Northern District of Texas

DALLAS — Edric Norvell Robinson, Sr., 46, of Dallas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 216 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in April 2016 to one count of sex trafficking of children related to his pimping a 16-year-old girl in Dallas and Wichita Falls, Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

In addition, at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Kinkeade ordered that Robinson must serve a 15-year term of supervised release after serving his custody sentence. He must also register as a lifetime sex offender.

According to documents filed in his case, from approximately April 7, 2014, through August 19, 2014, Robinson knowingly recruited, enticed, harbored and transported a 16-year-old minor female, whom he caused to engage in a commercial sex act.

Project Safe Childhood (PSC) is a Department of Justice initiative that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. These cases include prosecutions of child sex trafficking; sexual abuse of a minor or ward; child pornography offenses; obscene visual representation of the sexual abuse of children; selling or buying of children; and many more statutes. To learn more about PSC’s work, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), both members of the North Texas Anti-Trafficking Taskforce (NTATT), investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cara Foos Pierce was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — A registered pharmacist who owned, operated and served as the pharmacist in charge of GenPharm Pharmacy on Wheatland Road in Desoto, Texas, Ndufola Kigham, appeared in federal court this morning before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater and pleaded guilty to federal felony offenses stemming from her involvement in a “pill mill” operation, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Kigham, 45, of Arlington, Texas, pleaded guilty to two counts of misprision of a felony. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison, on each of the two counts. In addition, according to the terms of her plea agreement, she agrees to pay a $9,500 fine prior to sentencing. She will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for May 26, 2017.

After their arrests in January 2016, Kigham, along with another co-defendant pharmacist, Kumi Frimpong, and Dr. Richard Andrews, a doctor of osteopathy who supervised the McAllen Medical Clinic on South Hampton in Dallas, were ordered to surrender their Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration numbers, preventing Kigham and Frimpong from dispensing controlled substances and Dr. Andrews from issuing prescriptions for controlled substances. Kigham also surrendered the stock of controlled substances that she had in her pharmacy to DEA.

Dr. Andrews, 64, of Dallas, pleaded guilty in mid-January 2016 to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (oxycodone) and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. According to the plea agreement filed in his case, if the Court accepts the plea, the parties agree that a sentence of at least 48 months but no more than 96 months in federal prison is the appropriate disposition of his case. He has agreed that he will not apply for another DEA Certificate of Registration, and he further agreed never to seek or retain employment, including consulting, in or related to the pain management industry. He also agreed not to obtain or maintain, directly or indirectly, a financial ownership interest in a pain management clinic or home healthcare service. He remains on bond pending sentencing, which is set for April 28, 2017.

Frimpong, 56, of Dallas, who owned, operated, and was the pharmacist in charge at Cornerstone Pharmacy, on Bolton Boone Drive in Desoto, pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute oxycodone. He also agreed to surrender $41,112 to the U.S. that constituted proceeds from dispensing oxycodone during the conspiracy. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 17, 2017.

According to plea documents filed in Kigham’s case, between approximately January 2013 and August 2014, several individuals conspired to distribute 30mg oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance. Kigham admitted that she knew of the conspiracy and failed to notify any authority of it. Instead, she committed affirmative acts to conceal the conspiracy, such as filling prescriptions for 30mg oxycodone written for multiple different individuals and dispensing the filled prescriptions to a single individual, and not to the individuals named on the prescription. By filling these prescriptions while the conspiracy was ongoing, Kigham dispensed more than 70,000 30mg oxycodone pills based on legitimate prescriptions.

Another co-conspirator in the case, Muhammad Faridi, 40, who is not a physician but who was the owner of the McAllen Medical Clinic, pleaded guilty in August 2016 to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2017.

In February 2015, a federal grand jury in Dallas indicted 23 individuals on offenses related to their participation in the prescription drug distribution conspiracy. That indictment alleged that from at least May 2013 through July 2014, the defendants participated in a scheme to illicitly obtain prescriptions for pain medications, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, and then distribute those controlled substances for profit. As part of the conspiracy, individuals, often homeless or of limited means, were recruited and paid to pose as patients at medical clinics, including the McAllen Medical Clinic, to obtain prescriptions to fill those prescriptions at designated pharmacies.

Superseding indictments were returned in December 2015 and in January 2016, and a total of 31 individuals were charged. Many of those defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Eleven have been sentenced to date. Trial for the one remaining defendant, Carolina Berrio, is set for April 10, 2017.

This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Louisiana State Police, the Grand Prairie Police Department, the Dallas Police Department, the Houston Police Department, the Arlington Police Department, the Greenville Police Department, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters is in charge of the prosecution.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Cruz Perez, a/k/a “Travieso,” 40, appeared in federal court yesterday and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant to his role in a methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Perez, a member of the Texas Syndicate, faces a statutory penalty of not less than five years nor more than 40 years in federal prison and up to a $5 million fine. A sentencing date was not set.

Perez and eight other west Texas residents, including three other members of the Texas Syndicate, were arrested in early June 2016 by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Texas Department of Public Safety, with assistance from the Big Spring, Sundown and Levelland Police Departments, the Howard County and Lubbock County Sheriff’s Offices, the U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Perez is the lead defendant in the case, and he is the last defendant charged in the case to plead guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Other defendants charged and convicted include:

      Christopher Lee Gonzalez, aka “Gonzo,” 43
      Victor Manuel Castillo, aka “Victor Manuel Garza,” 43
      Christopher David Gonzales, aka “Chris,” 41
      Evan Cruz Parson, aka “Evan,” 21
      Alexander Alfonzo Mendoza, aka “Alex,” 20
      Jose Gutierrez, III, aka “Baby Joey,” 21
      Jasmine Pillar Hernandez, aka “Crazy,” 32
      Crystal Dimas, aka “Babe,” 28

According to plea documents filed in Perez’s case, on October 3, 2015, Perez distributed and possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The investigation revealed that late that morning, Perez called Christopher Lee Gonzales and discussed Gonzales obtaining a quantity of methamphetamine from Perez. Perez advised that he’d have his nephew, Jose Gutierrez, III, bring it to Gonzales. At approximately 12:05 p.m., Perez called Gutierrez and told him that he needed to come back to Lamesa, Texas. Perez then texted/called Alexander Mendoza, who stored the methamphetamine for Perez, and instructed Mendoza to bring “The two that were left and the one that you got yesterday” and “also another 9.” At approximately 5:55 p.m., Perez and Gonzales discussed that Gonzales owned Perez approximately $21,000 for past drugs and that Gonzales was having trouble selling Perez’s methamphetamine because other dealers were selling a better quality methamphetamine for a cheaper price. Perez and Gonzales then discussed where to do the drug transaction.

Special agents with the DEA who were conducting surveillance in Lamesa observed a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe, known to be driven by Gutierrez, traveling toward Lubbock. Agents maintained surveillance until approximately 8:35 p.m. when a Texas Highway Patrol trooper stopped Gutierrez in Lubbock and found he was transporting approximately 500 grams of methamphetamine.

That evening, Gutierrez’s wife called Perez and told him that “Joey” texted her at 8:40 p.m., saying that he got “pulled over in Lubbock.” She called Perez and told him, “He went to jail.” When she called Perez at 9:19 p.m. and told him, “he got caught,” Perez asked, “With it? With the stuff?” She responded affirmatively. At approximately 9:11 p.m., Perez called Parson and told him, “Baby Joey went to jail,” referring to Gutierrez being arrested with the methamphetamine. Then, at approximately 9:23 p.m., Perez called Gonzales and told him, “He didn’t make it,” referring to Gutierrez being arrested with the methamphetamine.

The investigation is being led by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Juanita Fielden and Sean Long are prosecuting the case.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — This morning, Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings sentenced Rudolfo Ledesma Castaneda, Jr., 31, to 360 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2016 to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Castaneda and eleven defendants of a drug trafficking organization (DTO), mostly from the San Angelo, Texas, area, were arrested in July 2016 in a joint Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Texas Department of Public Safety and the San Angelo Police Department. Other agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, and the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office provided valuable assistance in the operation.

drug traffickers who have taken root in the San Angelo area and jeopardize the safety and security of our communities is a top priority for my office,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “But one agency can’t do it alone. Today, I commend the dedicated efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the San Angelo Police Department, in addition to the several other federal, state and local agencies that lent assistance when and where needed. When these agencies join efforts, nothing stands in their way, and we will push back hard against those who peddle this poison in our communities.”

“The state of Texas will not tolerate criminals who distribute drugs throughout our communities and endanger our residents,” said Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Commander Carey Matthews. “The department is proud to have participated in the multi-agency investigation that incorporated all levels of law enforcement and was key in identifying and disrupting this methamphetamine trafficking operation.”

“This investigation is another great example of the accomplishments of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies working together to make our communities a safer place,” said Chief Frank Carter of the San Angelo Police Department. “I am very thankful and proud of all the personnel who worked on this lengthy investigation.”

Castaneda was the DTO’s ringleader. Of the 12 defendants who were indicted, 11 have been convicted and 10 have been sentenced. The charges were dismissed against one of the defendants.

last sentencing in the case is set for defendant Richard Jasso, 39, of San Angelo, Texas, on February 17, 2017. Jasso was convicted at trial in November 2016 on one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting. The government filed a notice of enhancement because Jasso has two previous “felony drug offenses.” If the Court finds those convictions are final and valid, then, by statute, the Court must impose a life sentence without parole.

Jesse Huerra, 31, of San Angelo, was sentenced to life in federal prison. He was convicted at trial in September 2016 on one count each of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.

Nancy Ann Flores, 41, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. She pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful use of a communications facility.

Antonio N. Flores, 52, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful use of a communications facility.

Rudolfo Velasquez, 32, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and aiding and abetting.

Joe Lopez, III, 33, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 125 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.

Jose G. Montez, 38, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.

Shayna Kaye McCann, 25, of Great Falls, Montana, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison. She pleaded guilty to one count of misprision of a felony.

Daniel Roy Lombrana, 29, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, with an enhancement for a prior conviction.

Gabriel Castaneda, 30, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The Texas Department of Public Safety, San Angelo Police Department, DEA and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — A former Dallas resident and member of the Jose Paz Garcia drug trafficking organization (DTO), who, after pleading guilty in 1995 to his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy, absconded, and remained a fugitive for 17 years, was sentenced today, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Anthony Harrison Bell, a/k/a “Pajaro,” (Bird), 58, worked as a pilot for the Jose Paz Garcia DTO. Arrested in south Florida in 2013, Bell was sentenced today to 168 months in federal prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn. He pleaded guilty in October 1995 to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of marijuana and cocaine.

Jose Paz Garcia, along with several coconspirators, was convicted at trial in the Northern District of Texas in May 1996. He was sentenced to serve life in federal prison.

According to Bell’s factual resume, from approximately June 1994 through early August 1995, Bell was employed by Jose Paz Garcia to fly quantities of marijuana and cocaine, for distribution and sale to others throughout the U.S., from El Paso, Texas, to Dallas. Bell would also transport drug proceeds, derived from Garcia from the sale of the marijuana and cocaine, from Dallas to Garcia and his associates in El Paso.

For example, Bell admits that on:

      1)   June 1, 1995, he used his Cessna 310L aircraft to transport 10 kilograms of cocaine from El Paso to Dallas for Garcia;

      2)   June 5, 1995, Bell, along with co-conspirator Miguel Robles, acquired approximately 140 pounds of marijuana from Garcia, and the next day Bell used his Cessna 310L aircraft to fly it to Nebraska, Colorado, and Ohio for redistribution;

      3)   June 30, 1995, Bell, along with Robles, acquired approximately 104 pounds of marijuana from Garcia, and Bell used his Cessna 210 aircraft to fly the marijuana from Dallas to Columbus, Ohio, for redistribution; and

      4)   July 12, 1995, Bell, using his Cessna 210 aircraft, flew approximately 173 pounds of marijuana from Dallas to Detroit for Garcia.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Revesz prosecuted.

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DALLAS – Following a three-day trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn, a federal jury convicted Deborah Petty, 48, of Mesquite, Texas, on several identity theft offenses, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, yesterday afternoon, the jury convicted Petty on seven counts of identity theft and one count of aggravated identity theft. Each of the identity theft counts carries a maximum statutory penalty of fifteen years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The aggravated identity theft count carries a $250,000 fine and a mandatory statutory penalty of two years in federal prison, consecutive to any other sentence Petty receives on Counts one through seven. Restitution could also be ordered. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

The government presented evidence at trial that Petty worked at the Western Regional Center for Brain and Spine Surgery (WRCBSS), a medical facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, between November 28, 2011, and June 29, 2012. In her position, and prior to her termination from WRCBSS, Petty obtained access to patient files, which included patients' names, dates of birth, and social security numbers. Petty understood and signed an acknowledgement that she would have access to confidential patient information and agreed that she would not disclose or share such information. Nonetheless, Petty stole hundreds of patient files and maintained possession of those files until May 2014, long after she left WRCBSS.

During the time in which she possessed these stolen identities, Petty used the identities in connection with a food stamp fraud scheme in the State of Florida. Approximately 110 individual patients from WRCBSS had food stamp benefits obtained in their name, totaling over $44,000 in losses to the government. Petty eventually moved to Mesquite and obtained new employment at another entity, Epic Healthcare Services, by overstating her qualifications and omitting her work at WRCBSS. In her new position, Petty again had access to patient identifiers and other personal information. In May 2014, the Mesquite Police Department recovered approximately 1,500 stolen identities possessed and maintained by Petty in an apartment in Mesquite.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Mesquite Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Rumsey and P.J. Meitl are in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Crystal Burrows appeared in federal court this afternoon and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney to one count of wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Burrows faces a maximum statutory penalty of twenty years in federal prison, and a $250,000 fine. She could also be ordered to pay restitution. Sentencing will be set at a later date.

According to documents filed in her case, beginning in 2014, Borrows knowingly and intentionally participated in a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). More specifically, Burrows electronically filed tax returns for the tax year 2013 with her EFIN, and for tax years 2014 and 2015 with EFINs of coconspirators, under taxpayers’ names and social security numbers without the taxpayers’ knowledge or consent. In total, Burrows prepared and filed at least 22 fraudulent tax returns using stolen identifying information of tax payers. Burrows also used two stolen social security numbers to establish numerous credit card accounts, a car loan, store accounts, and care credit accounts typically used for medical procedures.

Burrows stipulates that her conduct resulted in at least a $692,184 loss.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Arnoldo Rueda-Medina, known by several aliases including “La Minsa,” arrived in the United States today from Mexico to face criminal charges in connection with his top leadership roles in the “La Familia-Michoacan” Mexican drug cartel, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Clyde E. Shelley, Jr. of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division.

Rueda-Medina, 47, made his initial appearance in federal court in Dallas this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan on charges outlined in a second superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Texas in September 2010. That indictment charges Rueda-Medina with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

On February 25, 2010, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Rueda-Medina under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) for his involvement in drug trafficking. The Kingpin Act blocks all property and interests in property, subject to U.S. jurisdiction, owned or controlled by significant foreign narcotics traffickers, as identified by the President. The act also prohibits U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with Rueda-Medina, and it virtually froze all of his assets in the United States.

"This case and others like it around the country demonstrate that, when we work together with our law enforcement partners both here and in Mexico, we can bring cartel leadership to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “That’s the whole point of the OCDETF program and it certainly worked here.”

“The tireless efforts given to capture and extradite this individual by the men and women of the DEA, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Texas, as well as our law enforcement partners throughout the DFW area and in Mexico, are countless,” said Special Agent in Charge Shelley.

The indictment alleges that from approximately September 2008 to October 21, 2009, in the Dallas Division of the Northern District of Texas, Rueda-Medina and 13 co-conspirators arranged for the acquisition of cocaine and methamphetamine from supply sources affiliated with the “La Familia-Michoacan” Mexican drug cartel, arranged to transport these multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine from Michoacan, Mexico, and other locations to North Texas and elsewhere, and transported U.S. currency representing drug proceeds to Michoacan, Mexico, to pay for these cocaine and methamphetamine shipments.

The indictment further alleges that during the same time, Rueda-Medina and the 13 co-conspirators coordinated the delivery of drug proceeds, used the drug proceeds to rent residences in North Texas that were subsequently used to store both drugs and drug proceeds, and disposed of the drug proceeds in a manner and with the intent to promote or assist the conspiracy.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and it is a formal charging document notifying the defendant of the charges. All persons charged in an indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty. If convicted on the drug conspiracy, Rueda-Medina faces a statutory sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison and up to a $4 million fine. If convicted on the money laundering conspiracy, Rueda-Medina faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of not more than $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Dallas Police Department and the Garland Police Department; the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations provided special assistance. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in bringing the defendant to the United States to face charges.

The Justice Department extends its gratitude to the Government of Mexico for their extensive cooperation and assistance in securing the extradition of Rueda-Medina to the United States.

This case is the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.

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DALLAS — A federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment yesterday charging fugitive Rudolf Suter, 66, formerly of Dallas, with two counts of making false statements under the penalty of perjury when he concealed in his voluntary bankruptcy filing in early 2014 that he had several open and recently closed bank accounts in both the United States and Europe, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Suter, a citizen of Switzerland, failed to appear on March 9, 2016, for a hearing set in a civil case before U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey. That hearing was scheduled for Suter to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for violating post-judgment orders. The following day, Judge Godbey signed a contempt order and ordered that a civil contempt arrest warrant be issued. After remaining a fugitive for approximately nine months, on December 11, 2016, Suter was arrested on that civil contempt arrest warrant as he attempted to re-enter the U.S. at JFK International Airport. He remains in federal custody pursuant to a detention order signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez that noted his repeated failure to comply with orders of the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, including his failure to appear at multiple court hearings.

On January 6, 2017, Suter was charged in a federal criminal complaint with making a false statement, under the penalty of perjury, in a bankruptcy case.

According to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint and the indictment, in September 2011, counsel for plaintiffs Peter Denton and Harvest Investors, L.P., filed a civil complaint in order to collect a civil claim against in Suter. In August 2012, Judge Godbey issued a final judgment in that civil case in which he granted the motion for confirmation of a foreign arbitration award filed by plaintiffs Peter Denton and Harvest Investors, L.P. Judge Godbey ordered that Harvest have judgment against Suter for $1,025,430 and that Denton have judgment against Suter for $1,025,430. He also ordered Suter to pay interest on both money judgements from June 2009 until the date of payment, and he further ordered judgment against Suter to both plaintiffs to cover other expenses totaling more than $135,000, bringing the total money judgment against Suter to $2,187,055.

After the final judgment in August 2012, and continuing until March 2016, counsel for plaintiffs Denton and Harvest engaged in extensive post-judgment discovery attempts to identify and locate Suter’s property and assets in order to collect this more than $2.1 million judgment. However, from August 2012 through March 2016, Suter engaged in an ongoing pattern of concealing his financial information from the plaintiffs and the court. On January 17, 2014, Suter filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.

In that bankruptcy petition, Suter concealed his true financial condition when he filed false statements in his Schedule B (Personal Property), his Statement of Financial Affairs, and in other bankruptcy-related documents. In fact, Suter’s efforts to conceal assets and financial information continued until he fled the jurisdiction of both the above-referenced civil case and his bankruptcy case.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, the maximum statutory penalty for the offenses charges is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, per count.

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas. Suter is the 26th defendant to have been charged as part of that initiative; 16 have been convicted, one resulted in a mistrial, and nine are pending trial.

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation in the Suter case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis is in charge of the prosecution.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth, Texas, woman, who, following a one-week trial last year, before U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, was convicted on all four counts of an indictment charging federal felony offenses related to her harboring two women she illegally brought into the U.S. from Mexico and forcing them, with threat of serious harm and physical restraint, to work for her without pay, was sentenced yesterday, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Olga Sandra Murra, 64, was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a total of $795,000 in restitution to her two victims. Murra has been in federal custody since her conviction in August 2016 on two counts of forced labor and two counts of harboring an illegal alien.

From her birth in 1952 to 1997, Murra lived in Mexico. In 1997, Murra, her immediate family, and several other individuals she brought with her, including V.R., an adult female in her 30’s, moved to El Paso, Texas, and then later to Fort Worth. In 1998, Murra arranged for I.G., an adult female in her 20’s, to be transported into the U.S. Both V.R. and I.G. are Mexican citizens and both entered and remained in the U.S. illegally.

From September 1997 to April 29, 2011, Murra kept one or both of the women at her various residences in El Paso and Fort Worth and maintained possession of their identification documents.

In both El Paso and Fort Worth, Murra operated a house-cleaning business. She directed both V.R. and I.G. to work for her business, and both cleaned three to four homes per day up to seven days per week. In addition, the women cleaned Murra’s residence and prepared meals for her. Murra, however, did not pay either woman for this work. In fact, Murra required the two women give her all of the money they earned cleaning houses.

Murra represented herself to the women as the voice of God on earth, and required them to listen to religious recordings of Murra reading Bible verses and discussing their meaning while they cleaned homes. She caused both women to believe they would go to hell if they did not obey her. Murra threatened at least one of the women that if she disobeyed her, she would contact immigration and the woman would be buried in a field with other illegal aliens. Murra also struck at least one of the women.

Murra also restricted the women’s freedom within her house, requiring at times they ask for permission to go to the bathroom. Murra also prohibited them from talking to other individuals living at the residence. Generally, the women slept on the floor of a bedroom in the residence, but when she punished them, Murra required them to sleep in the garage, laundry room or backyard and restricted their food to bread and water.

In 2001, Murra provided I.G. with false identification documents and directed I.G. to work at McDonald’s and Walmart, in addition to working for her house-cleaning business. I.G. worked for approximately one year at McDonald’s in 2001 and at Walmart for approximately six months in 2003. Murra required I.G. to give all the checks she received to her, not allowing I.G. to keep any of the money she earned.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI). Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Allen-McCoy and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani prosecuted the case.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — A 55-year-old Lubbock, Texas, man, Danny Ray Caudill, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 120 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2016 to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately June 26 through July 20, 2016, Caudill used Facebook messaging to communicate with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, who was, in fact, an undercover officer. In the communications, he knowingly persuaded, induced, and enticed, and attempted to entice this person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, to engage in sexual activity with him. On July 20, 2016, Caudill made arrangements to meet with the person he believed was the minor girl, and he was arrested when he arrived at the agreed-upon location.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The investigation was conducted by the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy was in charge of the prosecutions.

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DALLAS — Alicia Gardner, 43, of Dallas, appeared in federal court this afternoon and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to one count of aggravated identify theft, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Gardner faces a maximum statutory penalty of two years in federal prison, and a $250,000 fine. She could also be ordered to pay restitution. She will remain on bond pending sentencing set for May 5, 2017.

According to documents filed in her case, from approximately January 11, 2013 to March 1, 2013, Gardner knowingly and intentionally participated in a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). More specifically, Gardner electronically filed tax returns for the tax year 2012 with her EFIN under taxpayers’ names and social security numbers without the taxpayers’ knowledge or consent. At her consent, the IRS issued refund checks to her as opposed to the unsuspecting taxpayers. Some of those checks were in the taxpayer’s names. Gardner and/or her unindicted coconspirator then proceeded to forge the signatures of the taxpayers on the refund checks and cash them. For instance, on November 11, 2013, Gardner electronically submitted a tax return with a refund request of $1,112 for K.V., without K.V.’s knowledge or consent. Gardner then endorsed and cashed the refund check.

Gardner stipulates that her conduct resulted in at least a $135,942 loss.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani is in charge of the prosecution.

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AMARILLO, Texas — Two men from Moore County, Texas, who pleaded guilty last year to federal offenses stemming from their respective roles in a marijuana trafficking organization, were sentenced yesterday, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Manuel Rodrigues Reyes, 48, and Maximilliano Gonzales, 50, both of Cactus, Texas, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 70 months, and 51 months, respectively, in federal prison. Each pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana.

According to plea documents filed in the case, from approximately August 2006 through November 2015, Adan Reyes, along with his brother Guadalupe Reyes, operated a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that trafficked multiple thousands of kilograms of marijuana from El Paso, Texas, to the Dumas, Texas, area, and then to locations primarily in the Midwestern U.S. They transported the marijuana in various ways, including using vehicles and/or horse trailers with hidden compartments. Marijuana was also sometimes hidden inside bone meal.

Adan Reyes led the DTO. It employed people to transport as well as follow load vehicles from El Paso through the checkpoint, and from the checkpoints usually to the Dumas/Cactus, Texas, area, where the marijuana was warehoused at a ranch near Gruver, Texas. From the ranch, Adan Reyes used pickup trucks to drive 500 to 1,000 pound loads of marijuana to customers in the Midwest, including locations in Dodge City, Kansas, and Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri. Proceeds from the marijuana sales were driven back to the ranch in Gruver. Adan and Guadalupe Reyes shared the drug proceeds. Different drivers were used to drive the money from Gruver to El Paso to deliver Adan Reyes’ share.

Manuel Reyes performed various tasks for the Reyes DTO, including assisting in tracking marijuana loads from El Paso to Cactus/Dumas, and he would ensure the loads made it to the ranch near Gruver, where he would assist in unloading it from vehicles arriving from El Paso and onto vehicles that would transport it to customers. He also counted the drug proceeds that were returned to the ranch and ensured the drivers were paid. On multiple occasions, he also transported cash proceeds from Cactus/Dumas to El Paso.

Maximilliano Gonzales was a driver for the Reyes DTO. He drove marijuana from the ranch in Gruver to customers and was paid for each load he transported. He used a work truck with a welder containing a false compartment to transport the marijuana.

When law enforcement conducted a search at the ranch in February 2016, investigators located a white Ford truck with a welding machine mounted to the truck bed. The welder contained a false compartment that housed packaging material, digital scales, and other items associated with marijuana trafficking. There were also papers in the truck stating the vehicle was registered to, and insured by, Maximilliano Gonzales. In addition, drug ledgers indicating payments to customers as well as payments to Manuel Rodrigues Reyes and Maximilliano Gonzales were found.

Reyes was paid approximately $1,000 per week for his services in working for the Reyes DTO, thus earning at least $150,000 during his employment. According to his plea agreement, Reyes agrees to forfeit $150,000 that represents a portion of the proceeds he obtained as a result of his criminal conduct.

Adan Reyes is currently being detained in the El Paso Division of the Western District of Texas where he is awaiting sentencing next month on charges related to his role in the Reyes DTO. Guadalupe Reyes has pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced in November 2016 to 188 months in federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office and the Cactus Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long was in charge of the prosecution.

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ABILENE, Texas — A Fort Worth, Texas, man, Manuel Guadalupe Garcia, 21, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 135 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2016 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge O’Connor further ordered that Garcia’s federal sentence be served consecutively to any sentences imposed in two state cases for murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon that are currently pending in Taylor County, Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, on October 22, 2015, an officer with the Abilene, Texas, Police Department was on routine patrol in a high-drug area when he observed an individual leave a residence from which drugs are commonly sold. The 2013 GMC pick-up truck left the residence and failed to stop at a stop sign. The vehicle was stopped and the driver/sole occupant was Garcia, who gave the officer consent to search his vehicle. The officer found a digital scale with a white powdery residue in the center console and an 8-ball of methamphetamine in the ashtray. An additional two baggies of methamphetamine, with a combined weight of more than 400 grams, were found in hidden compartments in the vehicle’s dashboard. Garcia admitted he was paid to transport the methamphetamine to Abilene and deliver it to “Bobby.”

The case was investigated by the Abilene Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden was in charge of the prosecution.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office is requesting the public’s assistance to identify any other children who Morris has victimized. Morris, who according to public sources claimed to be a film director for “Just Film It Productions,” is known to have set up trips for the purpose of photo and/or film shoots in the Northern District of Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada. Anyone who may have been victimized or who has additional information is asked to contact the FBI or the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

DALLAS — Kevin Scott Morris, 44, of Forney, Texas, has been indicted on one count of enticement of a minor, one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas,

The indictment in the case alleges that in May 2012, Morris knowingly persuaded, induced and enticed John Doe #1, a boy approximately 13 years old, to engage in sexually explicit conduct, which Morris filmed. It further alleges that in October 2016, Morris possessed a digital videotape that depicted John Doe #2, a boy approximately 12 years old. In the video, an adult male directs the boy to “start saying nasty stuff” to “lay down,” and to take off his underwear, and depicts the child lying on the floor with his genitals exposed.

The investigation began when the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a detective in Orange County, California. That detective advised that a minor male victim made an outcry that Morris sexually assaulted him in 2012, when the victim was approximately 13 years old.

According to documents filed in the case, John Doe #1 flew to Dallas for photography and videography sessions with Morris. While in Dallas, Morris took photos of, and filmed, John Doe #1 and engaged in sexually explicit activity with him. Morris also was present in a bathroom while John Doe #1 undressed and showered. Law enforcement is aware of allegations of Morris traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada with at least one other boy for what Morris assured the boy’s family were legitimate acting or modeling purposes.

An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, the statutory penalty for the enticement count is not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison; for the production count is not less than 15 years or more than 30 years in federal prison; and for the possession count is up to 10 years in federal prison. Each count of conviction also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to a lifetime of supervised release.

Morris has been in federal custody since his arrest in October 2016 on a related federal criminal complaint. A trial date of June 5, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade has been set.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. Since FY 2011, the Department of Justice has filed 20,260 PSC cases against 19,111 defendants. These cases include prosecutions of child sex trafficking; sexual abuse of a minor or ward; child pornography offenses; obscene visual representation of the sexual abuse of children; selling or buying of children; and many more statutes. To learn more about PSC’s work, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie L. Hoxie is in charge of the prosecution.

Anyone who, or whose child, may have been victimized in this case is asked to call Lisa Shedden at the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 1-800-496-8341. Anyone who has additional information is asked to contact the FBI at 972-559-5000, the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office at 972-932-9631, or Kaufman County Crime Stoppers at 877-TIPSKCC (847-7522).

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ABILENE, Texas — Jose Diego Gonzales, 30, of Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Conner to 240 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2016 to one count of receipt of child pornography and aiding and abetting, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Gonzales has been in custody since his arrest in July 2016 in Fort Worth.

According to documents filed in the case, in December 2015, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) learned that an individual, later identified at Gonzales, was using the free instant messenger software, Kik, and free public WiFi in Tye, Texas, to receive and distribute child pornography.

Special Agents with HSI executed a search warrant and obtained two cell phones; a forensic examination of one of the phones revealed 30 images of child pornography.

The investigation also identified a Dropbox file hosting service account that Gonzales used that also contained images of child pornography. In fact, the investigation revealed that the Dropbox account contained 56 images of child pornography and 279 videos of child pornography.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. To learn more about PSC’s work, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.

ICE HSI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — A previously deported convicted felon and his roommate were sentenced this week following their guilty pleas last year related to the April 2016 burglary of a Federal Firearms Licensee in Arlington, Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Flor Trevino, 23, of Garland, Texas, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 34 months in federal prison. She pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one count of conspiracy to possess a stolen firearm.

Trevino’s roommate, Francisco Perez, a/k/a “Ismael Zoria Rivera,” “Ismael Zoria” and “Ismael Lopez Perez,” 27, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 30 months in federal prison on January 11, 2017. Perez pleaded guilty in August 2016 to one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.

A third defendant convicted in a related case, Xiao Chen Lin, 32, of Dallas, pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one count of felon in possession of a firearm. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lynn later in 2017.

According to documents filed in the cases, numerous firearms were stolen from Weby Shop, a Federal Firearm Licensee in Arlington during a burglary on April 7, 2016.

Trevino admitted knowing about the Weby Shop burglary and further admitted that following the burglary, one of the individuals who broke into the FFL contacted her and had her store several of the stolen firearms in her apartment in Garland. Many of these stolen firearms were then moved to a storage unit in Garland, where ATF agents recovered 13 stolen firearms.

On April 22 2016, ATF agents conducting surveillance observed Perez leave his apartment in Garland and place a bag in a black pick-up truck. Perez gave agents consent to search the truck, which he identified as his. ATF agents located the bag, and inside, agent discovered a Glock 45 caliber pistol. Perez advised the firearm was his and further advised he was in the U.S. illegally.

When special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a state search warrant at Lin’s residence on April 22, 2016, they seized approximately 14 firearms, including six that had been stolen in the Weby Shop burglary. Lin admitted he knew one of the firearms had been stolen from a FFL. Lin has three prior felony convictions, and is currently on supervised release after serving a 97-month federal prison sentence on arson and felon in possession out of the Southern District of Mississippi.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Garland Police Department and the Arlington Police Department investigated the cases.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters is prosecuting the cases.

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DALLAS — Dr. Richard Andrews, 64, of Dallas, who was an owner and the sole supervising physician at the McAllen Medical Clinic located on South Hampton in Dallas, appeared in federal court this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater and pleaded guilty to two conspiracy offenses stemming from his involvement in a “pill mill” operation, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Andrews, a doctor of osteopathy, pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (oxycodone) and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. While each count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison, according to the plea agreement, if the Court accepts the plea, the parties agree that a sentence of at least 48 months but no more than 96 months in federal prison is the appropriate disposition of the case. Andrews also faces a statutory fine of up to $1 million on the drug conviction and up to $500,000 on the money laundering conviction. He remains on bond; sentencing is set for April 28, 2017.

Andrews has surrendered his DEA Certificate of Registration and agrees that he will not apply for another one. He further agreed never to seek or retain employment, including consulting, in or related to the pain management industry. Andrews also agreed not to obtain or maintain, directly or indirectly, a financial ownership interest in a pain management clinic or home healthcare service.

A co-conspirator in the case, Muhammad Faridi, 40, who is not a physician but who was also a part owner of the McAllen Medical Clinic, pleaded guilty in August 2016 to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2017.

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately January 2013 through July 2014, Andrews and his co-conspirators, including Faridi, distributed and caused to be distributed at least 150,000 30mg oxycodone pills in Dallas. The prescriptions were issued in Andrews’ name and under his DEA registration number. Andrews wrote or signed prescriptions for 30mg oxycodone pills without conducting medical exams of patients, without determining there was a legitimate medical purpose for the prescription, and outside the usual course of professional practice. Andrews admits he and his coconspirators issued the illegitimate prescriptions to make money.

The proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy consisted of cash payments collected by Faridi and other coconspirators at McAllen Medical Clinic for fake patient visits. Those payments varied per patient, per visit, and were payable only in cash. Andrews received a share of those cash payments.

Andrews further admitted that he and his coconspirators, including Faridi, conspired to conduct financial transactions with what he knew, or should have known, were proceeds of the drug trafficking in order to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership or control of those proceeds.

In fact, according to the factual resume, Andrews admitted that he knew or should have known certain facts. He admitted that, to the extent that he did not know certain facts, he had deliberately closed his eyes to what would otherwise have been obvious to him. He was not merely negligent, careless or foolish; rather, with respects to the facts that the did not know, he deliberately blinded himself to their existence.

In February 2015, a federal grand jury in Dallas indicted 23 individuals on offenses related to their participation in the prescription drug distribution conspiracy. That indictment alleged that from at least May 2013 through July 2014, the defendants participated in a scheme to illicitly obtain prescriptions for pain medications, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, and then distribute those controlled substances for profit. As part of the conspiracy, individuals, often homeless or of limited means, were recruited and paid to pose as patients at medical clinics, including the McAllen Medical Clinic, to obtain prescriptions to fill those prescriptions at designated pharmacies.

Superseding indictments were returned in December 2015 and in January 2016, and now, a total of 31 individuals have been charged. Many of those defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Eight have been sentenced to date. Additional guilty pleas in the coming weeks are possible; trial for the remainder of the defendants is set for February 13, 2017.

After their arrests in January 2016, Andrews and co-defendant pharmacists Ndufola Kigham and Kumi Frimpong, were ordered to surrender their DEA registration numbers, preventing Dr. Andrews from issuing prescriptions for controlled substances and Kigham and Frimpong from dispensing controlled substances. Kigham also surrendered her stock of controlled substances that she had at her pharmacy to DEA.

This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Louisiana State Police, the Grand Prairie Police Department, the Dallas Police Department, the Houston Police Department, the Arlington Police Department, the Greenville Police Department, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — A Dallas man who admitted committing two armed carjackings in Dallas on two consecutive days in May 2015, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to a lengthy federal prison sentence, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Verod Woodard was sentenced to 283 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty the day his trial was to begin in May 2016 in federal court in Dallas to one count of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to documents filed in his case, Woodard committed a carjacking at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store in Dallas on the afternoon of May 15, 2015. He took a 2006 Chrysler Sebring from its occupant by pointing a loaded .25 caliber Raven Arms handgun at her. The following day, Woodard brandished the same loaded .25 caliber Raven Arms handgun at a second victim at a gas station/convenience store, and he took the victim’s 2007 Ford F-250 pickup truck. Shortly after driving away from the gas station/convenience store, Woodard ran a red light, and a DART police officer observed that violation and made a traffic stop. After calling in the license plate number, officers discovered that the vehicle had recently been carjacked and Woodard was then arrested. A .25 caliber Raven Arms handgun, that matched the description given by the truck’s owner, was found in the cab of the pickup truck

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Dallas Police Department and the DART Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Penley and Kate Pfeifle prosecuted the case.

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DALLAS — Terry Bridgewater, 30, of Waco, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 98 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in August 2016 to one count of felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Godbey ordered that Bridgewater serve that sentence consecutive to a 10-year state sentence he is currently serving for burglary.

According to documents filed in the case and information presented at his sentencing hearing today, Bridgewater, who has prior felony convictions for both assault and arson, was caught by officers with the Waxahachie Police Department on June 2, 2015, while burglarizing a convenience store in Waxahachie, Texas. At the time, Bridgewater was armed with a loaded Kel-Tec 9mm caliber pistol. While being transported to the police station following his arrest, Bridgewater told the arresting officer that he was lucky that he only had two rounds of ammunition in his pistol, because if he had had more ammunition, he would have engaged the officer in a gun battle. Bridgewater also admitted that he had just sold “on the streets” another pistol that he had obliterated the serial number.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Waxahachie Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Robinson prosecuted.

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DALLAS – Texas-based MB2 Dental Solutions (MB2) and 21 pediatric dental practices affiliated with MB2, along with their owners and marketing chief, have agreed to pay the United States and the State of Texas Medicaid program $8.45 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for pediatric dental services that were not rendered, were tainted by kickbacks, or falsely identified the person who performed the service, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

“Today's settlement demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protect the Medicaid program and the patients it serves from unscrupulous providers,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “Providers who waste taxpayer dollars by billing for services that were not provided, or were otherwise improper, will be held accountable.” U.S. Attorney Parker commended the Texas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Civil Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the FBI and the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General for their coordinated efforts to investigate and resolve these allegations.

This settlement resolves allegations that between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2014, MB2 and affiliated dental practices submitted claims to the Texas Medicaid Fee for Service Program for single-surface fillings in children that were not provided. The settlement also resolves allegations that MB2 paid kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries and their families, marketers, and marketing entities, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, and that MB2 and affiliated dental practices used erroneous Medicaid provider numbers misrepresenting the dentists performing the pediatric procedures.

Medicaid is funded jointly by the states and the federal government. The State of Texas paid for part of the Medicaid claims at issue and will receive approximately half of the settlement amount.

MB2 is a dental management firm based in Carrollton, Texas, that provides management services to affiliated dental offices. The dental practices included in the settlement are Dental Professionals of Texas PLLC; Archstone Dental PLLC; Bliss Dental PLLC; Crescent Dental PLLC; Dental Central PLLC; Dental Family Circle PLLC d/b/a Forney Wellness Dental; DFW Family Dental Centers PLLC; Element Dental PLLC; Fresh Dental PLLC; Galaxy Dental PLLC; Legend Dental PLLC; Peppermint Dental PLLC; Picasso Dental PLLC; Sage Dental PLLC; Spearmint Dental PLLC; Tide Dental PLLC; Vida Dental PLLC; Viva Orthodontics PLLC and Wow Dental PLLC.

As part of the settlement agreement today, Drs. Christopher Steven Villanueva, Trung Minh Tang, Mauricio Dardano, Gabriel Shahwan and Akhil Reddy agreed to pay $250,000 each to resolve the governments’ claims against them individually. They are owners or part owners of MB2 and the dental practices included in this settlement, and practice dentistry in Texas. Frank Villanueva, MB2’s head of marketing, also will pay $100,000 to resolve his alleged personal liability.

As part of this settlement, MB2, Drs. Villanueva, Tang, Dardano, Shahwan, and Reddy have entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The CIA requires an independent review organization to annually assess whether claims reimbursed by a federal health care program were correctly coded, medically necessary and appropriately documented.

“HHS-OIG is particularly vigilant about potential abuses in Medicaid pediatric dental offices where patients and their families are especially vulnerable to questionable practices,” said Special Agent in Charge CJ Porter for the HHS-OIG in Dallas. “Today’s settlement should ensure other dental clinics are aware that we are watching how they operate and will pursue appropriate resolutions when profits are put before patient care.”

Part of the allegations resolved by this settlement were originally filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Veronica Garcia, a former MB2 employee. The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. It also permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it did in this case. Ms. Garcia will receive $1.521 million from the United States and the State of Texas.

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $31.8 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $19.3 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

The matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth G. Coffin and Scott Hogan. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

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DALLAS — A Rockwall, Texas, man, Richard Deon Murrell, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 190 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in April 2016 to his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

On September 3, 2015, Murrell was driving on I-30 and was pulled over by an officer with the Rockwall Police Department. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer smelled marijuana. The officer asked Murrell for his driver’s license and Murrell said he didn’t have one. When Murrell was asked to step out of his vehicle and write his name and date of birth on a piece of paper, Murrell provided the officer with a fake name and fake date of birth. Murrell then told the officer his license was suspended. The officer told Murrell he was being detained because of the validity of his license and told him to place his hands behind his back. Murrell jerked away, ran along the passenger side of the vehicle, entered the vehicle and grabbed a dark bag from the vehicle. Murrell then ran north across the east and west-bound lanes of I-30.

A search of the vehicle revealed that it contained approximately one gram of marijuana. When Murrell was subsequently located coming out of a wooded area and was arrested, he advised he’d thrown the bag away near a tractor trailer, but no bag was found in that area.

Later, officers located a soft-sided cooler, containing numerous clear baggies of methamphetamine, in a culvert. That methamphetamine had a gross weight of 1142 grams. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) examined the baggies for fingerprints and concluded that prints on the baggies belonged both to Murrell and his co-defendant, Toby Deodric Hawkins. Charges remain pending against Hawkins.

The FBI, Rockwall Police Department and Texas DPS investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal prosecuted.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — A 46-year-old man, Ronald Hinshaw, who admitted writing numerous bad checks in U.S. Post Offices in Texas, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to serve 60 months in federal prison, a sentence higher than that recommended by the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

In addition, Judge O’Connor ordered that Hinshaw pay $126,098 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service. Hinshaw, who most recently resided in Lufkin, Texas, pleaded guilty in July 2016 to a felony information charging one count of theft of government funds. He has been in custody since he entered that plea.

"This sentence should be a signal to offenders like Ronald Hinshaw that defrauding a government entity relied upon by millions of citizens every day for safe and dependable delivery of their personal effects is a serious crime that can result in serious time,” said Ralph A. Key, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Fort Worth Division.

According to information presented during his sentencing hearing last week, Hinshaw negotiated 140 checks, totaling $126,098, at post offices throughout Texas. According to the factual resume filed in the case, on May 20, 2015, Hinshaw knowingly provided a “hot check” at a Post Office in Fort Worth to purchase 300, 20-stamp booklets of 49-cent stamps that he then sold at a reduced rate for money.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Wolfe was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Arnoldo Perez Mirabal, 42, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 24 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2016 to a superseding information charging wire fraud related to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) impersonation fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Boyle also ordered Mirabal to pay more than $97,000 in restitution to the 182 victims of his scheme. Mirabal has been in custody since his arrest in Miami in May 2016 on charges outlined in a federal complaint filed in Dallas.

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately November 2015 until April 2016, Mirabal or other individuals would make unsolicited phone calls to unsuspecting taxpayers claiming to be IRS agents or employees, telling the taxpayer they owed the IRS an outstanding debt that must be paid immediately. This IRS impersonator would typically threaten the taxpayer with arrest or a lawsuit if the funds were not immediately paid.

Mirabal admitted that the impersonator would direct the taxpayers to settle this purported IRS debt by wiring funds to Mirabal via MoneyGram or Walmart-2-Walmart services at a location in the Northern District of Texas or elsewhere.

Mirabal admitted that as part of the scheme, on approximately November 5, 2015, an individual posing as “Jake Davis,” representing the IRS, called victim W.H. and informed him that he owed back taxes, and as a result, a warrant had been issued for his arrest. “Jake Davis” informed W.H, that he must immediately pay $1,000 to satisfy the warrant. “Jake Davis,” however, was not affiliated with the IRS and had no authority to seek these funds. When W.H. stated he could only pay $600 toward the total amount, “Jake Davis” instructed him to wire those funds to Arnoldo Perez Mirabal in Texas. W.H. then threatened with “liens and levies” and informed W.H. that he would need to make arrangements to pay the remaining funds. “Jake Davis” also advised W.H. that he should not hang up the phone until the funds were wired, as the IRS would consider that a sign of non-compliance with their order. W.H. then transferred $600 via Moneygram from a Walmart store in Bloomington, Indiana in response to this phone call. Mirabal accepted these funds at a Walmart store in Richardson, Texas,

The case was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana was in charge of the prosecution.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — In unrelated cases, two Lubbock, Texas, men, who each pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, were sentenced on Friday to hefty federal prison sentences, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Dustin Mathew Buckaloo, 29, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 162 months in federal prison. Patrick Wong, 36, was sentenced by Judge Cummings to 120 months in federal prison.

According to documents filed in Buckaloo’s case, from approximately July 9 through July 23, 2016, Buckaloo used Facebook messaging to communicate with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, who was, in fact, an undercover officer. In the communications, he knowingly persuaded, induced, and enticed, and attempted to entice this person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, to engage in sexual activity with him. On July 23, 2016, Buckaloo made arrangements to meet the person he believed was the minor girl, and he was arrested when he arrived at the agreed-upon location.

According to documents filed in Wong’s case, from approximately June 26, 2016, through August 9, 2016, Wong used Facebook messaging to communicate with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, who was, in fact, an undercover officer. In these communications, Wong knowingly persuaded, induced, and enticed, and attempted to entice this person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, to engage in sexual activity with him. On August 9, 2016, Wong made arrangements to meet the person he believed was the minor girl, and he was arrested when he arrived at the agreed-upon location.

The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy was in charge of the prosecutions.

# # #

DALLAS — A man residing in Duncanville, Texas, who admitted failing to register as a sex offender, Colby Levell Styles, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 55 months in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release, a sentence higher than that recommended by the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, in October 2005, Styles, a former resident of Georgia, was convicted of aggravated assault with intent to rape in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia. Around February 2, 2016, and continuing to April 8, 2016, Styles traveled to Texas, where he knowingly failed to register as a sex offender and update a registration, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

According to information presented at his sentencing hearing, since being released from his aggravated assault with intent to rape conviction, Styles had been convicted twice in Georgia for failing to register as a sex offender. Shortly after being released from custody, Styles moved from Georgia to Texas. At the time of his arrest in April, Styles was living in an apartment complex in Duncanville, next to an elementary school. Prior to his arrest, Styles had been questioned by local police in connection with an unrelated incident, at which time Styles gave the police a fake name to avoid being detected as an unregistered sex offender.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Hoxie was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — Less than one week before her trial was scheduled to begin in federal court in Dallas, a Grand Prairie, Texas, woman, Andria Victoria Booker, a/k/a Andria Victoria Crosby, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to one count of making false statements or fraud to obtain federal employees’ compensation, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Booker, who is in custody, faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  According to the plea agreement filed in the case, Booker agrees to pay $41,395 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP).  Sentencing is set for April 21, 2017, before Judge Fitzwater.

In March 2012, Booker claimed she was injured by a dog bite on her finger through a residential mail slot while she was working for the U.S. Postal Service.  OWCP accepted her injury claim and began paying her disability benefits.

As part of the OWCP benefits program, a claimant must annually truthfully complete Form EN-1032 that requires a claimant to report employment, self-employment activities, volunteer activities, or any activities that may affect the claimant’s eligibility for payments.  Form EN-1032 encompasses all activities for the 15-month period preceding the date of the claimant’s signature. 

According to plea documents filed in her case, Booker admits that she did not immediately report to OWCP her employment or employment activity, and she concealed the fact that she was working when she signed and dated Form EN-1032 in September 2014.  Booker admits that she worked as a personal trainer at I.T. Fitness in Grand Prairie, Texas, and elsewhere, including forming her own personal training business while she was receiving disability compensation benefits from the OWCP and had stated she did not work.  Booker further admitted that she did not report any of her volunteer activities to the OWCP, as she was required to do, when she regularly volunteered for her son’s football program as team representative.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Bray is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two men who were convicted in unrelated cases earlier this year on child pornography offenses have been sentenced to lengthy federal prison sentences by federal judges in Fort Worth, Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Today, U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor sentenced Ronald Eric Ary, 55, of Erath County, Texas, to 360 months in federal prison.  Ary pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one count of distributing child pornography.  He has been in custody since his arrest in July 2016 on a related federal criminal complaint.  According to documents filed in his case, Ary admitted that he used the Internet and an instant messaging application to distribute and trade child pornography, including a sexually explicit video of an infant child and adult man.  The FBI and the Erath County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case.

On Friday, December 30, 2016, Friday, U.S. District Judge John McBryde sentenced Robert Eugene Sanders, 74, of Hood County, Texas, to 360 months in federal prison, fined him $10,000, and ordered him to pay nearly $65,000 in restitution.  Sanders pleaded guilty in July 2016 to one count of production of child pornography, and he has been in custody since his arrest in May 2016 on a related federal criminal complaint.  According to documents filed in his case, in August 2011, Sanders knowingly used, persuaded, and induced two prepubescent female victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct that he photographed.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Keller Police Department and the Hood County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case.

These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem prosecuted both cases.

# # #

DALLAS — Melvin Yip, 31, of Garland, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 30 months in federal prison and fined $3,000, following his guilty plea in April 2016 to one count of engaging in the business of firearms without a license.  The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Lindsay ordered that Yip surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on January 24, 2017.

According to documents filed in the case, Yip admitted that in September 2015, he was not a licensed dealer of firearms, but he did engage in the business of dealing firearms.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — A federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment yesterday charging four individuals with felony offenses stemming from a “foreclosure rescue scheme” they ran from approximately February 2012 through January 2013, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, the indictment charges each of the defendants, Mark Demetri Stein, 36, of Carrollton, Texas, Richard Bruce Stevens, 51, of San Antonio, Texas, Bruce Kevin Hawkins, 52, of Desoto, Texas, and Christina Renee Caveny,37, of Dallas with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and five counts of mail fraud.

The defendants are expected to make their initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney later this week.

The indictment alleges that the defendants recruited at least 70 distressed and vulnerable homeowners who were facing the imminent threat of foreclosure on their homes and fraudulently collected a total of at least $242,000 from them. 

According to the indictment, Stein operated Real Estate Solutions, Stevens used Texas Real Estate Services, and Hawkins formed ERealty Mortgage Group, LLC, as foreclosure rescue companies.  The conspirators used third parties to contact homeowners and offer them an opportunity to get out of their present home loans and receive a new home loan with a reduced interest payment and reduced monthly payment.  The conspirators falsely represented to homeowners that they had “investors” standing by who were ready to quickly purchase the homeowner’s present loan from the lender holding the current mortgage.  They also falsely represented that they would use investors to purchase the homeowner’s loan from the original lender at a greatly reduced price through a “short sale” process. 

Furthermore, the conspirators falsely represented to the homeowners that the homeowners had the legal authority to transfer their homeowner’s deed to the defendants.

As part of the scheme, the conspirators fraudulently required homeowners to start making all future loan payments to them based on fraudulent so-called “loans,” and they also told homeowners to ignore late payment notices sent by lenders.  As part of the scheme, the conspirators conducted a fraudulent “closing” for each homeowner where they caused the homeowner to pay them a large down payment on the new “loan,” and they also had the homeowner sign fraudulent documents, such as a promissory note, deed of trust, special warranty deed, and/or a so-called “land trust.”

Further, according to the indictment, the conspirators falsely represented to homeowners that the conspirators could “sell” their property back to the homeowner with a new loan, when the conspirators well knew they did not legally own the property.  The conspirators also told homeowners to ignore notices of nonpayment from their present lender as they continued to unlawfully collect monthly so called “mortgage payments” from homeowners.  In fact, conspirators instructed several homeowners to file for bankruptcy but to not follow up with the bankruptcy process as an additional means to delay foreclosure and conceal the conspirators’ criminal conduct.  Conspirators concealed that all down payment and monthly mortgage payments fraudulently collected from homeowners was spent for their own personal benefit.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  If convicted, however, each count charged in the indictment carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Restitution could also be ordered.  

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas.  With the charges in this indictment, 25 defendants have been charged as part of that initiative.  Sixteen have been convicted, one resulted in a mistrial, and eight are pending trial.

The Dallas FBI is investigating the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — John William Sturm, 54, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Conner to serve a total of 190 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in August 2016 to a three-count indictment charging firearm and drug distribution offenses, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Sturm pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to documents filed in the case, on April 6, 2016, in the Wichita Falls, Texas, area, Sturm, a convicted felon, possessed a Hi-Point, nine millimeter pistol, while possessing with the intent to distribute more than a “user quantity” of methamphetamine.

Sturm had been convicted in 2004 in federal court in the Northern District of Texas for being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to a 10-year federal prison sentence. He served that sentence and then, in August 2013, Judge O’Conner found that Sturm had violated the terms of his supervised release.  Judge O’Connor revoked his supervised release and sentenced him to 24 months in federal prison. 

The case was investigated by the Wichita Falls Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.  Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Nicholas Bunch was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

LUBBOCK, Texas — Mike Lozano, 29, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced this morning by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 135 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2016 to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately July 1, 2016, though July 22, 2016, while living in Lubbock County, Lozano engaged in Facebook messaging with a minor female.  In these Internet communications Lozano knowingly attempted to persuade, induce, and entice the minor female to engage in sexual activity with him, even after the minor female made him aware that she was only 15-years-old.  On July 22, 2016, the minor female’s Facebook account was taken over by another person, but Lozano still believed he was communicating with the minor female.  That day, Lozano made arrangements to meet with the person he believed to be the minor female, and he was arrested upon his arrival at the agreed location.  

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The case was investigated by the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

ABILENE, Texas — Two men who admitted breaking into pharmacies and stealing controlled substances, Marcus Christopher Hargrove, Jr., and Kirkston Bernard Smith, each age 24, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Hargrove, of Manvel, Texas, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, and Smith, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.  Each pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one count of burglary involving controlled substances.

According to plea documents, on October 18, 2015, officers with the Sweetwater Police Department were dispatched to Maloney’s Pharmacy, located on Hailey Street in Sweetwater, Texas, regarding a report that a drive-through window was not intact.  Officers observed shards of glass below the window and several medication boxes and bottles on the floor.  One of the glass shards had blood on it, and there was blood on the windowsill and outside of the building.  The blood was analyzed and it was determined that it was Smith’s.  Smith stole more than $8,700 worth of hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, and other narcotics from this pharmacy during this robbery.

On December 20, 2016, according to plea documents, two persons smashed a large glass window on the south side of National Central Pharmacy, located on 14th Street in Abilene.  Surveillance video showed the two burglars went to an interior room where narcotics are kept in a locked cabinet, but they were unable to open it.  The video showed they tried to pry open the cabinet doors, and then they pushed the cabinet over onto the floor and tried to stand on top of it to break open the doors.  Their efforts failed.  The investigation revealed drops of blood on the cabinet.  The blood was analyzed and it revealed that Hargrove was one of the burglars.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — A former Carrollton, Texas, resident who worked as a sales agent for a national medical supply/equipment wholesaler, appeared in federal court yesterday and pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to steal and resell pre-retail medical products, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Daniel Edward Shrout, 59, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney to one count of theft of medical product.  He faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Shrout, who now resides in Oklahoma, must also forfeit medical equipment that law enforcement seized from him during the investigation.  A sentencing date was not set.

According to plea documents filed in the case, prior to his offense, Shrout worked for a lengthy period of time for Company A, a national wholesale distributor of medical supplies and equipment to office-based physicians and long-term health care providers.  Company A is located in the Northern District of Texas.

Beginning on approximately January 12, 2012, Shrout manipulated and exploited Company A’s customer accounts to create false purchases and divert pre-retail medical products.  Shrout then resold the stolen product via mass marketing over internet sales websites through an entity he created, Signature Surgical Supply, LLC.

Shrout caused private carriers, including UPS, to deliver the stolen product to him at locations under his control in Allen, McKinney, and Plano, Texas.  As a result of Shrout’s scheme, Company A suffered a $594,849 loss.

The case is being investigated by the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

SAN ANGELO, Texas —  This afternoon, Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings sentenced seven defendants who were convicted earlier this year on various charges stemming from their respective roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy that operated in San Angelo, Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Jesse Huerra, 31, of San Angelo, was sentenced to life in federal prison.  He was convicted at trial in September 2016 on one count each of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.

Nancy Ann Flores, 41, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.  She pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful use of a communications facility.

Antonio N. Flores, 52, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison.  He pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful use of a communications facility.

Bruno Rudolfo Velasquez, 32, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison.   He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and aiding and abetting.

Joe Lopez, III, 33, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 125 months in federal prison.  He pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.

Jose G. Montez, 37, of San Angelo, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison.  He pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.

Shayna Kaye McCann, 25, of Great Falls, Montana, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison.  She pleaded guilty to one count of misprision of a felony.

Most of the defendants have been in custody since their arrests on July 13, 2016, when numerous defendants were arrested in a joint Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the San Angelo Police Department.  Twelve defendants are charged in the case.

The drug trafficking organization’s leader, Rudolfo Ledesma Castaneda, Jr., 31, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.  He faces a statutory penalty of not less than five or more than 40 years in federal prison and a $5 million fine.  A sentencing date has not been set.

Another defendant, Richard Jasso, 39, of San Angelo, was convicted at trial last month on one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.  The government filed a notice of enhancement because Jasso has two previous “felony drug offenses.”  If the Court finds those convictions are final and valid, then, by statute, the Court must impose a life sentence without parole.  A sentencing date has not been set.

One defendant, Silvia Prado, 36, of Austin, Texas, is scheduled to go on trial January 17, 2017.  She is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.    Defendant Daniel Roy Lombrana, 29, of San Angelo, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, with an enhancement for a prior conviction.  He faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine; sentencing is set for January 20, 2017.  Defendant Adam Gabriel Castaneda, 30, of San Angelo, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  He was sentenced earlier this month to 10 years in federal prison.

The DEA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the San Angelo Police Department investigated the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — A Dallas woman who, along with 18 co-defendants, was arrested in June 2016 in a joint operation led by the Dallas Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety, for their respective roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy that operated out of the Pleasant Grove, Seagoville, and Balch Springs areas of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, was sentenced today, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Tina Connolly, 55, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 240 months in federal prison.  She pleaded guilty in October 2016 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.   She has been in custody since her arrest in June.

According to documents filed in the case, Connolly admitted that on January 19, 2016, when law enforcement executed a search warrant for the hotel room where she was staying, officers located and seized distribution quantities of methamphetamine – approximately 298 grams, marijuana, heroin, and a firearm.

All of the 19 defendants indicted in the case have pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the conspiracy.  Connolly is the first defendant to be sentenced in the case. 

The investigation into this drug trafficking organization began in early January 2016.  During the investigation, law enforcement seized more than 6700 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 13.2 kilograms of methamphetamine oil, 62 grams of marijuana, 2.5 grams of heroin, and 20 ml of gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), as well as 12 firearms and $12,379 in cash.

The case was investigated by the Dallas Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — A federal grand jury has indicted three Dallas-area residents for possessing stolen mail, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Onetta Lashuan McDaniel, 35, and Brandon Michael Wickware, 30, are each charged with three counts of possessing stolen mail; Curtis Edward Freeman, 27, is charged with one count.  McDaniel and Freeman remain on bond, with conditions.  Following a detention hearing this week for Wickware, U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney ordered that he remain in federal custody pending trial.  A trial date of February 13, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade, is set.

“The arrest of McDaniel, Freeman and Wickware underscores the commitment of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to ensure the public’s trust in the Postal Service, its brand and the U.S. mail,” said Ralph A. Key, Acting Inspector in Charge, Fort Worth Division.  “I’d like to thank the Postal Inspectors and the U.S. Attorney assigned to the case for their hard work and dedication in this investigation.”

The indictment alleges that on May 26, 2016, McDaniel and Wickware possessed Chase Bank personal checks and a Texas License to Carry a Handgun identification that had been stolen from mail receptacles.

The indictment also alleges that on November 17, 2016, McDaniel possessed a Kohl’s credit card that had been stolen from a mail receptacle.  It also alleges that on November 22, 2016, Wickware and Freeman possessed a Texas Department of Public Safety first class letter that had been stolen from a mail receptacle.

According to testimony presented at detention hearings, the investigation revealed video of McDaniel breaking into six to eight panel mailboxes at apartment complexes in the Uptown/Dallas area.  Wickware and Freeman were also identified stealing mail from apartment complexes.  On November 22, 2016, U.S. Postal Inspectors trailed Wickware and Freeman as they broke into panel mailboxes at apartment complexes in Uptown and Downtown Dallas.  When inspectors then attempted to stop their vehicle, they threw mail from their car onto the roadway.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  If convicted, however, the maximum statutory penalty for each count of possession of stolen U.S. mail is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation is being led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Dallas Police Department.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Bray is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

AMARILLO, Texas — Randy Exavier Greene, 21, formerly of Stratford, Texas, and his co-conspirator, Brandi Nicole Blanco, 31, of Dalhart, Texas, were each sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to serve 60 months in federal prison, following their guilty pleas in August 2016 to a superseding information charging each with one count of conspiracy to use an interstate commerce facility in the commission of murder-for-hire.  U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement.

Engaged to be married, Brandi Blanco and Randy Greene lived in Texas until January 2016, when they moved to Florida.

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately February to April 2016, Blanco and Greene used a cellphone to make calls from Florida to an individual (Person A) in Texas during which they solicited Person A to murder, for a sum of cash, the victim. 

Person A received a phone call from Greene on February 22, 2016, in which Greene inquired if Person A knew the victim.  Greene told Person A that Blanco was the beneficiary of a $1 million life insurance policy on the victim.  Greene also told Person A that if he/she would “take care” of the victim, he/she could get some money out of the policy.  Person A reported the call to the Dalhart Police Department.

In subsequent telephone conversations between Greene and Person A, and Blanco and Person A, the murder-for-hire, or as Greene called it, the “Hartley situation,” was discussed.  Green said that he would pay $100,000 to Person A to commit the murder.  Greene also advised that they wanted it to happen soon after he and Brandi Blanco “got caught up” (arrested) so they would be in jail and have an alibi.  Their plan was for Blanco to collect on the insurance policy after she got out of jail.  She also planned to get custody of three of her children when she was released from jail.

In a February 23, 2016 phone conversation, Blanco offered $125,000 to Person A to do the job and swore to God that she would pay Person A.  Person A advised her that he/she would need information because he/she wanted to do the job right because he/she could “go to the chamber for this.”  Blanco interrupted Person A and told Person A to do the job alone, saying that she would tell Person A all they needed to know to murder the victim.

In a phone conversation the next day, Greene told Person A that he wanted Blanco to be on camera in a Walmart when the murder happened.  On February 26, 2016, Person A called Blanco to discuss the “deal” they had been talking about, and in that conversation, she told Person A to murder the victim while he was at work.  When Person A suggested that he/she make it look like an accident, Blanco agreed. 

In a March 3, 2016, conversation, Person A told Blanco that he/she was going to “take care of the situation” the day she got on the bus from Florida to Texas.  Blanco told Person A that the insurer would have to find her immediately after the victim’s death. 

Subsequently, Blanco and Greene were arrested on state charges.  They were charged in a federal indictment in May 2016 with charges related to the murder-for-hire.  The murder was not committed.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Texas Department of Public Safety - Texas Ranger Division, and the Dalhart Police Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Taylor and Joshua Frausto were in charge of the prosecution. 

# # #

DALLAS – U.S. Attorney John Parker announced today that the Northern District of Texas collected $27,693,232 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2016.  Of this amount, $16,872,986 was collected in criminal actions and $10,820,245 was collected in civil actions. 

Additionally, the Northern District of Texas worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $74,874 in criminal cases pursued jointly with these offices          

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today that the Justice Department collected nearly $15.4 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2016.  The $15,380,130,434 in collections in FY 2016 represents more than five times the appropriated $2.93 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions of the Justice Department combined in that same period.

“Every day, the men and women of the Department of Justice work tirelessly to enforce our laws, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used properly and that the American people are protected from exploitation and abuse,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “Today’s announcement is a testament to that work, and it makes clear that our actions deliver a significant return on public investment.  I want to thank the prosecutors and trial attorneys who made this year's collections possible, and I want to emphasize that the department remains committed to the well-being of our people and our nation.”

“I’m particularly pleased to see an increase in collections of more than $10 million over last year,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “The message in these numbers should be clear.  This office can be very patient and won’t just go away.  We will continue to vigorously pursue all available enforcement remedies to recover assets for both victims of crime and the federal treasury for so long after sentencing or judgment as is necessary.”         

Substantial collections in FY 2016 in the District included:

• More than $4 million in funds from multiple bank accounts, four luxury vehicles, artwork, a grand piano, wine collection, hundreds of pieces of high-end crystal, furs, handbags, jewelry, luggage, shoes, and watches returned to the Collin Street Bakery within 60 days of sentencing in the massive embezzlement, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering case, U.S. v. Sandy and Kay Jenkins;
• $3.5 million from Preferred Imaging Centers, LLC in settlement of a False Claims Act qui tam case;
• $3.28 million settlement from the estate of Kenneth Rice in a False Claims Act health care fraud case;
• $1.8 million in restitution, plus a $100,00 fine, and several hundred thousands of dollars forfeited to the government that was paid in full at sentencing in the U.S. v. Robert Gross health care fraud;
• $1.1 million in forfeited assets restored to restitution in the U.S. v. Cyprian and Patricia Akamnonu health care fraud case;
• $762,150, more than half of the $1.3 million restitution owed to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in the U.S. v. Lonnie Brantley and Steve Holmes housing fraud case;
• $500,000 paid in full at sentencing in the U.S. v. Daniel Bergin securities fraud case;
• $324,750 in restitution to the National Credit Union Association in the U.S. v. Theresa Portillo bank fraud case; and
• $276,400 in restitution paid in full to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the U.S. v. Bettye Blount tax fraud case

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims.  The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.  While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including HUD, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the IRS, Small Business Administration, and U.S. Department of Education.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Northern District of Texas, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $10,695,313 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2016.  Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

# # #

DALLAS – The North Texas Anti-Trafficking Team (NTATT), led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, sponsored a day-long training session today, “Investigating Beneath the Surface,” which was held at the Mac Bernd Professional Development Center in Arlington, Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas, who provided opening remarks at the event.

Nearly 220 attendees from law enforcement and non-government agencies who provide victim services attended the training.

Highlights of the training included presentations by experts on these topics:  1) Pimping: The New Game in Town; 2) Little Girls Lost: Trial of a “John”; 3) State and Federal Trafficking Laws; 4) A panel on Services to Trafficked Persons; 5) Tools and Tactics for Labor Trafficking Investigations; 6) A Case Study on H2A Agricultural Visas and Labor Trafficking; and 7) Understanding and Treating Trauma Bonds in Victims of Human Sex Trafficking.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas launched the NTATT in 2006 to combat human trafficking in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and surrounding counties. The NTATT is comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The NTATT has also partnered with non-government agencies to provide necessary services for victims of human trafficking.

The goal of the NTATT is to work with law enforcement and private agencies to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders.  This goal is achieved through heightened law enforcement and victim service presence in the community, operations to identify victims and traffickers, providing training for law enforcement officers, and outreach awareness campaigns in the community.

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Colleyville, Texas, businessman, James VanBlaricum, who operated an oil and gas exploration company, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Fort Worth, Texas, on one count of mail fraud, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

VanBlaricum, 77, has been in custody since his arrest in mid-August 2016 by U.S. Postal Inspectors on a related federal criminal complaint.  In ordering the detention, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton noted that VanBlaricum’s extensive travel and ties to numerous foreign countries made him a risk of flight or nonappearance unless detained.

According to the complaint, Signal Oil and Gas Company (SOG) was incorporated by VanBlaricum in 2000; he was the registered agent and sole incorporator.  The Land Lease Program (LLP) was one of several oil and gas investment programs offered for purchase to SOG investors.  Texas Energy Management and Texas Energy Mutual (TEM) are the names of SOG’s follow-on companies that VanBlaricum and other coconspirators began operating in 2008.  SOG initially operated from an Airport Freeway address in Fort Worth, but in 2004, it also began receiving mail at a commercial mail receiving agency on Northwest Highway in Grapevine, Texas.  The name on this mail box was changed in November 2010 to TEM.

The investigation began when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service was contacted by the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) after it began receiving complaints about VanBlaricum related to various programs he promoted and misrepresentations made to them by SOG salespeople.  One of the main complaints was lack of investment payments.  In fact, an investigation disclosed that from January 21, 2006, through January 31, 2009, 53 victims of a mail fraud scheme involving SOG’s LLP were identified with investments totaling $2,633,090.

According to the indictment, VanBlaricum formed SOG and TEM, ostensibly for the purpose of investing in mineral leases, and oil and gas production and earning a profit from those investments.  The indictment alleges that he ran the fraud scheme from approximately January 2007 to August 2016, from his residence and home office located on Sapphire Circle in Colleyville, where many of the acts and transactions alleged in the indictment took place.  VanBlaricum raised millions of dollars from investors by various means, including selling securities in the form of limited partnerships interests in “programs” offered by COG and TEM.

VanBlaricum employed sales agents who worked on his behalf to raise money, including selling securities in the form of limited partnership interests in “programs” offered by SOG and TEM.  Both personally and through investors, VanBlaricum deceived investors and potential investors by misrepresenting material facts.  For example, he represented that investors would earn an “assured” rate of return on their initial investment, and they would receive a full refund of their initial investment amount after a defined period of time.  He also represented that he intended to use a certain percentage of investors’ money to purchase mineral leases, and oil and gas well projects, when in fact, he intended to spend a substantially smaller percentage on the leases and oil and gas well projects and use a substantial part of investors’ money for purposes they did not authorize or even know about, including paying purported investment returns to other investors, commissions to sales agents, and paying his personal expenses as well as personal expenses for family members, friends, and business associates.

VanBlaricum also represented that he had purchased certain assets, or was in the process of purchasing them, when in fact, he had not purchased the assets and was not in the process of purchasing them.  He also represented that the oil and gas well projects were productive and profitable, when in fact, most were “dry holes,” produced oil for a short period of time, or had not been drilled.

When VanBlaricum made promises about the use of investor funds, he failed to state that he had made the same promises to other investors and then used those investors’ funds for purposes they did not authorize or even know about, including paying purported investment returns to other investors, commissions to sales agents, and payment of personal expenses for VanBlaricum and his family, friends, and business associates.

According to the indictment, VanBlaricum also identified himself to investors using a false name.  VanBlaricum deposited investors’ funds into, and withdrew and expended investors’ funds, from accounts he controlled in the names of entities he controlled.  He caused funds to be transferred to, withdrawn from, and deposited into various accounts to create the appearance of business operations and revenue that he knew did not exist.  He also caused “lulling” payments to be paid to investors, ostensibly as returns on investment, when he knew the funds came from other investors rather than from business operations.

VanBlaricum, according to the indictment, secretly, and without authorization, took and spend money entrusted to him by investors for advertising; vacations and international travel; escort and dating services; rent payments; automobile purchases; and payroll and commissions for employees and sales agents.

The indictment includes a forfeiture allegation that would require VanBlaricum, upon conviction, to forfeit a money judgment in the amount constituting the proceeds traceable to the offense.  He will also be required to forfeit 10 vehicles, two $25,000 surety bonds, and proceeds in eight Frost Bank and Chase Bank accounts.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  If convicted, however, the maximum statutory penalty for mail fraud is 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation is being led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A. Allen is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — Wesley Michael Woodyard, 65, most recently of Dallas, appeared in federal court this afternoon and pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, to one count of wire fraud stemming from his scheme to defraud Ace European Insurance Company (ACE) of more than $4.6 million from approximately 2002 through 2013.  U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas made today’s announcement.

Woodyard, who has been in custody since his arrest in June 2016, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  He could also be ordered to pay restitution.  Sentencing is set for March 24, 2017.

According to documents filed in the case, from 1993 through 2015, Woodyard was the sole owner and operator of Ringler Associates of North Texas, Incorporated (RANT).  From approximately 2002 through 2013, Woodyard devised and engaged in a fraud scheme in which he engaged in a pattern of deceitful conduct and false representations to fraudulently induce representatives of Ace European Insurance Company (ACE), a large insurance company located in London, England, to send approximately $4,674,258 to bank accounts that Woodyard controlled.  ACE initially sent these funds to companies acting as a third party administrator; they then transferred the ACE funds to Woodyard.

Woodyard concealed his theft of ACE funds from the Ringler Insurance Agency (RIA).  The fraud scheme allowed Woodyard to fraudulently retain commission funds earned by RIA.  Woodyard repeatedly stole ACE funds, totaling approximately $4,674,258, that were wired from London.  ACE intended Woodyard to honestly use these funds to purchase annuities for the benefit of many insurance claimants.  However, as charged in the indictment, as part of the scheme to defraud ACE, Woodyard caused ACE to make 11 wire transfers to banks in the United States; these funds were later wired to bank accounts in Texas.

Woodyard falsely represented to ACE, as well as to third party administrators Roger Rich and Company and Vanbreda International, that he intended to lawfully use all funds received from ACE to purchase several life insurance annuity contracts from Metropolitan Life, Incorporated or some other legitimate insurance company.  Woodyard caused ACE funds to be sent from Roger Rich and Company and Vanbreda directly to RANT, rather than to the annuity provider, thus denying RIA its earned commission for the transaction.

Woodyard fraudulently concealed from ACE and others that he unlawfully used the majority of ACE funds of his own personal financial benefit.  He admitted he concealed the theft because he knew that ACE would never agree to send him approximately $4,674,258 in ACE funds if ACE knew he intended to steal the funds.

Out of the $4,674,258 in funds Woodyard fraudulently obtained, Woodyard paid out approximately $857,626 to beneficiaries, resulting in a net financial gain to Woodyard of $3,816,632.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the investigation.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis.

# # #

DALLAS — A Dallas man, Kevin Howard, who admitted that he and his accomplice, Jerry Ware, committed the armed robberies of five 7-Eleven/RaceTrac stores in Dallas in October 2014, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to serve 300 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Howard, 24, pleaded guilty in April 2016 to one count of using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm during or in relation to a crime of violence.   Co-defendant Ware, 28, also of Dallas, pleaded guilty in July 2015 to two counts of the same offense. 

According to documents filed in the case, the two committed five armed robberies in Dallas on October 24, 2014, and into the early morning hours of October 25, 2014, at the following locations:

October 24, 2014, 11:51 p.m.             7-Eleven store             2223 S. Beckley

October 25, 2014, 12:10 a.m.             RaceTrac store            8124 Forest Lane

October 25, 2014, 12:35 a.m.             7-Eleven store             9320 Skillman

October 25, 2014, 12:50 a.m.             7-Eleven store             10340 Forest Lane

October 25, 2014, 1:20 a.m.               7-Eleven store             14801 Coit Road

All of these five robberies were committed in essentially the same manner, including Ware’s use and brandishing of the silver loaded firearm to threaten and force the store clerks to comply with his demands, while Howard stayed in the car as the getaway driver. 

Howard also admitted that after this robbery spree, on October 28, 2014, he, on his own, committed the armed robbery of a 7-Eleven store at 10340 Forest Lane – the same store he and Ware robbed on October 25, 2014.  Howard entered the store, brandished a loaded firearm, and demanded the cash-register money from the clerk.  Minutes after the robbery, officers with the Dallas Police Department identified and arrested him.  Inside the car, pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement found the clothing Howard used in the robbery and the firearm, a loaded, chrome-colored Jimenez Arms, Model JA Nine, 9mm pistol.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dallas Police Department.  Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Dunn prosecuted the case.

# # #

The world’s largest dietary supplement retailer, GNC Holdings Inc. (GNC), has entered into a wide-ranging agreement with the Department of Justice to reform its practices related to potentially unlawful dietary ingredients and dietary supplements, and has further promised to embark on a series of voluntary initiatives designed to improve the quality and purity of dietary supplements, the Department of Justice announced today.  The non-prosecution agreement resolves GNC’s liability for selling certain dietary supplements produced by a firm currently under indictment.  As part of the agreement, GNC has agreed to pay $2.25 million to the U.S. government and cooperate in dietary supplement investigations conducted by the government.

A lengthy investigation conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, and the Consumer Protection Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division revealed that GNC’s practices related to ensuring the legality of products on its shelves were lacking. 

According to an agreed-upon statement of facts that accompanies the non-prosecution agreement, GNC engaged in acts and omissions that allowed a misbranded supplement— OxyElite Pro Advanced Formula, a product of Dallas-based USPlabs LLC (USP Labs)—to be sold at GNC locations nationwide in 2013.  The statement of facts notes that GNC sold the product based on representations from USP Labs that ingredients contained in the product complied with the law.  It further notes that GNC did not undertake additional testing or require additional certifications to confirm such representations or to verify that the ingredients in the product were as represented. 

USP Labs was indicted in November 2015 and is awaiting trial.  The indictment alleges, among other things, that USP Labs engaged in a conspiracy to import ingredients from China using false certificates of analysis and false labeling, and then lied about the source and nature of those ingredients after it put them in its products.  According to the indictment, USP Labs told some of its retailers and wholesalers that it used natural plant extracts in some of its products, when in fact it was using synthetic stimulants manufactured in a Chinese chemical factory.

Today’s resolution requires GNC to commit to certain changes designed to prevent unlawful dietary supplements from reaching its shelves: 

• First, GNC has agreed that, upon learning that the FDA has issued a public written notice indicating that a purported dietary supplement or an ingredient contained in a purported dietary supplement is not legal and/or not safe, GNC will take immediate action to suspend the sale of such a product or products. 
• Second, GNC will establish two lists—a “restricted list” containing ingredients that are not to be used in dietary supplements and a “positive list” containing ingredients that are approved for sale.  Although GNC has agreed that the lists it creates will not have the force of law, GNC will use these lists to guide the company in determining what products it will approve for sale.  Products containing novel ingredients that do not appear on either list will, GNC agreed, require further internal action and approval before being offered for sale.
• Third, GNC will substantially revise its internal approach to dealing with the vendors whose products GNC sells, including requiring more explicit guarantees from its vendors that their products do not contain ingredients on the “restricted list” and that their products comply with federal law.
• Fourth, GNC will voluntarily work to develop an industry-wide quality seal program.  When this quality seal is implemented, GNC has agreed to stop paying its retail salespeople bonus commissions, or “promotional money,” to direct customers to products in its stores not carrying the seal. 
• Finally, GNC will update its adverse event reporting policy to ensure that its employees understand the proper procedures to employ if a customer complains of injuries associated with a dietary supplement bought at GNC.

“Unlawful dietary supplements are an important enforcement priority for the department,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s resolution is a significant step forward in reforming an industry rife with alarming practices. Companies like GNC need to do more to ensure that they are not selling products containing questionable and untested ingredients.  The American public deserves better, and the Department of Justice appreciates GNC’s efforts in resolving its issues and moving forward in the best interests of American consumers.”

“I am pleased with this agreement and hold steadfast that those engaged in the sale of dietary supplements to the public must adhere to higher standards to ensure consumers are protected from lax business practices that could endanger them,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

“Protecting the public from unsafe ingredients in dietary supplements is one of FDA’s most important responsibilities,” said Director George M. Karavetsos of FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. “We will continue to work with industry to ensure that supplements distributed in the U.S. marketplace do not contain harmful ingredients.”

The matter was handled by Consumer Protection Branch Trial Attorneys David Sullivan and Patrick Runkle, and Northern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin.  FDA Office of Chief Counsel Attorneys Nathan Sabel and Michael Shane supported the matter, which was investigated by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Dallas Domicile.

Today’s action is part of the government’s efforts, in collaboration with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP), to provide educational resources for service members and the general public to protect them from risky dietary supplements. Through its Operation Supplement Safety (OPSS), and in partnership with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and Supplement 411, OPSS provides important information to service members and consumers about dietary supplements.  In 2015, OPSS launched a High-Risk Supplement List mobile application (accessible on iOS and Android). For more information, consult the OPSS website. To access the educational resources USADA provides for athletes and general consumers to help realize, recognize and reduce the risks associated with using supplement products, visit USADA’s website at http://www.supplement411.org.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.   For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx.

WASHINGTON - The world’s largest dietary supplement retailer, GNC Holdings Inc. (GNC), has entered into a wide-ranging agreement with the Department of Justice to reform its practices related to potentially unlawful dietary ingredients and dietary supplements, and has further promised to embark on a series of voluntary initiatives designed to improve the quality and purity of dietary supplements, the Department of Justice announced today.  The non-prosecution agreement resolves GNC’s liability for selling certain dietary supplements produced by a firm currently under indictment.  As part of the agreement, GNC has agreed to pay $2.25 million to the U.S. government and cooperate in dietary supplement investigations conducted by the government.

A lengthy investigation conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, and the Consumer Protection Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division revealed that GNC’s practices related to ensuring the legality of products on its shelves were lacking. 

According to an agreed-upon statement of facts that accompanies the non-prosecution agreement, GNC engaged in acts and omissions that allowed a misbranded supplement— OxyElite Pro Advanced Formula, a product of Dallas-based USPlabs LLC (USP Labs)—to be sold at GNC locations nationwide in 2013.  The statement of facts notes that GNC sold the product based on representations from USP Labs that ingredients contained in the product complied with the law.  It further notes that GNC did not undertake additional testing or require additional certifications to confirm such representations or to verify that the ingredients in the product were as represented. 

USP Labs was indicted in November 2015 and is awaiting trial.  The indictment alleges, among other things, that USP Labs engaged in a conspiracy to import ingredients from China using false certificates of analysis and false labeling, and then lied about the source and nature of those ingredients after it put them in its products.  According to the indictment, USP Labs told some of its retailers and wholesalers that it used natural plant extracts in some of its products, when in fact it was using synthetic stimulants manufactured in a Chinese chemical factory.

Today’s resolution requires GNC to commit to certain changes designed to prevent unlawful dietary supplements from reaching its shelves: 

• First, GNC has agreed that, upon learning that the FDA has issued a public written notice indicating that a purported dietary supplement or an ingredient contained in a purported dietary supplement is not legal and/or not safe, GNC will take immediate action to suspend the sale of such a product or products. 
• Second, GNC will establish two lists—a “restricted list” containing ingredients that are not to be used in dietary supplements and a “positive list” containing ingredients that are approved for sale.  Although GNC has agreed that the lists it creates will not have the force of law, GNC will use these lists to guide the company in determining what products it will approve for sale.  Products containing novel ingredients that do not appear on either list will, GNC agreed, require further internal action and approval before being offered for sale.
• Third, GNC will substantially revise its internal approach to dealing with the vendors whose products GNC sells, including requiring more explicit guarantees from its vendors that their products do not contain ingredients on the “restricted list” and that their products comply with federal law.
• Fourth, GNC will voluntarily work to develop an industry-wide quality seal program.  When this quality seal is implemented, GNC has agreed to stop paying its retail salespeople bonus commissions, or “promotional money,” to direct customers to products in its stores not carrying the seal. 
• Finally, GNC will update its adverse event reporting policy to ensure that its employees understand the proper procedures to employ if a customer complains of injuries associated with a dietary supplement bought at GNC.

“Unlawful dietary supplements are an important enforcement priority for the department,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s resolution is a significant step forward in reforming an industry rife with alarming practices. Companies like GNC need to do more to ensure that they are not selling products containing questionable and untested ingredients.  The American public deserves better, and the Department of Justice appreciates GNC’s efforts in resolving its issues and moving forward in the best interests of American consumers.”

“I am pleased with this agreement and hold steadfast that those engaged in the sale of dietary supplements to the public must adhere to higher standards to ensure consumers are protected from lax business practices that could endanger them,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

“Protecting the public from unsafe ingredients in dietary supplements is one of FDA’s most important responsibilities,” said Director George M. Karavetsos of FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. “We will continue to work with industry to ensure that supplements distributed in the U.S. marketplace do not contain harmful ingredients.”

The matter was handled by Consumer Protection Branch Trial Attorneys David Sullivan and Patrick Runkle, and Northern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin.  FDA Office of Chief Counsel Attorneys Nathan Sabel and Michael Shane supported the matter, which was investigated by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Dallas Domicile.

Today’s action is part of the government’s efforts, in collaboration with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP), to provide educational resources for service members and the general public to protect them from risky dietary supplements. Through its Operation Supplement Safety (OPSS), and in partnership with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and Supplement 411, OPSS provides important information to service members and consumers about dietary supplements.  In 2015, OPSS launched a High-Risk Supplement List mobile application (accessible on iOS and Android). For more information, consult the OPSS website. To access the educational resources USADA provides for athletes and general consumers to help realize, recognize and reduce the risks associated with using supplement products, visit USADA’s website at http://www.supplement411.org.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.   For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx.

# # #

DALLAS, Texas — Less than one year after being sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for attempting to extort money from a Dallas-based business (victim Company) and ordered to pay $174,888 in restitution to the numerous victims of his extortive conduct in U.S. v. William Laurence Stanley, 3:14-CR-113-N, former search engine optimizer William Laurence Stanley, 53, was indicted this week for retaliating against the principle victim in the 2014 case.  The indictment was announced today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

This week’s indictment alleges that from approximately September 6 through September 28, 2016, Stanley, knowingly and with the intent to retaliate against a person for providing law enforcement information about the commission of a federal offense, posted false and derogatory comments and reviews online about the victim Company from the 2014 case.

Stanley’s conviction in the above-referenced case, stemmed from his and his sister, Lynn Faust’s online and telephone threats from 2013 through 2014 to ruin the reputation of the victim Company because of his pretense that the victim Company refused to pay him approximately $30,000.  Stanley threatened to post negative things online about the victim Company that had the potential to cause significant revenue losses.  Stanley’s search engine optimization skills caused any items he posted online to rank high on the various search engines.  During the early stages of the extortion in 2014, the victim Company notified the FBI in Dallas, which opened an investigation.  Several victim Company officers and employees subsequently provided truthful information to the FBI regarding Stanley’s commission of a federal offense – the offense to which he ultimately pled guilty in July 2015.

In early August 2016, after serving the majority of his imprisonment term, Stanley was transferred by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to a halfway house in Houston.  In early September 2016, the BOP placed Stanley on home confinement at his daughter’s residence in Angleton, Texas.

On approximately September 21, 2016, according to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, Stanley posted derogatory online articles/blogs/complaints intended to portray the victim Company in a negative light.  Several of the articles/blogs/complaints had titles and photographs added to place the victim Company in an even more negative light.  Stanley also allegedly encouraged others to duplicate the negative content in as many places as possible.  The investigation revealed, among other things, that Stanley created the derogatory blogs while he was on home confinement in Angleton.

The affidavit further notes that as a result of the recent derogatory online postings, the victim Company has suffered a significant loss of revenue, with the potential for additional loss of revenue so long as the postings remain online.

Stanley has been held in custody on the complaint filed on October 20, 2016, since he completed his previous BOP sentence on November 4, 2016.   Following a detention hearing held on December 2, 2016, U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan ordered that Stanley remain in custody.  Judge Horan found there was no condition or combination of conditions that would reasonably assure Stanley’s appearance as required.  He noted that Stanley has a house and family in Romania, and he has expressed an interest in returning there.  A family member also told law enforcement that he would definitely flee the country if released from custody.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  If convicted, however, Stanley faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Restitution could also be ordered.

The FBI is investigating the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney C.S. Heath is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas —The last of three defendants convicted for their respective roles in the May 2013 murder of Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa in Southlake, Texas, Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda, a/k/a “Chuy” and “Juan Ramos,” was sentenced this morning by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to two life sentences to be run concurrently in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

Ledezma-Cepeda, 60, was convicted at trial in May 2016 on one count of interstate stalking and one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire. 

Last week, co-defendant Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortes, 60, was sentenced by Judge Means to serve two life sentences plus 240 months to run concurrently.  He was convicted at the May 2016 trial on one count of interstate stalking, one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, and one count of tampering with documents or proceedings.

Ledezma-Cepeda’s son, co-defendant Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano, 33, was sentenced in August 2016 to 240 months in federal prison.  He pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of interstate stalking and testified for the government at trial.

All three defendants are Mexican citizens; Cepeda-Cortes was legally in the U.S.

“The sentences in this case reflect the horrific and heinous nature of the defendants’ crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “These three men methodically hunted down their intended victim through several states, in and out of Mexico, and over several months for the sole purpose of facilitating his execution.  On the day of the murder, once they ensured the gunman knew the victim’s location, Ledezma-Cepeda and Ledezma-Campano stood callously by while the victim was shot multiple times in broad daylight, with the victim’s wife and dozens of shoppers nearby.”

“The successful investigation and prosecution of this violent crime is an example of the great relationship between the Southlake Police Department and our federal partners,” said Southlake Police Chief James Brandon.  “Our residents and the residents of North Texas should take comfort in the fact that we will utilize every resource at our disposal to bring criminals to justice.”

“The FBI is committed to fighting cartel violence in North Texas,” said Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class, Sr. “The exhaustive investigative work by law enforcement in this case was reflected by the lengthy prison sentences handed down to the defendants.”

“The sentencing of this defendant, as well as the other two defendants in this sophisticated organization, demonstrates the partnership between local, state, and federal law enforcement,” said the DEA Dallas Field Division’s Special Agent in Charge Clyde E. Shelley, Jr.  “We will not tolerate cartel violence in our community, and we will fight until justice is served for the victims of such heinous crimes.”

On May 22, 2013, at approximately 6:47 p.m., Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa was ambushed and shot multiple times with a 9mm pistol while seated in his Range Rover that was parked at Southlake Town Square.  A Toyota Sequoia pulled up behind the Range Rover, a gunman got out of that vehicle, walked up to the Range Rover, and fired several times through the window at Mr. Chapa, who died at the scene.  Nearby, Mr. Chapa’s wife was not harmed.

According to evidence presented at trial and documents filed in the case, from approximately March 1, 2011, until May 22, 2013, the three defendants traveled in interstate and foreign commerce from Mexico to Southlake, and elsewhere, with the intent to kill, injure, harass and intimidate Mr. Chapa, and as a result of that travel, Mr. Chapa was killed.  In addition, from approximately May 23, 2013, until September 5, 2014, Cepeda-Cortes took steps to destroy evidence on his computer related to the investigation.

The defendants were acting on orders from a man in Mexico, Rodolfo Villarreal Hernandez, known as “El Gato,” or “the Cat,” who wanted Mr. Chapa killed as revenge for his father’s murder.  Over the course of the conspiracy, Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cortes received money from Ledezma-Cepeda to pay for their expenses.  Ledezma-Cepeda was paid by “El Gato.”

Ledezma-Cepeda asked his son, Ledezma-Campano, to assist in the search.  Ledezma-Campano used his skill with electronic devices to assist in the search, and he created email accounts for Ledezma-Cepeda and “El Gato” to communicate with each other.

The defendants exchanged information via email to locate Mr. Chapa – exchanging personal information about Mr. Chapa and his family as well as information regarding vehicles associated with them and photographs of the Chapa residence in Southlake.

The defendants used various means to locate and track Mr. Chapa and members of his family.  Cepeda-Cortes purchased surveillance cameras that were placed in various locations in Mr. Chapa’s neighborhood.  In addition, while in the area, the defendants purchased and rented several vehicles that allowed them to frequently change vehicles and use non-descript rental vehicles to avoid detection by Mr. Chapa and his family.  They placed automobile tracking devices not only on their own vehicles, but on vehicles owned and operated by Mr. Chapa and his relatives, including the Range Rover Mr. Chapa was in when he was murdered.

After the defendants located Mr. Chapa, “El Gato” sent two assassins from Mexico to Southlake to kill him.  Ledezma-Campano met the two, whom he identified as “Clorox” and “Captain,” and concluded they were sent to kill Mr. Chapa.  One of the men was, in fact, the gunman who killed the victim on May 22, 2013, and the other drove the Toyota Sequoia.

On the day of the murder, Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda followed the victim around Southlake, and that afternoon, while the victim’s Range Rover was parked in a Walmart parking lot, Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda switched the tracking device on the Range Rover. 

At approximately 6:00 p.m. on May 22, 2013, Mr. Chapa and his wife drove to Southlake Town Square.  Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda, who had been parked near Chapa’s home, followed them.  Mr. Chapa parked in his regular parking spot near a yogurt store, and Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda parked directly across from them and used binoculars to watch them.

As they waited, Ledezma-Cepeda was in regular contact, via Blackberry Messenger, with “El Gato.”  Ledezma-Campano saw “Clorox” and “Captain” drive by in a Toyota Sequoia.  Ledezma-Campano went into a coffee shop in Town Square and while inside he heard a commotion outside.  He returned to Ledezma-Cepeda who told him “they shot him”

Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda waited several minutes as law enforcement responded before leaving the scene.  “El Gato” told both of them to stop using the tracking device they carried in their vehicle.  The next morning, they returned the rental car and drove directly into Mexico, along the way destroying the phones they had used.

The investigation was led by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Southlake Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Texas Department of Public Safety, Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, Fort Worth Police Department and Grapevine Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Burgess and Aisha Saleem prosecuted the case.

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DALLAS — Five defendants have pleaded guilty to kidnapping, cocaine and heroin distribution, and/or firearm offenses in a case related to the attempted kidnapping of an individual because of an unpaid drug debt.  Today, Melissa Trevino, 23, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.  She is the last of five defendants to enter guilty pleas in the case.  Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Trevino, faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is set for March 23, 2017.

Four other defendants charged in the case also recently pleaded guilty.  One remaining defendant charged in the case, Jonathan Benitez, remains a fugitive.

Javier Martinez, 24, of Lancaster, Texas, pleaded guilty on November 15, 2016, to several felony offenses:  one count each of conspiracy to commit kidnapping; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute heroin; using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during or in relation to a crime of violence; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  While Martinez faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison and a $2.75 million fine, if the Court accepts the plea agreement between the government and the defendant, Martinez should receive a total sentence of 40 years in federal prison.  Sentencing is set for March 2, 2017.

Maria Guadalupe Bello, 22, pleaded guilty on November 1, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to possesses heroin with the intent to distribute it.  She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.  Sentencing is set for February 16, 2017.

Jose Cardenas Aguirre, 25, pleaded guilty on October 25, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.  He faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is set for February 9, 2017.

Indolfo Martinez, 47, who is Javier Martinez’s father, pleaded guilty on October 18, 2016, to one count of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.  He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.  Sentencing is set for February 2, 2017.

According to documents filed in the case, on July 12, 2016, Javier Martinez, along with co-defendants Jose Cardenas Aguirre and Melissa Trevino, planned to kidnap another individual because of an unpaid drug debt involving cocaine.  During the planned kidnapping, Javier Martinez and Aguirre wore ballistic vests and black camouflage clothing.  The kidnapping was unsuccessful, and as Javier Martinez, Aguirre, and Trevino fled the scene, they were engaged in a high-speed chase with officers with the Ennis Police Department.  During this pursuit, Javier Martinez, using an AR-156 style rifle, fired numerous shots at a police officer.  Javier Martinez led, supervised, and organized this planned kidnapping.  Trevino also worked with Javier Martinez in selling illegal narcotics.

Between December 2015, and continuing to July 2016, Javier Martinez conspired to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin.  On February 5, 2016, Javier Martinez possessed a firearm in furtherance of these drug trafficking crimes.

Indolfo Martinez was his son’s cocaine supplier.  In July 2016, Indolfo Martinez met with an individual and offered to sell that individual a kilogram of cocaine for $28,300.  In the same conversation, Indolfo Martinez offered to sell three kilogram of cocaine to that individual for a reduced price of $28,000 per kilogram.  During that conversation, Indolfo Martinez instructed this other individual, the purported cocaine purchaser, to use the code phrase, “horses with saddles,” when referencing cocaine. 

In addition, according to the factual resume, on January 7, 2016, Javier Martinez sold another individual one ounce of heroin and offered to sell that same individual one kilogram of heroin for $40,000.  During that same conversation, Javier Martinez offered to sell the same individual an AK-47 for $7,000 and an AR-15 rifle for $1,500.  On April 11, 2016, Javier Martinez and Bello, who were involved in a romantic relationship since October 2015 and had lived together since January 2016, sold three ounces of heroin and two AR-15’s to another individual; these drug and gun sales took place at Javier Martinez’s residence.

The case was investigated by the Ennis Police Department and the FBI’s Violent Gang Taskforce.   Assistant U.S. Attorney P.J. Meitl is in charge of the prosecution.

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 DALLAS — A former American Airlines employee who admitted to her role in transporting a substance that was represented to be cocaine on flights from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) was sentenced today to a lengthy federal prison sentence, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Janelle Isaacs, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 72 months in federal prison following her guilty plea in June 2016 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute at least five kilograms or more of cocaine.  Isaacs has been in custody since mid-July 2015 following a law enforcement operation, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dallas Police Department and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, in which numerous defendants were arrested on drug distribution conspiracy and related charges outlined in a federal superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas the previous month.

That superseding indictment charged Janelle Isaacs, Funaki Falahola, 35, Moniteveti Katoa, 53, Molitoni Katoa, 34, with the cocaine distribution conspiracy offense. All four defendants pleaded guilty to the offense. In September 2016, Moniteveti Katoa was sentenced to 188 months and Molitoni Katoa was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison. In November 2016, Funaki Falahola was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison. 

According to documents filed in the case, the four used their positions of employment at DFW, or contacted a person or persons who had a position or positions of employment at DFW, to bypass security in order to transport kilogram quantities of a substance that was represented to be cocaine, in what they did not know was an undercover law enforcement operation.  As part of the conspiracy, that ran from approximately April 18, 2013, through July 14, 2015, the substance that was represented to be cocaine was transported on commercial airlines flying from DFW to destinations in Las Vegas, Nevada; Newark, New Jersey; Phoenix, Arizona; Chicago, Illinois; Wichita Kansas; and San Francisco, California.

Isaacs admits she became suspicious that Moniteveti Katoa, her husband, was transporting some sort of controlled substance via commercial airlines around 2013 when he asked her if she could provide him information on where law enforcement officers were seated on airplanes. Despite Isaacs’ suspicion she admits to helping Moniteveti Katoa with his flight arrangements and air travel.

Moniteveti Katoa asked Isaacs to perform a “dry run” with a legal substance called “kava” so that she could build up her courage to cross a bag that contained what she believed to be cocaine. Isaacs performed at least one dry run in order to prepare her to bypass security.

On December 8, 2014, Moniteveti Katoa went to DFW Airport and met with Isaacs. Isaacs took a backpack that was provided by Moniteveti Katoa towards the TSA checkpoint, walked towards the employee portal, bypassed security, and then later provided that same backpack to Moniteveti Katoa so that he could fly, what she and Moniteveti Katoa believed was 3 kilograms of something illegal, to a destination in Kansas and deliver it for payment.

The FBI, Dallas Police Department and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation led the investigation with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety; the DFW Department of Public Safety; the U.S. Department of State; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Transportation Security Administration; the U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and the Fort Worth, McKinney, Mesquite, and Plano Police Departments.

Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal is in charge of the prosecution.

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FORT WORTH, Texas —Jose Luis Cepeda Cortes, 60, one of the Mexican citizens convicted for his role in the May 2013 murder of Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa in Southlake, Texas, was sentenced yesterday, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Cepeda Cortes was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to two life sentences plus 240 months to run concurrent. Cepeda Cortes was convicted at trial in May 2016 on one count of interstate stalking, one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire and one count of tampering with documents or proceedings. 

Co-defendant Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda, a/k/a “Chuy” and “Juan Ramos,” 60, also a Mexican citizen, was also convicted at trial in May 2016 on one count of interstate stalking and one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Each offense carries a maximum statutory penalty of life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is scheduled for December 6, 2016.

Ledezma-Cepeda’s son, Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano, 33, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 20 years in federal prison on August 18, 2016.  Ledezma-Campano pleaded guilty in March 2016 to one count of interstate stalking and testified for the government at trial.

On May 22, 2013, at approximately 6:47 p.m., Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa was ambushed and shot multiple times with a 9mm pistol while seated in his Range Rover that was parked at Southlake Town Square.  A Toyota Sequoia pulled up behind the Range Rover, a gunman got out of that vehicle, walked up to the Range Rover, and fired several times through the window at Mr. Chapa, who died at the scene.  Nearby, Mr. Chapa’s wife was not harmed.

According to evidence presented at trial and documents filed in the case, from approximately March 1, 2011, until May 22, 2013, the three defendants traveled in interstate and foreign commerce from Mexico to Southlake, and elsewhere, with the intent to kill, injure, harass and intimidate Mr. Chapa, and as a result of that travel, Mr. Chapa was killed.  In addition, from approximately May 23, 2013, until September 5, 2014, Cepeda-Cortes took steps to destroy evidence on his computer related to the investigation.

The defendants were acting on orders from a man in Mexico, Rodolfo Villarreal Hernandez, known as “El Gato,” or “the Cat,” who wanted Mr. Chapa killed as revenge for his father’s murder.  Over the course of the conspiracy, Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cortes received money from Ledezma-Cepeda to pay for their expenses.  Ledezma-Cepeda was paid by “El Gato.”

Ledezma-Cepeda asked his son, Ledezma-Campano, to assist in the search.  Ledezma-Campano used his skill with electronic devices to assist in the search, and he created email accounts for Ledezma-Cepeda and “El Gato” to communicate with each other.

The defendants exchanged information via email to locate Mr. Chapa – exchanging personal information about Mr. Chapa and his family as well as information regarding vehicles associated with them and photographs of the Chapa residence in Southlake.

The defendants used various means to locate and track Mr. Chapa and members of his family.  Cepeda-Cortes purchased surveillance cameras that were placed in various locations in Mr. Chapa’s neighborhood.  In addition, while in the area, the defendants purchased and rented several vehicles that allowed them to frequently change vehicles and use non-descript rental vehicles to avoid detection by Mr. Chapa and his family.  They placed automobile tracking devices not only on their own vehicles, but on vehicles owned and operated by Mr. Chapa and his relatives, including the Range Rover Mr. Chapa was in when he was murdered.

After the defendants located Mr. Chapa, “El Gato” sent two assassins from Mexico to Southlake to kill him.  Ledezma-Campano met the two, whom he identified as “Clorox” and “Captain,” and concluded they were sent to kill Mr. Chapa.  One of the men was, in fact, the gunman who killed the victim on May 22, 2013, and the other drove the Toyota Sequoia.

On the day of the murder, Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda followed the victim around Southlake, and that afternoon, while the victim’s Range Rover was parked in a Walmart parking lot, Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda switched the tracking device on the Range Rover. 

At approximately 6:00 p.m. on May 22, 2013, Mr. Chapa and his wife drove to Southlake Town Square.  Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda, who had been parked near Chapa’s home, followed them.  Mr. Chapa parked in his regular parking spot near a yogurt store, and Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda parked directly across from them and used binoculars to watch them.

As they waited, Ledezma-Cepeda was in regular contact, via Blackberry Messenger, with “El Gato.”  Ledezma-Campano saw “Clorox” and “Captain” drive by in a Toyota Sequoia.  Ledezma-Campano went into a coffee shop in Town Square and while inside he heard a commotion outside.  He returned to Ledezma-Cepeda who told him “they shot him”

Ledezma-Campano and Ledezma-Cepeda waited several minutes as law enforcement responded before leaving the scene.  “El Gato” told both of them to stop using the tracking device they carried in their vehicle.  The next morning, they returned the rental car and drove directly into Mexico, along the way destroying the phones they had used.

The investigation was led by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Southlake Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Texas Department of Public Safety, Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, Fort Worth Police Department and Grapevine Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Burgess and Aisha Saleem are prosecuting the case.

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