Northern District of Texas

AMARILLO, Texas — Alexander Jimenez, III, of Amarillo, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to 240 months (20 years) in federal prison following his guilty plea in August 2015 to one count of receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Following the sentencing, Judge Robinson remanded Jimenez, 28, into custody.

According to documents filed in the case, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Amarillo Police Department began the investigation after APD received information that an individual, later identified as Jimenez, had uploaded images of child pornography.

In early February 2014, a search warrant was executed at Jimenez’s residence and a laptop computer, located in Jimenez’s bedroom, was seized.  A forensic analysis of that computer revealed that it contained approximately 4,389 images, and 291 videos, of child pornography.

Jimenez admitted using the computer to receive, trade and view child pornography.  He admitted sharing more than 1,000 files of child pornography on the Internet.

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.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto prosecuted the case.

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DALLAS — A local doctor and pharmacist were arrested yesterday morning on federal charges stemming from their respective roles in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances illegally, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, in a pill mill operation, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Dr. Richard Andrews, 63, of Dallas; Muhammad Faridi, 39, of Murphy, Texas; Adrian Banks, 22, of Dallas; and pharmacist Ndufola Kigham, 44, of Arlington, Texas.   Each is charged in a just-unsealed second superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

Each made his initial appearance yesterday afternoon in federal court in Dallas.  After agreeing to surrender their DEA registration numbers, Dr. Andrews and pharmacist Kigham were released on bond.  Surrendering their registration numbers prevents Dr. Andrews from issuing prescriptions for controlled substances and pharmacist Kigham from dispensing controlled substances.  Faridi and Banks were detained pending hearings set for tomorrow, Friday, January 22, at 1:00 p.m.

This indictment also charges Brandon Dunbar, 32, of Houston; Kumi Frimpong, 55, of Grand Prairie, Texas; and Lee Robertson, 31, presently in state custody in Louisiana; with the same offense.  In addition, Banks, Dunbar and Robertson are also each charged with one count and Frimpong with two counts, of unlawful use of a communication facility.

Numerous other defendants were charged in the conspiracy in previous indictments.  Five have pleaded guilty, and the remainder are set for trial on June 16, 2016.

According to the second superseding indictment, returned earlier this month by a grand jury in Dallas, Andrews is a doctor of osteopathy and co-owner and supervising physician of McAllen Medical Clinic, located on South Hampton in Dallas.  Frimpong and Kigham are licensed pharmacists.  Frimpong is the owner, operator, and pharmacist in charge of Cornerstone Pharmacy, located on Bolton Boone in Desoto, Texas.  Kigham is the owner, operator, and pharmacist in charge of GenPharm Pharmacy, located on Wheatland Road in Desoto. 

The indictment alleges that from approximately January 2013 through July 2014, Andrews, Banks, Dunbar, Faridi, Frimpong, Kigham, Robertson, and others previously charged in the indictment, conspired to possess with intent to distribute, distribute, and cause to be distributed, oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, and hydrocodone, a Schedule III controlled substance, without a legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of professional practice.

As part of the conspiracy, individuals who were homeless, or of limited means, were recruited to pose as patients at certain medical clinics to obtain prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone and fill those prescriptions at designated pharmacies.  The recruits were typically paid a fee, such as $30.  Recruiters would organize the recruits so that another individual would pick them up and transport them to and from the clinics.  The drivers or the script ringleader would typically pay the recruiters a small fee, such as $15, for each person they recruited.  Drivers or script ringleaders would coach recruits on what to say inside the clinic to obtain the specified prescription.  Drivers or script ringleaders paid for the recruits’ clinic visits.

Further, the indictment alleges as part of the conspiracy, that specific clinics attempted to minimize the possibility of detection by law enforcement by limiting patients to recruits accompanied by known and trusted drivers, and the clinics attempted to maximize their profits by providing the prescriptions sought by the script ringleaders, such as 30mg oxycodone.  The clinics provided the oxycodone prescriptions by hiring medical practitioners willing to write them even though the clinic owners, managers, and practitioners knew they were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of professional practice.  To avoid detection by law enforcement, clinic owners and managers, script ringleaders, drivers, and recruits, concealed and assisted others in concealing the illicitly issued nature of the prescriptions, the quantities of controlled substances obtained and distributed and the amount of the drug proceeds. 

The driver or script ringleader transported the recruits and prescriptions, or just the prescriptions, to designated pharmacies to be filled and paid for the prescriptions.  Drivers would then deliver the controlled substances to the script ringleaders who distributed and dispensed, and possessed with intent to distribute and dispense, oxycodone and hydrocodone.

Dr. Andrews wrote and issued prescriptions for 30mg oxycodone pills without conducting medical exams, and for which he knew there was not legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice.  Faridi ensured script ringleaders had access to McAllen and could obtain the prescriptions they sought.  Faridi also filled out prescriptions for 30mg oxycodone pills and obtained Andrews’s signature on them.

The indictment also alleges that between January 2013 and July 2014:

Dr. Andrews and Faridi distributed and caused to be distributed at least 150,000 30mg oxycodone pills by issuing prescriptions knowing that the prescriptions had not been issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a medical practitioner acting in the usual course of professional practice;

Frimpong distributed and dispensed from Cornerstone Pharmacy at least 40,000 30mg oxycodone pills by filling prescriptions written by Dr. Andrews, knowing the prescriptions had not been issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a medical practitioner acting in the usual course of professional practice; and

Kigham distributed and dispensed from GenPharm Pharmacy at least 70,000 30mg oxycodone pills by filling prescriptions written by Dr. Andrews, knowing the prescriptions had not been issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a medical practitioner acting in the usual course of professional practice.

An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury.  A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  If convicted, however, the statutory maximum penalty for the conspiracy offense is 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.  The statutory maximum penalty for each of the unlawful use of a communication facility counts is four years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation that would require the defendants, upon conviction, to forfeit approximately $20,000 seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is conducting the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Wade Lawrence, 43, of Dallas, a securities broker, was sentenced this afternoon  by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 36 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2015 to a felony Information charging one count of securities fraud, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Lynn also ordered that Lawrence pay $1,542,966 in restitution and forfeit $126,074 in proceeds traceable to the offense, in the form of a money judgment, representing the proceeds from the sale of his residence.  He was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on March 15, 2016.

According to documents filed in the case, from June 2008 through July 2011, Lawrence worked as a securities broker by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., in Dallas and was active in conducting trades in his customer brokerage accounts.  In 2010 and 2011, Lawrence began to lose significant amounts of money, both in his clients’ trading accounts and his individual trading account.  In August 2011, Lawrence moved to Southwest Securities in Dallas, where his trading losses continued.

Beginning in January 2012 and continuing through September 2013, Lawrence engaged in a scheme to defraud to obtain funds from individuals, with whom many he had longstanding personal and business relationships and who trusted him.  He falsely offered for sale various investments, including real estate ventures and securities outside the brokerage accounts at Southwest Securities.  He also offered interests in what he represented were a high-risk investment in options on the Volatility Index (VIX) on the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

Lawrence also solicited funds from several individuals by falsely representing they would be invested in a duplex.  He falsely represented to other investors that their money would be invested in various securities such as in Facebook and Southwest Securities.

Lawrence represented to investors that their investments would return anywhere from 20 to 100 percent, and that it was possible to double their investment.  In each case, he directed the investor to mail or wire-transfer funds to his personal account at Wells Fargo Bank, instead of a Southwest Securities account, giving various explanations for this, including that he was trying to start his own VIX fund and needed to establish a history for the fund.

Lawrence, however, only invested some of the investors’ money as represented.  Instead, he spent several hundred thousand dollars of the proceeds for personal living expenses, including travel, mortgage payments on his Dallas residence, and a $10,000 piece of jewelry.  In total, Lawrence obtained approximately $2,124,000 from the scheme.  He returned approximately $581,034 to some of the investors.

The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.  Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations.  Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants.  For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

The FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes prosecuted.

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DALLAS — A 52-year-old registered nurse and home health company owner from Cedar Hill, Texas, was sentenced this morning in federal court in Dallas on a health care fraud conspiracy conviction, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Patricia Akamnonu was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to the statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.  She pleaded guilty in April 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  Patricia Akamnonu, along with her husband, Cyprian (Cy) Akamnonu, owned Ultimate Care Home Health Services, Inc. (Ultimate).  Cy Akamnonu pleaded guilty to the same offense and is currently serving a 10-year federal prison sentence.  Both were ordered to pay approximately $25 million in restitution.

According to the filed factual resume, Patricia Akamnonu maintained a valid Medicare group provider number for Ultimate in order to submit Medicare claims for home health services that were medically unnecessary or that were not provided to Medicare beneficiaries.

In her capacity as co-owner and head of nursing for Ultimate, Patricia Akamnonu attended at least one meeting where she and co-defendants Dr. Jacques Roy, Teri Sivils and Cy Akamnonu discussed recruiting additional Medicare beneficiaries to Ultimate to receive home health care services for which they did not qualify and did not need.  This meeting also included a discussion about illegal patient recruiting being performed by co-defendants James Veasey and Cynthia Stiger.

As part of the conspiracy, Ultimate exchanged paperwork with Medistat Group Associates, P.A. (Medistat) that was controlled by Dr. Roy for these beneficiaries.  These documents were then executed under Dr. Roy’s signature, certifying the patient was under his care.  Several of the documents used to certify home health care for these individuals are signed under the name of Patricia Akamnonu.

Over the course of a five-year period, from January 2006 through November 2011, more than 78% of Ultimate’s beneficiaries were certified by Dr. Roy or another Medistat physician acting at his direction.  Ultimate billed more than $43 million to Medicare for skilled nursing services for these beneficiaries.

Of the seven defendants who were charged in the $375 million health care fraud scheme led by Dr. Roy, three defendants have now pleaded guilty.  Teri Sivils, 47, of Midlothian, Texas, who was Medistat’s office manager, pleaded guilty in April 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine; sentencing is currently set for March 7, 2016.

A March 7, 2016, trial date has also been set for the remaining defendants, Dr. Roy, Cynthia Stiger, 51, of Dallas, Wilbert James Veasey, Jr., 63, of Dallas, and Charity Eleda, R.N., 54, of Rowlett, Texas, 

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit 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 and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana are prosecuting.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Maria Guadalupe Baltazar, 37, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 6 months in federal prison, following her guilty plea in September 2015 to one count of making a false statement to a government agency, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Baltazar admitted to lying to U.S. Marshals about the whereabouts of a multi-time convicted felon.  On June 26, 2015 federal agents learned of a felon sentenced to a term of incarceration of 235 months who was mistakenly released from custody and who had fled the area.  Baltazar was subsequently questioned about the whereabouts of this man, and was untruthful with U.S. Marshals about her knowledge as to the man’s whereabouts and about her involvement.  Baltazar must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on February 19, 2016.

United States Marshals investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Myria Boehm of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, prosecuted.

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AMARILLO, Texas — Two Amarillo, Texas, men, who admitted trafficking a large quantity of liquid methamphetamine, have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to lengthy federal prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Today, Damian Erik Alcala, 37, was sentenced to 324 months in federal prison to run consecutively to the 37-month sentence he received for his supervised release revocation.  In mid- December 2105, Richard Madrigal, 42, was sentenced to 262 months in federal prison to run consecutively to the 12-month sentence he received for his supervised release revocation.  Each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.  Both have been in federal custody since their arrest last summer on a related federal criminal complaint. 

According to documents filed in the case, law enforcement learned that a green Chevy Blazer, with Chihuahua registration, was to arrive in Amarillo from El Paso, Texas, and that the vehicle was transporting a methamphetamine solution concealed in its fuel tank.  On July 17, 2015, law enforcement observed Alcala, driving a white Toyota Camry, and Madrigal, driving a green Chevy Blazer, arrive at a residence on Houston Street in Amarillo.  Shortly thereafter, both left the residence in the white Camry.  Several minutes later, they returned to the residence and Madrigal left in the white Camry.  When officers with the Amarillo Police Department arrived to secure the residence, Alcala fled on foot.  Officers with the Amarillo Police Department apprehended Madrigal and brought him back to the residence.

During the subsequent execution of a search warrant at the residence, law enforcement found three Tupperware containers containing crystal methamphetamine in the kitchen.  Two semi-automatic pistols were also found in the residence.

When law enforcement searched the green Chevy Blazer that was parked in the garage, they removed its fuel tank and extracted approximately 84 pounds of liquid methamphetamine from the fuel tank.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Amarillo Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto prosecuted.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Three methamphetamine distributors were sentenced today to lengthy federal prison sentences, announced U.S. Attorney John R. Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

U.S. District Judge John McBryde sentenced Angela Cupit, 41, to 360 months in federal prison, Shawn Travis Cathey, 44, to 360 months in federal prison, and Phillip Schenck, 41, to 480 months in federal prison.  Each pleaded guilty in August 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Each of the six below-listed co-defendants also pleaded guilty in August 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and have sentencing dates scheduled for later this month.  Each faces a statutory penalty of not less than 5 years and up to 40 years’ imprisonment in federal prison and a $5 million fine. 

   Eric Summers, 40, of Arlington, Texas

   James Gatlin, 40, of Garland, Texas

   David Godinez, 35, of Dallas, Texas

   Ismael Rico, 32, of Dallas, Texas

   Matthew Ryan Thompson, 44, of Mineral Wells, Texas

   Celeste Monte Blair, 45, of Jacksonville, Florida

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Texas Department of Public Safety were in charge of the investigation.   

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS, Texas — Alvaro Valencia-Sanchez, 29, from Apatzingan, Michoacan, Mexico, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 240 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in July 2015 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Valencia-Sanchez’s co-defendant in the case, Francisco Landa-Bravo, 41, also from Apatzingan, Michoacan, Mexico, pleaded guilty in August 2015 to the same offense. He was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison.

According to documents filed in the case, on May 26, 2015, law enforcement officers conducted a controlled buy and purchased five kilograms of methamphetamine from the codefendant Francisco Landa-Bravo. The agents then searched the home belonging to Alvaro Valencia-Sanchez after it was identified as a “stash house” and found another 35 kilograms of methamphetamine, a clandestine laboratory, two firearms, and $68,441.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Allen Police Department, Garland Police Department, and Rockwall Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanna Etessam prosecuted the case.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — An inmate in state custody on unrelated offenses, Dillon Alex Steele, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to serve an additional 77- month sentence in federal prison for mailing a threatening letter to a federal judge last year, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Steele, 31, pleaded guilty in September 2015 to one count of mailing threatening communications.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, on April 11, 2014, an employee in the Amarillo, Texas, office of U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson received a letter from Steele that was addressed to Judge Robinson and postmarked the previous day.  In the letter, the writer stated, in part, “…I’m gonna kill everyone at the courthouse, and the federal building, I’m gonna blow everything up sky high, may-be after nothing but death and destruction someone will listen then!”

Steele admitted he wrote the letter but that he did not intend to carry out his threats, but just call Judge Robinson’s attention to perceived civil rights violations at the Potter County Jail.  Steele’s DNA and fingerprints were on the letter and envelope.

The FBI investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag prosecuted.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Felipe Martinez Ramirez, 48, of Ozona, Texas, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 210 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2015 to one count of producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Ramirez enticed a minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him at a residence in Ozona, and he used a cell phone to record that conduct reflected in a bathroom mirror.

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.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Crockett County Sheriff’s Office investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy was in charge of the prosecution.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Two Fort Worth, Texas, area men were sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to serve lengthy federal prison sentences for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Matthew Rutledge, 33, was sentenced to 324 months in federal prison, and Joel Prickett, 37, was sentenced to 160 months in federal prison.  Each pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

According to documents filed in the case, since approximately 2014, Rutledge and Prickett distributed methamphetamine to others.  A total of 29 defendants were charged in that case; 28 have been convicted, and most of those have been sentenced.

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

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Erick Mayorga, of Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 210 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in June 2015 to one count of distribution of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Mayorga, 36, has been in custody since his arrest in May 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint.

According to documents filed in the case, FBI special agents received information that the subject of a separate child pornography investigation had received child pornography via email from a specific hotmail.com email user, later determined to be Mayorga.  A search warrant was executed at Mayorga’s residence in early May 2015, and Mayorga admitted that he used his email account to distribute 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.”

The FBI investigated and Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem prosecuted.

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DALLAS — Kenneth Laray White, 26, of Dallas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to serve a total of 326 months in federal prison on felony convictions stemming from a plan to recruit a developmentally disabled teenage girl to engage in commercial sex acts, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Kenneth White pleaded guilty in March 2015 to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Kenneth White’s brother, Damion Kentrell White, 24, who was also charged, pleaded guilty to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise and one count of illegal receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment.  Damion White is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

A February 2016 trial date is currently set for the other defendant charged in the case, their cousin, Mecose Mendale Shorter, 31, also of Dallas, who is also alleged to have participated in the scheme to traffic the victim. 

According to documents filed in the case, Kenneth and Damion White knew the victim since she was 15 years old.  When she was 18 years old, they devised a plan to recruit her to engage in commercial sex acts for them by taking advantage of her diminished mental capacity.  In late June 2013, Damion White established a friendship with the victim, and then, in early July of 2013, he used false pretenses to convince her to leave her home with him.

Later that night, Kenneth and Damion White drove the victim to a motel in Dallas where Damion White had rented a room.  Kenneth White used his cell phone to take provocative photos of the victim that they later used in advertisements they posted on backpage.com.  They deprived her of food and prevented her from leaving the room to encourage her to engage in commercial sex acts for them.  Kenneth White had sex with the victim, and the victim eventually engaged in commercial sex acts and provided the money she earned to Kenneth White.  Kenneth and Damion White used the Internet and a cell phone to coordinate the victim’s commercial sex acts with potential customers.

Later, Kenneth and Damion White moved the victim to another motel in Dallas where they continued to compel her to engage in commercial acts during the latter part of July 2013.  Officers with the Dallas Police Department rescued the victim from this motel on July 22, 2013.

Kenneth and Damion White were arrested on federal sex trafficking charges on February 25, 2014.  Kenneth White was found at his girlfriend’s apartment, and during a protective sweep of the apartment, agents located a Romar/Cugir 7.62 caliber rifle, along with three extended magazines under the mattress in the master bedroom.  Damion White admitted that he had possessed firearms recently, including the firearm that Kenneth White was caught with that day.  Damion White further admitted that he had been under indictment for a felony marijuana case for quite some time. 

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.  Join us in fighting modern-day slavery: http://go.usa.gov/cnADj and learn how to recognize the signs: http://go.usa.gov/cnADH

The North Texas Trafficking Taskforce, including the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Dallas Police Department, investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce is prosecuting the case.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Three men who were sent by the Sinaloa Cartel to Lubbock, Texas, to distribute methamphetamine for the cartel were sentenced this morning to lengthy federal prison sentences, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings sentenced Juan Carlos Pinales, 23, to 151 months in federal prison, Ramon Osvaldo Escobar-Robles, 25, to 78 months in federal prison, and Jesus Mario Moreno-Perez, 24, to 120 months in federal prison.  Each pleaded guilty last year to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.  Escobar-Robles and Moreno-Perez are in the U.S. illegally.

According to documents filed in the case, a joint investigation by the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office and the Lubbock Police Department revealed that the Sinaloa cartel had sent three individuals to Lubbock to distribute methamphetamine for the cartel.  In June 2015, a search warrant was executed at their residence on Birch Avenue in Lubbock.

At the time the warrant was executed, the three defendants were home.  The search by law enforcement yielded several containers or bags of suspected methamphetamine in the attic, to include:  two red Tupperware containers that contained a total of approximately 5.06 pounds of suspected methamphetamine, 19 clear plastic bags that contained a total of approximately 1.42 pounds of suspected methamphetamine, two clear plastic bags that contained a total of approximately 17.2 grams of suspected methamphetamine, and one clear plastic bag that contained approximately 31.2 grams of suspected methamphetamine; as well as a black pouch that contained approximately $3,783 in cash; numerous cell phones; money transfer receipts; and a spiral notebook that contained writings consistent with a drug ledger, showing amounts distributed to and owed by various persons.                                                  

A DPS crime laboratory analysis confirmed that the substance in the two red Tupperware containers was, in fact, methamphetamine with a net weight of 1,797.92 grams and a purity level of at least 91.7%.  All three defendants admitted they jointly possessed the methamphetamine found in the attic.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag prosecuted the case.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Jacob Seth Thornton, 29, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced this morning by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 188 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2015 to one count of receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Cummings ordered Thornton to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on February 12.

According to plea documents filed in his case, Thornton kept a laptop at his residence that he used to, among other things, search the Internet for images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Thornton used peer-to-peer file sharing software to receive the seven images described in the indictment, as well as many others.

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.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy prosecuted the case.

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WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Joshua Antonio Ramirez, a Wichita Falls, Texas, man who admitted his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, was sentenced Monday to the statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Ramirez, 30, pleaded guilty in September 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  His co-defendant, Doty Lee Standridge, 31, also of Wichita Falls, pleaded guilty to the same offense and was sentenced in October 2015 to 110 months in federal prison.

According to documents filed in the case, between February and August 2013, Ramirez supplied quantities of methamphetamine – ranging from1/4 ounce to one pound – to numerous individuals in the Wichita Falls area, including Standridge.  Ramirez received and distributed the methamphetamine in the Wichita Falls area and elsewhere.

The case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters prosecuted.

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WICHITA FALLS, Texas — A Wichita Falls man, Matthew Taylor Lawrence, 25, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 189 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in August 2015 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to plea documents filed in the case, on May 9, 2015, at approximately 7:30 p.m., officers with the Wichita Falls Police Department, in a marked patrol car, attempted to stop Lawrence, who was driving a motorcycle and exceeding the speed limit.  Lawrence pulled into a driveway, left the motorcycle and fled on foot.  As he was running away, officers saw him drop a firearm in the front yard of a nearby residence.  Officers caught up with Lawrence and took him into custody.  He had a small backpack that contained approximately 212 grams of methamphetamine contained in four plastic bags.  Officers also later recovered the Glock 9mm caliber pistol that Lawrence had dropped.

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

# # #

DALLAS — A Dallas man, Jesus Garcia, 42, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 218 months in federal prison for his role in a cocaine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Garcia pleaded guilty in 2014 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base.  A total of 19 defendants were charged in the conspiracy; most have been convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 18 months to 20 years in federal prison.

According to documents filed in the case, during the course of the investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) intercepted telephone calls of several of the conspirators, including Garcia.  Garcia admits that on numerous occasions he used various cell phones to contact co-conspirators to coordinate the distribution of quantities of crack and powder cocaine.  Garcia is responsible for the distribution of 1,054.64 grams of crack cocaine and 3,022.48 grams of powder cocaine during the course of the conspiracy.

ICE HSI and the Dallas Police Department’s Gang Unit investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Pierce prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS, Texas — William Stanley, 53, a/k/a “William Laurence,” “Bill Stanley,” “William Davis,” “William Harris,” and “William L. Stanley,” was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 37 months in federal prison for attempting to extort money from a business in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.  The court also ordered Stanley to pay $174,888 in restitution to a dozen identified victims of Stanley’s extortive conduct, including the Dallas-based firm, GE.

Stanley and his sister, Lynn Faust, a/k/a “Lynn Michaels,” were indicted in 2014, and Stanley pleaded guilty last month to one count of Hobbs Act – Extortion.  Faust, 55, who was arrested in Sweden in May 2014, pleaded guilty in July 2015 to a Superseding Information charging one count of receiving the proceeds of extortion and aiding and abetting.  She faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Her sentencing is set for February 1, 2016, before Judge Godbey.

Stanley, although a U.S. citizen, most recently resided in Romania with his wife, a Romanian national.  In 2013, he traveled several times between Europe and the United States.  On March 3, 2014, he was arrested on a related federal criminal complaint at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where he arrived on a flight from Europe.  He has been in custody since that time.

Faust assisted Stanley in operating his search engine optimization (SEO) company.  A legitimate SEO business engages in standard practices such as optimizing the underlying HTML code on a website for certain keywords that a search engine indexer, (e.g., a web crawler for Google, Bing, etc.) would associate with a given search query.  An illegitimate SEO business engages in deceptive tactics to affect search engine rankings and the volume of results.  Such deceptive tactics include creating fraudulent reviews (good or bad), creating fictitious websites, or hiding text on websites.

While Stanley engaged in some legitimate SEO work, he also engaged in illegitimate and illegal SEO activities.  Stanley also extorted individuals and companies by threatening to engage in the illegitimate SEO work, that being posting fraudulent comments and creating negative reviews online, if the victim did not pay him a certain sum of money.

In November 2009, GE entered into a contract with Stanley for SEO services and reputation management.  Stanley was hired because of his ability to improve a firm’s online reputation through search results.  After approximately one year, however, GE sought to terminate its relationship with Stanley after it determined he had acted outside of his contracted duties.  Stanley also created websites that had the ability to damage GE’s reputation by associating GE with a scam.  Stanley demanded additional payments to end his contractual relationship with GE and to surrender the administrator rights to the websites to GE.  From November 2010 through January 2011, GE paid Stanley a total of $80,000 to terminate the relationship.

Posing as “William Davis” and “William Laurence,” Stanley transmitted threatening communications, via email and telephone, from foreign countries to GE in the Northern District of Texas.  Those communications threatened to post comments on the Internet wrongfully disparaging GE’s reputation, if GE did not send money to Stanley.

Because of Stanley’s threats to harm GE’s reputation through negative Internet posts that would adversely affect GE’s ability to conduct business if it failed to send money, GE responded to the wrongful inducement by sending four payments totaling $29,556 by MoneyGram to Stanley in Brasov, Romania. 

According to the factual resume, the government could readily prove that Stanley’s extortive conduct caused GE to make the above payments and to lose revenue. The extortive conduct also affected interstate commerce.  In addition, the government contended that it could readily prove that Stanley engaged in similar extortionate conduct with approximately 40 to 45 victims (including GE). 

The FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney C.S. Heath prosecuted.

# # #

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Ryan Anthony Winner of Olney, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 720 months (60 years) in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2015 to two counts of production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Winner, 34, has been in custody since his arrest in July 2015 on a related federal complaint.

According to documents filed in the case, the investigation began when law enforcement learned that an individual, later identified as Winner, had created albums containing images of a minor male on a website that is used by persons interested in exchanging child pornography in order to meet and become child pornography trading partners.

On July 16, 2015, law enforcement executed a search warrant at two residences in Olney – one belonging to Winner and the other to his father.  Law enforcement seized Winner’s laptop and identified several files depicting a nude, prepubescent minor male victim, whom Winner admitted he had taken on a camping trip where he and the minor male victim had gone “skinny dipping.”  A forensic analysis of the laptop revealed the existence of another file, a still image of the same minor victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct with an adult male.  That image appears to have been taken at the church where Winner worked as a youth minister.  

Winner admitted that in late May 2015, he used a laptop computer to produce a video of a minor male whom he had enticed to engage in sexually explicit conduct.  He also admitted that in August 2014, he used a laptop computer and a digital camera to produce a visual depiction of the same minor male engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

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.”

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

# # #

WASHINGTON – The co-owners of a home health company in Dallas and two nurse employees were charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday for their alleged participation in a $13.4 million health care fraud scheme involving fraudulent claims for home health services.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge CJ Porter of the Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region, Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office and Director of Law Enforcement David Maxwell of the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) made the announcement.  

Patience Okoroji, 57, Usani Ewah, 58, Kingsley Nwanguma, 45, all of Dallas County, Texas, and Joy Ogwuegbu, 39, of Collin County, Texas, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  In addition, Okoroji and Ewah are each charged with five counts of health care fraud; Nwanguma is charged with three counts of health care fraud and Ogwuegbu is charged with four counts of health care fraud.

Ewah, Nwanguma and Ogwuegbu were arrested yesterday and made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver of the Northern District of Texas.  Okoroji was also arrested yesterday and will have her initial appearance today. 

Okoroji and Ewah co-owned Timely Home Health Services Inc. (Timely), where Okoroji was also an administrator and licensed vocational nurse and Ewah was the director of nursing and a registered nurse.  Nwanguma was a licensed vocational nurse working for Timely and Ogwuegbu was a registered nurse working for Timely.

The indictment alleges that from approximately January 2007 to September 2015, the defendants conspired to defraud Medicare by causing the submission and concealment of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  According to the allegations, Okoroji and Ewah would in some cases pay recruiters, including Nwanguma, to recruit beneficiaries for home health services, regardless of whether the beneficiaries needed home health care.  Okoroji, Ewah and Ogwuegbu allegedly prepared or caused to be prepared fraudulent Medicare documents that made it appear that the beneficiaries qualified for home health services.  These documents were used by doctors to certify Medicare beneficiaries for home health care.  

The indictment alleges that during the scheme, Okoroji and Ewah billed Medicare approximately $13,434,550 based on false and fraudulent claims for home health services.

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

HHS-OIG, FBI and the Texas Attorney General’s MFCU investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Texas.  Trial Attorney Jason Knutson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

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

# # #

DALLAS, Texas — A man, who, along with his sister, was indicted last year on felony offenses stemming from their attempts to extort money from a business in Dallas, pleaded guilty in federal court today, announced John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

William Stanley, 53, a/k/a “William Laurence,” “Bill Stanley,” “William Davis,” “William Harris,” and “William L. Stanley,” pleaded guilty today to one count of Hobbs Act – Extortion.  He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is set for January 4, 2016, before U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey.

Stanley, a U.S. citizen, most recently resided in Romania with his wife, a Romanian national.  In 2013, he traveled several times between Europe and the United States.  On March 3, 2014, he was arrested on a related federal criminal complaint at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where he arrived on a flight from Europe.  He has been in custody since that time.

Stanley’s sister, Lynn Faust, a/k/a “Lynn Michaels,” 55, was arrested in Sweden in May 2014. Ms. Faust was extradited and appeared in court in the Northern District of Texas on October 16, 2014.  On October 21, 2014, the government withdrew its motion to detain, and the Court released Faust on conditions of release.  She pleaded guilty in July 2015 to a Superseding Information charging one count of receiving the proceeds of extortion and aiding and abetting.  She faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Her sentencing is set for February 1, 2016, before Judge Godbey.

Faust assisted Stanley in operating his search engine optimization (SEO) company.  A legitimate SEO business engages in standard practices such as optimizing the underlying HTML code on a website for certain keywords that a search engine indexer, (e.g., a web crawler for Google, Bing, etc.) would associate with a given search query.  An illegitimate SEO business engages in deceptive tactics to affect search engine rankings and the volume of results.  Such deceptive tactics include creating fraudulent reviews (good or bad), creating fictitious websites, or hiding text on websites.

While Stanley engaged in some legitimate SEO work, he also engaged in illegitimate and illegal SEO activities.  Stanley also extorted individuals and companies by threatening to engage in the illegitimate SEO work, that being posting fraudulent comments and creating negative reviews online, if the victim did not pay him a certain sum of money.

In November 2009, a Dallas-based firm, GE, entered into a contract with Stanley for SEO services and reputation management.  Stanley was hired because of his ability to improve a firm’s online reputation through search results.  After approximately one year, however, GE sought to terminate its relationship with Stanley after it determined he had acted outside of his contracted duties.  Stanley also created websites that had the ability to damage GE’s reputation by associating GE with a scam.  Stanley demanded additional payments to end his contractual relationship with GE and to surrender the administrator rights to the websites to GE.  From November 2010 through January 2011, GE paid Stanley a total of $80,000 to terminate the relationship.

Posing as “William Davis” and “William Laurence,” Stanley transmitted threatening communications, via email and telephone, from foreign countries to GE in the Northern District of Texas.  Those communications threatened to post comments on the Internet wrongfully disparaging GE’s reputation, if GE did not send money to Stanley.

Because of Stanley’s threats to harm GE’s reputation through negative Internet posts that would adversely affect GE’s ability to conduct business if it failed to send money, GE responded to the wrongful inducement by sending four payments totaling $29,556 by MoneyGram to Stanley in Brasov, Romania. 

According to the stipulated facts outlined in the factual resume, the government can readily prove that Stanley’s extortive conduct caused GE to make the above payments and to lose revenue. The extortive conduct also affected interstate commerce.  In addition, the government contends that as of May 2014, it could readily prove that Stanley engaged in similar extortionate conduct with approximately 40 to 45 victims (including GE).  The government contends the loss attributed to Stanley was over $230,000.00.

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

# # #

The co-owners of a home health company in Dallas and two nurse employees were charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday for their alleged participation in a $13.4 million health care fraud scheme involving fraudulent claims for home health services.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge CJ Porter of the Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region, Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office and Director of Law Enforcement David Maxwell of the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) made the announcement.  

Patience Okoroji, 57, Usani Ewah, 58, Kingsley Nwanguma, 45, all of Dallas County, Texas, and Joy Ogwuegbu, 39, of Collin County, Texas, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  In addition, Okoroji and Ewah are each charged with five counts of health care fraud; Nwanguma is charged with three counts of health care fraud and Ogwuegbu is charged with four counts of health care fraud.

Ewah,  Nwanguma and Ogwuegbu were arrested yesterday and made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver of the Northern District of Texas.  Okoroji was also arrested yesterday and will have her initial appearance today. 

Okoroji and Ewah co-owned Timely Home Health Services Inc. (Timely), where Okoroji was also an administrator and licensed vocational nurse and Ewah was the director of nursing and a registered nurse.  Nwanguma was a licensed vocational nurse working for Timely and Ogwuegbu was a registered nurse working for Timely.

The indictment alleges that from approximately January 2007 to September 2015, the defendants conspired to defraud Medicare by causing the submission and concealment of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  According to the allegations, Okoroji and Ewah would in some cases pay recruiters, including Nwanguma, to recruit beneficiaries for home health services, regardless of whether the beneficiaries needed home health care.  Okoroji, Ewah and Ogwuegbu allegedly prepared or caused to be prepared fraudulent Medicare documents that made it appear that the beneficiaries qualified for home health services.  These documents were used by doctors to certify Medicare beneficiaries for home health care.  

The indictment alleges that during the scheme, Okoroji and Ewah billed Medicare approximately $13,434,550 based on false and fraudulent claims for home health services.

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

HHS-OIG, FBI and the Texas Attorney General’s MFCU investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Texas.  Trial Attorney Jason Knutson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

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

Timely Indictment

DALLAS — Michael Brendan O’Connor, 36, of Dallas, was sentenced Friday, by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, to 30 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

O’Connor has been in custody since his arrest in May 2014.

According to documents filed in the case, the investigation began in May 2014 when an officer with the Nebraska State Patrol, working online in an undercover capacity and posing as a 31-year-old female whose interests included incest and molesting her young children, was contacted by an individual, later identified as O’Connor, who expressed similar interests.  O’Connor, in very sexually explicit communications, indicated, among other things, that he was “attracted to girls 3 to 10 and 8 is the magic age for me physically.”  In a later communication, O’Connor detailed an incident where he molested a young child while he was on break at a restaurant where he worked.  On May 13, 2014, O’Connor sent the undercover officer a zip file containing several images of child pornography.

On May 29, 2014, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a federal search warrant at O’Connor’s residence.  More than 950 images of child pornography, some depicting infants and toddlers, were located on O’Connor’s homebuilt computer.  He admitted downloading, possessing and transporting images of child pornography. 

O’Connor was convicted of sexual assault of a child in Collin County in 2010 and possession of child pornography in Dallas County in 2009.

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.”

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

# # #

DALLAS — A Rowlett, Texas, man, who admitted mailing hundreds of white-powder hoax letters, was sentenced this afternoon in federal court in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Departing upward from the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater sentenced Hong Minh Truong, 67, to serve a total of 60 months in federal prison.  Truong pleaded guilty in July 2015 to an indictment charging five counts of false information and hoaxes.  He has been in custody since July 28, 2014.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Fitzwater noted that Truong’s conduct was significant and dangerous and involved more than 400 threatening letters in multiple batches over more than a five-year period.  Truong’s conduct cost emergency and investigative responders more than $2.8 million, which does not include economic losses to businesses, schools and government offices.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, since December 2008, Truong mailed more than 400 hoax letters from the North Texas area to cities across the U.S. and to U.S. Embassies abroad.  The initial letters, sent out on December 4, 2008, had a “Dallas, Texas” postmark and contained a white-powder substance.  More than 15 batches of hoax letters were sent from the Dallas area from December 2008 to the present.  In all but two batches of letters, a white-powder substance was included in the envelope.

The substance contained in the more than 400 letters in this case did not contain Anthrax; however, substantial governmental resources were expended in the response and investigation.  Although each response was unique, every response involved multiple agencies dispatching personnel and equipment.

Truong mailed some of the hoax letters to more than 100 elementary schools and daycare centers, including the Mi Escuelita Preschool Crossover, in Dallas; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas; the Empire State Building, in New York City; Fenway High School in Boston, Massachusetts; and the Dallas Morning News in Plano, Texas.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — A man who admitted committing identity theft was sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Uche Victor Harrison Onyewulotu was sentenced on Monday to 15 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $141,469 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  He pleaded guilty in July 2015 to an indictment charging one count of identity theft – possession in and affecting interstate commerce of means of identification of another with intent to commit a crime.

According to the factual resume and complaint filed in the case, over the course of two years, an individual, identified as Chijioke Augustin Obiora, a Nigerian national, sold undercover agents 13 U.S. Treasury checks, stolen and obtained by fraud, with a total value of $115,702. 

On April 28, 2014, according to the factual resume, Obiora attempted to fly to Lagos, Nigeria, from Dallas-Fort Worth airport, where he was arrested.  Onyewulotu accompanied Obiora at the airport and was detained.

According to the factual resume, Onyewulotu admitted that he had assisted an individual in a scheme to file fraudulent U.S. federal income tax returns to obtain refunds.  When Onyewulotu’s laptop was searched, pursuant to a federal search warrant, according to the factual resume, law enforcement found the means of identification of thousands of individuals, including names, ages, genders, dates of birth, Social Security account numbers, addresses and telephone numbers.

Obiora was prosecuted and convicted in the Eastern District of Texas, and according to the judgment filed in the case, was sentenced in October 2015 to serve 24 months in federal prison.

IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, and  the Texas Department of Public Safety and investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Revesz prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — A 38-year-old Dallas resident, Rex Sistos, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 240 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to one count of transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, the Dallas Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in September 2013 that Facebook had advised that a particular Facebook user, later identified as Sistos, had uploaded content that Facebook considered child pornography.  The investigation led to the execution of a search warrant at Sistos’s home in Dallas on October 23, 2013.

During the execution of that warrant, Sistos was home and agreed to speak with an ICAC detective.  Sistos admitted he used his cell phone to send an image of child pornography to an adult female located in the Philippines.  A forensic analysis of the cell phone confirmed that Sistos had Facebook accounts associated with the image Sistos transported on two different occasions.  Other images and videos of child pornography were also located on his phone.

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’s ICAC and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.

# # #

AMARILLO, Texas — A licensed psychiatrist from San Angelo, Texas, Robert Hadley Gross, 58, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to 71 months in federal prison, fined $100,000 and ordered to pay $1,832,869 in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Gross pleaded guilty in September 2015 to one count of health care fraud stemming from a scheme he ran to defraud Medicare and Medicaid by submitting claims for services not rendered in the manner billed, including submitting claims for services allegedly rendered after patients’ deaths.  He has been in federal custody since his arrest in mid-October 2014 on related charges outlined in a federal indictment.  Gross also must forfeit nearly $2 million seized from various accounts.

According to documents filed in the case, beginning in January 2009 and continuing until approximately June 20, 2014, Gross filed, and caused to be filed, claims against Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance carriers, for payment for services that were never rendered and services that were billed using inappropriate CPT codes.

Gross regularly submitted claims for services rendered to nursing home residents in and around San Angelo and he also regularly submitted claims for services provided to clients of mental health and mental retardation (MHMR) organizations in San Angelo, Midland, and Abilene, Texas, in addition to claims for services provided to foster care children in Brownwood, Texas.

As part of his scheme, Gross filed claims against Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance carriers for services for nursing home patients on dates he did not actually render services to patients.  In those instances, the patients may have died or been discharged before Gross allegedly visited them in the nursing home.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Office of the Texas Attorney General investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Cruce-Haag and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams prosecuted and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Fahey handled the forfeiture. 

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth, Texas, woman, Shanda Brite, 28, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 120 months in federal prison, following her guilty plea in July 2015 to one count of maintaining a drug involved premise, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, since approximately 2014, Brite has allowed others, including two co-defendants, to conduct methamphetamine transactions at her house on Seal Cove in Fort Worth.  In exchange, Brite received methamphetamine.

Other defendants in the case have also received lengthy federal prison sentences for their roles in the methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.  Last week, Samuel Hebert was sentenced to 240 months, Joseph Sutton was sentenced to 140 months, and Steven Villegas was sentenced to 120 months, in federal prison.  All three are from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

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

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — Three Fort Worth, Texas, residents have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to lengthy federal prison sentences for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Michael Bentley, 34, Jessica Judge, 35, and Billy Bullitt, 45, were sentenced on Monday to 200 months, 180 months, and 121 months, respectively, in federal prison.  Each pleaded guilty this past summer to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

According to documents filed in the case, Bentley, Judge and Bullitt received ounce and multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine on consignment from others, and in turn, they distributed it to customers in Wichita Falls, Texas, North Richland Hills, Texas, and Fort Worth returning to their suppliers for additional methamphetamine to distribute.

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

# # #

DALLAS — Sethaniel Winston Hampsten, 24, of Dublin, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 10 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor, announced John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Hampsten used his cell phone and tablet to entice someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual contact with him.  He also admitted sending a sexually explicit, obscene photo of himself to the minor girl.

The investigation began in September 2014 when a detective with the Garland Police Department was conducting an undercover investigation online into advertisements placed on Craigslist.  The detective established an undercover profile as a 14-year-old girl.  Using this undercover profile, the detective responded to an ad Hampsten placed by stating she was almost 15 years old and a freshman.  Within nine minutes, a man, later identified as Hampsten, responded, asking for a picture. 

Over the course of four days, Hampsten and the detective chatted and Hampsten identified himself as a man in his 20’s named Seth.  Sexually explicit chats continued, with Hampsten sending a sexually explicit obscene photo of himself, and the two planned to meet in the minor girl’s apartment in Garland, Texas.  On the scheduled meet date, Hampsten drove from Dublin to Garland and parked in the apartment’s parking lot.  When detectives approached him in his vehicle, he had a condom in his lap.

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

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — Eric Miltonhall has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to serve 240 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in August 2015 to one count of transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, from approximately March 22, 2014, through April 16, 2014, Miltonhall, 40, of Missouri and most recently, Alabama, stayed with a friend who lived in Arlington, Texas.  On approximately April 15, 2014, Miltonhall used his computer, which was connected to the internet there, to send communications via a software application called Kik.  During that communication, Milton also transmitted images of child pornography.

According to other documents filed in the case, after obtaining a search warrant and conducting a forensic examination, officers and agents learned that prior to his arrival in Texas, Miltonhall had accessed and deleted thousands of images and videos of child pornography, many involving toddlers and infants.  Miltonhall also used encrypted devices containing child pornography that he connected to his computer. 

Miltonhall had worked in Missouri as a police officer.

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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Arlington Police Department investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem prosecuted.

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DALLAS — Attorney Martin Cantu, who was the CEO of Connect-a-Jet, and his co-defendant, stock promoter Jason Wynn, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade on felony convictions stemming from their roles in a conspiracy to deceive potential investors about the business of Connect-a-Jet, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Cantu, 59, of San Antonio, Texas, was sentenced to 35 months in federal prison and was ordered to surrender his law license.  Wynn, 33, of Lantana, Texas, was sentenced to serve a five-year term of probation.  Judge Kinkeade ordered them to pay $423,938.66 in restitution.  In addition, both defendants are subject to large SEC restitution orders; Wynn’s is nearly $11 million and Cantu’s is approximately $800,000.

Cantu was convicted at trial in May 2015 on both counts of an indictment charging one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud.  Cantu, pleaded guilty in April 2015 to the conspiracy offense

Connect-a-Jet (CAJT) was a company that purportedly would provide the first online, real-time booking system for private jet charters.  Essentially, it would serve the same function as other well-known online booking systems but would focus on high-end chartered aircraft.  Wynn, who worked as a penny-stock promoter, used-car salesman and consultant, founded the company and began its development.  By the time Cantu became involved with the business, Wynn and Cantu had abandoned plans to turn the company into a legitimate business and instead focused on pumping and dumping the stock of Connect-a-Jet.  Connect-a-Jet was traded on an exchange known as the Pink Sheets and had tens of thousands of public investors.  Cantu, who is a licensed attorney with the state of Texas, owned the majority of shares of CAJT. 

From approximately May to October 2007, Cantu and Wynn conspired with each other, and others, to commit securities fraud by deceiving potential investors regarding CAJT.  As part of their scheme, Wynn and Cantu caused public statements and advertisements, including ads in USA Today and commercials on CNBC, to be issued that included numerous false and misleading statements about the progress and status of the company’s real-time booking system; CAJT’s relationships with reputable companies; and CAJT’s customer base.  The false and misleading statements led investors to believe CAJT’s online booking system was complete, when, in fact, it never was developed past the initial concept and design stage.  The false and misleading statements also led investors to believe that the company had achieved operational success it had not achieved.  These false and misleading statements increased demand for CAJT shares, which allowed Wynn, Cantu and others to sell their CAJT shares at artificially-inflated prices.  As part of the conspiracy, Cantu engaged in a cover-up of his crimes including providing false testimony to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The indictment also named co-conspirator Ryan Reynolds, a former stockbroker, who pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, based on his involvement in the CAJT conspiracy. 

Over the course of 15 days in the fall of 2007, Cantu realized $552,341 in profits from the sale of 250,000 CAJT shares he controlled, which represented 83% of his total number of shares.  Cantu sold these shares through an account in the name of his father.  From August 2007 through January 2008, entities controlled by Wynn sold 4.2 million CAJT shares in the public market, resulting in profits of $2.585 million. 

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.  Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations.  Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants.  For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

The FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys P. J. Meitl and J. Nicholas Bunch prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — Michael Henry Shahan, 32, of Greenville, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 10 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in September 2015 to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, announced John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, in November 2015, an officer with the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office who was working online in an undercover capacity posing as a 15-year-old female encountered an individual who was later identified as Shahan.  During their ensuing chats over a two-month period, Shahan sent the girl, whom he knew was 15-years-old, sexually explicit nude photographs of himself and insisted he wanted to meet her and engage in sexual activity with her.  Their mid-January 2015 planned meeting was thwarted when Shahan’s wife did not stay home from work as expected and make available what was then the couple’s only car.  The officer obtained an arrest warrant and Shahan was arrested soon thereafter.  Shahan had images of child pornography on his cell phone as well as numerous chats about the contents of traded 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.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hopkins County Sheriff Office investigated.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks was in charge of the prosecution.

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — Three defendants who admitted to felony offenses stemming from their role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy that operated in the Dallas – Fort Worth (DFW) area since 2013, were sentenced yesterday to substantial prison sentences by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Samuel Hebert, 32, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison.  Joseph Sutton, also 32, was sentenced to 140 months in federal prison, and Steven Villegas, also 32, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison.  Each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  All three are from the DFW area.

According to documents filed in the case, since 2013, Hebert supplied ounce and multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine to others on consignment.  Sutton and Villegas received ounce and multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine on consignment and in turn distributed it to various customers in the Fort Worth and North Richland Hills, Texas, areas, returning to their suppliers for additional methamphetamine.

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

# # #

ABILENE, Texas — Paul Joseph Koestle, 33, of Abilene, Texas, was sentenced this morning by Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to serve a total of 50 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in August 2015 to two felony child pornography offenses, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Koestle, who has been in custody, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography.  Judge Solis sentenced him to the statutory maximum sentence of 360 months on the production count and 240 months on the receipt count, to run consecutively.

According to documents filed in the case, earlier this year the Abilene Police Department (APD) began investigating Koestle based on information they received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) indicating he had uploaded an image of child pornography to a Google account.  The APD executed a search warrant at his home in late April 2015.

Koestle, who was home during the execution of the warrant, admitted to downloading child pornography and producing child pornography of a minor child, “Jane Doe.”  A forensic evaluation of electronic equipment seized from his residence pursuant to the search revealed hundreds of images of child pornography located on a cellphone, a laptop computer and hard drive.  In addition, multiple images of “Jane Doe” engaging in sexually explicit conduct were found. 

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.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Abilene Police Department investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Myria Boehm was in charge of the prosecution.

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ABILENE, Texas — David Scott Fikani, 62, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 108 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in July 2015 to an indictment charging one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Fikani has been in federal custody since September 2015 when U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Scott Frost determined he violated certain terms of his pretrial release and ordered him detained.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Fikani used the computer at his residence to search the Internet for images and videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  In the course of these searches, Fikani located, downloaded, and viewed numerous images and videos constituting child pornography.  Some of those images involved prepubescent minors.

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.”

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

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two defendants who pleaded guilty in August to felony offenses stemming from their respective roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy were sentenced this morning, by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, to lengthy federal prison sentences, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Gabriel Farias-Lopez, 37, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison.  Co-defendant Kimberly Robles-Rueda, 20, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison.

According to documents filed in the case, Farias-Lopez received kilogram-quantities of methamphetamine from a source in Mexico that he subsequently distributed in the Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas, area.  Robles-Rueda collected the drug proceeds for the methamphetamine that Farias-Lopez distributed.  She also received instructions from a person in Mexico as to how to wire or otherwise return the drug proceeds to the person in Mexico.  The instructions she received usually involved depositing or wiring money into various bank accounts in $1,000-increments.  Then, Robles-Rueda or another person would wire or transfer the money to bank accounts in Mexico.

Pursuant to a traffic stop conducted by law enforcement in Fort Worth on June 23, 2015, Farias-Lopez and Robles-Rueda were found to be in possession of approximately four kilograms of methamphetamine ice, and Robles-Rueda had nearly $8,000 cash in her purse.  Then, during the subsequent execution of a search warrant at their shared home on Travis Avenue in Fort Worth, law enforcement found liquid methamphetamine and methamphetamine ice, with a combined weight of approximately three kilograms, and $25,000 in cash.

The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith was in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — Three Dallas men have pleaded guilty to their roles in committing several violent armed robberies in Dallas last year, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Today, Cedric Ray Jones, 26, pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle, to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, two counts of using, carry, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence, and three counts of interference with commerce by robbery.  Last week, his brother, Damien Antoine Jones, 31, pleaded guilty to the same offenses.  In mid-November, Savalas Christopher Love, 30, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count and one firearm count.

The FBI dubbed the robbers the “Bulls Cap Bandits,” as Cedric and Damien Jones wore Chicago Bulls caps during the robberies.  

According to documents filed in the case, from approximately March 7, 2014, through June 17, 2014, the defendants conspired together to commit these armed robberies:

            March 7, 2014            Cash Plus Pawn             and                             9103 East R.L. Thornton Freeway, Dallas
            June 12, 2014

            May 28, 2014               AutoZone
                                                10418 Garland Road, Dallas

            June 2, 2014                AutoZone
                                                 2842 South Buckner Blvd., Dallas

            June 17, 2014              AutoZone
                                                 9711 Plano Road, Dallas

During each of the robberies, Cedric and Damien Jones wore disguises and brandished firearms.  In the March 7, 2014, robbery of Cash Plus Pawn, they stole cash and two semi-automatic rifles, and then fled on foot.

In the May 28, 2014, and June 2, 2014, AutoZone robberies, Cedric and Damien Jones entered the store, brandishing the semi-automatic rifles, while Love remained in the vehicle as the “getaway driver.”  The three fled in Love’s vehicle.

On June 12, 2014, Cedric and Damien Jones, Love, and another individual traveled to the Cash Plus Pawn store on East R.L. Thornton Freeway in Dallas, in Love’s vehicle, with the specific intent to commit robbery.  Upon arriving in the parking lot, Damien Jones and the other individual exited the vehicle and approached the store’s entrance with firearms, but abandoned the robbery when confronted by a store employee.  They fled in Love’s vehicle.

In the June 17, 2014, AutoZone robbery, Cedric and Damien Jones traveled together in Love’s vehicle to the store with the intent to commit robbery.  Love traveled separately to the location.  Love “cased” the store and reported the absence of security personnel to Damien Jones.  Cedric and Damien Jones then entered the store, brandishing semi-automatic rifles, and then fled the robbery in their vehicle.  During a subsequent chase with law enforcement, Cedric Jones operated the vehicle in a manner to avoid apprehension and created a substantial risk to other motorists on the roads.  During the pursuit, shots were fired in the direction of the pursuing officers to further avoid apprehension.

The conspiracy count and each of the interference with commerce by robbery counts carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  The first firearm conviction carries a mandatory sentence of not less than seven years and up to life in federal prison, to be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment.  The subsequent firearm offense carries a mandatory term of not less than 25 years and up to life in federal prison, to be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment.  The defendants’ sentencing dates are scheduled in March 2016.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Dallas Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Robinson is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS — U.S. Attorney John Parker announced today that the Northern District of Texas collected $16,843,994 in criminal and civil actions in the fiscal year (FY) ending Sept. 30, 2015.  Of this amount, $13,517,578 was collected in criminal actions and $3,326,415 was collected in civil actions. 

Additionally, the Northern District of Texas worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $577,658 in cases pursued jointly with these offices.  Of this amount, $152,634 was collected in criminal actions and $425,024 was collected in civil actions.         

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch also announced today that the Justice Department collected $23.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in FY 2015.  The more than $23.1 billion in collections in FY 2015 represents more than seven and a half times the approximately $2.93 billion of the Justice Department’s combined appropriations for the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period.

“The Department of Justice is committed to upholding the rule of law, safeguarding taxpayer resources, and protecting the American people from exploitation and abuse,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “The collections we are announcing today demonstrate not only the strength of that commitment, but also the significant return on public investment that our actions deliver.  I want to thank the prosecutors and trial attorneys who made this achievement possible, and to reiterate our dedication to this ongoing work.”

“These numbers illustrate that this office’s vigorous prosecutions, criminal and civil, do not end at sentencing or judgment, said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “We have a continuing obligation to aggressively pursue the recovery of ill-gotten funds for both victims of crime and the federal treasury, and our efforts in this regard will remain robust.”

Substantial collections in the District in FY 2015 included:

• $1.77 million, almost 75% of the total funds embezzled by defendant returned to his former employer within 60 days of sentencing in U.S. v. Daniel Mangini; 

• $1.54 million recovered through garnishment of multiple retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and payoff of lien on homestead in U.S. v. Michael Wolf, a workers’ compensation health care fraud case;

• $780,000 collected through the garnishment of multiple bank accounts, lease payments, and lawsuit settlement proceeds to enforce a $1.7 million civil judgment the U.S. Department of Labor obtained against the defendants on behalf of dozens of disabled men forced to work for years under deplorable conditions in U.S. v. Kenneth Henry and Hill Country Farms;

• $605,000 recovered through foreclosure of liens on real property and garnishment of multiple accounts in U.S. v. Glen McDonald, a counterfeiting and trafficking in contraband case;

• $383,000 in payments toward a $705,000 civil consent judgment in U.S. v. Wilma Aguilera, a False Claims Act case regarding a contract with the Department of Defense; and                                                                                 

• $226,000 recovered through foreclosure of lien on homestead to satisfy restitution imposed against husband and wife in U.S. v. Kenneth and Leah Brown, an insurance fraud conspiracy

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

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

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Northern District of Texas, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $12,544,766 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2015.  Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

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WASHINGTON – A former congressional staffer pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of receiving child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office.

James Maines Jr., 54, of Mesquite, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan of the Northern District of Texas in Dallas to one count of knowingly receiving child pornography.  Maines is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16, 2016, before U.S. District Court Judge Ed Kinkeade of the Northern District of Texas. 

In connection with his guilty plea, Maines admitted that in November 2012, he attempted to forward five child exploitation images from his email account to his U.S. House of Representatives email account.  Maines also admitted that he had received these and other child exploitation images via the Internet.  Forensic analysis of Maines’s computer revealed a number of child exploitation images, some of which Maines had downloaded as early as 2004. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks of the Northern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Mi Yung Park of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting this case.  The FBI’s Dallas Field Office investigated the case with the assistance of the FBI’s Washington, D.C., Field Office. 

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

# # #

A former congressional staffer pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of receiving child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office.

James Maines Jr., 54, of Mesquite, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan of the Northern District of Texas in Dallas to one count of knowingly receiving child pornography.  Maines is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16, 2016, before U.S. District Court Judge Ed Kinkeade of the Northern District of Texas. 

In connection with his guilty plea, Maines admitted that in November 2012, he attempted to forward five child exploitation images from his email account to his U.S. House of Representatives email account.  Maines also admitted that he had received these and other child exploitation images via the Internet.  Forensic analysis of Maines’s computer revealed a number of child exploitation images, some of which Maines had downloaded as early as 2004. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks of the Northern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Mi Yung Park of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting this case.  The FBI’s Dallas Field Office investigated the case with the assistance of the FBI’s Washington, D.C., Field Office. 

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

FORT WORTH, Texas — A 33-year-old energy company landman who admitted running a scheme to defraud his employer, XTO Energy, of more than $1 million, was sentenced this morning, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Steven E. Fisackerly, 33, of Spring, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 63 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,005,131.00 in restitution.  Fisackerly  pleaded guilty in May 2015 to an information charging one count of mail fraud.  He must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on January 4, 2016.

According to documents filed in the case, from September 2008 until March 2012, Fisackerly worked in the Fort Worth offices of XTO Energy, Inc. as a landman assigned to the Marcellus Shale wells in West Virginia.  A landman is primarily responsible for all surface and mineral land-related matters for his assigned area.  Among other things, a landman drafts, negotiates, and administers oil and gas leases, amendments, unit designations, assignments, domestic gas use agreements, surface leases, damage agreements, purchase and sale agreements, and similar documents, all related to oil and gas exploration.  Landmen have access to and use computer systems specific to XTO, which XTO uses to map oil and gas leases, track costs related to oil and gas bonus payments, and access oil and gas leases.

Fisackerly admits that beginning in January 2009 and ending in approximately January 2011, he devised and ran a scheme to defraud XTO.  He used his knowledge of XTO’s oil and gas lease process, his access to previously approved oil and gas leases and reports, XTO computer systems, Harrison County, West Virginia’s online document inquiry public records data base, and his knowledge of XTO’s oil and gas interests in West Virginia to generate bogus oil and gas leases.  He also altered/falsified existing information to generate bogus documents.

In January 2009, Fisackerly selected an XTO oil and gas lease packet from a legitimate landowner, J.G.  Fisackerly altered that oil and gas lease packet to show that another individual, E.C., was the landowner.  Fisackerly prepared and organized the false oil and gas lease documentation under E.C.’s name and routed the lease packet to management for approval.  Once approved, XTO issued bonus check for $180,402.50 to E.C. that Fisackerly obtained.  That check was deposited into a bank account controlled by E.C., and E.C. wrote two personal checks, totaling $130,000, to Fisackerly from that account. 

Fisackerly also created a sham company, Parallel Interests, LLC, using LegalZoom.  He listed himself as the 100 percent member, stating in the formation questionnaire that the reason for creating the company was for mineral interests.  Fisackerly also opened a bank account at Bank of America in December 2010 that listed Parallel Interests, LLC on the signature card and named Fisackerly as the only signer on the account. 

Fisackerly also created false oil and gas leases and lease packets in the name of Paul Hinkle, President of Parallel Interests, LLC, and executed the documents with a forged notary stamp.  He created fraudulent deeds and Harrison County Clerk reference numbers for supporting documentation and provided a nonexistent Post Office Box as the mailing address for the bonus checks.  He organized the fraudulent documentation and approved the order of payments.  He then obtained additional management approvals and routed the lease packets to XTO’s Land Department, where bonus checks for Parallel Interests, LLC were issued.  From there, the bonus checks were routed back to Fisackerly, who then deposited them into the Parallel Interests, LLC Bank of America account he controlled.

During the course of the scheme, Fisackerly engaged in approximately nine fraudulent transactions, causing XTO to issue checks totaling $1,005,131.00

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

# # #

DALLAS — A Dallas man, Andrew Berko, 45, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 20 years in federal prison following his guilty plea in May 2015 to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Berko has been in custody since his arrest in April 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint.

According to documents filed in the case, the investigation began when a detective with the Sherman Police Department, who was investigating the sharing of child pornography on a file-sharing network called BitTorrent, identified 27 files matched to a law enforcement database as files containing child pornography.  The files were linked to an IP address later identified as Berko’s.

Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a federal search warrant at Berko’s residence on March 31, 2015.  A forensic analysis of his computer they seized revealed 8190 images and 860 videos of child pornography, including more than 800 images and videos of infants and toddlers.  Some of the images and videos he collected depicted sadistic and/or violent content.

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.”

ICE HSI and the Sherman Police Department investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Camille Sparks and Lori Walker prosecuted.

# # #

DALLAS — Two tax preparers who operated tax preparation businesses in Irving, Texas, and Duncanville, Texas, recently pleaded guilty to federal offenses, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

In one case, Hector Gerardo Nunez pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.  According to the factual resume filed in his case, from at least 2007 through 2010, Nunez did business under the name of Speedy Tax Service, located on W. Airport Freeway in Irving.  During this period, Nunez knowingly and willfully prepared, and caused to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), income tax returns that were materially false.  Nunez would include false or inflated deductions and credits that were intended to produce a fraudulently inflated refund to be paid by the IRS.  He would then collect a fee that was deducted from the refund generated by each return he prepared.  Nunez faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison as well as a fine and restitution.  Sentencing is set for March 10, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

In the other case, Sherene Warren pleaded guilty to the same offense as well as to one count of theft of government money.  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. 

Warren also 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, the factual resume goes on to state, 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.

Warren faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison on the tax conviction and five years on the theft of government money conviction, as well as fines and restitution.  Warren was also charged with stealing disability benefits and, according to the plea agreement filed, while she did not plead to that offense, she has agreed to pay restitution of an amount proven at sentencing to the IRS, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Social Security Administration (SSA).  Sentencing is set for March 17, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating both cases.  HUD Office of Inspector General and the SSA Office of Inspector General are also investigating the Warren case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes is prosecuting the Nunez case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Bunch is prosecuting the Warren case.          

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DALLAS — Brian J. Polito of Allen, Texas, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 84 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $8,768,351 in restitution following his guilty plea in May 2015 to an information charging one count of mail fraud stemming from his operation of an oil and gas investment fraud scheme.  U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas made today’s announcement.

Polito must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on January 6, 2016.

Polito was the sole owner/operator of GC Resources, LLC, an oil and gas investment firm that was located on Preston Road in Dallas.  Beginning in December 2011, Polito defrauded investors by selling interests in oil and gas projects in which GC Resources had no ownership or interest. 

As part of the scheme, Polito researched “Company A” on the Texas Railroad Commission’s website and determined that Company A’s wells were producing.  Polito then identified Company A’s drilling permits for wells that were going to be drilled in the future.  Through GC Resources, Polito began soliciting investments into Company A’s projects even though GC Resources had no control or interest in the wells.

To convince investors to invest with GC Resources, Polito told investors that GC Resources owned the oil and gas drilling leases, when, in fact, it did not have any ownership or interest in the lease.  Polito also misrepresented that GC Resources had an interest in Company A’s wells, when in reality, GC Resources had zero interest in Company A’s wells.  Polito informed actual and potential investors that GC Resources had a contract with Company A, which was false.  Polito even supplied investors with a document purporting to be a contract between Company A and GC Resources, but that document was fraudulent, as Polito had created it using Photoshop to forge signatures of Company A employees.

Polito paid investors of Company A projects with other fraudulently obtained funds in the manner of a Ponzi scheme.

Polito solicited investments by making cold calls to potential investors and sending prospective investors a packet of materials that included the forged Company Agreement and other documents.  Polito deposited investors’ money in a GC Resources bank account to which he had sole control.  Over the course of the scheme, Polito raised multiple millions from victim investors, all of which was used to fund a lavish lifestyle.

When investors asked to see the well site, Polito, or a salesperson working for him, would take investors to the actual well site, which was under the control of Company A, in an effort to further deceive investors and prolong his scheme.  Polito even obtained production records from the Railroad Commission’s website for Company A wells and provided that information to investors, even though neither Polito or GC Resources had any interest whatsoever in Company A’s wells.

According to evidence introduced at sentencing, Polito spent a significant portion of the investors’ money on luxury automobiles.  At one time, Polito had the following vehicles:  (1) a 2014 50th Anniversary Aventador Lamborghini Coupe; (2) a 2014 50th Anniversary Lamborghini Gallardo; (3) a 2014 Gallardo Squadra Lamborghini Corse; (4) a 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid; (5) a 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S; (6) a 2014 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S; (7) a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8; (8) a 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series; (9) a 2014 Nissan GR-R; (10) a 2014 McLaren 12C Spider; and (12) a 2014 Ferrari F12.

The government has engaged in significant efforts to secure assets for potential restitution to victims.  Among other things, the government has recovered $664,000 from the liquidation of the net equity in the following vehicles:  a 2014 Roll Royce Wraith, a 2015 McLaren 650S Coupe, a 2014 Lamborghini, a Aventador Anniversary Coupe, a 2015 BMW M4 Coupe, a 2014 Mercedes E63 Wagon, a 2014 Ferrari 458 Speciale, a 2014 Jeep Cherokee SRT8, and one bank account subject to the entry of restitution and/or forfeiture orders.  In addition, as detailed in the Bill of Particulars filed with the Court, the government seized and will forfeit 64 luxury watches from various manufacturers, including Zenith, Tag Heuer, Rolex, Hyt, Hublot Geneve, Lumirror Panerai, Breitling, among others.  The government also coordinated the sale of Polito’s residence in Allen, Texas, recovering an additional $656,923.89 in net proceeds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed suit against Polito and GC Resources, LLC in April 2015 for defrauding investors through the sale of interests in oil and gas wells the company never owned.  A partial judgment has been issued in that case that permanently enjoins him from further violations of the securities laws and permanently bars him from participating in the purchase, offer, or sale of any oil-and-gas related securities offering.

The FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Nicholas Bunch and Melissa A. Childs prosecuted.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor sentenced two defendants to lengthy federal prison sentences today for their respective roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy that operated in the Dallas – Fort Worth area since 2013, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Andres Silva, 36, was sentenced to 210 months and Melissa Slade, 40, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison.  Each pleaded guilty in July 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. 

According to documents filed in the case, since 2013, Silva supplied methamphetamine to various distributors.  Slade received quantities of methamphetamine on consignment and in turn distributed it to various customers in the North Richland Hills, Haltom City and Fort Worth areas.

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

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Gary Howard, 35, most recently of Weatherford, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 240 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Howard pleaded guilty in July 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine.

According to documents filed in the case, since 2014, Howard and other co-defendants received multi-ounce and pound quantities of methamphetamine on consignment.  In turn, Howard distributed the methamphetamine to various customers in the Dallas, Fort Worth and North Richland Hills, Texas areas, returning to his supplier for additional methamphetamine to distribute.

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

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DALLAS — Yolanda Lavell Kaiser was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 132 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $2,294,442 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) following her guilty plea in April 2015 to one count of wire fraud stemming from a stolen-identity tax refund scheme she ran.  At sentencing today, Judge Lynn noted Kaiser’s lengthy criminal history as one of the reasons for the sentencing, pointing specifically to Kaiser’s 2004 federal conviction in the Northern District of Texas for aiding or assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.  Judge Lynn also found Kaiser’s offense caused substantial financial hardship to many of the more than 1,300 identity-theft victims in the case.  U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement today.

According to factual resume filed in the case, from approximately September 2013 through August 2014, Kaiser prepared and electronically filed, over interstate wires, fraudulent tax returns using the name, Social Security Number, and other means of identification of actual persons, without lawful authority, to fraudulently obtain U.S. federal tax refunds.  She prepared and filed tax returns through a tax preparation business known as Right 1 Tax Services, which was located on North Galloway in Mesquite and later on Estate Lane in Dallas.

Kaiser obtained and possessed, according to the factual resume, means of identification of other individuals, without their knowledge or consent, and obtained prepaid debit cards issued in the names of those other individuals.  Using others’ identification, she filed and caused to be filed false federal income tax returns to requesting tax refund and directing those refunds be deposited on prepaid debit cards associated with unique account numbers.  Kaiser made cash withdrawals of refunds deposited into accounts, including making withdrawals with prepaid debit cards.

As an example, in February 2014, Kaiser electronically filed a false federal tax return in the name of W.F. and obtained a $5,098 refund, according to the factual resume.  The return was false and fraudulent because Kaiser did not have authorization to file a return on behalf of W.F. and because the information contained on the return was materially false, including false information about W.F.’s W-2 wages.  Because of the fraudulent return, the IRS deposited a $5,098 refund onto an Advent Financial Instant Issue Debit Card that Kaiser then used to make cash withdrawals from ATMs.

IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Mesquite Police Department and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Nicholas Bunch prosecuted.

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DALLAS — Two Dallas residents have pleaded guilty to federal felony offenses stemming from their roles in the armed carjacking of two individuals earlier this year, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Today, Monica Renee Metcalf, 23, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney and 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.  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.

Last week, Felipe Pinon, 27, pleaded guilty to the same offenses.  His plea agreement contains a provision that, if the Court accepts that plea, the parties agree that a sentence of 360 months is the appropriate custody disposition of the case. 

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

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