Northern District of Texas

DALLAS – A physician and a home health agency manager were sentenced today for their roles in a $3 million Medicare fraud conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Joseph Megwa, M.D., 60, of Arlington, Texas, and Ebolose Eghobor, R.N., 49, of Grand Prairie, Texas, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Knikeade to 120 months and 48 months respectively, in federal prison. In May 2014, Megwa and Eghobor were each convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition, Mega was convicted on three counts of health care fraud and four counts of making false statements related to a health care benefit program based on his submission of false claims to Medicare for home visits or house calls to patients that he never actually made.

The home health care convictions related to a scheme involving PTM Healthcare Services Inc. (PTM), which was owned and operated by Ferguson Ikhile, R.N. Ikhile, 56, of Irving, Texas, pleaded guilty in 2013 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 14 2015.

From approximately 2006 to 2011, PTM recruited Medicare beneficiaries so that PTM could bill Medicare for unnecessary home health services. Ikhile, Eghobor and others then prepared fraudulent medical records that made it appear that the beneficiaries needed home health services. In exchange for cash payments, Megwa, who owned and operated Raphem Medical Practice P.A., falsely certified that the beneficiaries needed home health services and that the services otherwise qualified for payment under Medicare.

The investigation was led by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a joint effort of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Jeffrey A. Goldberg and Trial Attorney Allan J. Medina of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mindy Sauter and Michael Elliott of the Northern District of Texas.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

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

DALLAS — A Irving, Texas, man, who was sentenced to serve 70 months in federal prison in an investor fraud case, was indicted yesterday for failing to self-surrender to the Bureau of Prisons to serve that sentence, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña.

Michael David Carroll, 39, pleaded guilty in April 2013 to one count of wire fraud stemming from his role as a registered agent, director and incorporator of The Salad Bowl Franchise Corporation. Carroll ran a scheme to defraud potential investors, and to obtain money and property under false and fraudulent pretenses, by fraudulently inducing investors to purchase a “Salad Bowl” franchise from him.

Carroll was sentenced on March 17, 2014, by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 70 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution. He was ordered to report to federal prison before 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 14 2014, to begin serving that sentence.

According to the indictment, on April 18, 2014, the Court granted a defense request to delay Carroll’s report date and set a new report date of July 15, 2014. Again, on July 14, 2014, the Court granted another defense request to delay Carroll’s report date and set a new report date of no later than 2:00 p.m. on Monday, September 15, 2014. Carroll, however, failed to surrender for service of sentence. On September 17, 2014, Judge Godbey ordered that an arrest warrant be issued for Carroll.

If convicted, the maximum statutory penalty for this offense is 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3146 require that any term of imprisonment imposed on Carroll for failure to surrender for service of sentence must be served consecutively to his 70-month sentence of imprisonment for investor fraud ordered by Judge Godbey in March of 2014.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.

The FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Jarvis is prosecuting.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — A local man was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison and ordered to pay approximately $114,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), for using stolen personal identity information and fabricated documents to defraud the IRS of tax revenue, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Bobby J. Hicks, Jr., who has been in custody since his arrest in June 2014, pleaded guilty in August 2014 to one count of wire fraud. According to information presented in today’s hearing, Hicks is 49-years-old, and according to information presented at his earlier detention hearing, he is most recently a resident of Wichita Falls, Texas.

Hicks ran his scheme, according to the factual resume, from 2009 through approximately mid-February 2011. During that time, according to the document, Hicks submitted 15 fraudulent returns, eleven of which were submitted electronically. The total refund amount claimed in the 15 fraudulent returns was $1,541,424. The total amount of refunds actually issued by the IRS was $198,394.44, of which $114,396.44 was actually transferred.

In one instance, according to the factual resume, in January 2010, Hicks submitted a Form 1040EZ income tax return, claiming a $138,806 refund, in the name of another individual whom Hick had met in 2009 in Wichita Falls and had hired to do day labor. In connection with that labor, the individual had provided Hicks his social security number, but he did not authorize Hicks to use it or to submit a tax return in his name.

It was noted in Hicks’ detention hearing earlier this year, that as part of his scheme, he stole the identities of family members, including the identity of his deceased mother.

The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon McCarthy prosecuted.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — A man who admitted transporting a woman from Wyoming and Colorado to Texas to engage in prostitution was sentenced this morning in federal court in Wichita Falls, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Matthew Ross Cummings, 24, most recently of Aurora, Colorado, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Conner. One week before his trial was to begin, Cumming pleaded guilty to an indictment charging one count of transportation of an individual to engage in prostitution.

According to documents filed in the case, on March 20, 2013, a Trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) initiated a traffic stop of a Budget rental truck travelling eastbound on Highway 287 in Wilbarger County. The Trooper also noticed that the rental truck was travelling in unison with a silver Chevrolet sedan. The driver of the rental truck was identified as Cummings. He was arrested after controlled substances were found in the passenger and storage areas of the truck.

An iPad located in the rental truck contained a journal written by a female who indicated in the journal that she was a prostitute and Cummings was her pimp. When confronted, Cummings admitted he was a pimp and made all the money. He also admitted that the Budget truck was rented on March 19, 2013 in Denver, Colorado, and was due to be returned to Budget in Houston, Texas on March 25, 2013.

Another DPS Trooper located the silver sedan travelling east in Clay County, Texas. After a traffic stop, the female passenger said she was travelling with Cummings and the car she was travelling in belonged to Cummings, who was driving a Budget rental truck. She confirmed that she wrote the journal that law enforcement found on the iPad. She advised that she had worked as a prostitute for Cummings for approximately one year and that she gave Cummings all of the money she earned.

The female said that she and Cummings went on trips to make money. Cummings admitted that on February 6, 2013, he checked into a hotel in Casper, Wyoming, and that same day, created an online advertisement for the female’s prostitution services in Casper. That advertisement was renewed/modified approximately 10 times from February 6 – February 10, 2013. The female’s prostitution services were offered in Casper as recently as March 17, 2013.

Texas DPS investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters prosecuted.

DALLAS — An Irving, Texas, man was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 132 months in federal prison on a child pornography conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas

Benito Agramon Castro, 50, pleaded guilty in February 2014 to one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography. He has been in custody since his arrest in December 2013.

According to documents filed in the case, an officer with the Plano Police Department, working online in an undercover capacity to identify persons participating in the distribution of child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children through peer-to-peer file sharing, identified a specific IP address that was making images of child pornography available for sharing. That IP address made approximately 559 files available for download to the undercover officer. The majority of the file names were indicative of child pornography.

The investigation revealed that the IP address belonged to Castro. A federal search warrant was executed at Castro’s residence on December 11, 2013, and child pornography was found on his computer as well as on a flash drive and on compact discs. Castro admitted that some of the images and videos he possessed depicted sadistic and/or violent content and some of the files depicted infants and toddlers.

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 Plano Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.

LUBBOCK, Texas — A San Angelo, Texas, resident who was arrested in March 2014 following a traffic trop in San Angelo, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 327 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Steve Cuellar Zuniga, 48, pleaded guilty in July 2014 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, on March 12, 2014, an officer with the San Angelo Police Department conducted a traffic stop of an extended cab pickup truck at the intersection of Howard and Guadalupe Streets in San Angelo. Zuniga, the passenger in that vehicle was arrested on outstanding city arrest warrants.

When placing Zuniga under arrest, the officer asked Zuniga if he had needles or items that would injure him. Zuniga replied, “It’s all bagged up.” The officer located a plastic bag containing 29 gross grams of suspected methamphetamine in Zuniga’s right front pants pocket. A search of the pickup truck yielded 738 gross grams of suspected methamphetamine and a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol.

Subsequent examination by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Crime lab revealed Zuniga possessed 646 net grams of methamphetamine – a quantity consistent with distribution, as opposed to personal use.

The San Angelo Police Department, Texas DPS and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag prosecuted.

LUBBOCK, Texas — A 43-year-old Lubbock, Texas, resident appeared in federal court yesterday and pleaded guilty to one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Eduardo Cantillo, who is in custody, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Cantillo used a computer at his residence to search the Internet for images and videos of child pornography. In the course of those searches, Cantillo located, downloaded and viewed numerous images and videos constituting child pornography. Cantillo also saved some of the material onto a thumb drive. Some of the 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) investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is prosecuting.

DALLAS — An investigation that began early this summer by the Dallas Police Department into drug activity at a club in northwest Dallas has resulted in seven federal indictments, which were returned by a federal grand jury last week and unsealed today, charging 15 individuals with conspiracy and drug distribution offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Twelve of the 15 defendants charged federally were arrested at various locations in North Texas, including at and near the club, which is known as Eternal Eden Afterhours, located at the Jaguars Club on Reeder Road. Firearms and drugs were seized during the arrests.

Defendants indicted are listed below; those marked with an “*” are in custody:

*Jose Antonio Canelo, a/k/a “Tony,” 31

*Joshua Lawrence Saddler, a/k/a “Cowboy,” 25

Canelo and Saddler are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. If convicted, the offense carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. This indictment alleges that beginning on approximately August 1, 2014, Canelo and Saddler conspired together and with others to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute a mixture or substances containing cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance.

*Hunter Lee Foster, 23

Rosa Aidee Gomez Salinas, a/k/a “Jade,” 21

Foster and Salinas are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. If convicted, the offense carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. This indictment alleges that beginning on approximately August 1, 2014, Foster and Salinas conspired together and with others to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylcathinone (ethylone), a positional isomer of butylone, a Schedule I controlled substance.

*Doniel Dominique Hall, 25

*Charles Michael Scott, a/k/a “T Scott,” and “Carlos,” 24

*Debahni Nora Gorandinary, 19

Shelby Jean Hunter Owen, 19

Hall, Scott, Gorandinary and Owen are each charged with two counts of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. In addition, Hall is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted, conspiracy count one carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million. Conspiracy count two carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine. The possession with intent to distribute count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. The firearm count carries a maximum statutory penalty of seven years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. This indictment alleges that beginning on approximately August 1, 2014, the four defendants conspired together and with others to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of ethylone, a positional isomer of butylone, a Schedule I controlled substance and a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of Alprazolam, a Schedule IV controlled substance. It further alleges that on November 4, 2014, Hall possessed, with intent to distribute, methamphetamine and possessed a firearm in relation to and in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime.

*Jorge Luis Rios, Jr., 31

*Jose Manuel Hernandez, 23

Rios and Hernandez are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. If convicted, each faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. The indictment alleges that beginning on approximately August 1, 2014, Rios and Hernandez conspired together and with each other to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute a mixture of substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance.

*Rachel L. Lucero, 27

Lucero is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. If convicted, the conspiracy count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million and the possession count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. The indictment alleges that beginning on approximately August 1, 2014, Lucero conspired with others to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance. It further alleges that on October 17, 2014, Lucero possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

India Small, 28

*Karina Shcherb, 22

Small and Shcherb are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin. In addition, Small is charged with two, and Shcherb with one, counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin. If convicted on the conspiracy count, each faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. Each drug possession count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. The indictment alleges that beginning on approximately August 1, 2014, Small and Shcherb conspired together and with others to distribute heroin. It further alleges that on August 22, 2014 and August 29, 2014, Small possessed heroin with the intent to distribute it. It also alleges that on August 22, 2014, Shcherb possessed heroin with the intent to distribute it.

*Christopher Chance Valdez, 20

*Bridget Elyse Tolle, 19

Valdez and Tolle are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. The indictment alleges that beginning on approximately August 1, 2014, Valdez and Tolle conspired together and with others to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of 25C-NBOMe and 25I- NBOMe, a Schedule I controlled substance, which is commonly known as N-bomb, Smiles, 25I, and 25C.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.

The Dallas Police Department Narcotics and Homicide Unit investigated.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Phelesa Guy is prosecuting.

DALLAS — A Dallas woman who stole the identity of a registered nurse and used that identity to work at several Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area hospice companies, appeared in court this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan, and pleaded guilty to a federal offense stemming from that conduct, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Jada Necole Antoine, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in connection with means of identification. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. Antoine has been in custody since her arrest this past summer in Georgia on a related criminal complaint filed in May 2014 in the Northern District of Texas. She is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16, 2015.

According to documents filed in the case, Antoine, who was not licensed as a physician, registered nurse, or other health care provider, stole a registered nurse’s driver’s license and social security card, and used that victim’s driver’s license, social security number, and other means of identification to obtain employment at eight different hospice companies in the DFW area, including Heart to Heart Hospice of Texas, Odyssey Healthcare GP, LLC, Community Hospice of Texas, Elysian Hospice, Hospice Pharmacy Solutions, New Century Hospice, Keystone Custom Care Hospice, and Silverado Senior Living Hospice.

Having fraudulently obtained employment as a registered nurse at Heart to Heart and Odyssey, Antoine had direct responsibility for patient care. She submitted documents to Heart to Heart and Odyssey that falsely indicated that care was provided to patients under her supervision by a registered nurse, namely the registered nurse whose identification she had stolen.

Antoine’s false statements, theft of the victim’s identity, and other fraudulent activity caused Heart to Heart, Odyssey and other hospice agencies to submit false claims for, and obtain reimbursement from, Medicare and Medicaid for hospice services provided to Medicare beneficiaries and Medicaid clients. From approximately January 2009 through April 20, 2012, approximately $2.3 million in hospice claims were submitted to Medicare for services purportedly performed by Antoine while she was impersonating the victim registered nurse.

Antoine received compensation of $5,077 from Heart to Heart and $49,851 from Odyssey.

The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Brasher is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — Following their guilty pleas earlier this year, three members of a cocaine distribution conspiracy have been sentenced to lengthy federal prison sentences, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Today, U.S. District Judge John McBryde sentenced Sergio Castillo-Guerra, 28, and Juan Rangel, 44, to 210 months and 240 months, respectively, in federal prison. Last week, Judge McBryde sentenced the other defendant convicted in the case, Mario Morones-Ramirez, 29, to 168 months in federal prison. Each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance.

According to documents filed in the case, law enforcement learned that Sergio Castillo-Guerra would be traveling from Mexico to the Fort Worth area in May 2014, and that he already had eight kilograms of cocaine for sale that was stashed in a ranch house in the area. On May 21, 2014, law enforcement established surveillance at a restaurant in Fort Worth and observed Castillo-Guerra, travelling with two other men, arrive in a van bearing Coahuila, Mexico, handicap license plates. Castillo-Guerra called co-conspirator Rangel, who agreed to deliver kilograms of cocaine to the restaurant for delivery. Rangel called co-conspirator Morones-Ramirez and instructed him to deliver the eight kilograms of cocaine to the restaurant.

A short time later, Morones-Ramirez arrived at the restaurant in a red Ford pick-up truck. He, Castillo-Guerra, Rangel, and a witness met at the back of truck and discussed the sale. The witness was shown eight kilograms of cocaine contained in a black trash bag in the bed of the truck. Shortly thereafter, special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrested the three defendants and the cocaine was seized.

Rangel advised agents that he rented a “ranchito” near Alvarado, Texas, that was used as a stash house for his boss who resided in Muzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico. Special agents searched the “ranchito,” in Venus, Texas and found an additional nine kilograms of cocaine, more than $300,000 in cash, a loaded pistol with an additional loaded magazine, drug distribution ledgers and a money-counting machine.

ATF investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Worley prosecuted.

DALLAS — A former employee of the Social Security Administration (SSA) appeared in federal court in Dallas this morning and pleaded guilty, before Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, to his role in a conspiracy to defraud the SSA, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Lead defendant Carwin Shaw, 33, of Arlington, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. He will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for March 20, 2015, before Chief Judge Fitzwater.

Shaw, along with co-defendants Amanda Johnson, 35, April Harvey, 36, and Lanusha Lemmons, 25, all of Arlington, were each indicted in May 2014 on one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and one count of theft of government funds. Lemmons pleaded guilty late last month to her role in the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2015. Johnson and Harvey are set for trial on January 12, 2015.

According to documents filed in the case, Shaw, who worked as a Service Representative in the SSA’s Mid-Cities Field Office, located in Grand Prairie, Texas, had access to the SSA’s electronic databases. He admitted that he made agreements with co-conspirators to illegally obtain SSA funds by manipulating SSA’s electronic databases to achieve multiple objectives.

In some instances, for example, he manipulated the verified income attributed to Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries that resulted in the issuance of larger payments than authorized, the issuance of payments when none were due, and the removal of legitimate overpayments posted to beneficiary’s record. Shaw further admitted using the SSA’s electronic systems that interface with the U.S. Treasury Department to issue duplicate checks to beneficiaries when only one check was due. Shaw would cut additional checks to the co-conspirators by alleging their initial check had been lost or stolen, split the second check with the co-conspirator and then access the system and waive the overpayment so that it would not be recovered from any future benefits. Each co-conspirator was the representative payee for one minor or otherwise incompetent Social Security beneficiary.

The loss to the SSA as a result of all of Shaw’s relevant conduct is approximately $78,165.

The case was investigated by the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Scott Brandon Hutcheson, 37, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 87 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in August 2014 to one count of transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Cummings remanded Hutcheson into custody at the conclusion of the hearing.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, in January 2014, Hutcheson used his computer to send an image of child pornography to the wife of a childhood classmate of his. The image depicted the recipient’s son, age four or five, eating an ice cream cone. The image, however, had been modified to make it appear the child was engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The child’s name was also displayed across the top of the image. Hutcheson sent the image, under the name of a third party, with the message:

A friend of mine asked me to send you this, and to inform you that it has been re-blogged onto NAMBLA (North American Boy Love Association) sponsored websites. He said that you would understand that filth is an aesthetic.

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

The case was investigated by the Lubbock Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy prosecuted.

DALLAS, Texas — Matthew Jarmon, 24, of Frisco, Texas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Jarmon faces a statutory penalty of not less than ten years and a maximum term of life in federal prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2015.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, in June 2014, Jarmon used his computer to engage in a number of sexually explicit “chat” conversations with a minor under the age of 17 years old. Jarmon made plans to meet the minor and to engage in sexual activity. Upon arriving at the pre-arranged location on June 18, 2014 Jarmon was arrested by law enforcement.

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

The case was investigated by the Garland Police Department and the United States Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is prosecuting.

DALLAS — The former owner and president of Curry Auto Leasing (CAL) in Dallas, who pleaded guilty in July 2014 to an information charging one count of bank fraud, was sentenced yesterday, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Christopher Mark Hood, 47, of Rockwall, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 24 months in federal prison and ordered to pay approximately $1,170,620 in restitution. He must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons in January 2015.

CAL, located on Montfort Drive in Dallas, facilitated auto leases for individual and corporate clients by obtaining funding for the vehicles from various financial institutions. CAL served as the intermediary between the customer and the financial institutions, obtaining funding for the leases for the customer and then servicing the leases on behalf of the financial institutions.

According to documents filed in the case, beginning as early as September 2007 and continuing through at least October 2010, Hood knowingly executed a scheme to defraud the financial institutions by making false representations and promises concerning the auto leases and loans.

Hood’s scheme to defraud had two parts: (1) “double pledging” lease agreements with multiple financial institutions; and (2) providing a false guarantee to the financial institutions that CAL would provide a clear title to financed vehicles, knowing that clear titles could not be provided.

After obtaining financing from the originating financial institution to acquire one or more vehicles to be leased by CAL customers, on occasion, CAL through Hood, sought and secured subsequent funding for the same vehicle(s) from a second or new financial institution. At times, the secondary funding occurred at or about the time of the expiration of the original lease and/or for reducing the monthly cost to the customer. In some instances, however, the secondary funding occurred a few months after the original lease was funded by the original bank, without disclosure of the original lease to the secondary funding institution. At the time of the secondary financing, CAL, through Hood, represented to that financial institution that the funds paid through this financing would be paid timely to the original financial intuition so that a clear title could be obtained and provided. Hood knew this statement was false.

The U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Nicholas Bunch prosecuted.

DALLAS — A 27-year-old Irving, Texas, man appeared in federal court this morning, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney, and pleaded guilty to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Frank Olivarez, Jr., who is in federal custody, faces a statutory penalty of not less than five or more than 20 years in federal prison, up to a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for May 4, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay.

According to documents filed in the case, in February 2014, a task force officer with the FBI, who was conducting an investigation into the sharing of child pornography on a BitTorrent file-sharing network, identified a computer that was sharing files containing child pornography. The task force officer downloaded 695 image and video files from Olivarez, 648 of which were child pornography.

The FBI then secured a search warrant that they executed at Olivarez’s home. Olivarez admitted using BitTorrent software to download and view child pornography. Agents seized computer media from the home and further forensic analysis revealed that 33 images depicted the sexual exploitation of infants and toddlers.

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’s Child Exploitation Task Force investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña announced today that the Northern District of Texas collected $13,130,113.54 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2014. Of this amount, $9,419,602.42 was collected in criminal actions and $3,710,511.12 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 $3,991,303.62 in cases pursued jointly with these offices. Of this amount, $101,976.45 was collected in criminal actions and $3,889,327.17 was collected in civil actions.

The District has also been successful seizing proceeds of crime for asset forfeiture. For the first three quarters of FY 2014, working with partner agencies and divisions, the office collected more than $35 million in asset forfeiture actions.

“This District is dedicated not only to protecting the public, but to recovering funds for victims of federal crimes and the federal treasury,” said U.S. Attorney Saldaña. “These statistics show this office’s commitment to recover ill-gotten gains from those who violate federal criminal and civil laws so that funds can be restored to crime victims and a variety of law enforcement programs can be funded.”

Substantial collections in the District in FY 2014 include:

• $1 million in forfeited assets restored as restitution, and disbursed to hundreds of victims in U.S. v. Gregory Rand, et al., an oil and gas investment fraud case;

• $1.125 million civil settlement paid by Kwik Industries, Inc., for falsified loan applications a former employee made to the Small Business Administration (SBA), plus $176,000 recovered from the former employee was disbursed to the SBA and other lenders who were victims in U.S. v. Janice Stallons, after the Fifth Circuit affirmed the garnishment of her accounts;

• $525,000 in fines paid by defendants in U.S. v. Califco, LLC and Jonathan Shokrian, for shoddy asbestos removal from a shopping center in Irving, Texas;

• $340,000 garnished from multiple bank and retirement accounts of Cyprian Akamnonu, the first convicted defendant in the massive health care fraud case, U.S. v. Jacques Roy, et al.;

• $300,000 in restitution to 39 victims of convicted securities fraudster Jason Kosova; and

• $255,000 garnished from the business of Travis Atterberry on a 17-year-old bank fraud judgment. .

Last month, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department collected $24.7 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2014. The more than $24 billion in collections in FY 2014 represents nearly eight and a half times the appropriated $2.91 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period.

“Every day, the Justice Department’s federal prosecutors and trial attorneys work hard to protect our citizens, to safeguard precious taxpayer resources, and to provide a valuable return on investment to the American people,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “Their diligent efforts are enabling us to achieve justice and recoup losses in virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. And this result shows the fruits of the Justice Department’s tireless work in enforcing federal laws; in protecting the American people from violent crime, national security threats, discrimination, exploitation, and abuse; and in holding financial institutions accountable for their roles in causing the 2008 financial crisis.”

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.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Jon-Michael Murray, 30, most recently of Arizona, pleaded guilty this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to one count of bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Murray, who remains in federal custody, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date was not set.

According to documents filed in the case, Murray admitted committing the August 27, 2014, robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank located at 1838 S. Georgia Street in Amarillo and the September 2, 2014, robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank located at 200 S. Washington Street in Amarillo. Murray claimed he committed the robberies because he was short of money after moving to Amarillo and trying to care for his family.

He committed both robberies during the early afternoon hours. He entered each bank, wearing a dark cap and sunglasses, and in each robbery, he presented a threatening demand note to a teller. On one of the notes, he wrote, “Put all the money in the bag and nobody gets hurt I know where you work so be smart.” A hangman, smiley face, stitches, and a tombstone with the letters “RIP” were also drawn on the note. During each robbery, a teller gave him cash and afterwards, he fled on foot. Video surveillance from both robberies showed the robber to be the same person. Video surveillance from nearby businesses showed that following the August 27 robbery, he later drove a silver minivan with no front license plate and no visible registration or inspection stickers in the front windshield.

The day after the September 2 robbery, however, an officer with the Amarillo Police Department spotted and stopped what appeared to be the silver mini-van from the August 27 robbery. Murray was the driver of the vehicle. Officers then searched his vehicle and residence and additional evidence, including clothing worn during the robberies and cash taken from the banks, was found.

The FBI and the Amarillo Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tim Hammer and Joshua Frausto are prosecuting.

LUBBOCK, Texas — A 57-year-old Lubbock, Texas, resident appeared in federal court yesterday and pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Rassie Cleveland Martin, who remains on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Martin used a desktop computer at his residence to search the Internet for images and videos of child pornography. He searched with the intent of locating material depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and in the course of searching for this material, located, downloaded, and viewed numerous images and videos constituting 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.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is prosecuting.

AMARILLO, Texas — Two residents of Amarillo, Texas, Matthew George Dodgen and Christopher Anthony Cantrell, appeared in federal court this afternoon and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to an indictment charging each with one count of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft and aiding and abetting, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Each faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for January 21, 2015, before Judge Robinson. Dodgen remains on bond and Cantrell is in custody.

According to documents filed in the cases, on June 1, 2014, at approximately 12:56 a.m., a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter was hit with a green, ground-based laser while flying over Amarillo. The DPS pilot and co-pilot traced the laser’s origin to two subjects, later identified as Dodgen, 35, and Cantrell, 34, standing near a van parked at a residence near SW 12th and Washington Street.

The helicopter’s camera recorded Dodgen and Cantrell as they ran to their van and drove away. Officers with the Amarillo Police Department, who had been called to assist, quickly located and stopped the vehicle. Dodgen was the driver and Cantrell was the passenger. A laser was located on the floorboard between Cantrell’s feet.

Both men admitted pointing the laser at the helicopter. The laser’s light hit the pilot’s eyes directly for a split second, and he had to divert his eyes to avoid another direct hit from the laser. It affected his vision for approximately 20 seconds.

The FBI led the investigation with assistance from the Texas DPS and the Amarillo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto is prosecuting.

DALLAS — A former employee at Parkland Hospital in Dallas appeared in federal court this morning and pleaded guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver, to a federal felony offense stemming from his theft of patient information from the hospital, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña.

Viju Mathew, 49, of Garland, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features and information (identity theft). He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. He will remain on bond pending sentencing before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

According to plea documents filed in the case, as a registration specialist at Parkland Hospital, Mathew entered patient information into Parkland’s computer system. Mathew used his position to obtain confidential patient information, including patients’ names, telephone numbers, dates of birth, participation in the Medicare program, and government-issued health insurance claim numbers.

Mathew admitted that he knowingly removed the confidential information intending to use it to gain an economic benefit by contacting prospective patients for his home health care business.

The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Portugal is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — A 35-year-old long haul truck driver who most recently resided in Carrollton, Texas, appeared in federal court this morning and pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

James Marshall Thomas, who has been in federal custody since his arrest in September 2014, faces a statutory maximum sentence of not less than five years and up to 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2015, before Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater.

According to documents filed in the case, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a Cybertip in June 2012 that an individual, later identified as Thomas, had emailed images of child pornography to another specific email address. While a federal search warrant was being drafted, FBI special agents discovered that he had moved out of his apartment in Carrollton and that he worked as a cross-country truck driver.

Approximately two years later, FBI special agents located Thomas at a freight delivery destination. He gave them permission to search his laptop computer where agents discovered that he had responded to an advertisement on Craigslist by stating, in part, “pedo perv here.” They also discovered child pornography on the laptop and seized it, as well as a thumb drive.

A forensic analysis revealed that Thomas had searched for child pornography using various search terms indicative of raping young boys. In addition, Skype artifacts were also located that included chat logs of other like-minded individuals discussing the rape of young boys. Thomas also used Skype to receive and transport files of child pornography on multiple occasions. The analysis further revealed that Thomas had accessed several child pornography videos of prepubescent children. In all, approximately 400 images and 28 videos of child pornography, including sadistic acts involving minors, were located on his computer and thumb drive.

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 is investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is prosecuting.

DALLAS — A 40-year-old Dallas man appeared in federal court today and pleaded guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver, to three federal felony offenses in an investigation that began in January 2014 after law enforcement learned he was claiming packages containing anabolic steroids from a postal center in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Defendant Nicholas Todd Freed was arrested by a Task Force Officer with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on January 28, 2014, as he was attempting to claim a package containing anabolic steroids at the Deep Ellum Postal Center in Dallas. Pursuant to the arrest, law enforcement discovered Freed possessed a counterfeit U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) credential and badge. Freed was charged in a federal criminal complaint with attempting to possess anabolic steroids and falsely making, forging, counterfeiting and altering a USMS seal. Later, the investigation revealed that Freed also possessed numerous thumb drives containing images of minors engaging in obscene, sexually explicit conduct.

This morning, Freed pleaded guilty to a three-count superseding information charging one count of attempted possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, one count of possession of a document-making implement with intent that it be used in the production of false documents, and one count of possession of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for the controlled substance and obscenity conviction and a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on the conviction for possessing the document-making implement. Sentencing is set for April 20, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay.

In early January 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in San Francisco identified a U.S. Postal Service Express Mail parcel, arriving from Singapore, as suspicious. The parcel contained approximately 1087 grams of an oily liquid, later determined to contain an anabolic steroid, and it was addressed to JPEG Press, 3100 Main Street #1, Dallas, Texas 75226, which is the address of the Deep Ellum Postal Center. CBP notified HSI in Dallas of the parcel and its contents.

The ensuing investigation determined that the account for the rental box at the postal center was opened with fictitious information, and the box frequently received similar packages. On January 28, 2014, when the HSI task force officer approached Freed who was at the postal center to pick up the package, he discovered Freed was carrying a USMS badge and apparent counterfeit USMS credentials identifying him as a USMS Chief Inspector.

Later that day during a consensual search at Freed’s residence, law enforcement seized computers and computer equipment as well as other items Freed used to make false government identification documents, including laminating materials, blank plastic cards the size of a driver license, pages of magnetic strips for the backs of identification cards, ink consistent with the Texas seal on state licenses and identifications cards, a laminating press, hologram materials of official government seals, pages of names and identities used in the production of the false identifications, and head shots.

Upon further examination of the seized thumb drives, special agents discovered visual depictions of minors, including prepubescent minors, engaging in obscene, sexually explicit conduct.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s HSI , CBP, and the Balch Springs and Dallas Police Departments investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Robinson is prosecuting.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two Fort Worth, Texas, tax preparers were convicted at trial on all 34 counts of a superseding indictment charging conspiracy and other tax offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to evidence presented at trial, Ramona C. Johnson managed/operated a tax preparation business in Fort Worth that was known, among other names, as Tax Office One. Johnson’s daughter-in-law, Nekia N. Everson, was a return preparer for the business.

Johnson and Everson were each convicted on Wednesday on one count of conspiracy to aid and assist in the preparation and presentation of a false tax return. Johnson was also convicted on 26 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return and two counts of filing false tax returns. Everson was also convicted on five counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false tax return.

The government presented evidence that Johnson and Everson, and those working with them, prepared and filed false and fraudulent tax returns that included various false and fraudulent schedules, deductions, exemptions, and credits with the goal of reducing the amount of taxes owed by the taxpayers and obtaining larger refunds for the taxpayers than they were entitled to receive. As a result of the larger refunds, Johnson and Everson were able to charge higher fees for preparing returns, build client loyalty, and increase business through client referrals.

In some instances, Johnson and Everson, and those working with them, created false and fraudulent Schedule C (reporting business losses/profits) and Schedule A (reporting itemized deductions) forms to accompany the taxpayer’s Form 1040. The taxpayers would often be asked about their personal expenses, such as those incurred commuting to and from work, cell phone, automobile, clothes, etc., and then the information would be fraudulently listed on the Schedule C as business expenses or unreimbursed employee expenses on Schedule A. On some returns, Johnson and Everson would completely fabricate a Schedule C business, including income and expense items. For some taxpayers, Johnson would create a false and fraudulent Schedule C reflecting the taxpayers had a profit from a nonexistent business. This false profit, together with claimed dependents (both fraudulent and actual), would be used to claim the taxpayer was entitled to an earned income tax credit.

In other instances, according to evidence presented at trial, Johnson and those working with her would include false dependent exemptions on tax returns for some clients. Johnson, or someone working with her, would acquire various personal identities, the names and social security numbers of individuals with no connection to the taxpayer to use as false dependents on tax returns prepared for clients. When included on the tax return, the false dependents would increase the number of exemptions, increase the deduction for exemptions, and often, entitle the taxpayer to an earned income tax credit..

In addition, the government presented evidence that for calendar years 2009 and 2010, Johnson filed tax returns in which she reported total income of $2,850 and $16,906, respectively, when she well knew that the income amount was understated in that it did not include income she received for her work preparing tax returns.

Between January 2008 and October 2011, according to evidence presented at trial, Johnson’s tax preparation business collected more than $1.9 million in tax preparation fees from clients.

The conspiracy count carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Each of the remaining counts carries a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, restitution could be ordered. Both Johnson and Everson will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for March 6, 2015, before U.S. District Judge John McBryde.

The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Nichols and Chris Wolfe are prosecuting.

LUBBOCK, Texas — A former mechanic from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Nicholas W. Schofield, 26, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 24 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in July 2014 to one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Cummings ordered Schofield, who has been on bond, to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on January 25, 2015.

According to documents filed in the case, in November 2013, a minor female, “Jane Doe,” from San Angelo, Texas, began texting with a person she did not know, who purported to be an 18-year-old mechanic from Louisiana named “Nick.” In fact, Nick was defendant Schofield. They engaged in numerous texting communications until February 2014, when Jane Doe’s communications were assumed by an undercover special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

In the course of his communications with the undercover agent, Schofield sent various sexually explicit images and videos, all the while believing he was communicating with 15-year-old Jane Doe. According to the factual resume filed, the video Schofield sent to the minor is obscene, in that it appeals to a prurient interest in sex, depicts a sexually explicit act and is patently offensive and, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

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 San Angelo Police Department, Special Operations Section, investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy prosecuted.

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Hurst, Texas, man is in federal custody, charged in a federal criminal complaint with transporting and shipping child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldana.

Randy Way Wesson, 28, made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton in federal court in Fort Worth today, and he was ordered detained, pending a detention and preliminary hearing set for Tuesday, November 25, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. before Judge Cureton.

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

Officers with the Hurst Police Department executed a state search warrant at Wesson’s home on November 18, 2014, in an effort to search for and seize evidence of child pornography. Wesson was present during the search. A preliminary examination of Wesson’s desktop computer revealed numerous images of child pornography.

Anyone who may have been victimized related to this case should contact the toll-free tip line to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at 1-866-347-2423.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The statutory penalty for the offense as charged is not less than five or more than 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.

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

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) HSI and the Hurst Police Department are investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — A federal grand jury returned four unrelated indictments this week, each charging an individual from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with a federal felony offense stemming from their theft of Social Security benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Each of the below-listed defendants is charged with at least one count of theft of government funds. Each was arrested, appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge, and was released on bond.

Robert Scoggins, 57, of Carrollton, Texas, is alleged to have stolen approximately $47,548 in Social Security benefits paid to his deceased wife, to which he knew he was not entitled.

James Glen Williams, 47, of Dallas, Texas, is alleged to have stolen approximately $77,886 in Retirement Insurance benefits paid to his deceased mother, to which he knew he was not entitled.

Latasha Smith, a/k/a Latasha Matthews, 34, of Arlington, Texas, is alleged to have stolen approximately $49,065 in Retirement Insurance benefits paid to her deceased father and $84,029 in Veterans’ Affairs benefits paid to her deceased mother, to which she knew she was not entitled.

Roy Dan Ramos, 41, of Grand Prairie, Texas, is alleged to have stolen more than $1,000 in Retirement Insurance benefits paid to his deceased grandmother, to which he knew he was not entitled. He is also charged with concealing that information in a 2011 bankruptcy filing.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, the maximum statutory penalty for the offense of theft of government funds is 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalty for making a false statement in a bankruptcy filing is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation is being conducted by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Office of Inspector General. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana is prosecuting.

DALLAS — An 10-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas this week that charges 11 men and women from the Dallas area with various conspiracy, drug trafficking, kidnapping, firearm, witness intimidation/tampering, and records destruction charges stemming from their involvement in a violent drug trafficking operation (DTO) that operated out of the Pleasant Grove area of South Dallas and the Dallas County Jail. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Defendants charged and in custody are:

• Patrick D. Lenard, 33, of Pleasant Grove, South Dallas. For significant periods since November 26, 2012, Lenard was incarcerated at Dallas County Jail.

• Juaquai Gregg, of Dallas. Between approximately November 12, 2012, and March 31, 2014, Gregg was incarcerated at Dallas County Jail.

• Joshua Smart, 26, of Dallas. Between approximately December 3, 2012, to November 4, 2014, Smart was incarcerated at Dallas County Jail.

• Shuntocqua Shine, 33, of Dallas. Between approximately November 13, 2012, to November 20, 2012, Shine was incarcerated at Dallas County Jail. She also managed and operated the Groveside Tobacco Gallery on N. Jim Miller Road in Dallas.

• Brandon Florence, a/k/a “Beetlejuice,” 30, of Dallas

• Lashundra Rogers, 35, of Mesquite, Texas. She was one of Lenard’s girlfriends.

• Selena Ball, 29, of Desoto, Texas. From September 23, 2013, to May 27, 2013, Ball worked as an Electronic Monitoring Officer for the Dallas County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, and was assigned to monitor Lenard. She was also one of Lenard’s girlfriends.

• Rory Minafee, 26, of Dallas

• Bonner Ray Tutson, 50, of Dallas

Two additional defendants, Rodney Wynn, 34, of Kaufman, Texas, and Christina Staton, 38, of Dallas, are also charged in the indictment. Wynn was added to the State of Texas’s most wanted list in September 2014 and remains a fugitive. Staton, who, according to the indictment is referred to by the derogatory term “Fatass,” is also a fugitive.

The indictment alleges that Lenard conspired with his 10 codefendants, and others, to run the DTO from approximately July 12, 2012, to November 4, 2014. The DTO trafficked in large quantities of cocaine, heroin and marijuana. In furtherance of its drug-trafficking activities, the Lenard DTO also engaged in violent acts, including kidnapping, assault, beatings, and torture, towards, and of, individuals whom Lenard believed had defied or crossed the Lenard DTO, including his own family members. In addition, the indictment alleges the Lenard DTO intimidated and bribed individuals whom the DTO believed might assist law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting it. The Lenard DTO also took actions to subvert and manipulate state investigative and legal proceedings against the organization.

Count one of the indictment alleges that in November 2012, Lenard, Wynn, Gregg, Smart and Shine conspired to kidnap, and kidnapped, “Victim A.” They captured and assaulted Victim A at gunpoint. Once captured, they took Victim A to an apartment where Victim A was beaten and tortured in an effort to locate cash and other things of value they believed Victim A had taken from the Lenard DTO. Lenard had offered Shine $10,000 to locate Victim A. If convicted on this count, each faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Count two of the indictment charges Lenard, Wynn, Gregg, Smart and Shine with using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during or in relation to the kidnapping. If convicted on this count, each faces a statutory penalty of not less than seven years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Count three of the indictment charges Lenard, Wynn, Gregg, Smart and Shine with kidnapping Victim A. If convicted on this count, each faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Count four of the indictment charges all 11 defendants with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, one kilogram or more of heroin, and marijuana. It alleges that from July 12, 2012, to November 4, 2014, the Lenard DTO maintained stash houses for illegal narcotics, negotiated and discussed drug transactions over their cell phones and from phones maintained at the Dallas County Jail; used violence and threats of violence to enforce the Lenard DTO’s goals; recruited and convinced individuals who were responsible for reporting illegal activities to alter, modify, and fail to report those activities; and obstructed or attempted to obstruct the investigation and prosecution of members of the Lenard DTO.

Lenard admitted in a state court proceeding that he and Ball were engaged in a romantic relationship despite her position and the clear conflict. Lenard convinced her to alter, modify, or fail to report violations of Lenard’s conditions of release. Ball purposefully failed to report violations of those conditions by Lenard, who had violated them by approaching, confronting, and attempting to intimidate coconspirators and witnesses to the above-mentioned kidnapping.

If convicted on this count, each faces a statutory penalty of not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison and a millions in fines.

Count five of the indictment charges Lenard, Florence, Staton, Rogers and Ball with conspiring to intimidate, threaten, corruptly persuade, and engage in misleading conduct toward Victim A to ignore a federal grand jury subpoena and by intimidating Victim A with regard to Victim A’s cooperation with law enforcement. If convicted on this count, each faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Count six of the indictment charges Lenard, Florence, Staton, Rogers and Ball with conspiring to tamper with a witness, victim or informant by intimidation, threats, corrupt persuasion or misleading conduct. They attempted to convince Victim A to ignore a federal grand jury subpoena and paid money to Victim A to leave the State of Texas. If convicted on this count, each faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Count seven of the indictment charges Ball with destruction, alteration or falsification of records. It alleges that she knowingly altered, destroyed, concealed, covered up, falsified or made a false entry in electronic monitoring records with the intent to impede, obstruct and influence an investigation. If convicted on this count, Ball faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Count eight charges Minafee with one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. If convicted on this count, Minafee faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.

Count nine charges Minafee with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted on this count, Minafee faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Count ten charges Tutson with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. If convicted on this count, Tutson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Errin Martin and P. J. Meitl are prosecuting.

DALLAS — Roberto Boris Fernandez appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver and pleaded guilty to federal felony offenses stemming from his conspiracy to obtain tax refunds by filing fraudulent tax returns using stolen names and social security information, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Fernandez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of public funds and one count of aggravated identity theft. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy count and a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence and a $250,000 fine on the aggravated identity theft count. Sentencing is set for March 4, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade. Fernandez remains in custody.

According to the factual resume filed, during January 2012, Fernandez conspired with others to engage in a scheme to obtain tax refunds by electronically filing fraudulent income tax returns using stolen names and social security information. The returns falsely represented that the taxpayers were entitled to a refund because of a falsely created Earned Income Credit. The returns were filed through Turbo Tax, an online tax preparation service, and directed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to deposit the refunds onto Turbo Tax debit cards that were mailed to coconspirators’ addresses. Fernandez and the coconspirators used the debit cards at automatic teller machines (ATMs) to withdraw cash.

In fact, according to the factual resume filed, for several hours during the evening and early morning hours of January 30-31, 2012, Fernandez and another co-conspirator traveled in a limousine Fernandez had rented to conduct multiple withdrawals from the Turbo Tax debit cards at various ATMs. However, the Little Elm Police Department stopped the limousine for a traffic violation. At the time, Fernandez was the sole passenger. While searching the limousine, officers seized Fernandez’s backpack, a cell phone, an air card, several Turbo Tax envelopes and debit cards, $8,295 in cash, and ATM receipts. Inside the backpack, officers found handwritten personal identifying information (PII) for approximately 200 individuals, together with notations as to refund amounts, personal identification numbers (PINs), and dates on which refunds were expected. Eight additional unopened Turbo Tax envelopes containing Turbo Tax debit cards issued in third party names were also found in the backpack.

IRS Criminal Investigation, according to the factual resume, identified 84 fraudulent income tax returns for the 2011 tax year with refund claims totaling $435,219 that were associated with the debit cards and identifying information located in the backpack.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — A 35-year-old Dallas resident, Jeffrey Wyatt Savell, II, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 192 months in federal prison on a child pornography conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Savell, who is in custody, pleaded guilty in March 2014 to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography.

According to documents filed in the case, the investigation began in April 2013 when a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working online in an undercover capacity, noticed that a computer with particular IP address traced to a location in Dallas was sharing more than 200 files, some with names indicative of child pornography.

After further investigation, a federal search warrant was obtained and executed at Savell’s residence in June 2013. Savell admitted using file-sharing networks to share files. He knew some of the videos depicted toddlers, but he was mostly interested in teens, primarily young boys.

A forensic examination of Savell’s laptop computers revealed more than 750 images and 250 videos of child pornography. That analysis also revealed that 14 of the files depicted sadism and/or masochism, and 22 files depicted infants or toddlers.

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 Lancaster, Texas, man who admitted transporting and shipping child pornography was sentenced this afternoon in federal court in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Quincy Lamar Poole, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 144 months in federal prison to be followed by a 5-year term of supervised release. Poole has been in custody since his arrest in July 2013 on a related federal criminal complaint.

According to plea documents filed in the case, when special agents with the FBI executed a search warrant at Poole’s home in Lancaster on July 16, 2013, they seized a laptop computer, a thumb drive and Poole’s cell phone. Email transmissions were located that showed Poole had sent two emails with a video of child pornography attached to each. In addition, five videos and one image of child pornography were located on his cell phone.

Poole admitted trading images and videos of child pornography with others he met through two Internet websites, according to the complaint filed in the case. He admitted downloading thousands of images of child pornography, adding that for the past 10 years he had an obsession with child pornography.

At today’s sentencing hearing, it was stipulated that law enforcement located more than 4000 images and 21 videos of child pornography.

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

The FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Six defendants who were convicted of federal felony offenses for their respective roles in a cocaine distribution conspiracy in North Texas have been sentenced, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Francisco Favela, 46, of Crowley, Texas, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 96 months in federal prison. Favela pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to distribute (cocaine).

Two other coconspirators pleaded guilty to the same offense and have been sentenced. Jorge Villarreal-Flores, 30, of Weatherford, Texas, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison and Ricky Johnson, 35, of Fort Worth, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison.

Another coconspirator, Terrance Montgomery, 30, of Fort Worth, was convicted at trial in July 2014 on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance (cocaine) and one substantive count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (cocaine). He was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison.

Two other codefendants, Eugenio Quintero, 42, of Fort Worth, and Miguel Angel Ayala, 39, of Weatherford, Texas, each pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (cocaine). Quintero was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison and Ayala was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison.

According to documents filed in the case, since approximately May 2013, Favela received cocaine from various Mexico-based cocaine suppliers – usually receiving several kilograms of cocaine every few weeks on consignment. When Favela received cocaine from a courier, Favela would give that same courier, or another courier, the money he owed for the previous cocaine shipment. Usually, Favela paid approximately $26,000 for each kilogram of cocaine.

Typically, once Favela received cocaine from Mexico, he personally distributed it, often on consignment, to others, including Montgomery, Johnson, Quintero and Ayala. When they received this cocaine, they would then pay Favela for their previous cocaine shipments.

On several occasions, Villarreal-Flores worked as a money-courier for Favela’s Mexico-based supplier, transporting drug proceeds from Favela in Fort Worth to Mexico. On February 15, 2014, Favela gave Villarreal-Flores approximately $150,000 in drug proceeds that was to be delivered to the Mexico-based supplier. Villarreal-Flores, however, was arrested in Hillsboro, Texas, before he could complete the journey to Mexico.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith prosecuted.

DALLAS — A Garland, Texas, man, Jonathan Ramirez, 26, appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver and pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldana.

Ramirez, who is in the U.S. illegally, faces a statutory penalty of not less than five years nor more than 20 years in federal prison, up to a $250,000 fine and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for March 4, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.

According to documents filed in the case, in June 2014, a Task Force Officer with the FBI, working online in an undercover capacity investigating the distribution of child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children, learned that a specific IP address, later linked to Ramirez, had made 78 files of child pornography available for sharing. Based in part on that discovery, the following month, law enforcement with the FBI Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force and the Garland Police Department executed a federal search warrant at Ramirez’s home. Agents seized an external hard drive and other media belonging to Ramirez. A review of the evidence revealed that the hard drive contained several child pornography videos.

Ramirez admitting using ARES P2P file sharing network to view and download images and videos of child pornography that he would then move to an external hard drive. He admitted that he had more than 175 videos and 50 images of child pornography on his computer and external hard drive.

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

The FBI’s Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force and the Garland Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.

LUBBOCK, Texas — A former Branch Manager at BBVA Compass Bank in Big Spring, Texas, (BBVA Big Spring) was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings on a bank fraud conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Lisa Lynette Barber, 49, of Amarillo, Texas, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,095,540 in restitution. Barber pleaded guilty in July 2014 to one count of bank fraud. Judge Cummings ordered that she surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on Decemer 19, 2014.

According to documents filed in the case, Barber was employed by BBVA Big Spring as Branch Manager from 2008 to 2012. BBVA Big Spring acquired State National Bank in 2008 where Barber had worked from 1997 to 2008. Because of her position with BBVA Big Spring, Barber had full access to customers’ bank accounts.

Barber made withdrawals from BBVA Big Spring customers’ accounts without their knowledge, authority and permission, causing an approximate $1.1 million loss to BBVA Big Spring.

Barber executed her scheme by several means. She fraudulently used customers’ names and bank account numbers to initiate debit entries and withdrawals, which acted as formal requests for cashier’s checks payable to another financial institution. Sometimes she forged BBVA Big Spring employee bank tellers’ signatures on the cashier’s checks, which were then deposited into her personal banking account held at the Big Spring Community Federal Credit Union (BSCFCU).

Acting in a supervisory capacity, Barber withdrew money from customers’ accounts through her employee tellers. She submitted fraudulent withdrawal slips to BBVA Big Spring tellers to cause them to give Barber large amounts of cashier’s checks not belonging to her. Barber informed the tellers that she was conducting business and making transfers for her customers, and the tellers did not questions the legitimacy of those transactions because they trusted Barber was conducting the transactions at the customer’s request.

Barber victimized customers with whom she had a long-standing relationship, or customers she suspected would not immediately notice the unauthorized transactions. If customers noticed an improper transaction, they reported it directly to Barber who would immediately refund their accounts with money stolen from other customers’ accounts. This response served to confirm victims’ trust in Barber.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Wolf prosecuted.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, and the FBI’s Dallas Division Office announced that Brice Johnson, 19, of Springtown, Texas, was sentenced today in federal court to 183 months imprisonment for kidnapping a young gay man after luring the victim to his home and brutally assaulting him because of his sexual orientation.

Johnson admitted in plea documents that, in the early morning hours of September 2, 2013, he connected with the adult male victim, identified as A.K., through the cell phone application for www.MeetMe.com A.K.’s www.MeetMe.com page indicated he was a gay man, while Johnson’s web page indicated he was not gay. During their online communications, Johnson said that he was interested in engaging in sexual activity with A.K. Johnson invited A.K. to his home, gave A.K. his cell phone number and address, and exchanged text messages planning their sexual encounter. Just a few minutes after A.K. arrived at the house, Johnson severely beat him and bound A.K.’s wrists with an electrical cord.

After the beating, Johnson locked the victim in the trunk of his own car and drove the car to a family friend’s house. Individuals at the home repeatedly warned Johnson that he had to take A.K. to the hospital or they would call the police. Johnson eventually transported A.K. to an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) station in Springtown. A.K. was found to have suffered multiple skull and facial fractures from the beating, which required the victim to be hospitalized for ten days. Johnson admitted that he saved A.K.’s cell phone number using a gay slur as the contact name.

During the plea hearing, Johnson admitted that he held and confined the victim against his will in order to conceal the violent assault and to remove A.K’s severely injured body from the home where Johnson was a long-term houseguest. At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor found that the kidnapping was perpetrated by the defendant because of the victim’s sexual orientation.

“Using violence against another person because of his sexual orientation will not be condoned,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division. “The department will continue to work with our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners to vigorously prosecute hate crimes.”

“Quite simply, hate crimes of any nature will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. “Prosecutions under this law are important to ensure all people in our community know they have the full protection of the law. I commend not only the victim for his continued cooperation throughout this investigation, but our law enforcement partners including the FBI, the Springtown Police Department and the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, who worked tirelessly in this case to ensure our hate crime laws are strictly enforced.”

“The FBI is committed to thoroughly investigating violent crimes of this nature, and will continue to work with our local and state law enforcement partners to ensure justice for victims of these crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Diego Rodriguez of the FBI’s Dallas Division Office.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Springtown Police Department, and the Parker County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division.

FORT WORTH, Texas — A 40-year-old Fort Worth resident, Christopher Robert Weast, was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to serve 30 years in federal prison following his conviction at trial this summer on two felony child pornography offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

A federal jury convicted Weast in July 2014 on one count of possession of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography.

The government presented evidence at trial that the investigation began in June 2012 when an officer with the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD), working online in an undercover capacity, downloaded child pornography from Weast. The investigation revealed that Weast had numerous files of child pornography on his computer and on an external hard drive.

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 FWPD and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Cole prosecuted.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Five defendants who were convicted for their respective roles in a health care fraud case involving a chiropractor and a former union representative from the Dallas – Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, were sentenced today, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Reginald Guy, 44, of Arlington, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 156 months in federal prison and ordered to pay approximately $2.4 million in restitution. Guy was convicted at trial in June 2014 on all counts of a superseding indictment charging one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft.

Guy was a factory worker in Arlington, and from approximately 2003 until November 2009, when his employment was terminated, he served as a union representative. He used that union representative position to recruit and refer his co-workers to DFW Rehab & Diagnostics, which was operated from the office of Metroplex DFW Sports Rehab Center in Arlington, and then later from a stand-alone location in Grand Prairie, Texas. In exchange for monthly kickbacks, work excuse notes, and a variety of prizes, the workers agreed to allow their insurance companies to be billed for services they did not receive.

Dr. Abbas Zahedi, 49, of Carrolton, Texas, was convicted on the same offenses at that trial. A chiropractor, Dr. Zahedi owned and operated DFW Rehab & Diagnostics. Dr. Zahedi, who is in custody, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge O’Connor on January 5, 2015.

From 2009 to 2012, Dr. Zahedi, Reginald Guy, and four convicted codefendants conspired to submit health insurance claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBS) and other insurers for services not rendered. These four coconspirators, James Sterns, Tina Perkins, Donna Harris and Gregory Wattron, who cooperated with the government in the investigation and testified against Zahedi and Guy at their trial, were also sentenced today.

Sterns, 50, of DeSoto, Texas, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison and ordered to pay approximately $2.2 million in restitution. Sterns owned and operated Metroplex. In early 2010, Sterns hired Guy to be the office manager of Metroplex, where he worked in that position to mid-2011, shortly before the clinic closed. In March or April 2011, Dr. Zahedi hired Guy to work as a consultant at the clinic’s Grand Prairie location. After Guy began working for Dr. Zahedi, Guy helped transfer patients and patient information to Dr. Zahedi, and the fraudulent referral and billing scheme continued.

Perkins, 43, of Dallas, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay approximately $2.4 million in restitution. Perkins worked as the biller and office consultant for Dr. Zahedi and was responsible for submitting claims to insurance companies.

Perkins’ sister-in-law, Donna Harris, 43 of Haltom City, Texas, was sentenced to eight months in federal prison and was ordered to pay approximately $2 million in restitution. Harris permitted the clinic, in exchange for cash payments, to submit claims to BCBS for services purportedly performed by Dr. Zahedi and Wattron, when in fact she received no treatment. Then, in early 2011, Dr. Zahedi hired Harris to be the office manager at the Grand Prairie location. There, she continued to allow Dr. Zahedi to submit claims under her name to BCBS for services that were not performed. Harris also permitted Dr. Zahedi to submit claims to BCBS for Harris’ immediate and extended family members for services they did not receive.

Wattron, 56, of Grapevine, Texas, was sentenced to six months in federal prison and was ordered to pay approximately $1.3 million in restitution. He worked as an occupational therapist at the clinic from approximately 2008 until August 2011. Wattron agreed to allow Sterns and Dr. Zahedi bill insurance companies for occupational therapy that he did not perform.

The FBI and the Office of Personnel Management - Office of Inspector General investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Brasher prosecuted the case.

DALLAS — A Hutchins, Texas, man, Servando Vega Cervantes, 24, was arrested last week on a federal complaint charging production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldana.

After making his initial appearance in federal court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez ordered that he remain in custody.

According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, the Hutchins Police Department contacted the FBI in May 2014 regarding questionable online communication between an 11-year-old victim, “AP,” and the Facebook user profile of “Laura Ortiz.” The victim’s mother believed the user of the Ortiz profile was actually an adult male, and not a 13-year-old female as described in chat conversations between AP and Ortiz.

The investigation revealed that the user profile “Laura Ortiz” belonged to Cervantes. The investigation also revealed that AP knew Cervantes as “Jordan,” an alias Cervantes used. Further, “AP,” advised that he had sent images of “a body part” and the “front part of his body” to Ortiz, but that he had deleted the images. A forensic preview of Cervantes’ cell phone was conducted and images of prepubescent males were observed on the device.

Anyone who may have been victimized in this case is asked to contact the FB at 972-559-5000.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The statutory penalty for the offense as charged is not less than 15 or more than 30 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.

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

The Hutchins Police Department and the FBI’s Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force are conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Adam Rico, 27, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 151 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in August 2014 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Co-defendant Alexis Starr Frausto, 23, also of Lubbock, was sentenced last month to 120 months in federal prison. She pleaded guilty in August 2014 to one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Another co-defendant convicted in the case, Amber Lee Bengoa, 26, also of Lubbock, is awaiting sentencing. She pleaded guilty in August 2014 to one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and aiding and abetting and faces a statutory penalty of not less than five years and up to life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to documents filed in the case, in March 2014, the South Plains Auto Theft Task Force received information from OnStar that a stolen vehicle they were attempting to find was located in the area of Lubbock’s North Frankford Storage Zone. Just as OnStar was to activate the vehicle’s horn to assist the Task Force, officers saw Rico coming out of one of the storage units. In response to their inquiry, Rico confirmed that the Camaro was inside the storage unit. After officers observed a semiautomatic rifle leaning against the wall of the storage unit, they entered the unit to perform a protective sweep for additional weapons or individuals. Rico and co-defendant Frausto were the only individuals in the unit, but officers observed methamphetamine in plain view.

Officers obtained a search warrant to search the storage unit and located methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, $4,452 in cash, two stolen vehicles, drug packaging and scales. Frausto admitted that she and Rico knowingly possessed the semiautomatic rifle, and she further admitted that she was a convicted felon.

Approximately two weeks later, the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, which had been investigating Bengoa for narcotics and counterfeiting, observed her driving a vehicle without a license. During the ensuing traffic stop, it was determined that the two adult passengers in the vehicle were wanted on warrants and were arrested. With Bengoa’s consent, officers searched the vehicle and located, in the front seat, a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, methamphetamine, cocaine, and drug trafficking materials, such as packaging material and scales, all within arms’ reach of Bengoa. She admitted that she and the adult passengers in the vehicle knowingly possessed the firearm in furtherance of intending to distribute the methamphetamine in the vehicle.

The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, with the assistance of the Lubbock Police Department, South Plains Auto Theft Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Cunningham is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — Following a law enforcement operation led by the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division (DPS-CID), 37 individuals have been charged with federal offenses stemming from their respective roles in a drug distribution conspiracy that operated in North Texas and elsewhere from January 2013 to October 2014, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Defendants who were charged and who are in custody include:

• George Pass, aka “Tennessee,” 40, of Desoto

• Rhonda Long, aka “Queen Saltine,” 51, of Mesquite

• Brandon Crow, 29, of Garland

• Nia Reed, 27, of Rowlett

• John Carl Hall, aka “Scooter,” 34, of Dallas

• Cesar Zarate, 26, of Duncanville

• Sarah West, 27, of Dallas

• Bradley Wiltcher, 40, of Dallas

• Michael Bass, aka “Sleepy,” 45, of Dallas

• Patrick Penney, aka “Pacman,” 29, of Mesquite

• Clifton Clowers, 36, of Mesquite

• Michael McCoy, aka “Bam Bam,” 45, of Garland

• Christopher Jacobo, aka “Taco Chris,” 39, of Garland

• Jason Eastham, 34, of Mesquite

• Cheyenne Miller, aka “CJ,” 36, of Mesquite

• Christopher Arnold, aka “Phreek,” 40, of Denison

• Sean Sharer, aka “Cowboy Sean,” 42, of Mesquite

• Alysha Hayes, 22, of Rowlett

• Jaclyn Hooker, aka “Queen Bee,” 36, of Mesquite

• Francisco Coronado, aka “Frank,” 27, of Dallas

• Kenneth Etter, 25, of Tulsa, Oklahoma

• Joseph Tenpenny, 29, of Tulsa, Oklahoma

• Dusty Bryant, 21, of Tulsa, Oklahoma

• Gregory Oldfield, aka “Casper,” 41, of Garland

• Casey Rose, 35, of Mesquite

• Matthew Hays, aka “Cody,” 32, of Richardson

• Patricia Tucker, aka “Peppermint Patty,” 44, of Mesquite

• Jeffrey Heathington, 37, of Point

• Richard Garcia, aka “Charlie Brown,” 38, of Dallas

• Michael Atkins, aka “Duke,” 38, of Garland

• William McDowell, aka “Scout,” 33, of Mesquite

• Christy McCellon, aka “90,” 38, of Quitman

The just-unsealed superseding indictment in the case charges each of the above defendants with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. In addition, each of the defendants, with the exception of Garcia and McCellon, is charged with one substantive count of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Penney is also charged with one substantive count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Crow and Garcia are also each charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Three other individuals, Eliezer Jarillo Gonzalez, 22, Alejando Ornelas, 33 and Javier Eduardo Dominquez, 23, all of Dallas, were also arrested and have been charged in a federal criminal complaint with their roles in the conspiracy.

According to the indictment, the defendants were members of, or associated with, various white supremacist organizations, including the “Aryan Brotherhood of Texas” (ABT), the “Aryan Circle,” the “Irish Mob,” and the “Dirty White Boys.” Despite their differences, they would often collaborate for purposes of drug distribution or other illegal ventures. The indictment alleges that since January 2013, the defendants conspired together, and with others, to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. According to the indictment, the defendants used stash houses and other locations to store the quantities of methamphetamine. Each of the co-conspirators was linked to one another either directly or through another co-conspirator. Certain co-conspirators acted as hubs for narcotics trafficking, supplying methamphetamine to numerous other co-conspirators. Throughout the investigation, over 16 pounds of methamphetamine and five firearms were seized.

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

A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, the statutory maximum penalty for each count of the drug trafficking conspiracy is life in federal prison and millions of dollars in fines. The statutory maximum penalty for each substantive count of possession of methamphetamine or heroin with the intent to distribute is twenty years. The maximum statutory penalty for being a felon in possession of a firearm is ten years. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation which would require the defendants, upon conviction, to forfeit all real or personal property derived from the proceeds of their offense.

The investigation is being led by the DPS-CID Gang Unit with assistance from the Dallas Police Department Criminal Intelligence Unit, the Garland Police Department Neighborhood Police Officer Unit, the Mesquite and Rockwall Police Departments and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney P. J. Meitl is prosecuting.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Justin Turcheck, 29, of Abilene, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 78 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in August 2014 to one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Turcheck is currently in federal custody. Judge Cummings revoked his pre-trial release last month, finding that Turcheck had violated his conditions of release.

Turcheck admitted that in mid-June 2012, he possessed an external hard drive that contained numerous images of child pornography.

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

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

DALLAS — Rictavious Butler, 20, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 30 months in federal prison. Butler, pleaded guilty in June 2014 to one count of Bank Robbery. U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas, made the announcement today.

Arlando Miller, 24, was sentenced on November 5, 2014 to 48 months in federal prison by Judge Kinkeade. He also pleaded guilty in June 2014 to one count of Bank Robbery.

According to documents filed in the case, on April 4, 2014, Miller and Butler entered Patriot Bank with a handgun. Miller climbed through one of the four teller stations and demanded money from the teller. Miller retrieved $2,652 from the teller’s drawer while Butler maintained control of the lobby area. In the process of exiting the bank, Miller dropped the handgun in the foyer. It was later determined that the handgun was a BB pistol.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mesquite Police Department led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Robinson prosecuted.

DALLAS — A man who admitted committing several armed robberies of businesses last year in Dallas, including a gas station, a package store and convenience stores, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Jeremy Jermal Bonner, 25, of Dallas, was sentenced to 384 months (32 years) and one day in federal prison and was ordered to pay $1,675 in restitution. He pleaded guilty in May 2014 to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to documents filed in the case, on Saturday, August 17, 2013, at approximately 10:15 p.m., Bonner, brandishing a firearm at an employee, robbed the Movie Trading Company store located on Camp Wisdom Road in Dallas. On Tuesday, September 3, 2013, at approximately 11:48 p.m., Bonner, brandishing a firearm at the business’s owner/manager, robbed the Buy Low Beverage Beer & Wine store located on Zang Boulevard in Dallas.

Bonner also admitted robbing the following Dallas businesses: The Hood Store, a Subway sandwich stop, a Shell gas station, and the Kiest Food Mart in September 2013 and the Waterboy store in August 2013. During each robbery, he brandished a firearm, and during The Hood Store robbery, Bonner shot the clerk and the bullet pierced the clerk’s hand and torso.

This case was investigated by the Dallas Police Department, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Allen-McCoy and Danial Gividen prosecuted.

DALLAS — A 32-year-old Rockwall, Texas, man appeared this morning in federal court, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez, and pleaded guilty to an indictment charging one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Christopher Michael Burgess, who remains in federal custody, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for April 20, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay.

According to documents filed in the case, in May 2013, an individual (mother) looked on Burgess’s computer, found child pornography, and immediately took the computer to the Rockwall Police Department. Based on this individual’s report, the officer was able to secure a warrant to search the computer’s content.

The North Texas Regional Computer Forensic Lab examined the hard drive and located more than 500 images and 10 videos of child pornography, some videos involving infants. Burgess admits that some of the 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.”

The FBI and the Rockwall Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — Donald Record, 52, of Dallas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 40 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in May 2014 to an Information charging one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Kinkeade ordered that Record surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on January 7, 2015.

According to documents filed in the case, law enforcement received information from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Center identifying an offender in the Dallas area. The investigation led law enforcement to secure and execute a search warrant at Record’s residence on March 6, 2014. Record admitted that he used his laptop computer to trade images of child pornography on the Internet, and that he looked at child pornography when he was at his home in Dallas and at work at SMU. He admitted his age preference was 8 – 10 year olds. He further admitted that he had approximately 100 images and one video of child pornography in his email account that he had received from 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.”

ICE HSI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.

LUBBOCK, Texas — A woman who was found driving east on Interstate 20 in the Abilene, Texas, vicinity, at approximately five miles per hour on Christmas Day 2013, appeared in federal court on Friday and pleaded guilty to a federal felony drug offense, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Christini Lynn Brashear, 45, of Rocklin, California, pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, to an indictment charging one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Brashear remains on bond.

According to documents filed in the case, on December 25, 2013, the Abilene Police Department received multiple calls regarding a small sport utility vehicle that was on Interstate 20 traveling east at approximately five miles per hour. Officers located the vehicle and found it parked on the shoulder of the highway with Brashear asleep at the wheel. Officers called for emergency medical assistance for Brashear and advised her she was being taken to the hospital. She consented to an officer driving her car to the hospital to avoid having it towed, and she admitted using and possessing methamphetamine, which she turned over to the officers.

The officer driving Brashear’s vehicle noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and later confirmed that the smell was coming from several duffle bags in the back that contained approximately 166 pounds of marijuana, individually bagged in one-pound clear plastic bags. The vehicle also contained multiple cell phones, two road atlases, and a note pad with hand-written directions to Houston, Texas. Rental papers for the vehicle show that it was rented to Brashear in Sacramento, California, on December 22, 2013, and it was due back to that location on December 26, 2013.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Abilene Police Department investigated. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams is prosecuting.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Four Dallas–area defendants, who were indicted by a federal grand jury this summer on various felony drug offenses, pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, to their roles in a hydrocodone and alprazolam distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

John Conte Smith, a/k/a “Leo,” 35, of Balch Springs, Texas; and Dallas residents, Crystal Nicole Burks, 29; Keith Deon Noel, 36; and Lee Santrell Boston, 35; each pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute hydrocodone and alprazolam. Each faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report for each defendant with sentencing dates to be set following the completion of those reports. All four defendants remain in federal custody.

According to plea documents filed in the case, from approximately February 2014 to July 2014, in the Abilene, Lubbock, and Dallas Divisions of the Northern District of Texas, Smith, Burks, Noel, and Boston conspired together, and with others, to distribute and possess with intent to distribute hydrocodone, a Schedule III, and alprazolam, a Schedule IV, controlled substance.

Smith provided others in the conspiracy prescriptions on genuine prescription forms from medical facilities with the names of actual physicians at those facilities, but with fictitious patient names. Other co-conspirators then took the prescriptions to pharmacies to have them filled, eventually taking the controlled substances back to Smith who kept some for himself and sold the remainder.

On February 2, 2014, Burks’ boyfriend was arrested for passing forged prescriptions for her. After his arrest, Burks began passing the forged prescriptions, or using others to pass them, for Smith in the Dallas area. In May 2014, Smith directed Burks to pass forged prescriptions in the Lubbock and Abilene areas, and Burks had her brother-in-law, Noel, drive her on the trip. Before they left Dallas, Burks and Noel went to a location near downtown Dallas and recruited a homeless person, Boston, to go with them. The three left Dallas and drove to Lubbock on May 20, 2014.

The next day, Burks and Noel drove Boston to several pharmacies in Lubbock where he passed forged prescriptions that Burks had given him and paid for the prescriptions with money she had given him. Boston turned over the filled prescriptions and the change to Burks.

Burks, Noel and Boston drove to Abilene the next day, May 22, 2014, and after passing forged prescriptions there, were arrested by officers with the Abilene Police Department.

A search warrant was executed at Smith’s home on July 2, 2014, and law enforcement located filled prescriptions for hydrocodone and alprazolam for persons other than Smith, as well as prepared prescription forms in other people’s names that had not yet been passed. Officers also found a 9mm semiautomatic pistol and ammunition in the nightstand by Smith’s bed.

The FBI and the Abilene Police Department investigated. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams is prosecuting.

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Tarrant County man was sentenced this morning to 21 months in federal prison for tax evasion, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Jeffrey James was convicted at trial this summer on an indictment charging one count of tax evasion. In addition to the custody sentence, U.S. District Judge McBryde ordered that James pay $32,509 in restitution. He must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on November 21, 2014.

At trial, the government presented evidence that between 2006 and 2009, James embezzled more than $250,000 from the Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas, where he was employed as Director of Club Accounting. James had held that position for 15 years. James evaded assessment and payment of taxes by failing to disclose his stolen money on his federal income tax return.

The government presented evidence that during calendar year 2008, James, a married resident of Richland Hills, Texas, attempted to evade and defeat a large part of the federal income tax he and his spouse owed for calendar year 2007 by filing a fraudulent joint federal income tax return. That return stated, according to evidence presented, their joint taxable income for calendar year 2007 was $57,542, and tax due and owing was $5,639. In fact, as James well knew, their joint taxable income for that year was $153,959, of which tax due and owing was $32,059.

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Doug Allen and Chris Wolfe prosecuted.

LUBBOCK, Texas — A Johnson County man appeared in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, this afternoon and pleaded guilty to a federal child obscenity offense, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Christopher Wayne Howard, 26, of Joshua, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Howard remains on bond.

According to plea documents filed in the case, in March 2014, Howard engaged in a series of online and telephone texting communications with “Jane Doe,” a person he knew to be a 13-year-old-female. During the communications, Howard often turned the subject to sexually explicit matters. On March 13, 2014, Howard chatted with “Jane Doe” and used an online application to send her an obscene, sexually explicit photograph of an adult male.

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 San Angelo Police Department’s Special Operations Division investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is prosecuting.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Three defendants, convicted on child pornography offenses in unrelated cases, were sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Rocky Joe Williams, 37, of Littlefield, Texas, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison following his guilty plea in July 2014 to one count of transportation of child pornography. Williams admitted that he used his cell phone and the Google Picasa web photo-sharing site on the Internet to transport numerous images of child pornography. Judge Cummings remanded Williams into custody.

Parker James Chapman, 23, of Lubbock, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in July 2014 to one count of attempted possession of child pornography and aiding and abetting. Chapman admitted that he used his cell phone to communicate with a person he believed to be a minor, under age 18, after responding to an online personal ad. That person, however, was an undercover police officer posing as a 15-year-old female. Chapman requested a photograph of the minor, but after he received a non-sexual image of a minor, Chapman requested something “more interesting.” Chapman admitted that in making this request, it was his intent to receive an image of child pornography. Chapman must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on December 3, 2014.

Christopher Anthony Lovato, 30, of Lubbock, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in July 2014 to one count of possession of child pornography and aiding and abetting. Lovato admitted that he used his cell phone to possess numerous images of child pornography that had been received from the Internet. Lovato was remanded into custody.

The cases were 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 Lubbock Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the FBI investigated the cases, and the Littlefield Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety also assisted in the investigation of the Williams case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy prosecuted.

DALLAS — A physician who ran a “cash only clinic” in Dallas that operated not as a legitimate medical facility, but as a place to unlawfully obtain controlled substances, and several coconspirators who operated as “dealers,” were sentenced this afternoon, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Nicolas Alfonso Padron, 55, of Garland, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 87 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in September 2013 to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a Schedule III controlled substance. Judge Lynn also ordered forfeiture on his house, two cars, a boat, and several bank accounts.

Dr. Padron and co-defendant Jose L. Martinez, 54, of Flower Mound, Texas, opened Padron Wellness Clinic (PWC), located at 1000 Emerald Isle Drive in Dallas in Fall 2010. PWC operated as a “pill mill,” or place to unlawfully obtain controlled substances, such as hydrocodone. Martinez was convicted at trial in February 2014 on one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and is awaiting sentencing. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution.

Today, other defendants who were convicted for their roles in the conspiracy were also sentenced:

Josephis Austin, 60, of Dallas was sentenced to 84 months;

Patricia A. Bryant, 60, of Dallas, was sentenced to 54 months;

Dennis J. Wade, 36, of Dallas, was sentenced to 21 months.

Austin and Bryant were each convicted at trial in February 2014 on one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances unlawfully. Wade and Allen C. Burkins, Jr., 43, of Dallas, each pleaded guilty earlier this year to the same offense. Burkins is scheduled to be sentenced on December 19, 2014.

All four were “dealers” who would recruit “patients,” often from homeless shelters, and drive them in groups to PWC. The dealers would typically escort the patients into the clinic, coordinate with Martinez, and pay cash for the office visits. Sometimes, Dr. Padron would see two or more patients at a time in the examination room. Patient visits were short and patients would normally leave with a 30-day prescription of 120 units (pills) of hydrocodone and 30-90 units of alprazolam. Dr. Padron diagnosed the majority of his patients with lower back pain and anxiety without regard to their true condition. For most of these patients, Dr. Padron did not prescribe or treat these “symptoms” with anything other than hydrocodone and alprazolam. Thus, the prescriptions were medically unnecessary and outside the scope of professional practice.

Once Dr. Padron issued the prescriptions, the coconspirator dealers would drive groups of patients to Urban Independent Pharmacy, located at 6300 Samuell Blvd., in Dallas, to get the prescriptions filled. Convicted co-conspirator and licensed pharmacist, Lisa Hollier, 44, of Sunnyvale, Texas, owned and operated that pharmacy. She was convicted at trial earlier this year on one count of conspiracy to distribute, unlawfully, a controlled substance and was sentenced in July 2014 to 60 months in federal prison.

At Urban Independent Pharmacy, Hollier had large amounts of hydrocodone and alprazolam in pre-filled bottles ready each day to handle the large group of dealers and their patients from PWC and other clinics. Dealers would furnish the money to pay for the narcotics, and at times, they paid Hollier directly for multiple patients’ prescriptions. After Hollier filled the prescriptions, the patients would give the dealers the pills, which they sold on the street for a profit.

Dr. Padron is currently serving a 57-month federal prison sentence following his guilty plea in September 2013, in a separate and unrelated case, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. That conviction stems from his role as the medical director of A Medical House Calls, a physician house-call company that provided physician visits to Medicare beneficiaries in their homes, rather than in a doctor’s office. Dr. Padron was also ordered to pay nearly $9.5 million in restitution to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Today’s sentence will run consecutive to that sentence, for a total sentence of 144 months in federal prison.

A total of 17 defendants have been convicted in this “pill mill” case. With today’s sentencings, all but two defendants, Martinez and Burkins, remain to be sentenced. A total of 14 “dealers” were convicted in the case.

The Dallas Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) Strike Force, which includes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the FBI and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Pfeifle and J. Nicholas Bunch prosecuted and Assistant U.S. Attorney John de la Garza is handling the forfeiture.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS’s CMS, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the HEAT Strike Force, see: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov