Northern District of Texas

DALLAS — This afternoon, as part of its efforts during National Reentry Week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas hosted an Employer Summit, entitled “Employers Investing in Community Prosperity,” in Arlington, Texas, to highlight the benefits of hiring the formerly incarcerated, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

“Finding a job even without a conviction can be challenging, but for those being released from prison, it can be almost impossible,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “Regardless of the severity of their crime, recently released individuals often find that their past criminal record can be tantamount to a life sentence of low wages, underemployment, and poverty.  We all have a vested interest in ensuring that those who are genuinely motivated to rebuild their lives after release have the tools and legitimate opportunities to do so.”

As part of National Reentry Week, the Administration has taken a series of steps to reform the federal approach to reentry by addressing barriers to reentry, supporting state and local efforts to do the same, and engaging the private sector to provide individuals who have earned a second chance the opportunity to participate in the American economy.

At this afternoon’s Employer Summit, representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Labor, the Texas Offender Reentry Initiative, and the Texas Workforce Investment Council provided information to employers to assist them in navigating the hiring process for the formerly incarcerated.  Information was also furnished about the steps that federal, state, and local governments are taking to reduce barriers to employment for formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as information concerning the benefits, such as available tax incentives, of hiring the formerly incarcerated.

Just today, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum establishing the Federal Interagency Reentry Council to lead the Government’s work on the rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals returning to their communities from prisons and jails.  For five years, the Attorney General has successfully led the Cabinet-level working group; this memorandum will build on that success and ensure the federal government will continue this important work.

The Administration is taking specific steps to reduce barriers to employment for formerly incarcerated individual.  As brief examples: 

1. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is publishing a proposed rule that would prohibit federal agencies from asking questions about criminal and credit history to applicants for jobs in the competitive service and the career senior executive service, until a conditional offer of employment has been made.
    

2. The Presidential Memorandum directs all agencies to review their procedures for conducting a suitability determination for a job applicant with a criminal record. 

3. The Presidential Memorandum directs all agencies with discretion to grant or deny occupational licenses to ensure that a criminal record is not an automatic disqualifier.

Today’s Employer Summit concluded a busy National Reentry Week in north Texas in which the U.S. Attorney’s Office sponsored and coordinated several events to raise awareness of the importance of reentry work.  On Monday, U.S. Attorney Parker welcomed approximately 300 attendees at the 2016 Reentry Symposium in Dallas, and on Tuesday, staff members from the U.S. Attorney’s Office joined Bureau of Prisons (BOP) staff at Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) Fort Worth to participate in a Reentry Simulation that offered FCI inmates an opportunity to experience, first-hand, what it is like to be a newly-released offender.  On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office participated in a Reentry Information Fair at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Carswell in Fort Worth, where representatives from area service providers and community groups provided information and resources to assist inmates in overcoming reentry barriers they may encounter in employment, medical care, public assistance, identification and housing.  On Wednesday evening in Dallas, and on Thursday evening in Fort Worth, hundreds of recently-released state parolees/probationers attended the U.S. Attorney’s Office Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) Probation/Parole Reentry Sessions.  At each of these monthly sessions, staff from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and others from local, state and federal law enforcement, emphasize federal firearms laws and ensure attendees are aware of available social services. 

Earlier this week, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced new reforms to strengthen the BOP, including the “Roadmap to Reentry,” the Department’s comprehensive vision to reduce recidivism through reentry reforms at the BOP.   

More information about Reentry efforts in the Northern District of Texas may be found here.  Additional resources regarding the Department’s Reentry efforts may be found here. 

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DALLAS — Edric Norvell Robinson, Sr., 45, of Dallas, pleaded guilty this week, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney, to one count of sex trafficking of children as charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas in September 2015, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Robinson, who remains in federal custody, faces a statutory penalty of not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is set for August 10, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.

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

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology- facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  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 Texas Department of Public Safety, both members of the North Texas Anti-Trafficking Taskforce (NTATT), investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cara Foos Pierce is in charge of the prosecution.

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FORT WORTH/DALLAS — As part of National Reentry Week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas hosted two events yesterday related to the Department of Justice’s efforts to make our criminal justice system more fair, more efficient and more effective at reducing recidivism and helping formerly incarcerated individuals contribute to their communities.

“Supporting successful reentry is an essential part of this District’s mission to promote public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “The bottom line is that removing the barriers to employment, housing and education for those returning from prison reduces crime and makes our neighborhoods safer places to live.  Supporting them in their desire to be productive and law-abiding citizens is vital.”

The Department is also raising awareness of the importance of reentry strategies that both increase public safety and fulfill our nation’s commitment to the promise of individual redemption.

Yesterday afternoon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office participated in a Reentry Information Fair at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas.  Representatives from area service providers and community groups were on hand to provide information and resources to assist inmates in overcoming reentry barriers they may encounter in employment, medical care, public assistance, identification and housing.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office also gave inmates nearing release a copy of its just-published Reentry Resource Directory.

Yesterday evening, the U.S. Attorney’s Office hosted its monthly Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) Probation/Parole Reentry Session in Dallas; approximately 300 recently-released state parolees and probationers attended.  The monthly sessions are designed to emphasize the coordinated efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement concerning federal gun laws and to ensure attendees know about social service resources that are available to assist them as they integrate back into society.  The Office will host a similar session this evening in Fort Worth.

During the week of April 24-30, 2016, designated as National Reentry Week by the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s office is sponsoring and coordinating several events designed to raise awareness about the importance of reentry work.  On Monday, U.S. Attorney Parker welcomed approximately 300 attendees at the 2016 Reentry Symposium in Dallas, and on Tuesday, staff members from the U.S. Attorney’s Office joined Bureau of Prisons (BOP) staff at Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) Fort Worth to participate in a Reentry Simulation that offered FCI inmates an opportunity to experience, first-hand, one month in the life of a newly-released offender.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced new reforms to strengthen the BOP, including the “Roadmap to Reentry,” the Department’s comprehensive vision to reduce recidivism through reentry reforms at the BOP.

The principles outlined in the “Roadmap to Reentry” are aligned with the work of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, which has been to reduce policy barriers to successful reentry, opening up opportunities in education, job placement, housing, healthcare, and a host of other areas critical to successful reintegration.

More information on Reentry efforts in the Northern District of Texas may be found here.  Additional resources regarding the Department’s Reentry efforts may be found here. 

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DALLAS — Jack Marty Taylor, 60, of Dallas, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 120 months in federal prison, following his conviction at trial in November 2015 on one count of attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

Taylor has been in federal custody since his conviction.

On September 16, 2014, Taylor posted a Backpage advertisement entitled, “Sugar Dad looking for his son – 50.”  Taylor stated he was looking for a younger guy for companionship and stated, “You must be 18-30ish…I’m looking for companionship and love.”  In return for that, Taylor offered to “give you a nice, safe place to live, 3 meals a day, spending money, clothing, shoes, etc.”

On September 17, 2014, at 12:33 p.m., a detective with the Garland Police Department, posing as a 14-year-old boy, responded to the advertisement via email.  Several emails transpired in which Taylor suggested they communicate via text messaging.  As the text messaging began, Taylor asked more about the boy’s age, confirmed he was a minor, where he lived, and what school he attended.  Taylor almost immediately began to text the boy about meeting and what they would do when they met.  Taylor exchanged numerous text messages with the boy, including sexually explicit text messages, throughout the day. 

Between September 17, 2014, and February 4, 2015, Taylor suggested meeting the boy in person 40 times, and each time the boy avoided meeting Taylor.  In fact, after just three hours of emails and texts with the boy, and after repeatedly suggesting that the two meet, Taylor texted, “I was scared of you at first.  I thought maybe you were a cop.”  On February 4, 2015, the day Taylor and the boy were set to meet, Taylor again asked him if he was a cop.  Taylor indicated he had experience in these types of matters and advised, “That’s an important thing to ask when you’re meeting someone for the first time.”  Law enforcement arrested Taylor on February 4, 2015, at the agreed meeting location.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology- facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  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.

For more information regarding the National Strategy to Combat Child Exploitation, Prevention and Interdiction, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc/national-strategy-child-exploitation-prevention-and-interdiction.

The Garland Police Department and the FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas were welcomed today at Gabe Allen Elementary School in west Dallas, where they were invited to read to kindergartners.

As part of the District’s crime prevention and community outreach activities, U.S. Attorney’s Office representatives took the Justice Department’s anti-drug/anti-gang messaging to kindergarten classes at the school using the Rotary Club of Dallas’s “I Like Me” book program.  Today, each student received a personalized “I Like Me” book that encourages them to be good and take the right paths in life, such as saying no to drugs and gangs – making it a perfect tool for law enforcement personnel to use to interact positively with children. 

Each personalized book features that student as a central character in the book, as well as the names of the student’s two best friends, their teacher, and their school.  Personalizing the book enhances the student’s self-esteem, helps develop a joy of reading, and overcomes the disinterest some students experience due to their inability to relate to the people in other stories.  Since 1993, over half a million children around the world have participated in the “I Like Me” program. 

This program is just another example of the partnerships that community groups and law enforcement undertake to build mutual trust and make our communities a safer place for all of us to live.

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DALLAS — John Parker, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, announced the release today of a public service announcement (PSA) that addresses the dangers of prescription drug abuse and recommends ways parents can keep their children safe.

The announcement is made in advance of this year’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday, April 30, 2016.  Take-Back Day provides a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of unused prescription drugs, while educating the public about the dangers of misusing medications.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 46 people die each day from an overdose of prescription painkillers in the United States.  The rate of prescription painkiller overdoses has more than quadrupled since 1999 and is now the leading cause of injury death, causing more deaths than motor vehicle traffic accidents annually.

Teens and young adults, who mistakenly believe prescription drugs are safer than illicit drugs, are abusing pills at an alarming rate.  One in four teens has misused or abused a prescription drug at least once in their lifetime, a 33 percent increase since 2008.

The increase in the use of prescription drugs has also led to an explosion of heroin abuse.  The recent national heroin abuse rate is 19 times higher among those who reported prior use of prescription pain relievers than among those who did not report such use.  And four out of every five people who try heroin for the first time admit to having abused prescription pain relievers first. 

Prescription drug abuse prevention has long been a priority of the Administration.  For more information regarding the Administration’s efforts see this White House Fact Sheet.

The PSA provides tips on how parents can dispose of prescription drugs safely, since the home medicine cabinet is the number-one source of prescription pills for teens and young adults.  On Take-Back Day, collection sites will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Click here to locate a collection site near you.

The PSA may be found here.  Media requesting a high resolution version may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Public Affairs at txnusa@usa.doj.gov or 214-659-8600.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — As part of events sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas during National Reentry Week, staff members from the U.S. Attorney’s Office joined Bureau of Prisons (BOP) staff at Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) Fort Worth today to participate in a Reentry Simulation that provided FCI inmates an opportunity to experience, first-hand, one month in the life of a newly-released offender, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. 

The Department of Justice has taken major steps toward reducing recidivism and helping formerly-incarcerated individuals contribute to their communities.  An important part of that commitment is preparing those who have paid their debt to society for substantive opportunities beyond the prison gates, and addressing obstacles to successful reentry that too many returning citizens encounter.

“Regardless of how motivated they may be, formerly incarcerated individuals face serious and complex obstacles to successful reentry,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “This reentry simulation was invaluable in highlighting and addressing those obstacles and offering real-life ways to overcome them.”   

In addition to participating in the simulation, U.S. Attorney Office staff members provided a training session to the reentering population regarding firearm laws and potential criminal liabilities so they may make wise choices after their release from prison.

Inmates participating in the simulation were given a packet containing mock information about an imaginary individual who was just released from incarceration, whose identity they would assume for the exercise.  The packet contained information about that imaginary individual’s criminal background, education level as well as their financial, housing and employment situation.  Then, during four 15-minute sessions, with each session representing one week of the month, participants engaged in various scenarios with staff from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and BOP who role-played representatives from community organizations, such as financial institutions, health clinics, social services, court services and law enforcement. 

The Department of Justice designated the week of April 24-30, 2016, as National Reentry Week.  During this week, U.S. Attorney Offices are coordinating reentry events designed to raise awareness about the importance of reentry work.  With more than 600,000 individuals each year returning to neighborhoods after serving time in federal and state prisons, and another 11.4 million individuals cycling through local jails, addressing the challenges they face is a fundamental and vital task.

Yesterday, the Department of Justice announced new reforms to strengthen the Bureau of Prisons, including the “Roadmap to Reentry,” the Department’s comprehensive vision to reduce recidivism through reentry reforms at the BOP.

The principles outlined in the “Roadmap to Reentry” are aligned with the work of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, which has been to reduce policy barriers to successful reentry, opening up opportunities in education, job placement, housing, healthcare, and a host of other areas critical to successful reintegration.  The Department is also raising awareness of the importance of reentry strategies that both increase public safety and fulfill our nation’s commitment to the promise of individual redemption.

More information on Reentry efforts in the Northern District of Texas may be found here.  Additional resources regarding the Department’s Reentry efforts may be found here.

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DALLAS — Roger Harry Olson, II, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to serve a total of 15 years in federal prison following his guilty plea in October 2015 to an indictment charging two federal felony drug offenses, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Olson, 43, of Dallas, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.  According to the factual resume filed in the case, in May 2014, a detective with the Garland Police Department, two detectives with the Garland and Dallas Police Departments, assigned as task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant for Olson’s car.  The same date, Officers searched Olson’s apartment and found approximately 50 grams of methamphetamine as well as a mixture containing gamma hydroxybutyric, commonly known as GHB or the “Date-Rape” drug.  Olson admitted he possessed the methamphetamine and the GHB with the intent to distribute it.

According to information presented at Olson’s sentencing hearing, the evidence showed that Olson had three prior California convictions involving “possession for sale” of methamphetamine and GHB, and he was on Texas probation for possession of methamphetamine when he was arrested in May 2014 for the instant drug offenses.  Because of Olson’s prior convictions, the government filed an information enhancing the penalties for Olson’s possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, subjecting Olson to a statutory period of imprisonment of 10 years to Life.  The court also ordered that Olson’s federal sentence run consecutive to any term of imprisonment resulting from the revocation of his probated state sentence. 

The Garland Police Department and the DEA investigated the case.  Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — A previously-convicted husband and wife from Dallas, who admitted selling property the government had planned to seize in connection with a marijuana trafficking and money laundering investigation, have been sentenced to serve additional time in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Griselda Hernandez, 36, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 15 months in federal prison, with seven of those months to be served consecutive to the current 57-month federal sentence she is presently serving following her guilty plea in 2013 to one count of money laundering stemming from her role in the marijuana trafficking conspiracy.

On Thursday, her husband, Andres Hernandez, Jr., a/k/a “Gordo,” 36, was also sentenced by Judge Lindsay to 15 months in federal prison with seven of those months to be served consecutive to the current 300-month sentence he is presently serving after pleading guilty in 2013 to one count of conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and one count of money laundering.

Andres and Griselda Hernandez each pleaded guilty last year to one count of destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure.

Andres and Griselda Hernandez were initially indicted in October 2012, along with 16 other individuals, for their roles in a marijuana distribution conspiracy.  According to documents filed in that case, Andres Hernandez admitted that on multiple occasions between January 2011 and the date of his arrest on November 1, 2012, he received and routinely distributed multi-pound quantities of marijuana from his residence.  Griselda Hernandez admitted delivering $28,854 in cash, proceeds from illegal drug sales, to a straw buyer to purchase a 10-acre property in Barry, Texas, in Navarro County.  The straw buyer paid off the loan on the property and deeded it over to the Hernandez’s that same day.  Griselda Hernandez admitted she was aware that her husband was selling and distributing drugs from their residence in Dallas and that she occasionally assisted him by collecting drug proceeds. 

The October 2012 indictment contained a forfeiture notice that informed Andres and Griselda Hernandez that the government would seek forfeiture from them of the Barry, Texas property that had been purchased with illegal drug sales proceeds.  The Hernandez’s agreed with and consented to the forfeiture.  In September 2013, Judge Lindsay entered a preliminary order of forfeiture concerning the property, directing the U.S. Marshals Service to seize and hold the property. 

Nevertheless, in October 2013, Andres and Griselda Hernandez sold the property for $20,000 and signed a warranty deed transferring the property title to the buyers.  The Hernandez’s admitted they knowingly transferred title to the property to others to prevent and impair the government’s lawful authority to take that property into its custody and control.

The United States Marshals Service and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated the case.  Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — On the first day of National Reentry Week, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas, presented opening remarks this morning at the 2016 Reentry Symposium held at the Belo Mansion in Dallas.  More than 300 stakeholders, government representatives, community leaders and reentry service providers attended the day-long symposium that was hosted by Unlocking Doors, a Texas Reentry Network.

“Supporting successful reentry is an essential part of this District’s mission to promote public safety, and I’m delighted to have had the opportunity, on this first day of National Reentry Week, to address the hundreds attending today’s symposium,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “The bottom line is that removing the barriers to employment, housing and education for those trying to return from prison reduces crime and makes our neighborhoods safer places to live.” 

As part of this Administration’s commitment to strengthening the criminal justice system, the Department of Justice designated this week, April 24-30, 2016, as National Reentry Week.  During this week, U.S. Attorney Offices are coordinating reentry events designed to raise awareness about the importance of reentry work.  With more than 600,000 individuals each year returning to neighborhoods after serving time in federal and state prisons, and another 1.4 million individuals cycling through local jails, addressing the challenges they face is a fundamental and vital task.  Whether an arrest occurred recently or long ago, individuals with criminal records, and particularly recently-incarcerated individuals, face serious and complex obstacles to successful reentry. 

The Department has been working through the Federal Interagency Reentry Council to reduce policy barriers to successful reentry, opening up opportunities in education, job placement, housing, healthcare, and a host of other areas critical to successful reintegration.  The Department is also raising awareness of the importance of reentry strategies that both increase public safety and fulfill our nation’s commitment to the promise of individual redemption.

In addition to presenting a comprehensive overview of reentry in Texas – from incarceration to the community, the Unlocking Doors Texas Reentry Symposium featured speakers who addressed topics such as the effects of ban-the-box/defer-the-box, expungement and non-disclosure on employment; homelessness; and combatting the implications of juveniles being incarcerated as adults.

More information on Reentry efforts in the Northern District of Texas may be found here.  Additional resources regarding the Department’s Reentry efforts may be found here.

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DALLAS — A federal grand jury in Dallas has indicted Wesley Michael Woodyard, believed to be most recently a resident of Dallas, on wire fraud and related charges stemming from his scheme to defraud Ace European Insurance Company (ACE) of more than $4.6 million from approximately 2002 through 2013, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, the indictment charges Woodyard with six counts of wire fraud and four counts of engaging in a monetary transaction with property derived from specified unlawful activity.  The indictment was returned last week.  A warrant has been issued for Woodyard’s arrest.

According to the indictment, Woodyard, 65, owned and operated Ringler Associates of North Texas, Incorporated (RANT).  From approximately 1993 through 2015, RANT contracted with Ringler Insurance Agency to act as its agent to sell annuities provided by insurance underwriters whose products were offered for sale through Ringler Insurance Agency.

Ringler Associates, Incorporated (RAI) acted as a parent company for Ringler Insurance Agency and other subsidiaries conducting insurance business on behalf of RAI.

RANT settled insurance claims primarily by selling structured settlements (through annuities) offered for sale through Ringler Insurance Agency.  The beneficiaries of these annuities were frequently victims of long term disability related injuries and/or death related to employment.  While a policy beneficiary could choose to take a lump sum payment from the insurance company, usually the beneficiary agreed to be compensated through a structured settlement.  The annuity would pay the beneficiary a set amount either monthly, quarterly or annually, for an extended period of time, often for the life of the beneficiary.  Annuities usually offered the most cost-effective means for an insurance company to pay out a structured settlement.  RANT sold annuities available on the open market through Ringler Insurance Agency

A large insurance company located in London, Ace European (ACE), was part of the Lloyd’s of London Insurance Syndicate (Lloyd’s).  ACE used primarily two companies – Roger Rich and Company (Roger Rich) and Vanbreda International - to serve as third-party administrators to adjudicate and administer beneficiary claims against ACE; in turn, Roger Rich and Vanbreda used RANT to arrange for the purchase of several annuities on its behalf.  All the beneficiaries of the ACE European insurance policies referenced in this indictment were United Nations employees who were injured or killed in connection with their employment.

Rather than follow normal procedures and instruct Roger Rich and Vanbreda to send funds directly to an insurance company (in this case, MetLife) to purchase the annuity contract for the named beneficiary, the indictment alleges that Woodyard told both Roger Rich and Vanbreda to send the funds directly to him, falsely representing to them that he would use all ACE funds to purchase the annuity policy on the open market.  When Woodyard gained unlawful access and control to all ACE funds in this manner, Woodyard was also able to completely bypass the normal role of the insurance company (MetLife).  When Woodyard unlawfully removed MetLife from the process, Woodyard also prevented MetLife from properly paying any commissions to the Ringler Insurance Agency.  During the course of this scheme, Woodyard fraudulently retained all commissions earned by the Ringler Insurance Agency.  During the course of the entire scheme, Woodyard repeatedly stole ACE funds wired from London, totaling approximately $4,674,258.00.

Woodyard, according to the indictment, continued to conceal his theft of ACE funds, by making periodic “lulling payments” to beneficiaries entitled to receive regular annuity payments.  Woodyard gave beneficiaries the false impression that the source of the payments was an insurance company.  From October 2004 to June 2014, Woodyard made a total of approximately $857,626 in such payments to several beneficiaries in an effort to avoid early detection of his scheme.  Woodyard’s net financial gain as a result of his fraud is approximately $3,816,632.00

The indictment alleges that Woodyard used the majority of ACE funds for his own personal financial benefit, including paying for personal living expenses, gambling habits, travel expenses, and the purchase of four vehicles, including three Mercedes Benz and one Corvette, as alleged in Counts seven through ten of the indictment.

An 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 maximum statutory penalty for each count of wire fraud is 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Each count of engaging in a monetary transaction with property derived from specified unlawful activity is 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation that would require the defendant, upon conviction, to forfeit the proceeds obtained as a result of the offense.  Restitution could also be ordered.

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

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DALLAS — A Dallas man, Alondo Wheeler, a/k/a “Lil Dude,” has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to serve 168 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in November 2015 to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Wheeler, 35, was one of 16 defendants arrested in late May 2015 as part of a joint law enforcement operation led by the Dallas Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and the Dallas FBI-Violent Gang Safe Streets Task Force, that targeted members of a cocaine and crack cocaine distribution conspiracy, as alleged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas on May 20, 2015.  

Twenty-one defendants were charged in that indictment.  To date, 12 have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

According to documents filed in the case, Wheeler admitted that on several occasions between January 2013 and May 20, 2015, he possessed with the intent to distribute and distributed cocaine base in the Dallas area, working with co-defendants to obtain the crack.  In addition, during the conspiracy, Wheeler admitted to possessing with the intent to distribute and/or distributing 106 grams of crack cocaine and 56.7 grams of cocaine.

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

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DALLAS — Michael Joseph Carr, 25, of Grand Prairie, Texas, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to serve 210 months (17.5 years) in federal prison, following his guilty plea in December 2015 to one count of enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Carr has been in federal custody since his arrest in May 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint.

According to documents filed in the case, on March 24, 2015, officers with the Grand Prairie Police Department responded to a call regarding a 15-year-old female who was missing from her guardian’s residence.  While driving through the neighborhood, officers observed a suspicious vehicle parked at a church on Tamara Lane in Grand Prairie.  Two individuals occupied the rear passenger area.  The male occupant, later identified as Carr, opened the door and immediately began apologizing.  The other occupant was identified as the missing girl, Jane Doe, who stated she and Carr met on an online social media website.

A subsequent search of Jane Doe’s mobile device revealed that she was using the Kik instant messaging application to engage in sexually explicit communications with another Kik user, later identified as Carr.  Carr admits that he used the Internet, Kik and his cell phone to entice Jane Doe to engage in sexual activity with him.    

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative.  PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  Since FY 2011, the Department of Justice has filed 20,260 Project Safe Childhood (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.

For more information regarding the National Strategy to Combat Child Exploitation, Prevention and Interdiction, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc/national-strategy-child-exploitation-prevention-and-interdiction.

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

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DALLAS — Helen Tantillo, 59, of Austin, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks of the Western District of Texas to serve six months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release, and pay a $5,000 fine.  Tantillo was convicted in January 2016 in federal court in Austin on an indictment charging two counts of lying to Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the public corruption investigation of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and others.  The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., of the Western District of Texas.

Tantillo was an executive at BearingPoint when the firm won a contract in 2005 to digitize Dallas County records.  She will remain on bond; no reporting date was set. 

At trial, the jury found that Tantillo lied in an interview with the FBI in June 2014, when she falsely claimed that a temporary $10,000 increase in Christian Campbell’s consulting fees was to make a charitable donation to the favorite charity of another Dallas County Commissioner.  Contrary to her false statement, Tantillo knew that the increase was at least, in part, in order to pay Kathy Nealy.

The jury also determined that Tantillo told a second lie to FBI agents in that same interview when she claimed that, after an earlier interview with FBI agents, she called her former BearingPoint supervisor, who supposedly reminded her that the charitable donation was the reason for Campbell’s increased monthly payment.  Phone records and other evidence at trial demonstrated that this call never happened. 

The FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Walt M. Junker and J. Nicholas Bunch and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Miller prosecuted the case.

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — A fugitive wanted for various offenses, including most recently, making a false statement on a passport application, remains in federal custody following a detention hearing held yesterday in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Avniel Awan Anthony, 40, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Arlington, Texas, was taken into custody on April 14, 2016, by the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).  Anthony remains in federal custody on a federal criminal complaint filed last month in the Northern District of Texas that charges him with willfully and knowingly making a false statement in a passport application.

The criminal complaint alleges that in October 2013, Anthony willfully and knowingly made a false statement in an application for a passport, when he knowingly falsely stated his name was “Dominic Dewayne Wilson” on the passport application he submitted at the U.S. Post Office located on E. Bardin Road in Arlington.

According to information contained in the complaint’s affidavit, as well as information presented at yesterday’s hearing, Anthony was a DSS fugitive wanted for passport fraud, identity theft, evading the police, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Anthony changed his identity and fled to Playa de Carmen, Mexico, where he remained a fugitive until DSS located him in March 2016.

DSS and the USMS coordinated with the Playa de Carmen Tourist Police and Mexican immigration officials to locate, arrest, and return Anthony to the U.S. to face charges.  Yesterday, Judge Cureton found that Anthony was a flight risk and danger to the community and ordered that he remain in federal custody.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge.  The government has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment.

The maximum statutory penalty, upon conviction, for willfully and knowingly making a false statement in a passport application is 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.   

The DSS is the security and law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State with agents located in more than 160 countries worldwide.  DSS and the USMS work together to locate and return U.S. fugitives from abroad.

Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Worley is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — Felipe Pinon, 28, of Dallas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 30 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in November 2015 to felony offenses stemming from his role in the armed carjacking of two people last year in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Pinon pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and aiding and abetting and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and aiding and abetting.

Pinon’s co-defendant in the case, Monica Renee Metcalf, 22, also of Dallas, pleaded guilty in November 2015 to the same offenses.  She faces a statutory penalty of up to 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on the carjacking count and up to life in federal prison on the firearm count.  She is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lindsay on July 25, 2016.

According to documents filed in the case, on January 18, 2015, Metcalf approached an individual (Victim 1) at a gas station near the 3300 block of Webb Chapel Extension in Dallas and asked Victim 1 for a ride.  Metcalf directed Victim 1 to drive her to an apartment complex across the street, and when they arrived there, Pinon approached the vehicle and spoke with Metcalf.  Metcalf then asked Victim 1 to give Pinon a ride as well, but Victim 1 refused.  Pinon then brandished a handgun and pointed it at Victim 1 and demanded that Victim 1 give him everything he had.  Pinon and Metcalf ordered Victim 1 out of the vehicle and drove away in it.

The next day, Metcalf approached and briefly spoke with an individual (Victim 2) who was seated in his vehicle near the 300 block of S. Seagoville Road in Dallas.  As Metcalf walked away from Victim 2, Pinon approached Victim 2.  Pinon brandished a handgun and ordered Victim 2 to get out of the vehicle.  Then, Pinon, Metcalf, and another individual drove away in Victim 2’s vehicle.

The Dallas Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Poe and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay are prosecuting the case.

# # #

DALLAS — A former Information Technology (IT) engineer for a Dallas-headquartered law firm, who was convicted at trial in September 2015 on felony offenses stemming from his unauthorized access to the firm’s computer network, has been sentenced, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Anastasio N. Laoutaris, 41, of Spring, Texas, was sentenced yesterday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 115 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,697,000 in restitution.  The jury convicted Laoutaris on two counts of knowingly accessing a computer network without authorization and intentionally issuing commands and codes that caused damage to the network.  Laoutaris was remanded into federal custody following that verdict. 

Laoutaris, who was an IT engineer for Locke Lord LLP from 2006 to August 2011, accessed the firm’s computer network without authorization on December 1, 2011, and December 5, 2011, and on both occasions, issued instructions and commands that caused significant damage to the network, including deleting or disabling hundreds of user accounts, desktop and laptop accounts, and user e-mail accounts

The law firm, Locke Lord LLP, has offices throughout the U.S. and the world; its headquarters is located in Dallas.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office wishes to thank them for their support and cooperation throughout the investigation and prosecution.  

The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Yanowitch and Nick Bunch prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — Luis Rivera, 19, of Irving, Texas, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 188 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Last month, Rivera’s co-defendant, Brady Rodriguez-Cruz, a/k/a Marcos Antonio Rodriguez-Mejia, 33, also of Irving, was sentenced by Judge Boyle to 293 months in federal prison.  He was convicted at trial in November 2015 on one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children, and he pleaded guilty before trial to one count of possession of counterfeit documents. 

In the conspiracy, Rodriguez-Cruz acted as the “john,” and Rivera acted as the “pimp.”  From approximately December 23, 2014, through December 25, 2014, Rodriguez-Cruz and Rivera agreed to cause Jane Doe, a 12-year-old child, to engage in a commercial sex act.

Rivera met Jane Doe, along with three other minor females, in Irving.  Shortly after he met the minor females, Rivera learned that Jane Doe was 12-years-old.  Rivera and his friends, including one minor friend, took the four minor females to an empty apartment in Irving, where they stayed overnight.  The minor females had no money, so they were not able to eat that day.

The next day, the group left the abandoned apartment and went to Rivera’s minor friend’s apartment, and Rivera told the four minor females that they needed to engage in commercial sex acts to earn money for food.  Rivera then made several phone calls seeking potential commercial sex customers for the minor females.  He planned to charge $100 for sexual intercourse with one of the minors.  Rivera reached Rodriguez-Cruz and Rodriguez-Cruz agreed to come to the location to engage in a commercial sex act.  Rodriguez-Cruz brought another man with him to the apartment.  Rivera told the four minor females to line up so the men could select who they wanted to have sex with, and Rodriguez-Cruz selected the youngest girl, 12-year-old Jane Doe.  Rodriguez-Cruz then negotiated the price for sex with a girl down to $50.  Shortly thereafter, he engaged in commercial sex acts with Jane Doe, paid Rivera and his minor male friend approximately $50, and hastily left.  A portion of that money was then used to buy some fast food for the minor girls. 

Additionally, on August 28, 2015, when officers with the Irving Police Department executed a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Rodriguez-Cruz, they found him in possession of an unlawfully obtained, counterfeit U.S. Permanent residence card.  That card was issued in another name but bore Rodriguez-Cruz’s photograph.

The Irving Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), both members of the North Texas Trafficking Taskforce, investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cara Foos Pierce and John Kull prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — John Parker, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, announced the release today of a public service announcement (PSA) that addresses the dangers of prescription drug abuse and recommends ways parents can keep their children safe.

The announcement is made in advance of this year’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, April 30, 2016.  Take-Back Day provides a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of unused prescription drugs, while educating the public about the dangers of misusing medications.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 46 people die each day from an overdose of prescription painkillers in the United States.  The rate of prescription painkiller overdoses has more than quadrupled since 1999 and is now the leading cause of injury death, causing more deaths than motor vehicle traffic accidents annually.

Teens and young adults, who mistakenly believe prescription drugs are safer than illicit drugs, are abusing pills at an alarming rate.  One in four teens has misused or abused a prescription drug at least once in their lifetime, a 33 percent increase since 2008.

The increase in the use of prescription drugs has also led to an explosion of heroin abuse.  The recent national heroin abuse rate is 19 times higher among those who reported prior use of prescription pain relievers than among those who did not report such use.  And four out of every five people who try heroin for the first time admit to having abused prescription pain relievers first. 

Prescription drug abuse prevention has long been a priority of the Administration.  For more information regarding the Administration’s efforts see this White House Fact Sheet.

The PSA released today provides tips on how parents can dispose of prescription drugs safely, since the home medicine cabinet is the number-one source of prescription pills for teens and young adults.  On Take-Back Day, collection sites will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Click here to locate a collection site near you.

The PSA may be found here.  Media requesting a high resolution version may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Public Affairs at txnusa@usa.doj.gov or 214-659-8600.

# # #

DALLAS – Following a six-week-long trial before U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay and less than two days of deliberation, this afternoon a federal jury convicted a Dallas physician and three owners of home health agencies on various felony offenses, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, stemming from their participation in a nearly $375 million health care fraud scheme involving fraudulent claims for home health services, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Jacques Roy, M.D., 58, of Rockwall, Texas; Cynthia Stiger, 53, of Dallas; Wilbert James Veasey, Jr., 64, of Dallas; and Charity Eleda, R.N., 55, of Rowlett, Texas, were each convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  In addition, Roy was convicted on eight, Veasey on three and Eleda on four counts of health care fraud.  Roy was also convicted on two counts of making a false statement relating to healthcare matters and one count of obstruction of justice.  Eleda was also convicted on three counts of making false statements for use in determining rights of benefit and payment by Medicare.

“This office will continue to use the most sophisticated techniques available to aggressively prosecute those who, through their fraud, drive up the costs of health care to consumers and tax payers alike,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “I applaud the tremendous cooperation among the investigative agencies that brought us to this point.”  

Each conspiracy and health care fraud count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  The obstruction of justice count and each false statement count carry a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencings are set for this fall. 

Dr. Roy, who has been in federal custody since his arrest on February 28, 2012, on an indictment that was announced at a press conference in Dallas shortly after it was unsealed that same day, owned/operated Medistat Group Associates, P.A., an association of health care providers who provided home health certifications and performed patient home visits.  Stiger and Veasey, who owned/operated Apple of Your Eye Healthcare Services, Inc., and Eleda, who owned/operated Charry Home Care Services, Inc., were also arrested on charges in that indictment, but were released on bond. 

Three other defendants charged in the case, Cyprian Akamnonu and his registered nurse wife, Patricia Akamnonu, both of Cedar Hill, Texas, and Teri Sivils, of Midlothian, Texas, each pleaded guilty before trial to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  Cyprian and Patricia Akamnonu, who owned Ultimate Care Home Health Services, Inc., are each currently serving a ten-year federal prison sentence.  They were also ordered to pay $25 million in restitution.  Sivils, who was the office manager at Medistat, pleaded guilty in April 2015, and is scheduled to be sentenced in June 2016.

The government presented evidence at trial that Dr. Roy, Stiger, Veasey and Eleda engaged in a large-scale, sophisticated health care fraud scheme in which they conspired together and with others to defraud Medicare and Medicaid through companies they owned/controlled:  Medistat Group Associates, P.A., Apple of Your Eye Health Care Services, Inc., Ultimate Care Home Health Services and Charry Home Care Services.

As part of the conspiracy, Stiger, Veasey and Eleda, along with others, improperly recruited individuals with Medicare coverage to sign up for Medicare home health care services.  Eleda recruited patients from The Bridge homeless shelter in Dallas, sometimes paying recruiters $50 per beneficiary they found and directed to her vehicle parked outside the shelter’s gates.  Eleda and other nurses would falsify medical documents to make it appear as though those beneficiaries qualified for home health care services that were not medically necessary.  Eleda and the nurses prepared Plans of Care (POC), also known as 485’s, which were not medically necessary, and these POCs were delivered to Dr. Roy or another physician working under his direction at Medistat. 

Dr. Roy instructed his staff to certify these POCs, which indicated to Medicare and Medicaid that a doctor, typically Dr. Roy, had reviewed the treatment plan and deemed it medically necessary.  That certifying doctor, typically Dr. Roy, certified that the patient required home health services, which were only permitted to be provided to those individuals who were homebound and required, among other things, skilled nursing.  This process was repeated for thousands of POCs, and, in fact, Medistat’s office included a “485 Department,” essentially a “boiler room” to affix fraudulent signatures and certifications.

Once an individual was certified for home health care services, Eleda, nurses who worked for Stiger and Veasey, and other nurses falsified visit notes to make it appear as though skilled nursing services were being provided and continued to be necessary.  Dr. Roy would also visit the patients, perform unnecessary home visits, and then order unnecessary medical services for the recruited beneficiaries.  Then, at Dr. Roy’s instruction, Medistat employees would submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for the certification and recertification of unnecessary home health care services and other unnecessary medical services.

The government presented further evidence at trial that the scope of Dr. Roy’s fraud was massive; Medistat processed and approved POCs for 11,000 unique Medicare beneficiaries from more than 500 different home health agencies.  Dr. Roy entered into formal and informal fraudulent arrangements with Apple, Charry, Ultimate and other home health agencies to ensure his fraudulent business model worked and that he maintained a steady stream of Medicare beneficiaries. 

Regarding Dr. Roy’s conviction for obstruction of justice, the government presented evidence that when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) suspended Dr. Roy and Medistat from receiving Medicare payments after June 2, 2011, because of suspected fraud, Dr. Roy sought an “end-run” around the suspension through the use of another company, Medcare House Calls.  Dr. Roy directed the medical providers he employed to be re-credentialed and to bill Medicare under Medcare House Calls, instead of Medistat.  Nonetheless, the money that Medicare paid was circumvented back to Medistat and Dr. Roy.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force supervised by the Criminal Division Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

Assistant U.S. Attorney P.J. Meitl, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana and Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham prosecuted the case.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $7 billion.  In addition, HHS CMS, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), please visit: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — Following a one-day trial yesterday before U.S. District Judge John McBryde, a federal jury convicted Cleto Tarin, 52, most recently of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Hector Saldivar, 33, of Wichita Falls, Texas, each on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Tarin and Salvidar each face a statutory penalty of not less than five years or more than 40 years in federal prison and up to a $5 million fine.  They are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge McBryde in August 2016.

With these two convictions yesterday, all 14 defendants charged in an indictment with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine that was returned by a federal grand jury in Fort Worth on February 10, 2016, have been convicted.

Three defendants, Miguel Antonio Martinez, 31, Marcus Caldwell, 32, and Bobbie Frie, Jr., 30, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  They each face a statutory penalty of not less than five years or more than 40 years in federal prison and up to a $5 million fine.

Seven defendants, David Sheppard, 40, Kendra Ward, 27, Eric Overstreet, 27, Robert Baggott, 45, Cecil Hindman, 51, Oscar Melanson, 31, and Jonathan Morris, 31, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  They each face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.

Two defendants, Susan Williams, 29, and Raymondo Acuna, 31, each pleaded guilty to one substantive count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, as charged in superseding informations.  They each face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.

Sentencing dates for the 12 defendants who pleaded guilty are set in July and August 2016.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Wichita Falls Police Department conducted the investigation. 

# # #

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Joseph Charles Boyle, 64, the former Justice of the Peace for Precinct 2 in Holliday, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 24 months in federal prison, the top end of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, following his guilty plea in November 2015 to a felony Information charging one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Boyle was also ordered to pay $133,333.33 in restitution, the total amount of money he stole, embezzled and obtained by fraud from Archer County.  Judge O’Connor remanded Boyle to federal custody following this morning’s sentencing hearing.

Boyle resigned his position as Justice of the Peace the day before he entered a guilty plea.   In late August 2015, he retired from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where he worked as a correctional officer at the James V. Allred Unit in Iowa Park, Texas

According to documents filed in the case, Boyle served in his elected position in Archer County, Texas, since January 2003.  As Justice of the Peace, Boyle was authorized to impose fines and assess fees on individuals cited with a variety of violations, such as minor in possession of alcohol, speeding, illegal passing, driving without a valid license, and other traffic violations.

From approximately January 1, 2013, through May 5, 2015, on numerous occasions, Boyle stole, embezzled, and obtained by fraud, funds that he collected as payment of fees, fines and penalties, and failed to turn that money over to its rightful owner, Archer County.

Boyle told individuals who had been cited with a violation that the fine was a certain amount, obtained payment from the individual in that amount, and provided the individual with a receipt in that amount.  Boyle, however, then kept a portion of the individual’s payment and falsely reported to Archer County that the fine assessed, and the amount received as payment of the fine, was less than the amount he had actually assessed and received. 

To help facilitate his theft, Boyle often requested that individuals pay their fines in cash.  Frequently, he kept a portion of the cash the individual paid, and then purchased a money order to make the payment to Archer County, all in an effort to disguise the fact that he had been paid in cash.

The FBI and the Texas Rangers investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Brasher was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — Linda Nell Fantroy, 65, of Dallas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 18 months in federal prison, following her guilty plea in December 2015 to one count of structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Fantroy was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on June 6, 2016.

The law requires any financial institution that engages with a customer in a currency transaction, such as a deposit or withdrawal, of more than $10,000, to report the transaction to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  According to the factual resume filed in the case, from January 2010 to late October 2013, Fantroy structured currency deposits to avoid the $10,000 currency reporting requirements.  During this time, she made approximately 111 cash deposits totaling more than $580,000.  Each of those deposits was made with the intent to avoid the currency reporting requirements, and she violated this law as part of a pattern of illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period.

In a related civil action filed in the Northern District of Texas (3:14-CV-3265) , Senior U.S. District Judge A. Joe Fish entered a final judgment of forfeiture in January 2015, noting the government had probable cause to seize seven properties in the Dallas metroplex area that Fantroy owned. 

According to the government’s Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in rem, filed in September 2014, each month, Fantroy, who was employed by the Dallas Independent School District (DISD), received direct payroll deposits from DISD and from the Texas Comptroller Teacher Retirement System of Texas.  From January 2007 through November 2009, Fantroy had a total of 10 deposits totaling $6,270 into her Credit Union of Texas accounts.

However, beginning in December 2009, the currency deposits into Fantroy’s accounts increased dramatically.  In fact, from December 2009 to August 31, 2013, more than $440,000 in currency, the source of which was unknown, was deposited into Fantroy’s accounts in 94 separate transactions, and each of those deposits was under the $10,000.01 Currency Transaction Report reporting threshold.  The majority of structured funds deposited into her accounts during this time frame were used to purchase the seven above-mentioned residential properties that she was required to forfeit to the government.  

IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Poe was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS – An Ellis County woman who pleaded guilty last year to one count of health care fraud arising from her submission of false and fraudulent claims for counseling and psychotherapy services to Medicaid, on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries, was sentenced this afternoon, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Alexis C. Norman, 44, of Midlothian, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 105 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $2,969,045.97 in restitution to Medicaid.  Judge Boyle remanded the defendant into custody at the conclusion of the hearing.

According to documents filed in the case, Norman was the CEO and Executive Director of Greater Southwest Group, Inc. (GSWG) and Ellis County Community Services (ECCS).  She obtained Medicaid group numbers for GSWG and ECCS and used those numbers, together with individual Medicaid provider numbers of licensed counselors and Medicaid recipient information, to submit fraudulent claims to Medicaid.

Norman, who is neither a psychotherapist nor a mental health provider, submitted claims for individual and family psychotherapy sessions that were not performed.  As part of her fraud scheme, Norman used the Medicaid provider information of licensed counselors who applied for positions as contract counselors at GSWG and ECCS, but who were never hired and never worked for Norman, GSWG, or ECCS.  Norman also used the Medicaid provider numbers of licensed counselors, without their knowledge and consent, to submit claims under the GSWG and ECCS group numbers for services that they did not perform and for psychotherapy services that predated and postdated their actual employment with Norman.  The indictment alleges that Norman used the identification of more than 500 Medicaid recipients, most of whom were minor children, in her scheme.

From December 2, 2009, through July 17, 2014, Norman submitted claims to Medicaid and to Medicaid Managed Care Organizations, through GSWG and ECCS, totaling approximately $5,502,724.88; Norman was paid approximately $2,596,045.97 for these claims.  The defendant was also ordered to pay $373,000.00 in restitution for her participation in a fraud scheme involving the summer food service program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.

The investigation of Norman led to the investigation of her friend, Brenda Ward, 48, of Cedar Hill, Texas, who was running a similar fraud scheme.  Ward was President and CEO of H.E.L.P.-ing. Communities, Inc. (HCI).  She was neither a psychotherapist nor a mental health provider, but she submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid for individual, family and group psychotherapy sessions that were not performed.  Ward was indicted in February 2015 and subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud, admitting that from January 2009 through February 9, 2015, she submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid and to Medicaid Managed Care Organizations, through HCI, totaling approximately $1,639,923, and was paid approximately $887,809 on those claims.  She was sentenced earlier this year by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 57 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $887,809 in restitution to Medicaid.

The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General investigated both the Norman and Ward cases, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Brasher prosecuted both cases.

# # #

DALLAS — Benjamin Earnest Nichols, 37, of Oklahoma City, appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan and pleaded guilty to an Information charging one count of knowingly causing the transmission of a program or code to a protected computer, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Nichols, who is on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing date was not set. 

Nichols admitted that on or before May 2010, he knowingly and purposefully launched a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack against mcgrewsecurity.com, a domain name and webserver owned by RWM, in an attempt to cause damage to the protected computer system and deny service to mcgrewsecurity.com, causing loss during a one-year period of between $5,000 and $6,500.

According to documents filed in the case, a (now) convicted defendant, Jesse McGraw, a former contract security guard at the North Central Medical Plaza in Dallas, was arrested in June 2009 on a criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of Texas that charged him with accessing, without authorization, protected computers in a medical facility.  McGraw was indicted in July 2009, and in May 2010, he pleaded guilty to two counts of transmission of malicious code.  McGraw was sentenced in March 2011 to serve a total of 110 months in federal prison.

At the time of his criminal conduct, McGraw was the self-proclaimed leader of the Electronic Tribulation Army (ETA), a hacking group.  Nichols and others were also members of the ETA.  McGraw intended to cause the remotely-controlled medical center computers to participate in a DDOS attack on a rival hacker group.

After interacting with RWM on blogs and in chat rooms, Nichols got angry at RWM for posting what he considered to be false and disparaging remarks on the blog at mcgrewsecurity.com.  Nichols then used various means to harass and mock RWM, including setting up a derogatory website for RWM, posting disparaging photo-shopped photographs of RWM, and ordering sex toys to be sent to RWM’s home.  In addition, Nichols also created/repurposed a bot that used computer code to respond to certain keywords by transmitting random insults and profanity to RWM’s internet relay chat (IRC) channel. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney C.S. Heath is in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — A Dallas check cashing business owner, Obinna Njoku, who pleaded guilty to his role in a stolen tax refund scheme, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam A Lindsay to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $309,679 in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Njoku pleaded guilty in August 2015 to a superseding information charging one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.  At Monday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Lindsay ordered Njoku to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on May 10, 2016.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, Njoku was the sole director of All-Ways Insurance Group, LLC, and he owned and operated All-Ways Check Cashing, Inc., a money service business licensed in Texas and federally, as an agent of MoneyGram.  In 2012, All-Ways had at least two locations in Dallas, including one on Forest Lane.  Njoku was also the designated anti-money laundering compliance officer for All-Ways, in its agency for MoneyGram, and represented to MoneyGram that All-Ways had implemented an anti-money laundering compliance policy and would comply with all reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

From January through April 2012, according to the factual resume, Njoku was asked by several individuals to cash, through All-Ways, numerous checks purported to be federal income tax refunds issued to individuals in the Dallas area.  The individuals asking Njoku to cash these checks brought “batches” of checks, often eight to 12 at a time, to Njoku at the Forest Lane All-Ways location.  These “batches” often had consecutive check numbers, and each check was always for less than $10,000.  The individuals who brought the checks to Njoku to cash were not the individuals to whom the checks were payable.  The total amount of each “batch” of checks presented to Njoku, as well as the amount of cash released to the respective individual presenting the “batch” of checks, was usually well over $10,000.

Njoku believed, according to the factual resume, that the individuals asking for the checks to be cashed had prepared and filed federal income tax returns for the persons to whom the checks were issued, and those individuals had generated illegally inflated refund amounts.  While he believed the checks were likely derived from criminal activity involving fraudulent federal tax returns, Njoku did not ask or seek any details.  Instead, Njoku deliberately blinded himself to what he suspected was the source of the checks and deposited the checks into his All-Ways bank accounts at Comerica Bank.  As his commission for cashing these checks, Njoku kept 25 to 35 percent of the overall amount of each check “batch” presented to him for cashing, which was much more than the usual three to five percent he collected from other check cashing customers. 

The investigation by special agents with Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation revealed that the checks presented to Njoku for cashing resulted from fraudulently filed federal income tax returns, and the payees on those checks had their identities stolen by individuals who used their personal information to file fraudulent tax returns and fraudulently claim refunds.  These fraudulent federal tax returns submitted in these victims’ names were electronically filed, used an incorrect address for the taxpayer, claimed a refund, and directed the refund to be processed as an e-Collect check.  The total amount of the checks obtained through wire fraud and cashed by Njoku through All-Ways was at least $300,000, according to the factual resume.

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. de la Garza was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — Donshay Jones, 24, of Dallas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to serve a total of 168 months (14 years) in federal prison, following his guilty plea to felony offenses stemming from the February 2014 armed carjacking of a young woman and her young child in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Jones pleaded guilty in November 2015 to one count of carjacking and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  Jones’ co-defendant, Joshua Sutherland, 22, also of Dallas, pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and was sentenced last year by Judge Kinkeade to 87 months in federal prison.

According to documents filed in the case, Jones and Sutherland were in an apartment building’s parking lot on Ledbetter Drive in Dallas on February 18, 2014.  With Sutherland acting as the “look out,” Jones shoved the woman and her four-year-old son against a wall, pointed and held a firearm on them, and threatened to kill them both unless she turned over her valuables, including her car keys.  After the woman pointed out her car to Jones, Jones searched her person, and then he and Sutherland got into her car and drove away.

The Dallas Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.  Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Dunn prosecuted the case.

# # #

LUBBOCK, Texas — A 30-year-old Lubbock, Texas, man, Justin Boyet Johnson, was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 27 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in January to an indictment charging one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Johnson must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on May 6, 2016.

According to documents filed in his case, on May 15, 2015, Johnson engaged in a series of communications, via texting and emailing, with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl who represented that she lived in Lubbock.  This “girl,” who was actually a special agent with the Texas Department of Public Safety, acting in an undercover capacity, had posted an online advertisement stating she was bored and looking for something to do.  Johnson expressed his sexual interest in the girl and emailed her a sexually explicit photograph of himself.

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 Texas Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

DALLAS — The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, in partnership with other federal agencies, hosted a community roundtable in Dallas last week that focused on religiously-motivated hate violence and hate crimes, protecting places of worship, and ways the federal government can improve its efforts in these critically important areas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

“The diversity and tolerance of the north Texas area can be seen reflected in our many and varied faith-based communities,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “The one thing we cannot, must not, tolerate, however, is hate directed at someone solely because they are different.  It is particularly repugnant to our core values as Americans to victimize a person or group because of their faith.  In fact, it is our shared duty to ensure that everyone, not just those who think like us, is free to worship as they choose and do so in peace.”

Approximately 35 representatives from Dallas - Fort Worth area faith-based community and civil rights organizations as well as several government agencies attended the roundtable that was facilitated by U.S. Attorney Parker.  Enthusiastic dialogue during the roundtable will guide stakeholders in identifying next steps, as well as short and long-term goals. 

A guest at the roundtable, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom of the District of Kansas, spoke about the April 2014 shooting deaths of three people outside Jewish facilities in Overland Park, Kansas, and the resulting aftermath.  Grissom also spoke about the statement he made to Kansans after a series of crimes in the U.S. against Muslims and mosques followed the Paris and San Bernardino, California, terrorist attacks, asking them to not let fear drive them to hateful and divisive acts toward Muslims.

This roundtable is the second in a series of roundtables being held throughout the U.S. as part of the Department’s new interagency community engagement initiative designed to promote religious freedom, challenge religious discrimination and enhance enforcement of religion-based hate crimes.  This new initiative supplements the Department’s long-standing criminal and civil enforcement efforts to prevent religious discrimination and religion-motivated hate crimes.

# # #

DALLAS — A Dallas man who was convicted at trial last year on all counts of a superseding indictment charging drug trafficking and firearm offenses was sentenced on Thursday to a lengthy federal prison term, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and U.S. Attorney John M. Bales of the Eastern District of Texas.

Thomas Earl Wright, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to serve a total of 300 months in federal prison.  He was convicted, following a five-day trial in September 2015, on one count of possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

According to documents filed in the case and evidence presented at trial, officers with the Dallas Police Department responded to a welfare complaint about children coming and going from a narcotics stash house on Packard Street in Dallas.  When officers arrived at the residence, they encountered Wright, with bundles of cash stuffed in his pockets, leaving the residence through its back door.  When Wright’s co-defendant, Eric Tyrone Harris, opened the front door to the residence when officers knocked, officers noted a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the residence.  A juvenile was at the front door with Harris, and officers removed the child from the residence and released him to a parent.

Law enforcement secured a search warrant and found multiple kilograms of cocaine located in a suitcase in a utility room, more than 100 pounds of marijuana in a bedroom closet and approximately $30,000 in cash — $3,000 in Wright’s pockets and $27,000 in cash beneath a mattress.  In addition, they located three firearms in the residence.

Harris pleaded guilty in April 2015 to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and was sentenced last month by Judge Boyle to 100 months in federal prison.

The Dallas Police Department, U.S. Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Plano Police Department investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin of the Northern District of Texas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Rattan of the Eastern District of Texas prosecuted the case.

# # #

DALLAS — A woman who pleaded guilty to federal offenses stemming from her taking a minor child, whom she met during online gaming, from Texas to Wisconsin, where she sexually assaulted him, was sentenced today to a lengthy federal prison sentence, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Jennifer Lynn Dougherty, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to serve a total of 120 months in federal prison.  Dougherty pleaded guilty in December 2015 to an indictment charging two counts of traveling in interstate commerce – from Wisconsin to Texas – with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.  She also pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of a minor in interstate commerce – from Texas to Wisconsin – with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.  She has been in custody since her arrest in September 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint.

According to the affidavit filed with that complaint, after being notified of a missing minor child by the child’s parents, the Garland Police Department contacted the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and entered the victim into the database as a missing juvenile.  A review of the minor child’s X-Box 360 gaming system by detectives with the Garland Police Department revealed recent chat communications, sexual in nature, with a particular user, later identified as Dougherty. 

On Wednesday, September 16, 2015, officers with the Dallas Police Department assigned to the Dallas Love Field airport, contacted NCIC advising they had located an individual matching the child’s description, in the company of an adult female, at the airport.  Upon receipt of this information, officers with the Garland Police Department went to the Dallas Love Field airport and retrieved the missing child and adult female. 

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

# # #

DALLAS — Licensed anesthesiologist, Theodore E. Okechuku, 59, of Plano, Texas, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 300 months in federal prison following his conviction at trial in October 2015 on felony offenses stemming from his role in a pill mill and drug distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.  

Also today, coconspirator Elechi N. Oti, 50, of Augusta, Georgia, who was convicted at trial with Okechuku, was sentenced by Judge Solis to 97 months in federal prison.

Okechuku and Oti were each convicted on one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance.  Okechuku was also convicted of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and conspiring to use, carry, and brandish a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

Two others convicted at trial for their roles in the conspiracy, Emmanuel C. Iwuoha, 52, of Allen, Texas, and Kelvin L. Rutledge, 43, of Dallas, are scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Three co-conspirators, all from Dallas, pleaded guilty before trial.  Ignatius O. Ezenagu, 57; David L. Reed, 44; and Jerry K. Reed, 45; each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance.  Ezenagu, who also pleaded guilty to one count of brandishing a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to serve a total of 70 months in federal prison.  David and Jerry Reed are scheduled to be sentenced next month.

The government presented evidence at trial that Okechuku owned and operated, with the assistance of coconspirator Ezenagu, Medical Rehabilitation Clinic (MRC).  MRC was initially located at 9304 Forest Lane in Dallas, and then later, the defendants moved MRC to 9205 Skillman Street in Dallas.

MRC operated as a “pill mill,” in that it functioned as a place to unlawfully obtain controlled substances, such as hydrocodone, and not as a medical facility.  Okechuku and business manager Ezenagu charged cash only for office visits in exchange for unlawful hydrocodone prescriptions. 

The coconspirator drug dealers, including David Reed and his brother Jerry Reed, along with Rutledge, recruited “patients,” often from homeless shelters, and drove them in groups to MRC.  On a daily basis, these dealers brought multiple patients at a time to MRC.  They would escort the patients into the clinic and coordinate their office visits with Ezenagu. 

Often, dealers filled out patient information for the recruits they brought to the clinic.  Dealers paid cash for the office visits of their patients, and handed the money to their patients before they entered the clinic, gave it to them in MRC’s waiting room, or paid the employees directly.  MRC had a caged cash room where people would pay for the office visit with money provided by the dealers, by handing the money through an opening in the bars to a clinic employee.  Large amounts of cash, often more than $5,000, passed through the clinic’s drug trafficking business on a daily basis.

Okechuku and Ezenagu conspired to employ armed security guards to protect the business, its employees, and the dealers.  These armed security guards displayed and brandished various firearms on their waists for all to see in order to deter violence by the “patients” and to protect the illicit drug money from robbery.

Okechuku rarely saw patients, but delegated that task to licensed physician assistant and coconspirator Oti or to Emmanuel Iwuoha, who held no medical or nursing license in Texas, but acted as a doctor, using Okechuku’s signature and DEA prescription authority.  In fact, at MRC, Okechuku, Oti, and Iwuoha were referred to as “Doctor,” regardless of medical license.

Oti, Iwuoha, and at times, Okechuku, would do little to no physical examination and prescribe controlled substances, including hydrocodone, a Schedule III controlled substance at the time.  Patient visits were short and they would normally leave with a 30-day prescription (120 pills) or more of hydrocodone, along with other prescriptions.  Okechuku, Oti, and Iwuoha diagnosed the majority of the patients with back pain, regardless of their true condition.  Hydrocodone was prescribed regardless of a patient’s need, or lack thereof.

Once the patients received the prescriptions at MRC, the coconspirator dealers would drive the groups of patients to various pharmacies to get the prescriptions filled.  The dealers would also furnish the money to pay for the narcotics.  Sometimes, the dealers did not need the patients to pick up the prescriptions as some pharmacies gave the hydrocodone directly to the dealers.  After the prescriptions were filled, the patients gave the pills to the dealers, who then sold the pills on the street for a profit. 

The FBI, Dallas Police Department and Mesquite Police Department investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Pfeifle and Russ Fusco, and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay prosecuted.  

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — A multi-convicted felon, Roderick Johnson, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor to 10 years in federal prison, following his conviction at trial in December 2015 on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Johnson has been in custody since his arrest in June 2015 when officers with the Fort Worth Police Department responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a motel room in Fort Worth.  A search of that room, where Johnson was staying, revealed a .357 caliber pistol belonging to Johnson under the mattress.  Johnson has been convicted of theft and controlled substances felony offenses in Tarrant County in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011 and 2013.

The case was investigated by the Fort Worth Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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

# # #

DALLAS — Phillip Sean Anthony, 32, of Grand Prairie, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 84 months (seven years) in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution to his victims.  The sentencing follows Anthony’s guilty plea in June 2015 to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.  The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Anthony was indicted by a federal grand jury in Dallas in March 2011 on five counts of mail fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft stemming from an identity theft scheme he ran from approximately mid-June 2008 to early December 2009 using Craigslist.  He agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in plea papers that were filed in October 2011, but he failed to appear in court as ordered for his rearraignment on October 25, 2011.

Approximately four years later, Anthony was located in Irving, Texas, after absconding to California for three years.  In February 2015, the government filed a motion for detention which was granted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney, who found that Anthony had violated the terms of his pretrial release.  Judge Stickney further found that Anthony had been committing new crimes continuously since absconding in 2011 and had used more than 30 different names, which were stolen identities, had stolen more than $200,000 from his victims, and then after stealing the identities, sold them to others for additional money

According to plea documents, Anthony admitted that he placed dozens of false job postings on Craigslist for “customer service representative” and “reservation agent” positons with various airlines.  He placed the ads on the local Craigslist site where the airline was based, including ads in Chicago for United Airlines; Orlando, Florida, for Air Tran Airways; and in New York City for JetBlue Airways.  When contacted by prospective applicants, Anthony claimed to be a representative of the respective airline-employer.  He explained the application process and then forwarded each applicant a job application that was on the respective company’s letterhead and appeared authentic.

Anthony admitted that he used the information that prospective applicants put on the applications he received, such as name, address, date of birth and Social Security number, to open accounts with various online wireless service and device providers, such as LetsTalk.com, Simplexity.com and Wirefly.com.  He also purchased activated smartphones from these online retailers using these identities stolen from the job applications.

Anthony also purchased prepaid debit cards and registered them in the names of the stolen identities after loading a nominal amount of funds onto each card.  He then used these debit cards to reserve hotel rooms throughout the country in the names of the stolen identities.  He provided these hotel addresses as the residential address to the online phone retailer and instructed them to send the smartphones to that address.  Once the phones were shipped, Anthony would call the hotel and cancel the reservation, explaining to the hotel representative that he was expecting a package and to forward it to his office in Irving.  Anthony then sold the fraudulently-obtained phones for a fraction of their value.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce prosecuted.

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — Andre Hugh Saunders, 35, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 78 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $505,403 in restitution to the victims.  This sentence followed his guilty plea in November 2015 to an indictment charging one count of mail fraud stemming from a lottery/sweepstakes scheme targeting elderly victims, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Saunders, a/k/a David Turner, has been in custody since his arrest in October 2015 in New York on a criminal complaint.  He resided in and/or operated the scam out of Jamaica, Florida and New York.  Saunders is a citizen of Jamaica and a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. 

According to plea documents filed in the case, from approximately November 2012 to July 2015, Saunders defrauded a Fort Worth, Texas, resident by advising him he had won a multimillion-dollar prize in the “Las Vegas, Sidney, Australian Lottery and Sweepstakes,” but that he must pay various administrative fees and taxes prior to collecting the sweepstakes winnings.  This Fort Worth resident believed he had won a sweepstakes and began sending money as Saunders directed. 

As a result of the fraudulent lottery/sweepstakes scheme, Saunders obtained approximately $505,000 from elderly victims, including more than $300,000 from the Fort Worth victim.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Nichols prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — Sherene Warren, who operated a tax preparation business in Duncanville, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to serve a total of 36 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Warren pleaded guilty in December 2015 to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return and to one count of theft of government money.  Judge O’Connor sentenced her to 36 months in federal prison on each count, to run concurrently.  As part of her plea agreement, Warren agreed to pay $101,344.60 in restitution to the Social Security Administration (SSA).  Additional restitution of $3,955,585.84 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and $28,786.00 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was also ordered.  She must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on June 8, 2016.     

According to the factual resume filed in her case, Warren was the owner and manager of the tax preparation business Fast Tax Services that was located on N. Cedar Ridge Drive in Duncanville and then later on W. Wheatland Road in Duncanville.  Warren falsified, according to the factual resume, line items on clients’ tax returns to obtain larger refunds.  She also admitted receiving approximately $121,701 in 2010, $218,517 in 2011 and $360,491 in 2012 in fees/bonuses for preparing the tax returns.  Warren further admitted that she did not disclose any Fast Tax Services’ income on her 2010 tax returns, and that she did not file a tax return in 2011 or 2012. 

Also, according to the factual resume, Warren submitted false and fraudulent information about her income and employment to the Dallas Housing Authority in connection with receipt of Section 8 housing benefits, admitting that she stole approximately $28,786 in housing assistance to which she was not entitled.  Each year Warren submitted false and fraudulent documents to the Dallas Housing Authority showing she had no income, when, as she well knew, she received substantial income from the operation of Fast Tax Service.

IRS Criminal Investigation, the SSA Office of Inspector General and the HUD Office of Inspector General investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Bunch was in charge of the prosecution. 

# # #

DALLAS — James Edward McIntire, 52, of Dallas, appeared this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney and pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud regarding a line of credit he applied for and obtained from the bank, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

McIntire faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.  Restitution is mandatory.  McIntire remains on bond; a sentencing date was not set.

According to documents filed in the case, McIntire founded the business, McIntire and Associates (MA).  To support ongoing operations, MA often needed to obtain loans and/or lines of credit from banks or from some other funding source.  MA would often provide security for the line or line of credit by using MA’s accounts receivable as collateral for the loan.

From approximately April 2008 through May 2009, McIntire ran a scheme to deceive and fraud Opportunity Bank of Richardson, Texas, in order to fraudulently obtain approval of a $2 million line of credit from the bank, using MA’s accounts receivables as security.  When MA initially applied for the line of credit, McIntire falsely represented and fraudulently inflated the total amount of MA counts receivable submitted to Opportunity Bank in order to mislead and deceive the bank about the collateral’s true value. 

McIntire admits that in order to maintain access to this line of credit he fraudulently inflated the value of MA’s accounts receivables to have access to a higher line of credit than what Opportunity Bank would have extended to him had he disclosed the true value of MA’s accounts receivables.  In addition to submitting a large number of false and fraudulent weekly and monthly accounts receivable schedules to Opportunity Bank, McIntire also created fictitious packing slips and invoices for MA products that were not actually shipped to the customer, which caused the dollar value of the MA accounts receivable to be falsely inflated. 

McIntire failed to repay the line of credit to Opportunity Bank, causing the bank to suffer a loss of $1,997,215.

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

# # # 

DALLAS — A 43-year-old Irving, Texas, man, Shannon Buck, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 60 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in January 2015 to an indictment charging one count of production of child pornography and one count of enhanced penalties for registered sex offenders, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case and information presented in court, the investigation began when a 13-year-old girl, Jane Doe, came forward and said she had been molested.  Buck admitted that he used Jane Doe to engage in sexually explicit conduct, and then used his camera to record that conduct.  In addition, Buck admitted that in February 2010, he pleaded guilty in the 195th District Court of Dallas County to two felony offenses of possession of child pornography, and he was sentenced to an eight-year period of deferred adjudication.  Buck was on probation at the time of this offense.  Four victims were identified; two were videotaped by Buck.

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 Irving Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — Two Fort Worth, Texas, men who were convicted at trial last year on an array of federal charges stemming from their armed robberies of several Murphy Oil gas/convenience stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in June 2014, were sentenced today, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Maurice Lamond Davis, 28, was sentenced to 608 months in federal prison, and Andre Levon Glover, 21, was sentenced to 498 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor. 

Both were convicted on one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and two counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence.  In addition, Glover was convicted on four counts, and Davis on two counts, of interference with commerce by robbery.  Davis was also convicted on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The two committed armed robberies of Murphy Oil USA stores located at: 170 N. Interstate 35E in Lancaster, Texas, on June 16, 2014; 3102 W. Wheatland Road in Dallas on June 21, 2014; 950 N. Walnut Creek Drive in Mansfield, Texas, on June 22, 2014; and 100 Walton Way in Midlothian, Texas, also on June 22, 2014.  They used a sawed-off shotgun to rob these stores at gunpoint and steal thousands of dollars of cigarettes from each of the locations and nearly $10,000 in cash from one of the locations.  After the last robbery, they led police on a high-speed chase before being arrested.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Alvarado, Dallas, Lancaster, Mansfield, and Midlothian Police Departments investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Kull and Brian McKay prosecuted the case.

# # #

DALLAS — A 63-year-old Dallas man, Larry Wayne Stinnett, was sentenced this afternoon by Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 160 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in September 2015 to one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, the investigation began in April 2014 when North Texas Crime Stoppers received a tip that Stinnett had child pornography on his computer and had a Facebook account using a young girl as his profile picture.  An officer with the Dallas Police Department checked Stinnett’s Facebook account and saw the child described by the tipster posted as his profile picture and other photos of Stinnett in his apartment.  He also saw that dozens of young females were on Stinnett’s friends’ list.  Stinnett, as a sex offender, is required to disclose online identifiers upon sex offender registration.  Since he violated this requirement, he was arrested, and as he was being arrested, Stinnett told the officer, “I have a problem with children.”

A search warrant was executed at his home and a forensic preview performed on one of his computers revealed two identified images of child exploitation.  The computer and other media were seized and taken to the North Texas Regional Forensic Lab for analysis, which revealed more than 200 images of child pornography on the equipment.  Stinnett admitted he’d been collecting child pornography for approximately six to seven years. 

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 Dallas Police Department and the FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — David Lyman Spalding, 62, of Colleyville, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 180 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $3,391,146.80 in restitution, following his conviction at trial on all counts of a superseding indictment charging various offenses related to a wind farm investment scam he ran, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Spalding was also ordered to forfeit $160,893.31, which represents the proceeds of the sale of his residence on Spring Garden Drive in Colleyville.  He has been in federal custody since July 2015.

The government presented evidence at trial that from at least 2003 and continuing through approximately April 2011, Spalding raised approximately $3.7 million from 97 investors in 11 states.  Spalding made false representations to get investors to invest in promissory notes issued by Wind Plus, Inc. and Baseload Energy LLC and diverted the funds for his own benefit, to include purchasing real estate and extensive international travel not related to either Wind Plus or Baseload.

When Spalding filed bankruptcy in November 2009 for Wind Plus Inc. and Wind Plus Holdings Inc., he continued to solicit investors for Baseload energy, promising that funds would be used to build infrastructure for renewable energy projects.  He also represented that the changes in management were for business purposes when in fact the staff had quit Wind Plus because they were not paid.  As part of his fraud, Spalding also represented that investors would be repaid their investments, within varying timeframes from 60 days to one year, when in fact, Spalding did not repay investors within any of the specified timeframes.

In the Wind Plus bankruptcy case, Spalding falsely testified under oath about the number of individuals who were note holders as well as the amount of distributions and withdrawals he had taken.

The FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Stokes and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Gividen prosecuted.

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DALLAS – A local commercial tax preparer, Rudy Contreras, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in November 2015 to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation or presentation of a false or fraudulent tax return, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Contreras was also ordered to pay $75,221 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service; he must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on June 15, 2016.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, Contreras did business in Garland, Texas, as Amigo’s Taxes, located on South Garland Avenue, and then later as Priority One Taxes, located on North First Street.  Because he was not eligible to obtain an Electronic Filer Identification Number (EFIN), Contreras obtained an EFIN and a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) in his wife’s name, even though she did not work at Amigo's Taxes and did not prepare tax returns.

When IRS Special Agents conducted a search warrant in April 2012 at Amigo's Taxes, according to the factual resume, Contreras admitted that he was the only tax return preparer at the business.  Later, however, Contreras closed Amigo's Taxes and opened Priority One Taxes.  This time Contreras obtained an EFIN and PTIN in his brother's name, even though he did not work at Priority One Taxes and did not prepare tax returns. 

According to the factual resume, IRS Criminal Investigation identified 24 fraudulent tax returns, involving 17 clients, prepared by Contreras for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012, which resulted in a loss to the government of $75,221.  The 17 clients all claimed that Contreras portrayed himself as a knowledgeable and experienced return preparer, and they did not know he falsified their tax returns with false forms and false expenses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Revesz was in charge of the prosecution.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Hao Tran, 37, of Grand Prairie, Texas has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to 120 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in November 2015 to one count of money laundering, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Tran purchased a $150,000 cashier’s check using money that came from his illegal drug trafficking business that he had been operating between California and Texas.

Tran, who has been in custody since August 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint, was also ordered to forfeit to the government property that he acknowledged was traceable to his money laundering activities, including of a parcel of land in Grand Prairie; seven vehicles, including a Bentley Continental, two Mercedes Benz, and a Hummer H2; as well as jewelry and cash.

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Poe was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Marcos Antonio Rodriguez-Mejia, a/k/a, Brady Rodriguez-Cruz, 33, of Irving, Texas was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle for his role in a sex trafficking conspiracy involving a 12 year old female. U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement this afternoon.

Rodriguez-Mejia was sentenced to 293 months in federal prison on one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children and 120 months in federal prison for one count of possession of counterfeit documents. Rodriguez-Mejia’s sentence is to be served concurrently.

A federal jury convicted Rodriguez-Mejia in November 2015 for his role in the conspiracy. He also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of counterfeit documents. On October 22, 2015, Luis Rivera, 19, also of Irving, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children. Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced April 14, 2016.

In the conspiracy, Rodriguez-Cruz acted as the “john,” and Rivera acted as the “pimp.”  The government presented evidence at trial that from approximately December 23, 2014, through December 25, 2014, Rodriguez-Cruz and Rivera agreed to cause Jane Doe, a 12-year-old child, to engage in a commercial sex act.

Rivera met Jane Doe, along with three other minor females, in Irving.  Shortly after he met the minor females, Rivera learned that Jane Doe was 12-years-old.  Rivera and his friends, including one minor friend, took the four minor females to an empty apartment in Irving, where they stayed overnight.  The minor females had no money, so they were not able to eat that day.

The next day, the group left the abandoned apartment and went to Rivera’s minor friend’s apartment, and Rivera told the four minor females that they needed to engage in commercial sex acts to earn money for food.  Rivera then made several phone calls seeking potential commercial sex customers for the minor females.  He planned to charge $100 for sexual intercourse with one of the minors.  Rivera reached Rodriguez-Cruz and Rodriguez-Cruz agreed to come to the location to engage in a commercial sex act.  Rodriguez-Cruz brought another man with him to the apartment.  Rivera told the four minor females to line up so the men could select who they wanted to have sex with, and Rodriguez-Cruz selected the youngest girl, 12-year-old Jane Doe.  Rodriguez-Cruz then negotiated the price for sex with a girl down to $50.  Shortly thereafter, he engaged in commercial sex acts with Jane Doe, paid Rivera and his minor male friend approximately $50, and hastily left.

The government also presented evidence at trial that on August 28, 2015, when officers with the Irving Police Department executed a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Rodriguez-Cruz, they found him in possession of an unlawfully obtained, counterfeit U.S. Permanent residence card.  That card was issued in another name but bore Rodriguez-Cruz’s photograph.

The Irving Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), both members of the North Texas Trafficking Taskforce, investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cara Foos Pierce and John Kull prosecuted.

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DALLAS — A Irving, Texas, man was sentenced this morning by Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 216 months in federal prison and 10 years supervised release on a child pornography conviction, announced U.S. Attorney John R. Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Josue Osorio-Canales, 30, entered a plea of guilty in July 2015 to one count of transporting child pornography. 

According to documents filed in the case, between January 31, 2015 and February 14, 2015 law enforcement identified a computer on a network sharing child pornography. A search warrant was executed on June 2, 2015. The analysis of the computer revealed over 1,400 videos and 21,000 images of child pornography. 

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.”

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Plano Police Department Investigated.  Assistant U.S. Camille Sparks prosecuted.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Following a day and a half trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, a federal jury has convicted Shannon Dale Smith, of Crosbyton, Texas, on a federal firearm offense related to his attempt to extort more than $500,000 from a Crosby County man, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Smith, 46, pleaded guilty in January 2015 to one count of interstate communications with the intent to extort.  He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on the extortion conviction.  Today, he was convicted of one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence, for which he faces a minimum mandatory penalty of five years in federal prison, a statutory maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing date was not set; Smith has been in custody since his arrest on October 29, 2015.

The government presented evidence during trial that 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 Boardman, his wife, his daughters, and his granddaughters.

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

According to plea documents filed in the case, 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 Crosbyton Police Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag is in charge of the prosecution.       

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DALLAS — Mark Lee Cleaton, 34, of Rockwall, Texas, was sentenced yesterday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 80 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $343,353.00 in restitution, following his conviction at trial in October 2015 on four counts of wire fraud stemming from an investment fraud scheme he ran, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Boyle ordered that he surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 6, 2016.

Cleaton was the managing member of North American Capital, LLC, formerly located at 2001 Bryan Street, Suite 2125, in Dallas.  He created a limited partnership, North American Capital Investment Fund, LP (NACIF), in August 2009.  From approximately August 2009 to July 2010, Cleaton solicited $350,000 in investments in NACIF from several individuals, promising to invest that money in short-term, high-yield real estate projects, when, in reality, he misappropriated all the money for himself, spending none of it as promised.

Throughout the scheme, Cleaton provided false investment memoranda and marketing materials to potential investors concerning the investment opportunity.  Some of that material falsely represented an audited “7 year performance” history of NACIF, when as Cleaton well knew, NACIF had not even existed for seven years or had any rate of return.   

Cleaton instructed each investor to wire funds into a checking account over which he had sole signatory authority.  By the time he received the first investor’s funds, he had been locked out of his office in Bryan Tower for non-payment of two months’ rent.  Cleaton immediately spent the investors’ money within weeks on personal expenses and unrelated business ventures, including credit card bills, trips to Hawaii, cash withdrawals, a used car business, and a high-end car audio/stereo store.  He also intentionally failed to disclose to subsequent investors that he had already raised and spent prior investors’ money.  Additionally, he made lulling payments to one victim investor from a later investor’s funds.

The FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Bunch and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Miller prosecuted.

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DALLAS — Charles Richard Burks, 67, of Mansfield, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to serve a total of 20 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in November 2015 to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.  The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Burks has been in custody since his arrest in July 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint, following the execution of a search warrant at his residence.

According to documents filed in the case, on approximately June 30, 2014, Burks used the Internet and Yahoo mail to distribute a video of a minor female engaged in sexually explicit conduct to another Yahoo email user.  The subject line of the email was “video,” and it contained the message, “watch.” 

On approximately June 9, 2015, Burks used Yahoo Instant Messenger and his Yahoo email account to communicate with an individual in the Philippines about using minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct.  The two discussed what sex acts would be performed during a live show and that Burks would pay $25 for images from the show.

On approximately June 10, 2015, Burks knowingly employed, used, persuaded and induced a minor female, to engage in sexually explicit conduct, outside of the United States, so that still visual images of that conduct could be produced.  Burks intended the visual images to be transported to the United States.  In fact, Burks received an email from that individual in the Philippines.  The subject line of the email was “here the pics,” and attached were eight images depicting the same minor female.

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.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem was in charge of the prosecution.

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The Justice Department announced today that the city of Fort Worth, Texas, has agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging that Fort Worth discriminated against persons with disabilities when it refused to allow a group home for individuals recovering from drug and alcohol addiction to operate in a single family residential zone in the city.

The lawsuit, filed in April 2015, alleged that the city violated the Fair Housing Act when it issued multiple citations and fines against a four bedroom group home, known as Ebby’s place, in which residents who have successfully completed at least a 30-day drug or alcohol treatment program live together to reinforce and encourage their mutual commitment to recovery.  After receiving the citations, Ebby’s Place requested a zoning variance that would allow it to operate, which the city council unanimously denied.

Under the terms of the agreement, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth will allow Ebby’s Place to operate with up to seven residents and will rescind all the citations it had previously issued against the home.  Fort Worth will also pay $135,000 to Ebby’s Place in monetary damages and $10,000 to the United States as a civil penalty.  As a part of the settlement, Fort Worth also adopted an ordinance establishing a process whereby persons may seek reasonable accommodations from the city’s zoning or land use laws and practices, where such accommodations may be necessary to afford persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their housing.

The lawsuit arose as a result of a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by Ben Patterson, who through Ebby’s Place LLC, owns and operates the group home.  After conducting an investigation, HUD referred the matter to the Department of Justice.  Ebby’s Place later intervened in the Justice Department’s lawsuit.  Today’s agreement would also settle the lawsuit filed by Ebby’s Place.

“The Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act protect individuals with disabilities from housing discrimination, including discriminatory zoning practices,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “We commend the city of Fort Worth for working with the Justice Department to reach an agreement that will safeguard the rights of persons with disabilities in our communities.”

“The city of Fort Worth has cooperated in this investigation from the beginning,” said U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.  “There was never any doubt in my mind that the city leaders would work with the Department of Justice to achieve the right result, and they’ve done just that.”

Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Justice Department.  The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability.  Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities.  Visit www.usdoj.gov/crt for more information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces.  Additional information about the Fair Housing Act is available at www.HUD.gov.  Additional information about the Americans with Disabilities Act is available at www.ADA.gov.

Fort Worth Consent Decree

DALLAS — A husband and wife from Fort Worth, Texas, have been sentenced for their roles in a postal insurance theft scheme they ran in north Texas, and elsewhere, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Sabrina Bourbois, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 21 months in federal prison in December 2015, following her guilty plea earlier in the year to one count of theft of government money, property or records.  She has been in custody since her arrest in March 2015.

Today, her husband, Ricardo Bourbois, 45, was sentenced by Judge Fitzwater to serve 12 months in federal prison.  He pleaded guilty in November 2015 to the same offense.  The couple was also ordered to pay $138,982 in restitution, jointly and severally, to the U.S. Postal Service.  Ricardo Bourbois must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 19, 2016.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Ricardo Bourbois stole postal insurance from the U.S. Postal Service, and Sabrina Bourbois used this name and others, including Alicia Diver, Sabrina Kibbee, Sabrina Diver and Sabrina Kibbee-Diver to do the same by falsifying documents and opening post office boxes for both receive the benefits from the scheme.  The scheme to defraud lasted more than three years.

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

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