Northern District of Texas

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Kimberly Paulk Shaffer, 44, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 168 months in federal prison, following her guilty plea in February 2016 to one count of conspiracy to distribute a schedule II controlled substance, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

To date, eleven co-conspirators from Wichita Falls and Dallas were sentenced to the following federal prison sentences:

Mark Anthony Peysen, 54, 180 months
Tamara Ann Beasley, 43, 51 months
Clinton Ray Durham, 47, 63 months
John Monroe Drullinger, Jr., 53, 155 months
Chad Edward Fluharty, 36, 110 months
Juan Anthony Gabaldon, 31, 168 months
Vincent Mark Hinson, 36, 151 months
Curtis Lisle Shawver, 28, 168 months
James Anthony Streadwick, 54, 292 months
Michael David Thompson, 50, 168 months
Cody Shane Walsh, 30, 240 months

Each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.  A total of 13 were charged in the conspiracy.  The remaining defendant, William Muyleart, is scheduled for sentencing in October 2016. 

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately March 2014 to August 12, 2015, these defendants conspired together, and with others, to possess with intent to distribute and distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine.  They arranged to acquire the methamphetamine and used residences and other locations in the Northern District of Texas to package and distribute it to customers.  They delivered and distributed, and coordinated the delivery and distribution of, quantities of methamphetamine.  They also acted as intermediaries and brokers to negotiate the acquisition, price, sale and delivery of the methamphetamine, as well as the collection of payment for the methamphetamine.

The Wichita County District Attorney’s Office, the Wichita Falls Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Rodney Wynn, 36, of Pleasant Grove, South Dallas, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 24 years in federal prison following his guilty plea in February 2016 to one count of kidnapping, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

A federal grand jury indicted Wynn and ten others in November 2014 on various conspiracy, drug trafficking, kidnapping, firearm, witness intimidation/tampering, and records destruction charges stemming from their involvement in a violent drug trafficking organization (DTO) that operated out of both the Pleasant Grove area of South Dallas and the Dallas County Jail.  All eleven defendants have been convicted, and all have been sentenced. 

Wynn admitted to involvement in a brutal kidnapping in which Wynn and co-conspirators carjacked and kidnapped a victim in broad daylight at a gas station on Stemmons Freeway in Dallas.  The victim was run over twice, taken by force and at gunpoint, carried to another location where he was then beaten and tortured, as Wynn and his co-conspirators sought to locate drug money they believed the victim had stolen.  Several surveillance cameras recorded the kidnapping.

Following the offense, Wynn was placed on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive List on September 12, 2014 and was taken into custody on June 12, 2015.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the Dallas Police Department led the investigation. 

Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Errin Martin and P. J. Meitl prosecuted the case.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Marcos Daniel Chairez, 26, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 135 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in March 2016 to one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.  Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Chairez has been in custody since his arrest on other charges in October 2015.

According to documents filed in this case, in December 2010, Chairez traveled from El Paso, Texas, to West Monroe, Louisiana, driving through the Northern District of Texas, to transport a minor child from Louisiana to his residence in El Paso, where he planned to engage in sexual activity with her. Chairez had been communicating with the minor for approximately two years. After arriving at his residence in El Paso, Chairez acted on his intent to engage in sexual activity with the minor.   

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 Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy was in charge of the prosecution.

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AMARILLO, Texas — Following an eight-day trial before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, a federal jury has convicted two men who were on a flight last year that was diverted to Amarillo on the felony offense of interference with a flight crew and aiding and abetting, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

The jury convicted Jonathan Khalid Petras, 21 and Wisam Imad Shaker, 23, residents of the San Diego area, on the charge that was outlined in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Amarillo in September 2015.  Each defendant will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for November 14, 2016, before Judge Fitzwater.  Each faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Essa Solaqa, 21, and Khalid Yohana, 20, also residents of the San Diego area were acquitted.

At trial, the government presented evidence that on August 31, 2015, the defendants were aboard Southwest Airlines flight 1522, from San Diego to Chicago.  During that flight, the defendants, who were sitting together in two adjacent rows, repeatedly failed to comply with safety instructions, were loud and disruptive, screamed profanities at flight attendants when they were denied alcohol, and some of the men lunged and made other aggressive movements toward the flight attendants.

The flight was diverted to Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo so law enforcement could remove the defendants from the flight.

The FBI, the Amarillo Police Department and the Rick Husband International Airport Police investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Frausto, Mark Penley, and Amy Burch are prosecuting the case.       

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DALLAS — A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment yesterday charging two Dallas men, Victor Manuel Solorzano, 30, and his cousin, Edgar Solorzano, 23, on felony offenses stemming from their November 19, 2015, armed assault of two federal law enforcement officers in southwest Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

“The charges in this indictment clearly demonstrate that violent drug traffickers will be vigorously prosecuted by this office, particularly when their violence is directed at law enforcement officers, and the punishment they face upon conviction will be substantial,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.

The indictment charges each defendant with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of assault of a federal officer.  Victor Solorzano is also charged with two counts, and Edgar Solorzano with one count, of using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  Victor Solorzano is also charged with one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

During the early morning hours of November 19, 2015, the defendants, allegedly armed with assault rifles, opened fire on two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Task Force Officers engaged in the performance of their official duties.  

That same day, as part of the investigation, Victor Solorzano, was found to be in possession of numerous firearms in furtherance of the commission of a drug trafficking crime, namely possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. 

An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  If convicted, the methamphetamine distribution count and each of the assault counts carry a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison.  Victor Solorzano is also charged with three firearm offenses.  If convicted, one of those, relating to the drug count, is punishable by not less than five years and up to life, and the other two, relating to the two assault counts, are each punishable by not less than 25 years and up to life.  These sentences must run consecutive to each other and consecutive to any sentences for the drug and assault offenses.  Edgar Solorzano is also charged with one firearm offense, and it relates to one of the assault counts.  If convicted, because it involves the discharge of a firearm, it is punishable by not less than 10 years and up to life, and this sentence must run consecutive to any sentences for the drug and assault offenses.

The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation that would require the defendants, upon conviction, to forfeit 22 firearms and assorted ammunition, as well as nearly $4,000 in cash seized from them on November 19, 2015.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dallas Police Department are conducting the investigation.  Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kull are in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Katia Maribell Olivera, 26, of Dallas, Texas, appeared in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan and pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

Olivera, who remains on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of twenty years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is set for October 5, 2016, before Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn.

According to documents filed in the case, in July 2013, Olivera filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Texas. Following the filing of the bankruptcy petition creditor International Auto Sales filed an Emergency Motion to Annul the Automatic Stay to repossess a 2006 BMW 7 Series automobile purchased by Olivera.

In May 2013, Olivera made a $4,000 down payment and signed a credit application seeking a loan for the purchase of the BMW. The application was mailed to National Auto Lenders located in Miami Lakes, Florida. In this credit application, Olivera signed and submitted a false and fraudulent application falsely representing her monthly gross income and also contained the forged signature of her employer.

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas.  Olivera is the 16th defendant convicted since July 2014 as part of that initiative. 

Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Avel Barron, 26, of Dallas, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 151 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2015 to one count of receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, in late July 2015, Barron used his computer and the Internet to receive videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

When special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at his residence on August 4, 2015, agents found and seized computers and other computer media.  Barron, who was present during the search, acknowledged that he possessed more than 175 images and videos of child pornography.  Some of those images and videos that he collected depicted sadistic acts involving children, and some of the images and videos he possessed depicted infants or toddlers.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 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 FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS – Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced today an unprecedented nationwide sweep led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in 36 federal districts, resulting in criminal and civil charges against 301 individuals, including 61 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $900 million in false billings.  Twenty-three state Medicaid Fraud Control Units also participated in today’s arrests.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also suspended a number of providers using its suspension authority provided in the Affordable Care Act.  This coordinated takedown is the largest in the history of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, both in terms of the number of defendants charged and loss amount.    

 “As this takedown should make clear, health care fraud is not an abstract violation or benign offense – It is a serious crime,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch.  “The wrongdoers that we pursue in these operations seek to use public funds for private enrichment.  They target real people – many of them in need of significant medical care.  They promise effective cures and therapies, but they provide none.  Above all, they abuse basic bonds of trust – between doctor and patient; between pharmacist and doctor; between taxpayer and government – and pervert them to their own ends.  The Department of Justice is determined to continue working to ensure that the American people know that their health care system works for them – and them alone.”

“The charges announced today in Dallas are an example of the outstanding investigative work by this district’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force that has been in operation since 2011,” said U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.  “Medicare and Medicaid fraud not only increases health care costs, but it victimizes the elderly and those who may be vulnerable.  This office and its Strike Force will continue to aggressively target, investigate and prosecute anyone trying to defraud these crucial programs.”

Nine of the 12 defendants charged in north Texas were charged in connection with three separate home health care schemes.  The other three defendants were charged in another indictment related to hearing-related health care services.

One indictment charges three employees of Elder Home Health Services (ElderCare) with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  Celestine Okwilagwe, aka “Tony Okwilagwe, 48, the owner, and Paul Emordi, 50, a supervisor, allegedly operated ElderCare, a Medicare and Medicaid provider in Garland, Texas, when both were previously excluded from participating in any federal health care benefit program.  Adetutu Etti, 58, an administrator for ElderCare, allegedly concealed Okwilagwe and Emordi’s exclusions from Medicare and Medicaid.  According to the indictment, from approximately January 2013 through May 2016, Okwilagwe billed Medicare and Medicaid more than $3.4 million for claim reimbursements to which it was not entitled.

In a superseding indictment, the physician owner of Molina Medical Housecall Services, PA, dba U.S. Medical Housecall Services, PA, Hector Molina, 51, of Irving, Texas, and four others are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.   In addition to Dr. Molina, others charged in the conspiracy include Blanca Mata, 47, of Forney, Texas; Lidia Antonio, 56, also of Irving; Ivan Castilleja, 38, of Dallas; and George Richard Rivaux, 43, of San Antonio, Texas.  Molina is also charged with 11 counts of health care fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.  Housecall Services employees Mata, Antonio and Rivaux are also each charged with two counts of health care fraud.   According to the indictment, from approximately January 2010 through April 2015, Molina and others caused Medicare to be falsely billed $28.6 million for care plan oversight.

In the last home health scheme, physician assistant Shawn Chamberlain of Collin County, Texas, is charged in an information with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  Chamberlain, who was also part-owner of Boomer House Calls (Boomer), hired a physician to apply for a Medicare number to allow him to bill Medicare for physician home visits and to sign false physician certifications for home health care.  Chamberlain provided these false physician certifications for home health to Timely Home Health Services, Inc. in Dallas from approximately August 2013 through September 2015.  Chamberlain and his co-conspirators caused Medicare to be billed approximately $1.6 million for false certifications, unnecessary home health services and unnecessary physician home visits.

In the remaining indictment, three family members from Garland, Harlan R. Hill, 52; his wife Latecia P. Hill, 50; and her mother, Pearle L. Madere, 71; were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 14 counts of health care fraud.  Harlan Hill owned and operated Total Senior Ear Care (TSEC); Latecia Hill served as its administrator; and Pearle Madere ran day-to-day operations.  TSEC, whose offices were located in Dallas, provided hearing-related services to Medicare beneficiaries living in nursing homes.  These hearing services, however, were not provided and were fraudulently billed to Medicare for reimbursement.  In fact, this fraudulent business, created by Harlan and Latecia Hill and Pearle Madere caused Medicare to pay TSEC more than $5.1 million for services never rendered or necessary.  The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation that would require Harlan and Latecia Hill, upon conviction, to forfeit their home in Garland, as well as a Mercedes-Benz and a Maserati Quattraporte.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations and since its inception in March 2007 has charged over 2,900 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $8.9 billion. 

Including today’s enforcement actions, nearly 1,200 individuals have been charged in national takedown operations, which have involved more than $3.4 billion in fraudulent billings.  Today’s announcement marks the second time that districts outside of Strike Force locations participated in a national takedown, and they accounted for 40 defendants charged in this takedown.

An indictment/information is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  If convicted, however, each count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and substantive health care fraud count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.   

The cases announced today are being prosecuted and investigated by U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide, along with Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices of the Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of Michigan, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of Texas, Central District of California, Eastern District of Louisiana, Northern District of Texas, Northern District of Illinois and the Middle District of Florida; and agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG, Drug Enforcement Administration, DCIS and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Pfeifle and Adrienne Frazior of the Northern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Jason Knutson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the cases filed in the Northern District of Texas.

The court documents for each case will posted online, as they become available, here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/documents-and-resources-june-22-2016-medicare-fraud-strike-force-press-conference.

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AMARILLO, Texas — Two men from Moore County, Texas have pleaded guilty to federal offenses stemming from their respective roles in trafficking major quantities of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Late yesterday afternoon, Marco Saucedo, 44, of Cactus, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to one count of unlawful use of a communications facility.  Co-defendant Guadalupe Reyes, 49, of Etter, Texas, pleaded guilty last week before Judge Fitzwater to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana.  Both defendants remain on bond.

Reyes faces a statutory penalty of not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison and a $10 million fine.  Saucedo faces a maximum statutory penalty of four years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Both defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Fitzwater on September 20, 2016.

According to documents filed in the case, in November 2014, officers with the Cactus Police Department responded to a weapon being discharged at a residence in Cactus that was owned by Guadalupe Reyes, and they determined that the individual who discharged the firearm was renting the property from Reyes.  After obtaining consent to search, officers found more than $130,000 in cash inside the residence, which the resident advised was cash that he, at the direction of Reyes and Saucedo, brought back the previous week from Wichita and Topeka, Kansas.

The resident further disclosed he had been working for Reyes for several months, transporting large amounts of marijuana from Amarillo and Fritch, Texas, to other states, such as Kansas and Ohio.  He would also transport large amounts of cash – proceeds from the sale of the marijuana – from those locations to the Cactus area, all at the direction of Reyes and Saucedo, who would pay him a set amount for each of the runs he made.

The resident indicated he had made approximately 10 trips to Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City, Kansas, as well as to Toledo, Ohio, to deliver marijuana for Reyes, estimating that he had delivered approximately 8,000 pounds of marijuana while employed by Reyes.  He further stated that on at least four occasions, he had returned with approximately $400,000 in cash for marijuana he had delivered.  He further stated that Reyes instructed him to keep the money at the residence until it was retrieved by other, unnamed individuals.  The individual also stated that both Reyes and Saucedo had directed him to only use pre-paid cell phones when communicating with them or the buyers. 

In recorded conversations in November 2014, Reyes stated, among other things, that he was worried about law enforcement taking some of his properties.  According to Reyes’ plea agreement, he agrees to not contest the forfeiture of several of his real estate holdings in Moore County, including two car lots and several residential properties.

The case is being 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 is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Richard Grayson, 46, of Dallas, was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 240 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in February 2016 to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, between approximately November 30 and December 8, 2014, Grayson used the Internet and file-sharing software to share and transmit image and video files depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Grayson was present when a federal search warrant was executed at his residence on February 26, 2015.  A forensic analysis of electronic media seized from the residence revealed more than 42 videos and 7800 images of child pornography on Grayson’s computer and other media.  Some of those images and videos he collected depicted sadistic and/or violent content, and some of the files depicted infants and toddlers

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 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.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Sherman Police Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks was in charge of the prosecution.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Nine west Texas residents, including four alleged members of the Texas Syndicate, remain in federal custody following their arrests earlier this week on federal charges stemming from their roles in a methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

The arrests were made by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration 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.

The nine defendants made their initial appearances in federal court, and detention hearings are scheduled throughout the month of June.  There remain several fugitives in the case.

Each of the below-listed defendants is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, 500 grams and more of cocaine and marijuana, as well as one count of using a communication facility to facilitate the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting:

Cruz Perez, aka “Travieso,” 40
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 the indictment, defendants Perez, Gonzalez, Gonzales and Parson are allegedly members of the Texas Syndicate, a prison-based street gang involved in various criminal activities.

Defendants Perez, Gonzalez, Castillo, Gonzales, Mendoza, Gutierrez and Hernandez are also each charged with at least one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting

Defendant Perez is also charged with two counts, and defendants Parson and Mendoza are each charged with one count of managing a drug premise and aiding and abetting.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  However, if convicted, the conspiracy count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years.  Each of the methamphetamine distribution counts carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years.  The use of a communication facility count carries a statutory minimum penalty of four years.  The managing a drug premise count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years.  Fines could range from $250,000 to $4,000,000. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden is in charge of the prosecution.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Shannon Dale Smith of Crosbyton, Texas, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to serve a total of 147 months in federal prison on extortion and firearms convictions, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.  

Smith, 46, was convicted at trial in March 2016 on one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence, and in January 2015, he pleaded guilty to one count of interstate communications with the intent to extort more than $500,000 from a Crosby County man.  Today, Senior Judge Cummings sentenced Smith to 60 months on the firearms conviction and 87 months on the extortion conviction, to run consecutively

On October 29, 2015, Smith possessed three firearms − a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a Rock River Arms .223 caliber semi-automatic rifle, and a Ruger .22 caliber rifle − in furtherance of transmitting communications to Crosbyton resident, Nathan Royce Boardman, threatening to kidnap and injure his wife, his daughters and his granddaughters.

Smith was carrying the Glock, .40 caliber pistol when he went to the drop location to see if Boardman had paid the extortion money.  Smith also had the .223 caliber semi-automatic rifle and the .22 caliber rifle in his pickup truck as part of a hunting ruse in case he was stopped by law enforcement.

On Tuesday morning, October 27, 2015, Smith called Boardman and left a message on his answering machine that said: “We are watching you, there is a note on your north door.”

Boardman found the note that stated:  “Follow these Instructions and no one will get Hurt.  We Have a man watching your daughter.  We Have a man watching your Granddaughter.  We Have a man watching you and your wife.  We are monitering [sic] your home and cell phone.  If you call the police, we will know and someone will be taken from you.  If you choose not to participate, someone will be taken from you.  You have till Thursday at 9pm to put $525,000 in cash and or gold coins in a bag, duffel style.  we [sic] will call you with further instructions.  We are watching you.  Do what you’re told and no one will be Hurt”.

On the morning of October 29, Boardman received another phone call from Smith in which Smith advised him that he had 14 hours left to get the money or else he would see what Boardman’s granddaughter looked like naked and correctly identified Boardman’s granddaughter by her first name.  That evening, Smith called and left a message advising they’d better answer the phone or if they didn’t, it would be the last thing they would remember. 

At approximately 6:44 p.m. that evening, Smith called Boardman and provided instructions to drop the extortion money.  A short time later, Smith called Boardman again to confirm he had the correct instructions and advised Boardman if “we get a GPS tracker or a dye pack, there’ll be hell to pay.”

At approximately 8:55 p.m., that evening, law enforcement officers departed Boardman’s residence using Boardman’s vehicle and proceeded to the location Smith provided and threw a duffel bag in the weeds next to the boiler, as instructed.  Law enforcement officers returned to Boardman’s residence in Boardman’s vehicle.  Law enforcement identified a 2011 white GMC pickup truck in the area of the drop location, and they identified the two individuals in the truck as Smith and his minor son.  At the time of his arrest, Smith had a semi-automatic pistol on his person.  

The FBI, Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety - Criminal Investigations Division, Crosby County Sheriff’s Office and the Crosbyton Police Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS, Texas — A licensed physician from North Richland Hills, Texas, Byron Felton Conner, 48, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud stemming from a scheme to defraud Medicare through the submission of false claims for physician home visits and home health care services.  The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Conner, who remains on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 5 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and may be ordered to pay restitution.  Sentencing is scheduled for September 29, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

Conner is the fourth defendant to plead guilty in connection with a fraud scheme involving Paradise Home Health (Paradise), a home health agency that was owned and operated by Theophilus Adeoye, a licensed vocational nurse.  Theophilus Adeoye, his wife and registered nurse Foluke Adeoye, and former Paradise employee, Stacey Shephard, all pleaded guilty last year.

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately March 2012 through September 2015 Conner worked with At Home Visiting Physicians as a contract physician serving patients throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.  As part of the scheme, Conner signed physician orders for home health care that contained false information on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries who were not homebound or otherwise qualified for Medicare-covered home health care services.  Conner knew that Paradise would use these falsified documents to support and justify fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare.

The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated. are investigating.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas Brasher and John Kull are prosecuting. 

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FORT WORTH, Texas — A former Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employee assigned to Carswell Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Fort Worth, Texas, Yvonne Marrufo, appeared in federal court yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton and pleaded guilty to an indictment charging one count of sexual abuse with a ward, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Marrufo, 41, of Fort Worth, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  She will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for October 27, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means.

According to documents filed in the case, Marrufo worked at Carswell FMC as a BOP Cook Supervisor.  Beginning in approximately 2015, Marrufo engaged in a sexual act with an inmate she supervised at Carswell FMC.

The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Justice conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Poe is in charge of the prosecution.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — A Hurst, Texas, man was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 360 months in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release for child pornography offenses, announced John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Randy Ray Wesson, 29, pleaded guilty, in February 2015 to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography. 

According to the complaint, the investigation began when a detective with the Hurst Police Department received information form the Dallas Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit regarding a Cybertip received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).  That referral indicated that a particular Instagram member had uploaded an image of child pornography through their server on June 7, 2014.  The investigation revealed that Wesson was the owner of that account.

Officers with the Hurst Police Department executed a state search warrant at Wesson’s home on November 18, 2014, in an effort to search for and seize evidence of child pornography.  Wesson was present during the search.  A forensic examination revealed that Wesson’s desktop computer contained files visually depicting minors, including a prepubescent minor, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

In addition, according to the filed factual resume, on February 9, 2014, Wesson used the Internet and Instagram to receive visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The matter 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.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Hurst Police Department investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — Daniel Dixon, 32, appeared this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney and pleaded guilty to a three-count indictment charging felony offenses stemming from his theft of a mail truck last year, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

Specifically, Dixon, also known as “Jason Lee Smallwood,” pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government money, property or records; one count of willfully injuring or committing depredation against any property of the United States; and one count of obstruction of correspondence.  Dixon, who has been in custody since his arrest shortly after the incident, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for both the theft count and the depredation of property count and five years and a $250,000 fine for the obstruction of correspondence count.  Sentencing is set for September 28, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.

According to documents filed in the case, on December 28, 2015, as a U.S. Postal Service employee was stopped at a gas station to refill the mail truck’s gas tank, a man later identified as Dixon exited the backseat of a nearby vehicle, entered the driver’s seat of the mail truck, and drove away in the mail truck.  Dixon abandoned the mail truck on Windfall Circle in Dallas, where it was later recovered with extensive damage. 

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Dallas Police Department investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Hoxie is in charge of the prosecution.

###

DALLAS — Korey Larkin, 26, of Dallas, Texas, was arrested last week on a federal criminal complaint stemming from the assault of a U.S. Postal Carrier, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, on June 3, 2016 Larkin approached a United States Postal Service Letter Carrier on Al Patterson Drive in Dallas and inquired about a package. The following day Larkin approached the same carrier and again inquired about the package. When the mail carrier explained that the package had been delivered, Larkin argued that the package was not delivered then reached into his pocket and displayed what appeared to be a handgun, poked the carrier in the cheek and punched him in the face.

A complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge.  A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.  The government has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment.  The maximum statutory penalty for the offense as charged is 25 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Postal Service - Office of Inspector General is investigating.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Bray is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — A Dallas man was sentenced to a lengthy federal prison sentence following his guilty plea to drug distribution and firearms offenses, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Jose Zambrano, Jr., age 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to serve a total of 130 months in federal prison. Zambrano pled guilty in December 2015 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances—cocaine and methamphetamine—and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of this drug trafficking crime.

According to documents filed in the case, on several occasions from February 2015, through June 2015, Zambrano sold cocaine and methamphetamine from his home in Dallas to undercover law enforcement officers. Further, evidence presented at sentencing showed that young children were sometimes present during these illegal drug sales, and that loaded firearms had been strategically placed throughout the home to protect Zambrano’s drugs and the money generated from drug sales. 

On June 25, 2015, law enforcement officers arrested Zambrano and executed a search warrant at his residence, where they found approximately 200 grams of cocaine, more than $38,000 in drug-cash, and 7 firearms.

Dallas Police Department investigated the case and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay prosecuted.

# # #

ABILENE, Texas — A 69-year-old Abilene, Texas, man, Jackie Lee Whitt, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to serve 120 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in February 2016 to one count of access with intent to view prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, while living in Abilene, Whitt owned a Samsung cell phone that he used to access the Internet with the intent to view depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Whitt knew some of the images depicted minors under age 12.  He viewed numerous images of prepubescent minors, many who were well under age 12, engaged in various forms of sexually explicit conduct.  Whitt had been convicted in federal court in 2003 of six counts of Interstate Receipt of Child Pornography, and served a 57-month term of imprisonment in that case.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 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 case was investigated by the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — The President and Chief Executive Officer of Southco Enterprises, Inc. of Sherman, Texas, James Alexander, who pleaded guilty last month on behalf of the corporation to a one-count Information charging treating, storing or disposing of hazardous waste without a permit, was in federal court again today for the corporation’s sentencing, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade ordered Southco Enterprises, Inc. to pay $250,000 in monetary penalties consisting of:  1) a $150,000 criminal fine payable to the U.S. District Clerk; 2) $50,000 payable to the Southern Environmental Enforcement Network Training Fund in Birmingham, Alabama; and 3) $50,000 payable to Hutchins Fire and Rescue.  The payments to Hutchins Fire and Rescue are to be specifically used to acquire, purchase, lease, contract for, maintain, calibrate, test, transport, stage or store specialized equipment and gear used exclusively for actions related to spills, leaks, emissions or release of toxic or hazardous materials constituting, or possibly leading to, environmental pollution in North Texas.

In addition, Judge Kinkeade ordered that Southco Enterprises, Inc. is subject to suspension and disbarment at the discretion of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

“For years, the defendants knowingly stored hazardous waste with no regard to the serious public health and environmental dangers it posed and continued to ignore these risks when told to stop this dangerous practice,” said Christopher R. Brooks, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program for Texas.  “Today’s sentencing shows that those who refuse to comply with the law will be held to account and prosecuted.”

According to documents filed in the case, Southco Enterprises, Inc. operated several waste transportation vehicles in the Dallas area that were stored at facilities including Al-Kel Chemical, located on Goode Road in Hutchins, Texas.  In approximately December 2007, Al-Kel Alliance, Inc., (Al-Kel) received a Notice of Violation from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for storing numerous 55-gallon drums and 350-gallon totes that contained unknown chemicals.  The Notice of Violation also noted two stationery “box trailers” with totes and fiber pack drums.  TCEQ instructed Al-Kel to evaluate all the containers, including the contents of the two trailers, conduct an adequate waste determination, and ship the waste to the appropriate facility. 

From approximately October 1, 2010, through August 1, 2011, accumulated hazardous wastes were again stored on several “box trailers” owned by Southco and located at the Al-Kel facility.  Southco knew the accumulated hazardous waste in the “box trailers” must be disposed of at an appropriate facility.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Dunn prosecuted the case.

# # #

DALLAS — Seven north Texas residents remain in federal custody following their arrests last week on federal charges outlined in a just-unsealed indictment that alleges various offenses related to their roles in a heroin distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

The arrests were made last Thursday by Special Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from officers with the Garland, Allen, and Rockwall Police Departments.  The defendants made their initial appearances in federal court on Friday and detention hearings are being held this week.

Each of the below-listed defendants is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin:

Brittany Anders, 31, of Rowlett
Sixto Rivera Bustillos, 43, of Garland
Jancs Fraire, aka “Jesus Luis Friar,” “Jesus Fraire,” and “Jay,” of Dallas
Rene Rodriguez, 30, of Dallas
Yovani Loyd Rodriguez, 22, of Dallas
Daniel Rojo, 31, of Allen
Marcus Stokes, 30, of Plano

Anders and Rojo are also each charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Anders is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin.

Bustillos is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin.

Fraire is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin and one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin and distribution of heroin.

Rodriguez is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin and two counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin.

Stokes is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  However, if convicted, the conspiracy count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years; the firearm count carries a minimum penalty of five years and a maximum statutory penalty of life; the heroin distribution counts each carry a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years; and the methamphetamine distribution counts carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years.  Fines could range from $250,000 to $4,000,000.  The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation that would require the defendants, upon conviction, to forfeit a business on Corinth Street in Dallas and various firearms.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanna Etessam.

# # #

DALLAS — Sacramento Moon Morales, 34, of Garland, Texas, was sentenced yesterday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to serve 126 months in federal prison and 20 years of supervised release, following his guilty plea in January 2016 to an indictment charging one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, on approximately March 26, 2014, Morales knowingly possessed paper that contained sexually explicit images of prepubescent females, knowing that the images were of actual children.

As noted in the public record, Morales was convicted of kidnapping and indecency with a child in Hidalgo County, Texas, in 2003.

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 Garland Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — A Dallas man, Hunter Lee Foster, 25, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 33 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in September 2015 to a felony drug offense stemming from his role in illegal drug activity at a northwest Dallas club, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Foster pleaded guilty in September 2015 to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, specifically, 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylcathinone (ethylone) – a drug also known as “Molly.”  Foster is the last of several defendants, who were arrested in December 2014 at various locations, including at and near a club known as Eternal Eden Afterhours at the Jaguars Club on Reeder Road in Dallas, to be sentenced.

Foster admitted selling “Molly” to undercover officers on several occasions from September to November 2014.    Others charged and convicted in that first round have pleaded guilty to various charges and most have received federal prison sentences ranging from probation to 120 months.

In October 2015, another group of defendants was arrested on charges related to drug activity at Dallas clubs.  Most of those defendants, who were arrested at various locations in North Texas, including at and near the Lizard Lounge on Swiss Avenue and Unlis3d Afterhours on Sovereign Row, in Dallas, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

The Dallas Police Department Narcotics and Homicide Unit, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Allen, Denton and Garland Police Departments, and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Phelesa Guy is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — A Dallas man, Gregory Wayne Davidson, 53, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Sam A Lindsay to serve a total of 192 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to two counts of bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Davidson robbed the Capital One Bank located at 2015 Northwest Highway in Garland, Texas, on June 8, 2015.  Davidson also robbed the Veritex Community Bank, located at 2101 Abrams Road in Dallas, on June 30, 2015.  He was arrested in July 2015.

In each robbery, upon entering the bank, Davidson wrote a demand note on a deposit slip that he presented to a teller.  The tellers, scared and in fear for their lives, complied with the demand and provided Davidson with cash.  Davidson left each bank after he obtained the cash.

Davidson was also convicted in 2002 in the Northern District of Texas on one count of bank robbery and was sentenced in June 2002 to serve 180 months in federal prison.  At the time of these  June 2015 bank robberies, Davidson was on supervised release on that conviction.  Today, Judge Lindsay sentenced Davidson to 168 months on the bank robbery conviction and 24 months for violating his supervised release, to be served consecutively.

The Garland Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Robinson was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — Two brothers who were convicted at trial in November 2015 on felony offenses stemming from a conspiracy they ran to commit visa fraud to secure a low-cost workforce at their information technology consulting company headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, were sentenced today to lengthy federal prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Atul Nanda, 46, and his brother, Jiten “Jay” Nanda, 45, were each sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 87 months in federal prison.  Each was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, one count of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, and four counts of wire fraud.  The brothers, who have been on bond, were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

Dibon Solutions is an information technology consulting company located on Chenault Drive in Carrollton; it is a family operation created by the Nanda family.  Atul and Jiten Nanda created, established, and ran the corporation that they used to commit fraud through the H1-B visa program.

“The H-1B visa program is a powerful and positive tool for businesses and foreign workers alike when properly used,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “When employers abuse the program, however, the foreign workers become a captive stable of cheap labor, victimized to the company’s financial benefit.”

“This federal investigation uncovered Dibon’s deeply rooted conspiracy of maximizing its profits at all costs,” said Katrina W. Berger, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas.  “These two brothers created a highly profitable, and highly illegal business model at the extreme expense of the alien workforce that they recruited.  In addition, this same illegal business model operated at an unfair advantage to Dibon’s competition since it had a much lower operating overhead.”

The H-1B visa program allows businesses in the U.S., such as Dibon, to temporarily employ foreign workers with specialized or technical expertise in a particular field such as accounting, engineering, or computer science. 

The Nanda brothers recruited foreign workers with expertise who wanted to work in the U.S.  They sponsored the workers’ H-1B visa with the stated purpose of working at Dibon headquarters in Carrolton, but, in fact, did not have an actual position at the time they were recruited and knew the workers would ultimately provide consulting services to third-party companies located throughout the U.S.  Contrary to representations made by the conspirators to the workers (and the government), Jay and Atul Nanda directed that the workers only be paid for time spent working at a third-party company and only if the third-party company actually first paid Dibon for the workers’ services.  Additionally, in Dibon’s visa paperwork, the conspirators falsely represented that the workers had full-time positions and were paid an annual salary, as required by regulation to secure the visas.

This scheme provided the conspirators with a labor pool of inexpensive, skilled foreign workers who could be used on an “as needed” basis.  The scheme was profitable because it required minimal overhead and Dibon could charge significant hourly rates for a computer consultant’s services.  Thus, the Nandas, as Dibon’s owners, earned a substantial profit margin when a consultant was assigned to a project and incurred few costs when a worker was without billable work.  This scheme is known as “benching.”  Dibon actively recruited H-1B workers for the “bench.”

The Nandas required the H-1B visa candidates to pay the processing fees that the law requires to be paid by the company. The Nandas attempted to hide this, however, by having the H-1B candidates pay the fees directly to Dibon either with cash or a check written to “Dibon Training Center.”

The three other defendants charged in the case, Siva Sugavanam, 37, Vivek Sharma, 48, and Rohit Mehra, 39, who each pleaded guilty before trial to one count of aiding and abetting visa fraud, were each sentenced earlier this month by Judge Lynn to two years’ probation.  Sugavanam was the lead recruiter for Dibon; Sharma acted as Dibon’s office manager; and Mehra recruited employees for the bench and transported benched employees to and from Dibon Headquarters.  All three had knowledge of and/or involvement in the filing of false documents with the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in securing recruits’ employment with Dibon. 

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, HSI and the U.S. Department of State.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Danial Gividen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Yanowitch prosecuted the case.

# # #

DALLAS — Gary Busby, 63, formerly of Flower Mound, Texas, made his initial appearance in federal court today on an indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas last week, charging one count of conspiracy to manufacture firearms without a license and four counts of structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Busby, who now resides in Ruidoso, New Mexico, also entered a not guilty plea to the indictment and was released on bond.

According to the indictment, in December 2010, Busby and another, unnamed individual met Jose Maria Deleon at a gun show and sold him firearms.  (Deleon was prosecuted and convicted in the Northern District of Texas on a federal firearms offense and was sentenced in September 2015 to 60 months in federal prison.)  Even though he knew the two did not have federal firearms licenses (FFL), Deleon asked them if they would be willing to manufacture AR-15 and AK firearms receivers into fully-functional firearms for him, and they agreed.  In fact, they did so in a series of transactions until December 2011.  Deleon provided them with firearms receivers he had acquired from Maxwell Spencer Hodgkins.  (Hodgkins was prosecuted and convicted in the Northern District of Texas on a federal firearms offense and was sentenced in February 2014 to 37 months in federal prison.)  Sometimes Deleon paid them cash in advance and other times he paid them upon receipt of the manufactured firearms.

At some time during that period, Busby and the other individual became aware that the firearms they were manufacturing, and the firearms they agreed to manufacture, had and would be sent to Mexico.  In fact, several firearms traced to Busby were found in or near Mexico. 

In February 2012, officers with the Fort Worth Police Department saw Busby at a gun show negotiating gun purchases on behalf of Deleon.  They observed a straw purchasing arrangement in which Busby would contact potential sellers, negotiate the price, and then call Deleon to purchase the firearms for cash.  To further investigate that matter, officers conducted a traffic stop of Deleon.  Busby, who was driving behind Deleon, also pulled over.  Officers inventoried the firearms in Deleon’s vehicle and one was later recovered in Mexico.

During a search of Busby’s residence in July 2011, federal agents catalogued all the firearms and ammunition at the residence.  That same day, Busby signed a letter putting him on notice that he was to cease and desist in engaging in the business of selling firearms without a license and advising him that several of the firearms he had sold had been recovered during criminal activities.  In spite of the notification, one of the firearms catalogued that day at Busby’s residence was later found in Mexico by authorities.

The indictment alleges that from approximately April 2009 to February 2011, Busby lied on ATF forms related to firearms purchases by stating he was the actual transferee/buyer of the firearm, knowing that he would sell or trade those firearms to third parties. 

The indictment further alleges that from approximately December 2010 to September 2012, Busby also illegally structured cash transactions to avoid having reports of his cash transactions recorded and reported to the government, so as to disguise the proceeds of illegally manufacturing firearms sent to Mexico.

An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury.  A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  If convicted, however, the conspiracy count and each of the structuring counts carry a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Rumsey is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — A detective with the Irving Police Department, Joe DelFierro, was honored Wednesday by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch at the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s National Missing Children’s Day Ceremony held in Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and Chief Larry Boyd of the Irving Police Department.

Detective DelFierro was presented the Missing Children’s Law Enforcement Award, which is awarded to a law enforcement officer who made a significant investigative or program contribution to the safety of children.  Detective DelFierro was recognized for his work in recovering a group of young girls, ages 11 to 14, who ran away from a mental health facility and were subsequently prostituted by two sex traffickers.  Those sex traffickers were federally prosecuted in the Northern District of Texas, where they were convicted and sentenced to federal prison terms of 293 months and 188 months.   

“Detective DelFerrio's relentless and noble efforts to identify and neutralize those responsible for these girls’ horrific experience are profoundly inspiring,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “I am honored to join in recognizing his tireless service on the front lines of protecting the most vulnerable among us.”

“We are all proud of Detective DelFerrio for receiving this well-deserved recognition,” said Chief Larry Boyd. “It was through his dedicated efforts that these girls were rescued from a desperate and dangerous situation. The girls can now start recovering from their traumatic experience with the assurance that the predators who victimized them will be locked away for a very long time.”

President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25, 1983, the first National Missing Children’s day to remember Etan Patz, a six-year-old boy who disappeared from a New York City street corner on May 25, 1979.  Missing Children’s Day honors his memory and the memories of children still missing, and every year, citizens, public agencies and private organizations gather to commemorate the day and renew their commitment to find missing children.

“The extraordinary people we honor today remind us that our nation has no more solemn obligation and no greater responsibility than the protection of our children,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “The Department of Justice is proud to stand with them – and with law enforcement officers, advocates and families throughout the country – as we work toward a safer and brighter future for all our young people.”

###

WASHINGTON – A DeSoto, Texas, resident was indicted on 29 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns and three counts of willfully failing to file income tax returns, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John R. Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to court documents, Vicki Louise Walker, was a tax preparer doing business under the name Vicki Walker Tax Services LLC in Dallas, Texas.  Walker is alleged to have prepared numerous tax returns for tax years 2010 through 2013 on which she reported false items, including false filing status, false business expenses, false capital losses and false charitable donations.  It is further alleged that Walker willfully failed to file her own tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax years 2011 through 2013.

If convicted, Walker faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and a statutory maximum sentence of one year in prison for each count of failing to file her own tax returns.  She also faces monetary penalties and restitution.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and the defendant is presumed innocent until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Parker commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case and Trial Attorney Robert J. Boudreau of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes of the Northern District of Texas, who are prosecuting this case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website. 

# # #

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement to resolve allegations that Lubbock, Texas, engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against Hispanic and female applicants for probationary police officer positions with the Lubbock Police Department, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In a joint motion filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the Justice Department and the city of Lubbock asked the court to enter a provisional order that sets out the terms of the settlement agreement.  Under the proposed settlement agreement, which is subject to court approval, Lubbock will develop a new written test and a new physical fitness test for selecting probationary police officers and provide hiring relief with retroactive seniority to 11 qualified Hispanic applicants and 13 qualified female applicants who were disqualified by the challenged employment tests.  In addition to hiring relief for the 24 qualified applicants, Lubbock will also pay a total of $725,000 to any eligible Hispanic and female applicants who were disqualified by the challenged employment tests.  The motion also asks the court to schedule a fairness hearing, an opportunity provided by Title VII for those affected by the proposed agreement to comment on the settlement.

The proposed settlement agreement will resolve the complaint filed by the Justice Department on Dec. 2, 2015.  In its complaint, the Justice Department alleged that Lubbock’s use of its written test and physical fitness test violated Title VII by disproportionately screening out, respectively, Hispanic and female applicants for the probationary police officer position without meaningfully distinguishing between applicants who can and cannot perform the job.  Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin or religion, whether the discrimination is intentional or involves the use of employment practices that have a disparate impact and are not job related and consistent with business necessity.

“Unnecessary barriers that keep qualified Hispanic and female applicants from obtaining public safety jobs violate the law and hurt our communities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “The Department of Justice commends the city of Lubbock and the Lubbock Police Department for working to adopt new hiring procedures that comply with Title VII and to provide relief to those applicants harmed by the city’s previous hiring practices.”

The case was brought by Trial Attorneys Hector Ruiz, Karen Ruckert, Jennifer Swedish and Alisa Philo of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann E. Cruce-Haag of the Northern District of Texas.  Enforcement of federal employment discrimination laws is a top priority for the Justice Department.  Additional information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.

Lubbock Consent Decree

FORT WORTH, Texas — Octavio Colin, 34, of Cleburne, Texas, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 240 months (20 years) in federal prison, following his guilty plea earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Co-conspirator Jason Ziegler, 32, of Justin, Texas, who pleaded guilty to the same offense, was sentenced on Monday to 60 months in federal prison. 

According to documents filed in their cases, since approximately 2013, Ziegler received methamphetamine on consignment from Colin and another convicted defendant, Erica Ayala.  In turn, Ziegler distributed the methamphetamine to various customers in the Fort Worth, Texas, area, returning to Ayala for additional supply.  From approximately July to August 2014, Ayala received ounce and multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine on consignment from Colin that she distributed in the Fort Worth and Richland Hills, Texas, area, returning to Colin for additional supply.  Ayala was sentenced in July 2015 to 160 months in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy.

A total of 17 defendants were charged in the case; all pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.  In February 2016, Miguel Bonilla, 36, of Dallas, was sentenced by Judge O’Connor to 360 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  Four other defendants convicted in the case received federal prison sentences of 240 months.  The remaining 10 defendants received prison sentences ranging from 72 to 210 months.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

Bilal Abood, 38, of Mesquite, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade of the Northern District of Texas to four years in prison for one count of making a false statement to a federal agency.

The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. of the FBI’s Dallas Division.

“My office’s highest priority is and will remain the security of our homeland and the safety of all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “We remain more committed than ever to aggressively fighting all terrorism-related acts in north Texas.  We appreciate the outstanding work by the Dallas FBI and the assistance of the department’s National Security Division during this investigation and prosecution.”

“It remains among the highest priorities of the FBI to identify individuals who seek to join the ranks of foreign fighters traveling in support of ISIL,” said Special Agent in Charge Class.  “Bilal Abood lied to the FBI about the true purpose of his travel to Syria and his allegiance to ISIL, and now he will face the consequences.”

Abood has been in federal custody since his May 2015 arrest by the FBI related to a criminal complaint.  He pleaded guilty in October 2015 to a one-count superseding indictment.   

Abood admitted that on March 29, 2013, he attempted to depart the United States at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, but was not allowed to board the international flight.  While at the airport, FBI special agents asked Abood about his planned travel and he stated he was merely planning to travel to Iraq to visit family.  During a subsequent interview, Abood admitted to FBI special agents that his intent was to travel to Syria to fight the regime of Bashar al-Assad.  

On approximately April 29, 2013, Abood left the United States through Mexico and traveled through various countries into Syria.  On Sept. 16, 2013, Abood returned to the United States and admitted to FBI special agents that he had traveled to Syria, but he denied supporting any terrorist groups.

A search warrant was executed on Abood’s computer on July 9, 2014.  A review of that computer revealed that on approximately June 19, 2014, Abood stated, while using his Twitter handle @ibnalislaam, “I pledge obedience to the Caliphate Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”  Abood admitted that he knew that al-Baghdadi is the self-proclaimed leader of ISIL and was designated as a specially designated global terrorist on Oct. 4, 2011, and remains so to date.

Abood also admitted that on April 14, 2015, FBI special agents advised him that lying to a federal agent is a crime.  He further admitted that on that date, he falsely told FBI special agents that he had never pledged allegiance to al-Baghdadi and that he was aware that the agents were investigating a matter that they suspected could involve international terrorism.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Dallas Division.  The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Texas with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

DALLAS – A Mesquite, Texas man, Bilal Abood, 38, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 48 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to a superseding indictment charging one count of making a false statement involving international terrorism to a federal agency, announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office.

“My office’s highest priority is and will remain the security of our homeland and the safety of all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “We remain more committed than ever to aggressively fighting all terrorism-related acts in north Texas.  We appreciate the outstanding work by the Dallas FBI and the assistance of the Department’s National Security Division during this investigation and prosecution.”

“It remains among the highest priorities of the FBI to identify individuals who seek to join the ranks of foreign fighters traveling in support of ISIL,” said Special Agent in Charge Class.  “Bilal Abood lied to the FBI about the true purpose of his travel to Syria and his allegiance to ISIL, and now he will face the consequences.”

Abood has been in federal custody since his arrest in May 2015 by special agents with the FBI on a related criminal complaint.   

Abood admitted that on March 29, 2013, he attempted to depart the U.S. at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, but was not allowed to board the international flight.  While at the airport, FBI special agents asked Abood about his planned travel, and he stated he was merely planning to travel to Iraq to visit family.  During a subsequent interview, Abood admitted to FBI special agents that his intent on March 29, 2013, was to travel to Syria to fight the regime of Bashar Al Assad.  

On approximately April 29, 2013, Abood left the U.S. through Mexico and traveled through various countries into Syria.  On September 16, 2013, Abood returned to the U.S. and admitted to FBI special agents that he had traveled to Syria, but he denied supporting any terrorist groups.

A search warrant was executed on Abood’s computer on July 9, 2014.  A review of that computer revealed that on approximately June 19, 2014, Abood stated, while using his Twitter handle @ibnalislaam, “I pledge obedience to the Caliphate Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”  Abood stipulated that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the self-proclaimed leader of ISIL and was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on October 4, 2011, and remains so to date.

Abood also admitted that on April 14, 2015, FBI special agents advised him that lying to a federal agent is a crime.  He further stipulated that on that date, he falsely told FBI special agents during a terrorism investigation that he had never pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi.  He also stipulated that he was aware the FBI special agents were investigating a matter that they suspected could involve international terrorism.

The FBI’s Dallas Division investigated the case.  The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

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DALLAS — Ellis Wamsley, IV of Grand Prairie, Texas, appeared in federal court today, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez, and pleaded guilty to a felony offense stemming from his work with Kevin Kenard Howard and the FAIM Economic Development Corporation, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

Wamsley, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with property derived from specified unlawful activity and aiding and abetting.  He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a fine not to exceed $250,000, or twice any pecuniary gain to the defendant, and restitution.  He will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for September 8, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

Co-defendant Kevin Kenard Howard, 34, of Dallas, pleaded guilty last week to one count of wire fraud.  He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison a fine not to exceed $250,000 or twice any pecuniary gain to the defendant, and restitution.  He, too, will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for September 1, 2016, before Judge Boyle.

According to documents filed in the case, Wamsley formed FAIM in 2003, and in 2010, as its CEO, hired Howard to work as a financial consultant to assist in recruiting investors for FAIM.  In summer 2010, while trying to recruit these investors to supply additional cash revenue for FAIM, Howard and Wamsley recruited “M.R.,” the owner/operator of “Company R,” in Flower Mound, Texas.  They advised M.R. that a proposed joint venture between FAIM and Company R would generate funding for FAIM economic development projects in the southern sector of Dallas and throughout the U.S.  FAIM and Company R signed a joint venture agreement in July 2010 that represented to investor M.R. and Company R that FAIM would provide a monthly financial report regarding the performance of the trading.  Wamsley and Howard told M.R. that M.R.’s funds would only be invested in certain types of investments identified in the agreement and that all investment profits would be split equally between FAIM and M.R.

In August 2010, M.R. wired $2 million to a FAIM brokerage account at Charles Schwab.  Approximately one month later, Wamsley transferred $1,791,703 in Company R’s investment funds from that account to a FAIM Merrill Lynch brokerage account that he had established and to which M.R. did not have access.

Wamsley told Howard that Howard would be FAIM’s primary point of contact with M.R.  After the first few trades, the joint venture began to lose money.  Wamsley told Howard to hide the investment losses from M.F.  Howard agreed to, and did, lie to M.R. about the trading losses and the true balance of the investment account. 

Howard, with Wamsley’s knowledge and consent, knowingly participated in the fraud scheme by sending lulling emails to M.R. that contained false information about the true balance and value of the account.  In November 2010, Howard sent an email to M.R. falsely assuring M.R. that profits in the investment account had increased.  In December 2010, Howard sent an email to M.R. in which he falsely represented that the account balance was $2,436,611.  In January 2011, Howard sent another email saying the total account balance was $2,500,000.  In fact, from October 2010 to August 2011, Howard, at Wamsley’s instruction, sent several emails to M.R. with the specific intent to deceive, mislead and confuse M.R. about the account’s true balance.  Wamsley and Howard also concealed that fact that Wamsley was diverting some of the funds in the account for his own personal benefit and use.

For instance, from October 2010 through April 2012, Wamsley fraudulently transferred more than $1.7 million of Company R investment funds to FAIM’s business accounts, and he unlawfully spent those funds for his, Howard’s and others’ personal benefits.  For example, in November 2010, Wamsley used $40,024 in Company R investment funds to purchase a 2008 Cadillac Escalade for Howard; $41,764 of investment funds to purchase a 2008 Cadillac Escalade for a family member; and $125,477 in investment funds to purchase a 2007 Aston Martin for himself.  Wamsley also used more than $200,000 in investment funds to host a Super Bowl fund-raising event in 2011. 

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas.  Wamsley is the 14th defendant convicted since July 2014 as part of that initiative. 

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

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Kelly Dan Williams, Jr., a former special needs instructor at Mansfield Independent School District’s (ISD) Mary Orr Intermediate School, who admitted sexually exploiting children, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to serve a total of 720 months (60 years) in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Williams, Jr., 62, has been in custody since his arrest in June 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint.  He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Worth in July 2015 on two counts of the sexual exploitation of children, and he pleaded guilty to that indictment in January 2016. Today, Judge Means sentenced him to 360 months on each of those to counts, to run consecutively.

According to documents filed in the case, on June 1, 2015, an individual at Mary Orr Intermediate School observed Williams, Jr. performing a sex act on an 11-year-old male student in a school bathroom stall.  This individual reported this to the school’s administration, and Williams, Jr. was directed to report to the Human Resources office.

Mansfield Police obtained a search warrant for Williams’ Jr., residence, where they seized electronic storage devices, to include an SD card.  A forensic examination revealed that a video located on the SD card depicted Williams, Jr. performing a sex act on a minor male, who appears to be younger than age 12, in what appears to be a school bathroom stall.  Further forensic analysis indicates that the video was created on or about February 3, 2010.

Williams admitted that on approximately January 13, 2010, he used a minor boy to engage in sexually explicit conduct that he video-recorded.  He further admitted that on approximately February 3, 2010, he used a minor boy to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him and video- recorded that conduct. 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 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.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Mansfield ISD Police Department, the Mansfield Police Department and the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office investigated the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Haywood Bernard Hall, 34, of Cedar Hill, Texas, appeared in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver and pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement under penalty of perjury in a filing in a bankruptcy petition, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

Hall, who remains on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is set for September 9, 2016, before Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn.

According to documents filed in the case, in November 2010, Hall filed a second voluntary bankruptcy petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Texas.  In that petition, Hall knowingly and fraudulently made a material false statement, under the penalty of perjury, by causing a “Statement of Social Security,” (Form B21) to be filed that falsely represented his assigned Social Security number.

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas.  Hall is the 15th defendant convicted since July 2014 as part of that initiative. 

Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas’s Mock Trial Academy, conducted as part of the District’s ongoing Crime Prevention and Community Outreach component of the Justice Department’s Smart on Crime initiative, concluded this week with fifth grade students from Gabe Allen Elementary School in West Dallas participating in a mock trial held in a federal courtroom in Dallas.

“Establishing a positive relationship with today’s youth is vital to the prevention of crime and violence in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.  “Through this Mock Trial Academy, these students directly interacted with professionals in law and law enforcement, gaining not only an insider’s perspective of our legal system, but an opportunity to explore career opportunities in law enforcement and criminal justice.”

Approximately 30 fifth-graders met with representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office throughout the academy to learn about our criminal justice system.  The students were guided through the trial process and had an opportunity to further develop their listening, problem solving, and communication skills.

All of the participants in this week’s mock trial were students who played the roles of judge, court security officers, lawyers, witnesses and jurors in the case of U.S. v. Mary Witch, in which defendant Witch was accused of kidnapping Hansel and Gretel.  The court was brought to order by the young judge and young bailiffs ensured courtroom procedures were followed.  After hearing the evidence presented, the group of 12 young jurors, who had not heard about the case prior to trial, had the opportunity to deliberate, decide on a verdict, and present that verdict to the court. 

Following the mock trial, a graduation ceremony, where the students were presented certificates and junior U.S. Attorney badges, and a reception were held in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Smart on Crime, a DOJ initiative announced in 2013, acknowledges that while aggressive enforcement of federal criminal statutes remains necessary, we cannot arrest and incarcerate our way to becoming a safer nation.  To be effective, federal efforts must also focus on other components of criminal justice, like crime prevention and reentry.  In fact, during last month’s Smart on Crime’s National Reentry Week in north Texas, the District sponsored and coordinated several events to raise awareness of the importance of reentry work.

More information about Smart on Crime may be found here.  Information regarding Reentry efforts in the Northern District of Texas may be found here and resources regarding the Department’s Reentry efforts may be found here. 

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LUBBOCK, Texas — A 36-year-old woman from Lubbock, Texas, Paula McNeal, who pleaded guilty in January 2016 to one count of health care fraud, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $104,088 in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

McNeal, aka Paula Quigley and Paula Walker, was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on June 24, 2016.

According to documents filed in the case, McNeal worked at New Hope Christian Counseling (NHCC) in Lubbock, and her duties included billing, submitting bills to Medicaid for services provided, receiving and opening mail, posting income, adjustments and receipts to counselors’ accounts, and making bank deposits.

From approximately December 7, 2010, to August 8, 2013, McNeal falsely and fraudulently billed Medicaid for services that were not provided, using the group billing number for NHCC and the individual provider identifier for one of the counselors.  As a result, Medicaid mailed approximately $104,088.45 in checks to NHCC to which NHCC was not entitled and which McNeal appropriated for her own personal use.

McNeal submitted bills for extra claims to Medicaid for NHCC existing clients and their siblings.  These clients and their siblings received no services from NHCC.  McNeal also billed for unserved children whose Medicaid numbers were available to her.  She misappropriated more than 100 checks and deposited them into one of three personal bank accounts. 

The case was investigated by the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulina Jacobo was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Kevin Kenard Howard of Dallas appeared in federal court today, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez, and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud stemming from his work with Ellis Wamsley, IV and the FAIM Economic Development Corporation, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

Howard, 34, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison, a fine not to exceed $250,000, or twice any pecuniary gain to the defendant, and restitution.  He will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for September 1, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

Ellis Wamsley, IV, of Grand Prairie, Texas, a co-defendant in the case, has filed plea papers and is scheduled to plead guilty on May 24, 2016, to one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with property derived from specified unlawful activity and aiding and abetting.

According to documents filed in the case, Wamsley formed FAIM in 2003, and in 2010, as its CEO, hired Howard to work as a financial consultant to assist in recruiting investors for FAIM.  In summer 2010, while trying to recruit these investors to supply additional cash revenue for FAIM, Howard and Wamsley recruited “M.R.,” the owner/operator of “Company R,” in Flower Mound, Texas.  They advised M.R. that a proposed joint venture between FAIM and Company R would generate funding for FAIM economic development projects in the southern sector of Dallas and throughout the U.S.

In August 2010, M.R. wired $2 million to a FAIM brokerage account at Charles Schwab.  Approximately one month later, Wamsley transferred $1,791,703 in Company R’s investment funds from that account to a FAIM Merrill Lynch brokerage account that he had established and to which M.R. did not have access.

Wamsley told Howard that Howard would be FAIM’s primary point of contact with M.R.  After the first few trades, the joint venture began to lose money.  Wamsley told Howard to hide the investment losses from M.F.  Howard agreed to, and did, lie to M.R. about the trading losses and the true balance of the investment account. 

Howard knowingly participated in the fraud scheme by sending lulling emails to M.R. that contained false information about the true balance and value of the account.  In November 2010, Howard sent an email to M.R. falsely assuring M.R. that profits in the investment account had increased.  In December 2010, Howard sent an email to M.R. in which he falsely represented that the account balance was $2,436,611.  In January 2011, Howard sent another email saying the total account balance was $2,500,000.  In fact, from October 2010 to August 2011, Howard, at Wamsley’s instruction, sent several emails to M.R. with the specific intent to deceive, mislead and confuse M.R. about the account’s true balance.  Wamsley and Howard also concealed that fact that Wamsley was diverting some of the funds in the account for his own personal benefit and use.

For instance, from October 2010 through April 2012, Wamsley fraudulently transferred more than $1.7 million of Company R investment funds to FAIM’s business accounts, and he unlawfully spent those funds for his, Howard’s and others’ personal benefits.  For example, in November 2010, Wamsley used $40,024 in Company R investment funds to purchase a 2008 Cadillac Escalade for Howard; $41,764 of investment funds to purchase a 2008 Cadillac Escalade for a family member; and $125,477 in investment funds to purchase a 2007 Aston Martin for himself.  Wamsley also used more than $200,000 in investment funds to host a Super Bowl fund-raising event in 2011. 

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas.  This defendant is the 13th defendant convicted since July 2014 as part of that initiative. 

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

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DALLAS — Two licensed professional counselors from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex who pleaded guilty to their respective roles in a massive health care fraud scheme that involved bribes, unnecessary medical treatment, fraudulent billing, and the falsification of medical documents to fraudulently bill the federal government, through the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Worker Compensation Programs (OWCP), more than $9.5 million, were sentenced this week, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

The lead defendant charged in the case, licensed professional counselor Larry Washington, 63, of Desoto, Texas, was sentenced on Monday to 78 months in federal prison and ordered to pay approximately $7.7 million in restitution.  He pleaded guilty in January 2016 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on July 19, 2016.  Washington ran businesses known as AAA Mental Health, LLC, Mind Spa, Inc., Solutions Health and Rehabilitation, and Convergence Emergence Diversion. 

Another licensed professional counselor, Henrietta Price, 51, of Cedar Hill, Texas, was sentenced on Monday to six months home confinement, three years of probation and was ordered to pay $199,796.93 in restitution.  She, too, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  Price provided counseling services at Mind Spa, Inc. and also treated patients at her own company, Lifeline Counseling.

Through his businesses, Washington provided patients with counseling, pain management, chiropractic services, physical therapy and massage services.  He sought out and recruited his patients who were former postal and VA employees who had suffered on-the-job injuries that prevented them from returning to work.  Washington knew that even though these individuals had once suffered a work-related injury, their injuries were not severe enough to warrant continued OWCP payments.

Twenty-one claimants, four doctors or medical providers, a senior claims examiner at DOL, a claims representative, and a medical provider’s employee were charged in the scheme.  All but two defendants have pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the scheme.          

In total, the defendants were able to collectively fraudulently bill the federal government through the OWCP for more than $9.5 million and receive more than $8.7 million in government payments based on their fraudulent billing.  The DOL made approximately $11.4 million in payments to these claimants for their compensation and medical services.  The government anticipates that as a result of the convictions, it will also prevent the payment of an estimated $11 million in future payments to the claimant defendants.

The scheme began with former or current government employees – U.S. postal employees or Veterans Affairs (VA) employees – who claimed that they had been injured during the course of their work duties.   Each of these claimants claimed they had suffered an on-the-job injury, ranging from strains to trigeminal neuralgia, which prevented them from returning from work.

Under OWCP, these “claimants” could receive workers’ compensation payments (typically between 66% and 75% of pre-disability wages, tax free) and paid medical treatment, if a qualified doctor deemed the medical services necessary to treat the injury and if the injury prevented the claimant from working. 

A DOL claims examiner would review the claim and its documentation, and either approve or reject the claim.  In certain circumstances, if an on-the-job injury caused permanent damage, a claimant could have received a “scheduled award” – that is, a lump sum payment meant to compensate that individual for their injury.  These awards often amounted to several hundred thousand dollars.  Claimants often sought the help of professionals, typically former DOL claims examiners in filing their claims and in getting their claims approved.  These “claims representatives” either charged claimants a percentage of any paid claim or a flat rate fee.  When doctors or other medical providers treated the claimants, they could bill OWCP for their work if they submitted the proper documentation and certification.

The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, with assistance from Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, U.S. Treasury Office of Inspector General, Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General/Cooperative Disability Investigations Unit, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney P.J. Meitl and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Bray and Nicola Dana are in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — A Fort Worth man, Alton Alexis, appeared Friday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater and pleaded guilty to an Information charging one count of making a false statement under penalty of perjury, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

Alexis, 58, faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  He will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for September 2, 2016, before Judge Fitzwater.

According to documents filed in the case, in January 2010, Alexis, on behalf of borrower NSAA Investment Group, signed a promissory note with One World Bank for a loan of approximately $3,744,050 to finance the construction of a movie theatre restaurant.  From early 2010 through early 2011, Alexis caused more than $2 million in loan proceeds to be disbursed from One World Bank to accounts in the name of BBA Construction Company and/or NSAA Investment Group.  Alexis later submitted three fictitious invoices to One World Bank which caused at least $245,000 of those loan proceeds to be fraudulently diverted to bank accounts he controlled.  Alexis then used these diverted loan proceeds to pay his personal debts. 

In May 2011, Alexis made a material false statement in a bankruptcy case, In re Alton Alexis and Althea Lynette Alexis, filed in the Northern District of Texas, when he filed an Amended Statement of Financial Affairs that falsely represented he had truthfully disclosed all income received in the two years immediately preceding the commencement of the case.  Instead of truthfully disclosing all income, Alexis fraudulently concealed the $245,000 of income, in the form of fraudulently diverted loan proceeds, he received in 2010.

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas.  This defendant is the 12th defendant convicted since July 2014 as part of that initiative. 

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

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DALLAS — Two Dallas residents have been sentenced for their roles in an ID theft and mail and wire fraud scheme they ran in 2011 and 2012, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Christain Cowan Felder, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle on Friday afternoon to serve a total of 75 months in federal prison.  Last month, her co-conspirator and neighbor, Lawonka King, 41, was sentenced by Judge Boyle to serve a total of 65 months in federal prison.  Judge Boyle ordered each to pay $227,240 in restitution, jointly and severally.  Each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately September 2011 through November 2012, King worked at New York Life Insurance Company where she processed policy applications submitted by the company’s field agents.  Those applications contained personal identifying information of the New York Life customers and often financial information, such as bank account information.

During that time, Felder and King conspired with each other and others to misappropriate that information and use it to fraudulently acquire goods and money for their mutual benefit.  King provided Felder with policy applications and other customer paperwork, and Felder would use that information to print counterfeit checks drawn on the identity victim’s bank account.  Felder then would take the counterfeit checks to Wal-Mart stores where other co-conspirators were employed as cashiers.  To cash the counterfeit checks, the co-conspirators scanned the counterfeit checks, often several at once, through a TeleCheck terminal.  Felder would then obtain Wal-Mart gift cards and share the proceeds with King and other co-conspirators. 

Felder also used the personal identifying information King provided to establish at least nine online accounts at EBay and 11 at PayPal to acquire household items and jewelry.  Felder completed 337 online transactions using those accounts, and many of the items purchased were delivered to the defendants’ addresses by Federal Express.

On November 21, 2012, officers with the Lancaster Police Department executed a search warrant at Felder’s residence and seized 118 New York Life policy applications that King had given her.  In addition, more than 200 counterfeit checks, bearing the personal identifying information of New York Life clients, were found.  Blank check stock was located in a printer’s feeder. 

On November 30, 2012, officers with the Lancaster Police Department executed a search warrant at King’s residence and located 14 New York Life policy applications hidden under the cushion of a sofa.  Law enforcement also located Wal-Mart gift cards, bank statements and credit cards in names other than King.

The Lancaster Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Stokes was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — A Dallas area man, Jamie Jack Collins, 40, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 10 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to an indictment charging two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, on approximately April 28, 2014, Collins “chatted” with another person using the social media application, “Kik,” and during that chat, the person with whom he was chatting sent Collins images of child pornography.  On approximately May 24, 2014, Collins again used Kik to “chat” with another person, and that person also sent Collins images of child pornography.

On August 15, 2014, according to documents filed in the case, Collins allowed law enforcement to review his cell phone for the presence of child pornography.  Law enforcement located images of child pornography involving prepubescent minors on his phone.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 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.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted the case.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — After a trial lasting more than two-weeks, a federal jury has convicted two Mexican citizens on federal charges related to the murder of Southlake, Texas, resident, Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa, at Southlake Town Square on May 22, 2013, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda, a/k/a “Chuy” and “Juan Ramos,” 59, and his cousin, Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortes, 60, were each convicted 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.  Cepeda-Cortes was also convicted on one count of tampering with documents or proceedings, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. 

Another defendant charged in the superseding indictment, Ledezma-Cepeda’s son, Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano, 32, pleaded guilty prior to trial to one count of interstate stalking.  He is also a Mexican citizen and testified for the government at trial.

All three defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on September 22, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means, who is presiding over the case.

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. 

The government presented evidence during trial that 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 that as a result of that travel, Mr. Chapa was killed.  In addition, the government presented evidence that Ledezma-Cepeda, Cepeda-Cortes and others conspired to travel from Mexico and elsewhere to Southlake and elsewhere, with the intent to murder Mr. Chapa.  Further, the government presented evidence that from approximately May 23, 2013, until September 5, 2014, Cepeda-Cortes took steps to destroy evidence related to the investigation that was on his computer.

The defendants, according to evidence presented at trial, 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.

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 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. 

The government presented further evidence that after the defendants located Mr. Chapa, “El Gato” sent two assassins from Mexico to Southlake to kill Mr. Chapa.  One of them was the gunman who killed the victim on May 22, 2013, and the other drove the Toyota Sequoia.

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, U.S. 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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DALLAS — A Florida man who was convicted for his role in a resort timeshare telemarketing scheme that victimized at least 5000 individuals, many of whom were over age 55, was sentenced today, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Rani F. Khoury, 41, of Apopka, Florida, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 97 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in July 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.  Judge Fitzwater also ordered Khoury to pay $1,583,252.28 in restitution and forfeit real estate in Orlando, Florida, as well as a 2010 Mercedes Benz. 

Ten defendants were charged in the case; all were convicted, and seven have now been sentenced.  For instance, earlier this year, Fabien C. Fleifel, 45, of Winter Springs, Florida, who was convicted at trial last summer on one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud; 19 counts of mail fraud telemarketing; and six counts of wire fraud telemarketing, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution jointly and severally with co-defendants. 

Khoury conspired with others to make unsolicited interstate telephone calls to owners of resort timeshare properties to induce them into paying fees associated with the bogus sale of their property.  Khoury and others opened bank accounts and entered into merchant account agreements to process and collect funds raised in the scheme, and they set up phony mailing addresses to collect funds mailed in by timeshare owners.  Khoury also hired and trained telemarketers to work in boiler rooms he set up.  These telemarketers were instructed to call timeshare owners using scripted sales pitches that falsely represented, for example, that a bona fide buyer was interested in buying their property, that the buyer had paid money into an escrow account, and that the buyer was ready to close on the property.  The telemarketers falsely advised timeshare owners that they would receive all the funds from the sale within days, they must pay a one-time fee to cover the title search and other closing costs, and they would be refunded all fees paid if the sale did not close within 90 days.

After the conspirators obtained money from the timeshare owners, they made additional false and fraudulent statements to lull them and to keep them from investigating the transactions, complaining to law enforcement, or requesting charge backs to their credit cards.

During Khoury’s participation in the conspiracy, victims incurred approximately $10,887,684 in losses.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Orlando Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys C.S. Heath and Joseph M. Revesz are prosecuting.

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DALLAS — A Hutchins, Texas, man, Servando Vega Cervantes, 25, was sentenced yesterday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 90 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in February 2015 to an indictment charging three counts of production of child pornography involving four victims, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, the Hutchins Police Department contacted the FBI in May 2014 regarding questionable online communication between an 11-year-old victim, “John Doe #1,” and the Facebook user profile of “Laura Ortiz.”  The victim’s mother believed the user of the Ortiz profile was actually an adult male and not a 13-year-old female as described in chat conversations between John Doe #1 and Ortiz.  The investigation revealed that the user profile “Laura Ortiz” belonged to Cervantes.  The investigation also revealed that John Doe #1 knew Cervantes as “Jordan,” an alias Cervantes used.

According to the factual resume filed in the case and testimony presented at today’s sentencing hearing, Cervantes enticed 11-year-old John Doe #1 to engage in sexually explicit conduct, and Cervantes took photos of that conduct.  Cervantes enticed another minor, under the age of 14, John Doe #2, to engage in sexually explicit conduct and Cervantes also took photos of that conduct.  Cervantes also asked John Doe #2 to send sexually explicit photos to “Laura Ortiz.”  John Doe #3, a 15-year-old boy, sent sexually explicit photos to Cervantes, upon Cervantes’ repeated requests.  Cervantes also had sexually explicit photos of another prepubescent boy, John Doe #4, whom he met on Facebook, on a thumb drive.

Cervantes had sexual contact with two of the four victim John Does.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 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 FBI’s Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force and the Hutchins Police Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks was in charge of the prosecution.

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ABILENE, Texas — A 25-year-old woman from Abilene, Texas, Misty Dawn Kelley, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 30 years in federal prison, following her guilty plea in February 2016 to an indictment charging one count of production of child pornography and aiding and abetting, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, in July 2014, Kelley met an individual, she knew as “Randy,” on an online adult webcam site.  In November 2014, “Randy” began sending sexually explicit pictures of his one to two-year-old daughter to Kelley.  Kelley continued to communicate with “Randy” on Kik and Skype, and in early July 2015, during a conversation with “Randy” on Kik, Kelley asked him to perform an act of sexual abuse on his daughter and send her a picture of it.  “Randy” immediately sent Kelley a picture of his daughter, depicting the result of his actions. 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 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.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Abilene Police Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — The President and Chief Executive Officer of Southco Enterprises, Inc. of Sherman, Texas, James Alexander, appeared in federal court in Dallas this week and entered a guilty plea on behalf of the corporation to a one-count Information charging treating, storing or disposing of hazardous waste without a permit, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

According to the factual resume filed in the case, Southco Enterprises, Inc. operated several waste transportation vehicles in the Dallas area that were stored at facilities including Al-Kel Chemical, located on Goode Road in Hutchins, Texas.  In approximately December 2007, Al-Kel Alliance, Inc., (Al-Kel) received a Notice of Violation from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for storing numerous 55-gallon drums and 350-gallon totes that contained unknown chemicals.  The Notice of Violation also noted two stationery “box trailers” with totes and fiber pack drums.  TCEQ instructed Al-Kel to evaluate all the containers, including the contents of the two trailers, conduct an adequate waste determination, and ship the waste to the appropriate facility. 

From approximately October 1, 2010, through August 1, 2011, accumulated hazardous wastes were again stored on several “box trailers” owned by Southco and located at the Al-Kel facility.  Southco knew the accumulated hazardous waste in the “box trailers” must be disposed of at an appropriate facility.

If the Court agrees to the terms of the plea agreement, the maximum possible sentence imposed includes a $400 mandatory special assessment and $250,000 in monetary penalties.  The $250,000 in penalties consists of a $150,000 criminal fine payable to the U.S. District Clerk, $50,000 payable to the Southern Environmental Enforcement Network Training Fund in Birmingham, Alabama, and $50,000 payable to Hutchins Fire and Rescue.  The payments to Hutchins Fire and Rescue are to be specifically used to acquire, purchase, lease, contract for, maintain, calibrate, test, transport, stage or store specialized equipment and gear used exclusively for actions related to spills, leaks, emissions or release of toxic or hazardous materials constituting, or possibly leading to, environmental pollution in North Texas.

In addition, if the plea agreement is accepted by the Court, Southco Enterprises, Inc. may be subject to suspension and disbarment at the discretion of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Sentencing is set for June 1, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.  Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Dunn and Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin are prosecuting the case.

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DALLAS — Convicted Aryan Brotherhood of Texas member Casey Rose, 36, of Mesquite, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to life in federal prison, following his conviction at trial in September 2015 on conspiracy, drug trafficking and firearm charges, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, the jury convicted Rose on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Judge Boyle sentenced him to life in federal prison on the conspiracy conviction, 240 months on the possession conviction and 120 months on the firearm conviction, all to run concurrently.

Rose has been in custody since his arrest in mid-November 2014 following a law enforcement operation led by the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division (DPS-CID).  During that operation, 37 individuals were arrested and charged with similar federal offenses, stemming from their respective roles in a drug distribution conspiracy that operated in North Texas and elsewhere from January 2013 to October 2014.  Of those arrested, each defendant pleaded guilty, except Rose, who elected to go to trial.  One defendant remains a fugitive.

In November 2015, during the second phase of that investigation, an additional 54 individuals, members and associates of various white supremacist organizations, were charged with federal offenses stemming from their roles in the same drug distribution conspiracy that operated in North Texas and elsewhere from January 2013 to November 2015.  Most of these defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Rose was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT).  Many of the defendants were members of, or associated with white supremacist organizations, such as the ABT, the “Aryan Circle,” the “Irish Mob,” and the “Dirty White Boys.”  Despite their differences, they would often collaborate for purposes of drug distribution or other illegal ventures.

The government presented evidence at trial that Rose purchased and distributed methamphetamine throughout the Dallas metroplex and used violence in obtaining large quantities of methamphetamine.  The trial also included expert testimony regarding the formation, history, and mission of the ABT.  

The DPS-CID Gang Unit and the Dallas Police Department Criminal Intelligence Unit led the investigation.  Officer and agents from the Garland Police Department Neighborhood Police Officer Unit, the Mesquite and Rockwall Police Departments and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also provided assistance in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney P. J. Meitl is in charge of prosecuting the nearly 100 defendants charged in these two cases.

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DALLAS — The ring-leader of a group of individuals who were involved in the January 2015 take-over style robbery of an AT&T store in Grand Prairie, Texas, was sentenced yesterday to a lengthy federal prison sentence, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Luther Elder, 30, of Dallas, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey, following his guilty plea in December 2015 to one count of interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting.  Elder was also ordered to pay $13,854 in restitution.

According to documents filed in the case, on January 23, 2015, Elder recruited co-defendants Chambrezia Johnson, 26, and Anthony Poe, 22, as well as another unknown individual, to assist him and co-defendant Brandon Walker, 29, in robbing an AT&T store in Grand Prairie.  Upon picking up Johnson and Poe and the unknown individual, Elder and Walker drove the group to a Wal-Mart in Grand Prairie, where Elder purchased a duffel bag and an “air gun” that was intended to be used in the robbery. 

After arriving at the AT&T store, Johnson and Walker entered the store to scout it out and determine how many people were in the store.  They left and advised Elder, who then instructed Poe and the unknown individual to rob the store and for Johnson to stay in the back of the store as a potential getaway driver. 

At approximately 1:23 p.m., Poe entered the store carrying the “air gun” while the unknown individual entered and brandished what appeared to be a firearm.  Poe and the unknown individual ordered all of the employees to the back of the store and the unknown individual struck an 81-year-old customer on the side of the head, because she was not complying fast enough with his demands, and then drug her to the rear of the store by her neck.  Poe and the unknown individual demanded cash and cell phones from the victims, fled the store, and were picked up by Elder and Walker.  Elder and Walker than dropped off Poe and the unknown individual at a motel before being arrested as they were in route to sell the stolen phones.

Defendants Walker, Poe and Johnson, all Dallas residents, have each pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting; each faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on that conviction.  Poe also pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute at least 28 grams of crack cocaine.  On that conviction, Poe faces a statutory penalty of not less than five or more than 40 years in federal prison.  Sentencing dates are set for later this month and in June 2015.

The case was investigated by the Grand Prairie Police Department, the Dallas Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Poe is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Kenneth Richardson, 33, of Dallas, pleaded guilty Friday afternoon, before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, stemming from his operation of a prostitution “ring,” announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Richardson has been in custody since his arrest in November 2015 on an indictment charging him with that offense.  He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is set for August 19, 2016.

According to plea papers filed in his case, from approximately July 2014 to mid-August 2015, Richardson engaged in a prostitution enterprise in various hotels in Dallas, including the Crowne Plaza located off of Interstate 35.  During this time, Richardson was employed as a U.S. military contractor, and his duties included assisting new military recruits as they began processing into the military.  As part of his job, Richardson had access to numerous hotel rooms at that hotel each day.

Richardson recruited several women to work for him in his prostitution enterprise and used a cell phone and hotel rooms to promote, manage, and facilitate their involvement in commercial sex acts.  On more than one occasion, Richardson provided the women with hotel rooms at the Crowne Plaza to which he had access by virtue of his employment and at no cost to himself or the women.  Richardson used a cell phone to communicate with these women regarding their prostitution activities, and he received payments from the women that they earned from engaging in those commercial sex acts.

The FBI is in charge of the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce is in charge of the prosecution.

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