, aka “Stuff,” and Kendrick Lamel Washington, aka “Kiki,” both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and were sentenced to a combined 60 years in federal prison.

The pair admitted that they and other dealers routinely used so-called “trap rooms” within the Han Gil to peddle drugs, and that Mun tipped them off before law enforcement or city officials entered the premises.

Washington, 40, admitted that he acted as Freeman’s enforcer, using tactics “designed to instill fear” in individuals Freeman believed had stolen from him or owed him money. In December 2018, Washington used a cell phone to record Freeman, 44, torturing a young man with a blow torch.

The demolition of the site this week began with an excavator ripping through the rear portion of the building. After demolition is completed, the developer plans to replace the former drug den with new, mixed use apartment and retail buildings.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Coppell Police Department, Dallas Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Grand Prairie Police Department, Arlington Police Department, Grapevine Police Department, Lancaster Police Department, the State Department, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Plano Police Department, Farmers Branch Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Garland Police Department, Rowlett Police Department, Denton Police Department, Lewisville Police Department and McKinney Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Hogan, NDTX’s Civil Chief, Lindsey Beran, and Braden Civins filed the civil case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Calvert, Chief of NDTX’s Narcotics Section, and Phelesa Guy are prosecuting the criminal case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Beverly Chapman and Melissa Childs handled the forfeiture.

A man who brandished an assault rifle at a Black Lives Matter protest in Lubbock on Saturday has been charged with making interstate threats, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed today, Emmanuel Quinones, a 25-year-old local, allegedly brought a loaded Smith & Wesson .223 caliber semi-automatic to a protest decrying the death of George Floyd, a black man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police last month.

In view of the protesters, Mr. Quinones held the rifle at “low ready,” in firing position with the muzzle pointed toward the ground, as panic rippled through the assembled crowd.  (Although Texas is an open-carry state, the Texas Penal Code makes it illegal to display a firearm in a public place “in a manner calculated to alarm.”)

Mr. Quinones allegedly refused a Lubbock Police officer’s verbal commands to drop the rifle, and only did so when the officer drew his gun. A protester then tackled Mr. Quinones, who allegedly shouted, “this is a revolution” and “President Trump must die” as he was taken into custody.

During an interview, Mr. Quinones admitted that he previously made social media posts designed to “intimidate” the President and “MAGA instigators.” One such post, shared on Facebook on May 28, intimated that he planned to obtain gun parts “to off racists and MAGA people.”

In the interview, the defendant stated he attended the protest to protect demonstrators from these so-called MAGA (Make America Great Again) instigators, who he planned to shoot on sight.  He claimed the police would not have been able to identify these counter-protestors, but that he could have.

“Instead of respecting citizens’ rights to respectfully voice their feelings, this defendant incited panic, putting everyone present – including those he claimed to support – in danger,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “We will not tolerate attempts to instill terror or encourage violence at otherwise peaceful protests.” 

“The FBI respects the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights. In this case, the defendant threatened multiple lives including the President of the United States and that will not be tolerated,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “We will continue working with our local, state, and federal partners to apprehend and charge violent instigators who are exploiting legitimate, peaceful protests and engaging in violations of federal law.”

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of unlawful conduct, not evidence. Mr. Quinones is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

He made his initial appearance Tuesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant. If convicted, the defendant could face up to five years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Dallas Field Office, Lubbock Resident Agency, the United States Secret Service, the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, and the Lubbock Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Haag is prosecuting the case.

A former Arlington pastor was sentenced today to 293 months in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

39-year-old Brett Jarad Monroe, former associate pastor at Heritage Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, pleaded guilty in January to one count of sexual exploitation of a child.

"No child should ever have to endure the pain of sexual exploitation,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “The allegations in this case are particularly disturbing due to the defendant’s employment at the time of the offense as a pastor in a position of trust. The United States Attorney’s Office along with law enforcement partners will use every available tool to identify, arrest, and hold child predators accountable.”

“This individual’s actions were revolting, and the harm he caused to innocent children is devastating and forever lasting. His conduct was particularly disturbing because he was a trusted member of the community,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, special agent in charge of HSI Dallas. “Protecting the most innocent members of our society is a top priority for HSI and we will never relent in our efforts to put monsters in disguise, like Monroe, where they belong - behind bars!”

Federal agents executed a search warrant at Monroe’s residence on December 11, 2019. Monroe admitted to agents that he used his cellphone to create secret recordings of a minor female victim while she showered at his Arlington, Texas home. According to court documents, Monroe converted the video into still images which he saved in an online storage account.

At sentencing, an agent testified that Monroe admitted to sending, receiving, and trading child pornography online for years to fuel his pornography addiction. He also confessed to surreptitiously recording multiple other minor victims showering in his residence.

This investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the Arlington Police Department, Fort Worth Police Department, and Texas DPS. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is prosecuting this case. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor handed down the sentence.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood brings together 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.

A healthcare executive at the center of two massive healthcare fraud scams has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

55-year-old Semyon Narasov, a former NextHealth and Forest Park Medical Center executive, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary to 76 months in federal prison.

He pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiracy to commit money laundering in the NextHealth case and to conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare bribes and kickbacks in the Forest Park case.

“This defendant was a central figure in not one, but two significant healthcare fraud schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “We cannot and will not allow health professionals to pervert an industry that should be solely focused on helping patients.”

According to court documents, Mr. Narasov admitted that Forest Park paid him and his business partner, Andrew Hillman, $190,000 to refer patients to the facility or to surgeons with privileges there.

He and Mr. Hillman submitted phony invoices to conceal the bribes, which were funneled through Adelaide Business Solutions, a shell entity, he said.

Mr. Narasov also admitted that while at NextHealth, he and Mr. Hillman submitted fraudulent claims to private and government health insurance providers – seeking reimbursement for prescriptions that were medically unnecessary, prescriptions for misbranded, non-FDA-approved drugs, and prescriptions prescribed by physicians who were receiving kickbacks, all while falsely claiming they had charged patients co-pays.

(Mr. Hillman also pleaded guilty to his role in both schemes, and was sentenced in December 2019 to 66 months in federal prison.)

The cases were investigated by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Defense - Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Wirmani, Marcus Busch, and Chad Meacham prosecuted.

An Amarillo convenience store owner and drug trafficker was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for his role in distributing synthetic cannabinoids, also known as “K-2” or “spice,” announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Phouphet Sayasane, 43, a.k.a. “Phet” pleaded guilty in December 2019 to distributing and possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

According to court documents, Sayasane owned and or assisted in operating a network of convenience stores and “smoke shops” around the Amarillo area where he and co-defendants sold illegal synthetic cannabinoids.

According to the DEA, “K-2” and “spice” are two of the many street names for synthetic cannabinoids which are human-made, mind-altering chemicals developed to mimic the effects of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredient of marijuana. Synthetic cannabinoids – which can cause increased heart rate, seizures, vomiting, agitation, hallucinations, and other symptoms – are typically marketed in rectangular, heat-sealed packets with brightly colored wording and street names to add appeal.

Sayasane, and co-defendants, Paul Vang, 46, Krystal Vang, 43, Danny Vorasane, 31, Terry Morgan, 57, and Andrew Rodriguez, 35, most commonly sold synthetic cannabinoids to customers in one-gram and five-gram packages, often labelled as “aroma therapy.”

In plea papers, Sayasane admitted to supplying bulk amounts of “K-2” directly to other convenience stores and “smoke shops” in Amarillo including those of Paul Vang and Krystal Vang.

Through the network of convenience stores, Sayasane illegally distributed in excess of three kilograms of K-2 into the Amarillo community.

Other co-defendants also received the following sentences for their involvement: Paul Vang, 51 months, Krystal Vang, 46 months, Danny Vorasane, 37 months, Terry Morgan, 27 months, and Andrew Rodriguez, probation.

This investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, the Amarillo Police Department, the Potter County Sheriff’s Office, the Randall County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long is prosecuting this case. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk handed down the sentence.

CHARGED – Brandon Daeyon Glaspie & Darren Miles*

On May 13, a federal grand jury indicted Brandon Daeyon Glaspie, 38, and Darren Miles, 21, for conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, interference with commerce by robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The defendants allegedly stole approximately $160,000 from an armored vehicle owned by Brinks, a security logistic company. They allegedly threatened the driver at gunpoint, then fled the scene. The defendants face up to 47 years in federal prison.  The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joe Magliolo and Gary Tromblay.

CHARGED – Samuel Johnson*

On May 15, Samuel Lynn Johnson, 20, was charged via criminal complaint with possession of prepubescent child pornography. According to court documents, the defendant allegedly uploaded obscene images of children to Tumblr, a microblogging site.  In an interview with police, he also allegedly admitted to inappropriate sexual contact with a 7-year-old family member. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The Texas Department of Public Safety and Federal Bureau of investigation conducted the investigation with the help of the Snyder Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam is prosecuting the case.

SENTENCING – Erica Renee Robertson

On May 19, Erica Roberson, 41, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Robertson admits obtaining heroin from a supply in Dallas, Texas and transporting it back to Wichita Falls, Texas. Once in Wichita Falls, she sold heroin to customers in the local area. This case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety and DEA and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Boudreau.

SENTENCING – Amy Faye Moore

On May 19, Amy Faye Moore, 40, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Moore obtained heroin from a supply in Dallas, Texas and transported it back to the Wichita Falls, Texas. Moore admits to selling heroin to customers located in the Wichita Falls area. This case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety and DEA and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Boudreau.

 

*All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

A Waco man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for a scheme that deceived numerous victims, including several former law enforcement, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Richard Lee Burney, 50, pleaded guilty in January to wire fraud.

In plea papers, Burney admitted to defrauding a number of Texas ranchland owners. Those victims included a retiree of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office and a former Department of Public Safety Trooper who served the public for 35 years.

According to court documents, Burney devised a scheme in which he stated he was working in the timber business alongside the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help with the cleanup effort in North Carolina after Hurricane Matthew made landfall there in 2016.

Burney admitted to fraudulently claiming, that in connection with his work, he entered into a “lease buy-back” program that would allow him to lease equipment from a Bobcat Company dealership, use the equipment for the FEMA projects, and then resell the equipment at significantly discounted prices to individual buyers who agreed to reserve purchases with partial or full down payments.

Burney sent emails and text messages to victims to assure them that the equipment would be available. Burney never followed through on his promise to deliver the equipment to any of his victims or refund the money he schemed from them.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, Lubbock Resident Agency and the Texas Rangers conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Howey prosecuted the case. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix handed down the sentence.