Northern District of Texas

SAN ANGELO, — Eric Cortez Flores, 32, a ranking member of the Mexican Mafia, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 360 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in November 2012 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Flores was the Mexican Mafia’s methamphetamine supplier from Lubbock to San Angelo, Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, in February 2011, agents with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), received information that a known narcotics trafficker would be traveling to San Angelo from Del Rio, Texas. The investigation revealed that this individual went to Eric Cortez Flores’ residence on Montague in San Angelo. In addition, on several occasions, law enforcement officers encountered individuals with methamphetamine who were connected with Flores and learned that Flores’s mother’s residence on Oaklawn in San Angelo reportedly served as a stash house for Flores’s methamphetamine.

On February 22, 2012, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Flores’s residence. That search yielded: a plastic bag containing suspected methamphetamine residue, which was located next to the toilet; methamphetamine residue next to the toilet; approximately $96,000 in cash; a semi-automatic pistol; approximately 25 wrappings similar to those typically used to package large amounts of methamphetamine; and a suspected drug ledger.

Flores admitted that he had flushed an ounce or less of methamphetamine down the toilet before law enforcement arrived. He also stated that he had approximately $70,000 in his house that was drug sales proceeds from the past 18 months and that he’d distributed approximately one pound of methamphetamine every two weeks during that time period. He stated that his methamphetamine was from Mexico, but he refused to provide his supplier’s name. Flores also stated that the wrappings found in his backyard and bedroom contained one pound of methamphetamine each and he admitted that he knew the firearm was in his house.

The investigation was conducted by ICE HSI, the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office, and the San Angelo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag prosecuted.

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Brian Bernard Willin, 48, of Brownwood, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 87 months in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release following his guilty plea in November 2012 to one count of receipt of child pornography and aiding and abetting, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Willin was also ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to an individual who was depicted in an image Willin possessed.

Willin was indicted in August 2012 on four counts of receiving child pornography, one count of transporting child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. According to plea documents filed in the case, Willin admitted that he used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program that he had installed on his computer to download and view several images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. He saved some of the material on his computer and onto a DVD.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab "resources."

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Brown County Sheriff’s Office.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Three defendants, who pleaded guilty to their respective roles in a major methamphetamine distribution conspiracy that operated in Wichita Falls, were sentenced today, in federal court in Wichita Falls, by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

William Corey Peeler, 33, was sentenced to 162 months in federal prison; Cleveland Wilson, 52, was sentenced to 160 months in federal prison; and Nancy Arlene Freeman, 39, was sentenced to 65 months in federal prison.

Peeler and Wilson each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute and to possess with intent to manufacture and to manufacture methamphetamine. Freeman pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

This is the second group of convicted defendants to be sentenced in this case in which 28 of the 30 defendants charged in the conspiracy have entered guilty pleas. Late last month, Randall Wayne Ezzell, 46, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison; Jason Alan Haney, aka “A.J. Haney,” 27, was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison; and Troy Radford, 36, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. The cases against two of the defendants have not been resolved. All 30 of the defendants charged in the superseding indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury in October 2012, are in custody.

According to documents filed in the case, Peeler admitted that on numerous occasions between August 2011 and September 4, 2012, he sold quantities of methamphetamine, which defendant Steve Ysasaga supplied, to customers in the Wichita Falls area. On one occasion, according to Peeler, Ysasaga brought nine ounces of methamphetamine, a digital scale and small plastic bags to Peeler’s apartment where Ysasaga weighed and repackaged it. Ysasaga gave Peeler one gram of the methamphetamine for allowing him to use his apartment. Peeler also admitted that on various occasions during the conspiracy he accompanied Ysasaga to assist him in collecting drug debts by intimidating the debtors.

Wilson admitted that on multiple occasions between August 2011 and August 2012, he manufactured, or cooked, anhydrous methamphetamine for Ysasaga. Ysasaga supplied the pseudoephedrine tablets and Wilson obtained the rest of the necessary ingredients to manufacture the methamphetamine.

When officers with the Wichita Falls Police Department executed a traffic stop on Freeman’s vehicle in a convenience store parking lot on May 8, 2012, a drug-detecting canine alerted to the presence of narcotics on a backpack that she had placed in the back seat. Officers search the backpack and located 10 small plastic bags containing methamphetamine and two digital scales. She admitted that she possessed the methamphetamine to distribute it at a later time.

This Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Wichita Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary F. Walters is in charge of the prosecution.

LUBBOCK, Texas — John Brandon Rice, 25, most recently a resident of Abilene, Texas, appeared in federal court in Lubbock yesterday and pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, to one count of failing to register as a sex offender. Rice, who is in custody, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, in January 2009, Rice was sentenced in California for the felony sex offense of unlawful sexual intercourse and was sentenced to a three-year term of probation with a condition that he serve 180 days in jail. In May 2010, the probated sentence was terminated and a state prison term of 32 months was imposed. As a result of this conviction, Rice was required under California law to register as a sex offender for life.

In June 2012, Rice began residing in Abilene and working as a landscaper and for a roofing business. Rice admits that he knowingly failed to register and update his registration as a sex offender because he had an outstanding parole warrant from California and he did not want them to know where he was. Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), persons who are required to register as sex offenders are required to register within three days of moving from one state to another.

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 investigation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is in charge of the prosecution.

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LUBBOCK, Texas — Njeazeh Roderigue Ambeabet, 24, of Lubbock, appeared in federal court today, before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, and pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Ambeabet faces a statutory sentence of not less than 15 years or more than 30 years in federal prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Ambeabet has been in custody since his arrest in February 2013.

According to documents filed in the case, last year, Ambeabet met an 11-year-old girl online and engaged in a texting relationship with her, frequently asking her to engage in sexual relations with him. He admitted that he was well aware of her age, and that he received sexually explicit images of her that were taken with her cell phone at his request.

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 investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the Lubbock Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — Samuel George Hurd, III, 27, appeared in federal court this afternoon and pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis, to a superseding indictment charging conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. There was no plea agreement between Hurd and the government; Hurd’s trial was to have begun on Monday, April 15, 2013.

That superseding indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury on March 19, 2013, alleged that from July 2011 to on or about June 6, 2012, Hurd conspired to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. The superseding indictment also includes a sentencing notice stating that on or about June 6, 2012, Hurd, while on pretrial release, attempted to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and at least 50 kilograms, but less than 100 kilograms, of marijuana.

Two co-defendants, Toby Lujan and Jesse Tyrone Chavful, have pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing. Both are in federal custody.

Hurd, who has been in federal custody since late August 2012, faces a statutory penalty of not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison and up to a $10 million fine. Sentencing is set for July 10, 2013.

The investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Denton Police Department. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Kull and Errin Martin are prosecuting.

Defendants Planned to Sell Victim into Sex Slavery

DALLAS — A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Steric Paul Mitchell, 43, and Gregory Steven Hunt, aka “K.C.,” 40, with conspiracy, kidnapping and firearms charges stemming from their kidnapping last year of a female victim whom they planned to sell into sex slavery, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. The two men, both residents of Dallas, are currently in state custody. A date has not been set for them to make their initial appearance in federal court before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.

Specifically, the indictment charges each defendant with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, one substantive count of kidnapping and one count of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. In addition, defendant Mitchell, a convicted felon, is charged with possessing four firearms.

The indictment alleges that in early May 2012 an individual tells the victim in this case that she has a “good friend” who wants to hire a private dancer for a party and that the men are “safe.” At a hotel in Dallas, this individual introduces the victim to defendant Hunt, who pays the individual and then drives the victim to an abandoned house in Dallas, where defendant Mitchell was waiting. Mitchell hired Hunt to pick up the victim at the hotel and transport her to another location under the ruse that Hunt was taking her to a private party, when, in fact, Hunt and Mitchell planned to kidnap and sexually assault her.

At the abandoned house, Mitchell threatened the victim with a firearm and shocked her with a Taser to frighten and restrain her. Hunt then raped her while Mitchell stood guard with a firearm. Mitchell then shocked her again with a Taser, bound her ankles and wrists, wrapped her in a bed sheet, carried her to another motor vehicle and put her in the backseat. The next day, Mitchell drove the victim to another house in Dallas, where he carried her inside and raped her. Afterwards, Mitchell contacted an unknown individual and negotiated the sale of the victim. He told the victim that he was going to sell her into sex slavery and then drugged and bound her again. He again wrapped her in a bed sheet, put her in the backseat of a vehicle and drove her to a house in Duncanville, Texas, where he sexually assaulted her.

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 conspiracy and kidnapping counts each carry, upon conviction, a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison. The using, carrying and brandishing a firearm count carries, upon conviction, a mandatory consecutive sentence of at least seven years in federal prison. The felon in possession count carries, upon conviction, a statutory penalty of not less than 15 years in federal prison. Each count, upon conviction, also carries a statutory maximum fine of $250,000.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Duncanville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Jesse Brister, aka “Bozo,” with two counts of mailing threatening communications to law enforcement, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Brister, 27, of Conroe, Texas, is presently in custody in the Texas prison system, in New Boston, Texas, in an unrelated case. A date has not yet been set for him to make his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in federal court in Dallas.

“Based on the serious nature of the threats in these letters, resources were diverted from important investigations, such as those in Kaufman County, to investigate these threats, which ultimately proved to be hoaxes,” said U.S. Attorney Saldaña. “Such threats cause significant diversions of law enforcement resources and result in substantial disruption of public services. They will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The indictment alleges that on two occasions, on or about March 21, 2013, and on or about March 28, 2013, Brister mailed a communication, addressed to the U.S. Attorney in Dallas, that contained a threat to injure someone in retaliation for the prosecution of members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.

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, each count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation into these threats was conducted by the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Rangers (Texas Department of Public Safety), the FBI and other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham is prosecuting.

DALLAS — Rodney Allen Thompson, 44, of McKinney, Texas, appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver and pleaded guilty to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor. He faces a 10-year federal prison sentence, up to a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Thompson has been in custody since his arrest in December 2012. A sentencing date was not set. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Thompson admits that in December 2012, he communicated with “Jane Doe,” an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, whom he friended via Yahoo! Messenger. Jane Doe was in reality an officer with the Garland Police Department, acting in an undercover capacity. Thompson admitted that he communicated with Jane Doe in a sexually explicit manner, indicating that he wanted to engage in sexual activity with her. Using his computer and cell phone, Thompson ultimately persuaded, or attempted to persuade, Jane Doe to meet him at a mall in Garland to engage in illegal sexual activity with him. He also admitted that he sent Jane Doe, via webcam, an obscene video of himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct. On December 13, 2012, Thompson drove to meet Jane Doe at the mall, as they had arranged, and was arrested.

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 investigation is being conducted by the Garland Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.

Dr. Michael David Goodwin Billed the Texas Medicaid Program at Least $2.6 Million for Services He Claimed He Provided

AMARILLO, Texas — Dr. Michael David Goodwin, 63, an orthodontist who practiced in Amarillo, Texas, and Crown Point, Indiana, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to 50 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,810,960 in restitution, following his guilty plea in December 2012 to one count of health care fraud related to the Texas Medicaid program. In addition, Goodwin must forfeit $1,558,911, which are the gross proceeds traceable to his offense, as well as more than $244,000 the government seized in May and July 2011 from his JP Morgan Chase accounts. Judge Robinson ordered that he surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 29, 2013. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, from January 2008 through March 2011, Goodwin devised a scheme to defraud the Texas Medicaid program by billing the program at least $2,626,125 for services he claimed he provided, when in fact, as he well knew, some of the services were not medically necessary, or dental assistants provided those services when no dentist or orthodontist was present to supervise, and even when present, did not directly supervise or provide any services.

Goodwin practiced orthodontic dentistry approximately two weeks each month at Goodwin Orthodontics in Amarillo and approximately two weeks each month at his Indiana office. In order to maximize the number of Medicaid patients seen, on numerous occasions, Goodwin had his employees schedule more than 100 patients per day and intentionally schedule large numbers of Medicaid patients for days when Goodwin was scheduled to be out of town. To accommodate the large volume of patients, Goodwin directed dental assistants to perform impermissible acts, including comprehensive examinations, diagnoses and treatment planning for Medicaid patients when he knew that only licensed dentists were permitted to perform those acts.

Goodwin devised a generic treatment guideline for dental assistants to follow in treating Medicaid beneficiaries that included dental assistants making treatment decisions at most appointments, without Goodwin examining the patients; confirming or revising the diagnoses; or confirming or revising the treatment plans. Goodwin also caused his billing staff to falsely and fraudulent state on Medicaid claims that he was the performing provider for all services that had been impermissibly delegated to and performed by dental assistants.

In April 2009, Goodwin hired substitute general dentists to create the appearance of direct supervision of dental assistants when he was away from the office. These substitute dentists were not enrolled Medicaid orthodontic providers. These substitutes did not provide services to Medicaid beneficiaries, did not directly supervise the dental assistants who provided the services, and were not always present in the office for orthodontic procedures. Again, Goodwin caused his billing staff to falsely and fraudulently state on Medicaid claims that he was the performing provider for all services performed when he was out of town and dental assistants provided those services when a substitute dentist was present to supervise, but did not directly supervise or provide any services.

Goodwin also instructed his dental assistants to falsely and fraudulently indicate in the patient records that an “adjustment” was performed on every visit, except for the initial consult, when no such adjustment had been provided and when he knew this violated Medicaid Rules.

The case was investigated by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of Office of the Texas Attorney General and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Drake and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sally Helmer were in charge of the prosecution, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Kozub handled the forfeiture.

DALLAS — Joshua Wayne Bevill, 33, of Dallas, was found guilty today in a bench trial, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle, on stipulated facts concerning crimes he committed while awaiting sentencing for a prior securities fraud conviction. Specifically, Bevill was adjudged guilty on one count of mail fraud, two counts of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, and committing each offense while on release. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Background: Between 2005 and 2008, Bevill, along with various associates, raised several million dollars from investors by selling them interests in supposed oil and gas development projects. However, Bevill was simply stealing the investors’ money rather than using it to earn profits in the oil and gas business. Bevill pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud in January 2011, admitting that he defrauded numerous investors of more than $750,000. He was released pending sentencing and faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years for this offense.

While on this release and pending sentencing in that case, Bevill perpetrated a similar scheme from August 2010 until February 2011 under the name of Progressive Investment Partners. Bevill contacted potential investors and sold them investments in a supposed oil and gas business. As part of his scheme, Bevill used fictitious references that were set up to provide “glowing” reviews and exemplify the merits of investing with Progressive Investment Partners. Bevill, however, simply stole investors’ money and spent it to pay for his lavish lifestyle.

Bevill faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in federal prison for each of the four counts of conviction in this case and fines totaling $10,500,000.00. In addition, he will be required to forfeit $162,000. No sentencing date has been set in either of the cases.

These cases were prosecuted in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.stopfraud.gov.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Nicholas Bunch and Joseph Revesz are in charge of the prosecution.

Willis Bassham Videotaped Himself Having Sexual Relations With a Student at the School

DALLAS — A former teacher at Garland High School, Willis Bassham, 40, formerly of McKinney, Texas, was sentenced Friday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to eight years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release following his guilty plea in December 2012 to an information charging one count of possession of child pornography. Bassham was remanded into federal custody after he entered that plea. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Basham admitted that he engaged in sexual acts and sexual conduct with three female minors who were students at the school where he was employed. He also admitted that he produced images and videos of two of the minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Bassham had videos on his cell phone of himself and one of the minors, then age 17, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. He also received pornographic images of one of the minors by copying the images from the minor’s cell phone memory card to his computer.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The investigation was conducted by the Garland Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Miller was in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — Late yesterday, two developers who admitted conspiring to defraud U.S. Bank and Texas Capital Bank in connection with a $39 million construction loan for a commercial/residential development in Austin, Texas, were sentenced. U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn sentenced Anirdh Sarwal, 39, to 57 months in federal prison and Fred Alden Yeo, 51, to 42 months in federal prison. In addition, Judge Lynn ordered that the two men pay $13,461,604 in restitution, jointly and severally with each other. Sarwal and Yeo, both residents of Austin, must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by 2:00 p.m. on June 4, 2013. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, admitting that they conspired with each other from August/September 2008 until at least June 2010. Sarwal, the principal of East Avenue Office Holdings, LP, based in Austin, and Yeo, co-guarantor on the loan, entered into negotiations with the two banks to obtain $39 million in funding for the development of an eight-story office building located at 3300 North Interstate Highway 35 in Austin.

To obtain the $39 million loan, they knowingly submitted a fabricated bank statement to the banks that purported to show that Sarwal had more than $7 million in an investment account at Wells Fargo Bank. They submitted this statement knowing that both financial institutions wanted assurance that Sarwal and Yeo, as co-guarantors, collectively had at least $5 million in liquid assets at their disposal. In reality, however, no such Wells Fargo account existed, and the bank statement was a forgery. Sarwal and Yeo admitted that they submitted the false bank statement with the specific intent to defraud the banks.

Based in part on that fraudulent bank statement, U.S. Bank and Texas Capital Bank approved the $39 million construction loan and closed on the loan on December 30, 2008. Between January 2009 and June 2010, when the banks foreclosed on the loan, Sarwal and Yeo made more than $33 million in draws on that construction loan.

Evidence at sentencing also established that the fraud was more encompassing than the false bank statement on behalf of Sarwal. Among other things, in order to secure the loan, Sarwal and Yeo also falsely represented to the financial institutions that 53% of the office space had been leased when, in fact, only 12% had actually been leased to legitimate tenants. The fraud continued throughout the project, with both Sarwal and Yeo submitting fake invoices to justify large draws from the construction loan and by taking steps to obtain fake cell phone numbers for the nonexistent tenants.

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit http://www.stopfraud.gov/.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nick Bunch and Steve Fahey were in charge of the prosecution.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Leslie Nashon Slaton, 33, who has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with robbing the Commercial Bank of Texas last week in Bedford, Texas, appeared in federal court in Fort Worth today and was ordered detained by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the complaint filed in the case, on the afternoon of March 28, 2013, a man, later identified as Slaton, entered the Commercial Bank of Texas, located at 1716 Forest Ridge Drive in Bedford, wearing a dark colored hoodie, a bandanna over his face, gloves and brandishing a handgun. He ordered customers and several employees to the center of the lobby. He approached one teller and ordered her to give him all the money in her drawer, which she did. He then demanded money from a second teller. When that teller advised that she had no money, Slaton fled the bank, running into an adjacent neighborhood where he had parked his getaway car.

A neighbor saw Slaton running from the bank and deduced that he had robbed the bank. As Slaton drove away, that neighbor ran after the car to obtain the license number. At the next intersection, however, Slaton ran a stop sign and collided with another vehicle. The neighbor then ran up to the wreck, pulled Slaton from the vehicle and held him until police arrived. An officer with the Euless Police Department, who drove by the scene, stopped and handcuffed Slaton. Officers with the Beford Police Department then arrived and took Slaton into custody. The money stolen from the bank, as well as his disguise and a pellet gun that resembled a real firearm, were recovered from Slaton’s vehicle.

A federal criminal 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. If convicted of the offense of bank robbery however, Slaton faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Bedford Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Wolfe is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — Stephanie Barney appeared on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan and pleaded guilty to an information charging one count of making or subscribing a false income tax return. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison and a $100,000 fine. In addition, according to the terms of the plea agreement, Barney agrees to pay restitution of up to $42,941 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, Barney admitted that in June 2007, while she was employed as an officer with the Dallas Police Department, she filed an amended joint tax return, for tax year 2006. She admitted that on that return, she claimed false medical deductions and falsely claimed a business loss that caused her to understate the amount of her taxable income.

Barney also admitted, according to the factual resume, that she filed similar false tax returns for tax years 2004 and 2005. When Barney was audited by the IRS in 2007, she provided the investigating revenue agent falsified checks and receipts in an attempt to fraudulently substantiate the questionable itemized deductions she had claimed on her 2006 tax return.

According to the factual resume, the tax loss is $42,941.58, representing the total losses for tax years 2004, 2005 and 2006.

According to an order setting conditions for her release, Barney is a resident of Dallas. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen P. Fahey is in charge of the prosecution.

Scheme Involved Nearly $3 Million in Fraudulent Billings

DALLAS — Following a seven-day trial, before U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey, a federal jury has convicted three defendants on health care fraud and related charges stemming from their involvement in the operation of Euless Healthcare Corporation (EHC) and Medic Healthcare Incorporated (Medic), announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. ECH was located on West Bedford Euless Road in Hurst Texas, and Medic, which operated from October 2009 to May 2011, was located on Bonhomme Road in Houston.

Specifically, defendants Godwin Umotong, 58, and Comfort Gates, 46, both of Houston, were each convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition, Umotong was also convicted on five counts of health care fraud and Gates was convicted on two counts of health care fraud. Umotong was an employee of EHC and Medic; Gates was an employee of Medic. Defendant Vagharshak Smbatyan, 61, of Grenada Hills, California, was convicted on one count of making a false statement to a federal agency.

The conspiracy count and each of the substantive health care fraud counts carry a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. The false statement count carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. Judge Godbey set a July 15, 2013, sentencing date for all three defendants convicted today.

Ovsanna Agopian, the operator of both EHC and Medic, pleaded guilty in November 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Agopian, 58, is a resident of Houston; her husband is Vagharshak Smbatyan. Three other defendants charged in the case, Boghos Babadjanian, 55, of Sherman Oaks, CA; Leslie Omagbemi, 56, of Dallas, TX; and Munda Massaquoi, 69, of Houston, TX, also pleaded guilty to their roles in the fraud. All are awaiting sentencing.

According to documents filed in the case and evidence presented at trial, Agopian, Umotong, Omagbemi, Massaquoi and Gates conspired together to submit, or cause to be submitted, fraudulent claims to Medicare for diagnostic tests and office visits. Agopian recruited unlicensed doctors to work for EHC and Medic by telling them that they would treat beneficiaries in the beneficiaries’ homes. Medicare does not pay for services performed by unlicensed persons. Nevertheless, these recruits went to beneficiaries’ homes and purported to conduct medical examinations, including ordering diagnostic tests. In total, more than $2.7 million was fraudulently billed, and of that amount, Medicare paid more than $1.3 million.

The case was investigated by 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. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael McCarthy and Michael Elliott are in charge of the prosecution.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 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 HEAT Strike Force, go to: http://www.stopmedicarefraud.gov/.

Defendant Arrested During a Traffic Violation Near Abilene, Texas

LUBBOCK, Texas — Brian Julian Gallardo, 22, of Sherman, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 71 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in December 2012 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Gallardo’s co-defendant in the case, Mark Dean Garrison, 48, of Denison, Texas, was sentenced on March 15, 2013, to 46 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to the same offense.

According to documents filed in the case, in late October 2012, a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped a pickup truck, owned and driven by Garrison, for a traffic violation on Interstate 20 near Abilene, Texas. Gallardo was the only passenger in the truck, which was carrying several spools of barbed wire. After Garrison consented to a search of the truck, one of the troopers opened the inside of one of the spools of wire and detected the odor of marijuana. Further investigation revealed that the spools of wire contained 229 bricks of marijuana that weighed approximately 112 kilograms. Both Garrison and Gallardo were arrested and have been in custody since that time.

The case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams prosecuted.

Jeffrey Gunselman Also Fined $175,000 and Ordered to Pay Nearly $55 Million in Restitution

LUBBOCK, Texas — Jeffrey David Gunselman, 30, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 188 months in federal prison, fined $175,000 and ordered to pay $54,973,137 in restitution, following his guilty plea in December 2012 to an Indictment charging 51 counts of wire fraud, 24 counts of money laundering and four counts of making false statements in violation of the Clean Air Act. Gunselman has been in custody since July 2012. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

“I commend the excellent investigative work done by special agents and investigators with EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Secret Service in this complex fraud case,” said U.S. Attorney Saldaña.

“Congress created the Renewable Fuel Standard to ensure that transportation fuel sold in this country contains a minimum amount of renewable fuel,” said Ivan Vikin, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Texas. “Today’s judicial action demonstrates the consequences for exploiting the Renewable Fuels program in order to steal millions of dollars from customers and taxpayers.”

Gunselman was the owner of Absolute Fuels, LLC, dba Absolute Fuels, LLC (Absolute Fuels), which he formed in April 2009. He was also named as Governing Person and/or as Registered Agent for other business entities associated with Absolute Fuels, LLC, including Absolute Fuels, LLC; Absolute Milling, LLC; Ellipse Energy, LLC; 21 Investments, LLC; and YGOG Holdings, LLC. However, Gunselman admitted that these entities are solely alter egos of himself, as an individual, as he alone owns, manages, directs and controls each of them and each has no separate and distinct existence from him.

Gunselman admitted that from September 2010 to October 2011, he devised a scheme to defraud the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by falsely representing that he was in the business of producing bio-diesel fuel, yet Gunselman did not have a bio-diesel fuel-producing facility. Instead, Gunselman’s business operation consisted of falsely generating renewable fuel credits and selling them to oil companies and brokers. He instructed purchasers to wire payments to a bank account he solely controlled, and as a result, approximately $41,762,236 was deposited into that account.

From September 2010 to mid-October 2011, Gunselman conducted 51 fraudulent transactions, which were transmitted by wire communications, that represented to the EPA that bio-diesel fuel had been produced at the Absolute Fuels facility in Anton, Texas, when in fact, no bio-diesel fuel had been produced. This ultimately resulted in Gunselman requesting and receiving payments, by electronic funds transfer, of approximately $41,762,236.

Regarding the money laundering convictions, during the same time period, Gunselman engaged in monetary transactions in criminally derived property by purchasing real and personal property valued at approximately $12 million with the funds derived from the wire fraud. Included in that property are: several vehicles, including a Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Cadillac and Shelby Cobra; a Patton Military Tank; a Gulfstream airplane, professional basketball season tickets and corporate sponsorship; and agricultural, business and residential real estate.

The false statements convictions stem from Gunselman making material false statements to the EPA, falsely claiming and representing that bio-diesel fuel, a renewable fuel, had been produced, generating renewable fuel credits, when Gunselman well knew that no bio-diesel fuel had been produced.

The case was investigated by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Secret Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paulina Jacobo and Justin Cunningham, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, were in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. de la Garza handled the forfeiture.

DALLAS — Harriet Mathita, who pleaded guilty in November 2012 to a superseding information charging conspiracy to defraud the U.S., through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), by obtaining, and aiding to obtain, payments of false, fictitious and fraudulent claims, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $45,906 in restitution. Mathita has been in custody since her arrest in April 2012. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

In an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas in April 2012, Mathita and her alleged co-conspirator, Mary Ngacha, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Ngacha was also charged with 10 counts of filing false claims against an agency of the U.S. and aiding and abetting. That indictment alleged that from January 2009 through December 2010, the women conspired to obtain substantial income tax refunds by submitting fraudulent income tax returns. The indictment also alleged that they were part of a conspiracy that obtained the names and social security numbers of persons on the Indiana sex offender registry, which was available to the public. According to the indictment, Ngacha allegedly filed false tax refunds claiming a total of nearly $3 million for tax years 2008 and 2009. Ngacha, who is on bond, is set for trial on June 10, 2013, before Judge Kinkeade.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, Mathita admitted that from December 2009 through June 2010, an individual, located in Dallas, mailed multiple federal tax returns to the IRS. These returns used stolen identification information and made false and fictitious claims for payment of tax refunds. Each return contained a false Form W-2 that reported significant, although fictitious, wages and withholding so as to result in a claim for a large tax refund. The returns directed the IRS to pay the refund either into a bank account or a physical address controlled by a conspirator.

The factual resume further states that three of these fraudulent tax returns directed the refund check to be delivered to the defendant’s address on Dartmouth Drive in Plano, Texas. In May 2010, a U.S. Treasury check in the amount of $45,206 was, in fact, delivered to Mathita’s address. Only one of the three fraudulent returns actually resulted in a refund check being mailed; the other refunds were not released by the IRS.

The investigation is being conducted by IRS-CI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes is in charge of the prosecution.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas —All seven defendants charged in a federal indictment with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and firearms offenses are in custody, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Of those seven defendants, four were arrested yesterday, one was previously arrested and is in federal custody, and two are in state custody in Wichita and Tarrant counties awaiting transfer to federal custody. All seven defendants will make appearances in federal court in Wichita Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert K. Roach today and either remain in custody or be released on bond.

Each of the below-named defendants charged in the indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury in Fort Worth approximately two weeks ago and unsealed today, is charged with at least one count of conspiracy to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance, namely methamphetamine. In addition, some of the defendants are charged with firearms offenses.

• Anthony Rueben Johnston, 27
• Rachel Dawn Billen, 20
• Louis Griego, Jr., aka “Big Lou,” 44
• Janis Hernandez, 30
• James Allan Holley, aka “Jimmy Holley,” 33
• Darren Scott Murphy, Jr., 25
• Christina Gail Thompson, 31

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, each of the conspiracy counts and each of the substantive drug counts carry a maximum statutory sentence of not less than five years or more than 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The firearms offenses charged in Counts Two and Four carry a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The firearms offense charged in Count Three carries a statutory sentence of not less than five years and up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, the indictment includes a forfeiture allegation which would require the defendants to forfeit to the U.S. all proceeds obtained as a result of their offense.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating.

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

ABILENE, Texas —Kenneth Mark McWilliams, 54, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 20 years in federal prison for throwing Molotov cocktails onto the roof of a convenience store in Abilene, that resulted in personal injury to his ex-wife when she ran out of the building and he shot and assaulted her. McWilliams, a resident of Abilene, has been in custody since his arrest following the incident in May 2010. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

McWilliams pleaded guilty in September 2012 to a superseding information charging one count of maliciously damaging a building by fire resulting in personal injury. According to documents filed in the case, on May 31, 2010, McWilliams went to Allsup’s Convenience Store, located on Ambler Avenue in Abilene, where his ex-wife was working, and parked his vehicle at the back of the store. Armed with Molotov cocktails, McWilliams lit two of them and threw both of them on the store’s roof. They ignited and started a fire on the roof that resulted in significant damage to the building.

McWilliams waited at the rear corner of the building until his ex-wife and another female employee left the burning building. When he saw his ex-wife, McWilliams fired one round from a .12 gauge shotgun at her, striking her. Both women ran and McWilliams caught up to his ex-wife and held her against her will, used a stun gun to shock her and tried to tie her with a rope. When officers with the Abilene Police Department arrived at the store, they saw McWilliams assaulting her. They subdued and restrained McWilliams.

McWilliams had several Molotov cocktails in his vehicle, and during a search of his residence, law enforcement found not only plastic and metal gasoline containers, but a diagram that indicated a plan that McWilliams would use to carry out his assault on the convenience store, his ex-wife and others who may have been present.

The case was investigated by the Abilene Police Department, the Abilene Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams prosecuted.

Properties Were Forfeited Following Successful Prosecution of the Gator Boyz Drug Trafficking and Criminal Street Gang

DALLAS — U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña and U.S. Marshal Randy Ely, of the Northern District of Texas, hosted an event this morning to transfer ownership, under a Justice Department program entitled, “Operation Goodwill,” of four forfeited properties on Life Avenue in West Dallas to the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity for demolition and development. The properties were forfeited to the government as a result of the successful investigation, by the Dallas Police Department’s Gang Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), of the violent drug trafficking and criminal street gang, known as the Gator Boyz, who bought and used these properties to traffic their drugs.

U.S. Attorney Saldaña and Marshal Ely were joined by Special Agent in Charge Robert Champion, of the Dallas ATF, and Dallas Police Chief David Brown in presenting a ceremonial deed of transfer to Mr. David W. McKeever, Jr., the Chief Financial Officer of Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity; Mr. Mike Rawlings, Dallas Mayor and Mr. Randy Skinner, Executive Director of Strategic Justice Initiatives.

Marshal Ely advised, “The United States Marshals Service is proud to partner with those in our community seeking to revitalize neighborhoods that have been affected by gang and drug-related crime. Through programs like Operation Goodwill, we are able to take the ill-gotten gains from this criminal activity and redirect them toward legitimate needs in our communities.”

“From the very beginning of this investigation, it was clear that we wanted to not only take these criminals, who were holding this neighborhood hostage, off the street, but take back this neighborhood for its residents so they could once again feel safe and secure,” said U.S. Attorney Saldaña. “I commend the Dallas Police Department’s Gang Unit and ATF for their combined investigative efforts and all of those who worked tirelessly to see the properties transferred to Habitat for redevelopment.”

“At Dallas Habitat, one of our biggest goals is to revitalize, reclaim and reinvent entire neighborhoods, and that’s exactly what we are doing by getting rid of these properties,” said Mr. McKeever. “This neighborhood simply cannot move forward and improve until these out of place, run down drug houses are gone.”

The Gator Boyz, which was made up of members of both the Bloods and Crips, used drug proceeds to purchase houses, including these four properties on Life Avenue. This gang, not only dealt drugs from these properties, but further terrorized the neighborhood by walking an alligator on a leash down the street. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of the Dallas Police Department’s Gang Unit and ATF, approximately 304 grams of crack cocaine, 440 grams of marijuana and dozens of firearms were seized. In addition, approximately 20 gang members were convicted, including the gang’s leaders, brothers Patrick and Tyrone Weatherall, who are now serving 20 and 30-year federal prison sentences.

Dallas Habitat recognizes its longtime partner, Republic Title, for their research and time commitment in making these property transfers possible.

Since 1986, Dallas Habitat has served more than 1,200 low-income families, in more than 25 neighborhoods, using affordable homeownership as an anchor for hope, change and stabilization. Dallas Habitat believes that hard-working individuals and families be provided the opportunity to live in thriving neighborhoods where hopes and dreams are realized. For more information on Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity visit http://www.dallasareahabitat.org.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Three defendants, who pleaded guilty to their respective roles in a major methamphetamine distribution conspiracy that operated in Wichita Falls, were sentenced on Friday, in federal court in Wichita Falls, by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Randall Wayne Ezzell, 46, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison; Jason Alan Haney, aka “A.J. Haney,” 27, was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison; and Troy Radford, 36, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison.

These are the first sentencings in this case in which 28 of the 30 defendants charged in the conspiracy have entered guilty pleas and will be sentenced during the next few months. The cases against two of the defendants have not been resolved. All 30 of the defendants who have been charged in the superseding indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury in October 2012, are in custody.

According to documents filed in the case, Ezell admitted that on multiple occasions in 2011, he manufactured, or cooked, anhydrous methamphetamine for co-conspirator Steve Ysasaga. Ysasaga supplied the pseudoephedrine tablets, a necessary ingredient to manufacture methamphetamine, and Ezzell obtained the rest of the ingredients necessary to manufacture the methamphetamine. Each “cook” involved a minimum of 20 boxes of pseudoephedrine and yielded approximately 40 grams of methamphetamine.

In addition, according to documents filed in the case, when a state narcotics search warrant was executed on December 5, 2011, at 12570 FM 171 in Wichita Falls, Ezzell and co-conspirators James Allen Stafford and Diana Gail Hassell were present on the property when agents discovered a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in operation.

Haney, whose primary role in the drug distribution conspiracy was as an enforcer, admitted that he accompanied Ysasaga to assist him in collecting a drug debt from a debtor by use of violence and intimidation. Haney also admitted that on numerous occasions in 2011, he received one-to two-ounce quantities of methamphetamine from Ysasaga and that he received at least 12 ounces of methamphetamine from Ysasaga. He admitted that he sold methamphetamine to customers, including co-conspirator Dewel Wells, in Wichita Falls.

Radford admitted that on numerous occasions between May and September 2012, he distributed quantities of methamphetamine to, and received payments for, methamphetamine from customers in the Wichita Falls area.

This Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Wichita Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary F. Walters is in charge of the prosecution.

Federal Jury Also Convicts Defendant’s Nephew on Federal Firearm Offense

AMARILLO, Texas — Following a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson, a federal jury has convicted Amarillo residents, Donald Joseph West, 49, and his nephew, David James West, 43, on all counts of a superseding indictment, returned by a federal grand jury earlier this year, charging felony offenses in connection with the November 5, 2012, armed robbery of FirstBank Southwest in Amarillo. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Donald West was convicted on one count of aggravated bank robbery, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence (the bank robbery). An armed career criminal, Donald West faces a statutory sentence of not less than 22 years and up to life in federal prison and a $750,000 fine.

David West, who remains on bond, was convicted on one count of the unlawful sale and disposition of a firearm. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing for both defendants is set for June 4, 2013, before Judge Robinson.

The government presented evidence at trial that on Monday, November 5, 2012, a man wearing a mask, entered the FirstBank Southwest, located at 5701 Southwest 34th Street, in Amarillo, pointed a gun at a teller and demanded cash. The teller placed money in a bag and the man, later identified as Donald West, left the bank. He was arrested the next evening by officers with the Amarillo Police Department and special agents with the FBI and has been in custody since that time.

The government presented further evidence that during the robbery, Donald West used a semi-automatic pistol. When he was arrested, a firearm, that was given to him by David West shortly before the robbery, was recovered. Donald West is a convicted felon, having been convicted 1) in Randall County, Texas, of committing aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in 1988; 2) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, with conspiracy to commit bank robbery and bank robbery in 1987; and 3) in Randall County for evading detention in 2011. The government presented further evidence that David West knowingly gave the 9mm caliber pistol to his uncle, well knowing that he was a convicted felon.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Amarillo Police Department and the Potter and Randall County Sheriff’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Haag, Justin Cunningham and Christy Drake are prosecuting.

Fraud Extended to United Kingdom, Spain, Lebanon, France and the United Arab Emirates

DALLAS — Thomas Francis Quinn, 76, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 84 months in federal prison, and then remanded into federal custody, for his role in a conspiracy to defraud two British telecommunications companies of more than $60 million. Quinn, a U.S. citizen who resided in France and maintained residences in other foreign countries, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Quinn was the last defendant convicted in the case to be sentenced. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Other defendants convicted and sentenced in the case are:

Michael Signoretto, 74, of Dallas. Following a two-week trial, Signoretto was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. He was sentenced in June 2012 to 84 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $50,700,400 in restitution.

Steven Roy Jamieson, 55, of Plano, Texas. Jamieson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $63,693,178 in restitution.

Robert William Moore, 48, a United Kingdom citizen, who resided in Poland and Dubai. Moore pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud. He was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison.

Jeffrey John Hemmer, 48, of Dallas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $63,693,178 in restitution.

David William Price, a U.K. citizen, is charged in the conspiracy, but remains a fugitive.

According to evidence presented at trial, including voluminous bank/financial records from multiple countries and intercepted telephone communications, as well as documents filed in the case, the defendants ran a conspiracy to defraud two British telecommunications companies, British Telecom (BT) and MCI (now Verizon) out of more than $60 million.

The conspirators committed the fraud by purchasing a London business, London Digital Limited (LDL), that had pre-existing contracts and favorable credit terms with BT and MCI. Over an 18-month period from late 2003 to June 2005, the conspirators used LDL to quickly buy increasing amounts of “air time” from the telecom companies that they would sell at a loss to other wholesale companies, and then, when they were doing more than $20 million per month in business, put their London company into bankruptcy and walked away with three months’ worth of revenues that should have been paid to the telecom companies.

The conspirators also created two shell companies, Nationwide Call Company (NCC) in Dallas and FOCOS Electronics in Marbella, Spain, to covertly move the proceeds of their fraud to Aston Rothbury, a private “bank” in London operated by a convicted money launderer. From London, the conspirators had their fraud proceeds directed to three bank accounts in Beirut, Lebanon, and from there the funds were disbursed to accounts in numerous countries, including France, Kenya, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Poland, the United States, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. As part of their plan to keep the fraud secret, the conspirators utilized fake passports, spoke about the fraud on prepaid “bat phones” and referred to each other with predetermined code names.

In late 2005, the victim companies brought a federal civil action in Hammond, Indiana, in an attempt to uncover the truth of what was behind the suspicious bankruptcy of LDL. As part of the federal case, the victim companies took the deposition of Jeffrey Hemmer on four occasions between late 2005 and late 2008. Behind the scenes, Quinn and his co-conspirators waged a prolonged effort to obstruct this federal civil case in order to prevent the victims from exposing the criminal conspiracy and everyone involved in it. Starting with a meeting of the conspirators in a Paris hotel, there was a concerted effort to get Hemmer to lie under oath in the Indiana proceedings or “take a vacation” – the conspirators’ code for fleeing the United States – so that he could not give deposition testimony. On four occasions between July and December 2008, Signoretto dropped four packages containing thousands of dollars at the concierge desk and valet stand at a downtown Dallas hotel, for pickup by Hemmer. Unbeknownst to the conspirators, however, Hemmer had begun cooperating with the FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation agents investigating the LDL case. Beginning with consensual recordings of Hemmer’s telephone calls, the investigating agents eventually obtained court-ordered wiretap interceptions of the telephones of Jamieson and Signoretto. These intercepted calls clearly implicated Quinn and his co-conspirators in the effort to obstruct the Indiana federal case, as well as the underlying LDL fraud.

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated. Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Errin Martin and Stephen Fahey prosecuted.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Miles Robert Flinn, 26, formerly of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 10 years in federal prison and a 10-year term of supervised release, following his guilty plea in November 2012 to one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Cummings ordered that Flinn, who presently resides in Bradenton, Florida, surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 26, 2013.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, while living in Lubbock, Flinn used a file-sharing program on his computer in his residence to download images and videos from the Internet, including child pornography. Flinn was found to be in possession of the child pornography on his computer hard drive on July 26, 2011.

This matter was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Lubbock Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy prosecuted.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Christopher Aubrey Harlan, 27, formerly of Big Spring, Texas, appeared in federal court in Lubbock today and pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, to one count of receiving child pornography. Harlan, who is on bond, faces a statutory penalty of not less than five years, or more than 20 years, in federal prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Harlan used his computer, as well as for a brief time, his roommate’s computer, to access child pornography on various websites. He used those computers, as well as his cellphone, to send and receive 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.”

The investigation is being conducted by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Big Spring Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is in charge of the prosecution.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Philip Woolery, a former officer with the Grapevine, Texas, Police Department, appeared in federal court in Fort Worth today and pleaded guilty to an Information charging one count of production, and one count of possession, of child pornography. Woolery has been in custody since his arrest in October 2012 at his residence in Crowley, Texas, by U.S. Postal Inspectors during the execution of a federal search warrant. He faces a total maximum statutory penalty of not less than 15 or more than 40 years in federal prison, a $500,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for September 17, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Woolery admitted that in August 2011 he used his digital camera to record a minor male engaging in sexually explicit conduct in a swimming pool. In addition, Woolery admitted that in October 2012, he possessed a laptop computer that contained a sexually explicit image of a nude minor male and that he used that computer and the Internet to search for websites containing 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 case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — Six residents of Arlington, Texas, who pleaded guilty to their respective roles in falsifying Texas state emissions tests at two state-certified inspections stations in Arlington, have been sentenced, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

“Everyone has a right to breathe clean air, free from excessive vehicle emissions,” said Ivan Vikin, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Texas. “In order to protect the public from harmful air pollutants, governments must have accurate and honest vehicle emissions tests. The defendants generated thousands of fraudulent inspections and certificates and cynically lined their pockets as they thumbed their noses at our nation’s environmental laws. This is one of the largest vehicle emission fraud cases in the country and is an excellent example of government agencies working together to protect both the public and the environment.”

“I commend the excellent investigative work by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division; the Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,” said U.S. Attorney Saldaña. “As these convictions illustrate, this office, in partnership with these agencies, will aggressively prosecute those who deliberately ignore the nation’s Clean Air Act.”

The Clean Air Act authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect the public health and welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants. Areas that exceed the NAAQS are known as “non-attainment areas.” Depending on the amount of pollution that exceeds the standards, areas are classified as marginal, moderate, serious, severe or extreme. The North Texas Region that includes Dallas and Tarrant counties, is classified as a “serious” non-attainment area by the EPA. Vehicles are required to pass annual inspections to ensure that their emissions do not exceed limits for hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide and other compounds.

Nghiem Van Tran, 54, and Nghi Cong Tran, 32, who each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 15 months in federal prison. In addition, Nghiem Van Tran was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

Ngan Tien Tran, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of making a Clean Air Act false statement and was sentenced by Judge Lynn to 12 months in federal prison.

Dahn Cong Tran, 26, Bich Dong Ngo, 26, and Huy Ngoc Nguyen, 26, were each sentenced to 12 months of probation, following each of their guilty pleas to one count of making a Clean Air Act false statement. Judge Lynn ordered that Danh Cong Tran’s probation include eight months of home confinement.

According to documents filed in the case, the inspection stations, Mike’s Autocare, located on North Mesquite Street in Arlington and Tommy Tech, located on Peach Street in Arlington, performed approximately 7,656 fraudulent emissions tests between August 2009 and March 2011. The defendants circumvented the required emissions testing procedures by substituting vehicles that would pass the emissions test in place of vehicles that had previously failed or showed equipment malfunctions. In most instances, the vehicle needing an emissions test was not present at Mike’s or Tommy Tech when the emissions tests were conducted, and the defendants who conducted the fraudulent tests received the necessary identifying vehicle information from Nghiem Van Tran and Nghi Cong Tran via a text message or a handwritten slip of paper. The defendants generated fraudulent emissions certificates and transmitted fraudulent testing results to the Texas Information Management System (TIMS) database managed by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The defendants demanded up to $80 for each fraudulent test, well above the state-mandated maximum charge of $39.75. Proceeds from the fraudulent emissions tests were deposited into a bank account for “Upland Investment,” which was controlled by Nghiem Van Tran.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen P. Fahey prosecuted.

LUBBOCK — Mark Dean Garrison, 48, of Denison, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 46 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in December 2012 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, in late October 2012, a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped a pickup truck, owned and driven by Garrison, for a traffic violation on Interstate 20 near Abilene, Texas. Co-defendant Brian Julian Gallardo, 22 of Sherman,, Texas, was the only passenger in the truck, which was carrying several spools of barbed wire. After Garrison consented to a search of the truck, one of the troopers opened the inside of one of the spools of wire and detected the odor of marijuana. Further investigation revealed that the spools of wire contained 229 bricks of marijuana that weighed approximately 112 kilograms. Both Garrison and Gallardo were arrested and have been in custody since that time.

Gallardo has pleaded guilty to the same offense and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 29, 2013. He faces a statutory penalty of not less than five or more than 40 years in federal prison and a $5 million fine.

The case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams is in charge of the prosecution.

LUBBOCK, Texas --- Billy Ray Doyle, 59, of San Angelo, Texas, appeared in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, today and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, 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.

Doyle faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Doyle has been in custody since his arrest on December 19, 2012.

In late November 2012, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) noticed an advertisement posted on an Internet message board entitled “Looking for company 18-25ish –m4m,” and determined that it was posted by Doyle. During ensuing email conversations between Doyle and an undercover agent who posed as a 15-year-old male, Doyle discussed with the undercover agent such things as showering together, lying naked on a bed together and possibly engaging in other sexual activity. The undercover agent’s age was discussed several times and Doyle repeatedly promised that a potential sexual relationship would remain secret. On December 15, 2012, Doyle emailed the undercover agent a sexually explicit photograph of himself. Doyle was arrested a few days later at a convenience store where he and the undercover agent had agreed to meet.

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 is in charge of the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is in charge of the prosecution.

WASHINGTON – John Hall, 27, an Aryan Brotherhood member and inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Seagoville, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor after pleading guilty to violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act stemming from his assault of a fellow inmate, whom he believed to be gay, the Department of Justice announced. Hall assaulted his fellow inmate with a dangerous weapon, causing bodily injury to the victim on Dec. 20, 2011. Hall was sentenced to serve 71 months in prison to be served consecutively with the sentence he is currently serving.

The assault occurred on Dec. 20, 2011, inside the FCI Seagoville when Hall targeted and attacked the victim, a fellow inmate, because he believed the victim was gay or involved in a sexual relationship with another male inmate. Hall repeatedly punched, kicked and stomped on the victim’s face with his shod feet, a dangerous weapon, while yelling a homophobic slur. The victim lost consciousness during the assault and suffered multiple lacerations to his face. The victim also sustained a fractured eye socket, lost a tooth, fractured other teeth and was treated at a hospital for the injuries he sustained during Hall’s unprovoked attack. Hall pleaded guilty to violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act on Nov. 8, 2012.

“Brutality and violence based on sexual orientation has no place in a civilized society,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to using all the tools in our law enforcement arsenal, including the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, to prosecute acts motivated by hate.”

“This prosecution sends a clear message that this office, in partnership with attorneys in the department’s Civil Rights Division, will prioritize and aggressively prosecute hate crimes and others civil rights violations in North Texas,” said U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

This case was investigated by the FBI Dallas Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin and Trial Attorney Adriana Vieco of the Civil Rights Division.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Richard D. Anderson, 59, of Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty on Friday, before U.S. District Judge John McBryde, to an indictment charging one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Anderson faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Judge McBryde set a June 21, 2013, sentencing date and remanded Anderson into custody.

According to documents filed in the case, in September 2012, officers with the Fort Worth Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit executed a search warrant at Anderson’s home and seized computers and removable storage media. A forensic exam revealed images and videos of child pornography. Anderson admitted that he had downloaded images of child pornography from the Internet using newsgroups and that he’d moved images from his computer to his flash 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 investigation is being conducted by the Fort Worth Police Department’s ICAC and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem.

LUBBOCK, Texas — James R. Cate, 69, was sentenced late Friday afternoon, by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a total of $297,179 in restitution, following his guilty plea in November 2012 to a superseding information charging the federal felony offense of making a threat to an aircraft, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Cummings ordered that Cate, who resides near Talpa, Texas, surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 12, 2013.

According to documents filed in the case, on February 29, 2012, Cate, using a Ruger Number One, 25-06 caliber single shot rifle with a Redfield scope, shot a crop duster plane. At the time Cate shot the aircraft, it was flying over a field neighboring Cate’s land near Talpa, dusting crops. Before he actually shot the aircraft, Cate fired three rounds from the rifle into the air. Cate admits that he threatened the aircraft to frighten the pilot away from his crops.

The last round that Cate fired hit the propeller of the aircraft, penetrated the engine cowling traveling toward the rear of the plane, passed through the firewall and the spray hopper (which contained nearly 500 gallons of chemical used for the crop spraying), entered the cockpit where it fragmented into multiple pieces (at least one of which tore through the leg of the jeans the pilot was wearing), then into the rear fuselage, all of which caused damage to the aircraft.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams prosecuted.

One Defendant Worked as a Bank Teller

DALLAS — Two local women, Amelia Blair Lopez, of Lancaster, Texas, and Eva Barrientos, of Red Oak, Texas, both 26, appeared in federal court this week and admitted embezzling Crime Stoppers’ funds on deposit at JP Morgan Chase Bank, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Specifically, each woman, who remains on bond, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft, embezzlement or misapplication by a bank employee and faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. Sentencings are set for this summer.

According to documents filed in the case, from February to April 2010, Lopez, a teller with JP Morgan Chase Bank, and Barrientos, embezzled approximately $18,750 of money entrusted to the care of JP Morgan Chase Bank by the North Texas Crime Commission.

Lopez provided Barrientos and Barrientos’s husband with confidential Crime Stoppers tip information, including tip numbers and code words necessary to collect the Crime Stoppers cash rewards. Barrientos, Barrientos’s husband and others would present the tip numbers and code words to Lopez, and other tellers at the bank, to collect the Crime Stoppers cash rewards. After Barrientos, Barrientos’s husband and others collected the cash rewards, they would divide the cash among the coconspirators.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin is in charge of the prosecution.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Victor Lopez, 47, of San Angelo, Texas, appeared this morning in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, and pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography. Lopez faces a maximum statutory penalty of not less than five years or more than 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Lopez has been in federal custody since his arrest following the execution of a federal search warrant at his residence by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on January 23, 2013. He was indicted last month on several counts of receiving and possessing child pornography.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Lopez admitted that he used file-sharing software to collect numerous videos of child pornography, including depictions of sadistic and masochistic conduct.

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

The case is being investigated by ICE HSI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy.

Defendants Allegedly Shipped Computers to Dubai, Concealing That They Were Ultimately Destined for Iran

DALLAS — Borna Faizy, aka “Brad,” and Touraj Ghavidel, aka “Brent Dell,” corporate owners/operators of Signal Microsystems in Addison, Texas, a company that sold computers domestically and internationally, were arrested yesterday by members of the North Texas Counterproliferation Task Force on an indictment alleging that they illegally shipped computer equipment to Iran through Dubai. They made their initial appearances yesterday afternoon and were released on bond. In addition, both pleaded not guilty to the charges. Today’s announcement was made by Sarah R. Saldaña, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and Diego Rodriguez, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI Dallas Division.

The indictment, which was returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Dallas earlier this week, alleges that from 2005 to January 2012, Faizy, 42, of Frisco, Texas, and Ghavidel, 44, of Plano, Texas, conspired together and with others to export computers and computer equipment from the United States to Iran, in violation of the prohibitions imposed upon that country by the United States Government, without first having the required authorizations or licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

As part of their conspiracy, the indictment alleges that Faizy and Ghavidel acquired computers from U.S. companies to supply to end-users in Iran and concealed from the United States that the computers were destined for Iran. They allegedly evaded regulations, prohibitions and licensing requirements of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR), which prohibit, among other things, the export, re-export, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States to Iran, without prior authorization from the Secretary of the Treasury. These regulations further prohibit the unauthorized exportation of goods from the United States to a third country if the goods are intended or destined for Iran.

Faizy and Ghavidel allegedly actively recruited Iranian customers by marketing their computer business to business owners and individuals in Iran, and, in 2008 or 2009, attended a computer trade show, known as “GITEX,” in Dubai to recruit Iranian customers. The defendants allegedly used freight-forwarding companies in Dubai to ship the equipment to Iran and communicated with coconspirators using fictitious names and coded language to obscure the true identities and locations of the ultimate consignees and end-users. They also created invoices and export forms that falsely identified the ultimate consignees of the shipments as parties in Dubai.

Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to illegally export to Iran, nine substantive counts charging illegal export and attempted export of goods to Iran and one count of making false statements to a federal agency. Upon conviction, the conspiracy count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Each of the substantive counts carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and each of the false statement counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. In addition, upon conviction, each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000.

The investigation is being conducted by members of the North Texas Counterproliferation Task Force, which includes the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Department of Commerce and Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Mark Penley, Gary C. Tromblay and Katherine Miller of the Northern District of Texas and Trial Attorney David Recker of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

DALLAS — Todd Ray Walker, 39, of Dallas, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 240 months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Walker has been in custody since June 27, 2011, when he was arrested by officers with the Dallas Police Department.

According to documents filed in the case, Walker admitted that on multiple occasions from January 2011 to the date of his arrest, he received multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine from multiple Dallas-based supply sources, stored the drugs at residences on Westglen Drive and Forney Road in Dallas, and distributed the drugs from the residences. During the time of the conspiracy, Walker possessed and/or distributed more than two kilograms of methamphetamine.

In addition, Walker admitted that in retaliation for the theft of drugs and drug proceeds from the Westglen residence, on or about June 27, 2011, he held a female against her will for several hours at the residence. He forced her to strip so that he could search her for drugs and/or money and admits that he was armed with a handgun while he held her inside the residence. Her hands were then bound by co-defendant James Darnell Brown, and Walker took photographs of her being assaulted by co-defendants Amy Suzanne Benat and Rachel Marie Anderson. Walker, Brown, Benat and Anderson were arrested when officers with the Dallas Police Department arrived at the residence on June 27, 2011, and a subsequent search of the residence resulted in the seizure by law enforcement of approximately 250 grams of methamphetamine and multiple firearms.

Walker was ordered to forfeit his residence on Westglen Drive and 36 firearms to the United States.

This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation was conducted by the FBI. To date, a total of 50 defendants, mostly customers of Walker, have been named in multiple indictments.

Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert was in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS, Texas — Frank Christopher Olivera, 46, of Grapevine, Texas, the former Vice President of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Gamestop Texas LLP, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 51 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in November 2012 to one count of mail fraud. Olivera stole more than $1.7 million, most of which he has repaid to the victim, Gamestop Texas LLP. Judge Boyle ordered that Olivera pay an additional $57,376, which constitutes the amount unpaid on the loss and $77,275 additional restitution to Gamestop. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, beginning in July 2009 and continuing to April 2011, Olivera defrauded Gamestop by submitting false and fraudulent invoices for vendor services from a fictitious company, “Cloud Communications LLC,” which he owned and controlled. Olivera directed Gamestop to send the payments from Gamestop’s offices in Grapevine to Cloud Communications LLC in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, Nevada and in Canada. In addition to creating a fictitious company, Olivera also created a fictitious person, “Jennifer Miller,” to serve as the point of contact at Cloud Communications. Upon receipt of payments from Gamestop, Olivera would deposit the checks into a bank account held by Cloud Communications and then would transfer the fraudulently obtained funds into his personal bank account.

The overall scheme to defraud involved $1,965,900 in fraudulent invoices.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin.

Defendant Concocted Convincing Story That He Was a Wounded Combat Veteran

DALLAS — Michael Duye Campbell, 30, of Houston, appeared in federal court in Dallas today and pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis, to an Information charging one count of mail fraud, stemming from a scheme he ran from 2010 to 2012 to obtain financial assistance so that he could play professional golf. Campbell, a Houston resident, faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. He will remain on bond, pending sentencing, which has been set for June 19, 2013, before Judge Solis. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Campbell served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2000 to 2004; he never deployed overseas and was never injured, severely or otherwise, in combat. Nonetheless, he began representing himself as a Marine combat veteran who had suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

As part of his elaborate scheme, Campbell falsely told others that while on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq, his unit was attacked when an improvised explosive device (IED), or bomb, detonated. He told others that members of his unit died in the explosion and that he awoke from his serious injuries months later at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He claimed that he couldn’t speak, and that when he did regain his speech, he stuttered. He also claimed that he suffered short-term memory loss from his TBI.

Campbell told numerous individuals that his doctor suggested that he take up golf to help with his rehabilitation for his combat injuries. Campbell also created a website and obtained a promotional video recording to further his scheme — all to obtain financial help to play in the PGA.

Campbell was convincing in his story. He met famous people who supported charity golf tournaments for wounded warriors and convinced them to write stories on his behalf and provide him access to expensive golf schools and golf courses. All of this provided Campbell with opportunities to continue his scheme, defraud others and afford him opportunities to search out endorsement contracts for golf apparel and equipment.

In fact, it was during this process that Campbell learned of the Troops First Foundation and Operation Proper Exit. These charities provide opportunities for severely-injured service members to return to the location where they sustained their injury and, instead of being medically evacuated, provide them the opportunity to walk to the aircraft and climb the ramp. Campbell participated in Operation Proper Exit VIII, co-sponsored by the USO, in December 2010. He was flown from DFW to Dubai and then provided military transportation for the remainder of the trip. Even though Campbell was neither a combat veteran nor a wounded warrior, he made the trip, which cost thousands of dollars.

Campbell deceived other charities including Operation Homefront and Counter Valor by making continued material false statements in furtherance of his scheme to defraud. He obtained many things of value from them including automobile payments, automobile insurance payments, utilities, room and board, transportation, living expenses and golf tournament entry fees. Likewise, Campbell deceived Vola LLC (an athletic apparel and footwear company located in Richardson, Texas) and Golf Technology Xtreme, Inc. (GTX) (a manufacturer of golf clubs), by obtaining, and attempting to obtain golf clothing, equipment, money and other things of value from them.

Campbell admits that the victims of his fraud suffered at least $40,000 in actual losses.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two individuals, Deundrea R. Miller, 27, and Brittanie S. Brattain, 21, charged in a federal felony criminal complaint with sex trafficking of a child, by force, fraud or coercion, made their initial appearance in federal court this afternoon, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton. Brattain was detained pending further disposition of the matter; Miller is detained pending hearings set for later in the week. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the complaint filed in the case, from September 2012 through January 2013, Miller and Brattain recruited, enticed, harbored and maintained a minor, known as “Jane Doe,” who at the time was 15-years-old, to engage in commercial prostitution activities that were advertised on Backpage.com. Jane Doe engaged in numerous commercial sex acts during this time and turned over all the money she earned from the prostitution to Miller.

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.”

A federal criminal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged, and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment. The penalty for the charged offense is not less than 10 years or more than life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation is being conducted by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Arlington Police Department and the Fort Worth Police Department — members of the North Texas Anti-Trafficking Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem is in charge of the prosecution.

Instant Tax Service Manager Also Ordered to Pay $1,665,000 in Restitution

DALLAS — Cora Latrice Hopkins was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 37 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,665,000 in restitution, following her guilty plea in November 2012 to filing a false claim with an agency of the United States. Hopkins, who according to the indictment filed in the case is a Garland, Texas, resident, has been in custody since her arrest in August 2012 by special agents with Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS CI). Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, from December 2008 through March 2009, Hopkins was employed as the manager of the Instant Tax Service (ITS) office located on South Buckner Boulevard in Dallas. In this capacity, she was responsible for preparing and filing tax returns for ITS clients; she filed the returns electronically with the IRS, using an identification number assigned to the ITS office on South Buckner.

The factual resume further states that between January 1, 2009, and March 12, 2009, Hopkins prepared and filed 403 tax returns, for tax year 2008, with the IRS. Of these 403 tax returns, 316 claimed the First Time Homebuyer Credit that was available to qualified individuals who purchased a home as a primary residence in 2008. Hopkins, however, knew that the taxpayer named in each of those returns did not qualify for, or had not provided the information necessary to qualify for, the First Time Homebuyer Credit. Hopkins admitted that she knew that the false credits claimed on the tax returns would reduce the taxpayer’s tax liability or increase the amount of any refund due to the taxpayers.

The investigation was conducted by IRS CI; Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Yanowitch was in charge of the prosecution.

DALLAS — Walter Eugene Rogers, 33, of Watauga, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 180 months in federal prison and a five-year term of supervised release, following his guilty plea in November 2012 to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Rogers has been in custody since he was arrested in Georgia by officers with the Tallapoosa Police Department on a related charge outlined in a criminal complaint.

According to documents filed in the case, a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), conducting an undercover investigation to identify persons involved in the distribution of child pornography through the use of peer-to-peer file sharing networks, identified a particular computer that was sharing images of child pornography. The undercover agent downloaded some of the more than 384 files available for sharing that had names indicative of child pornography, and found that they did contain images of child pornography.

Based on the downloaded images, a warrant was executed at Rogers’ home in Watauga in November 2011 and agents seized a computer and related storage devices, as well as a bag of printed child pornography images. Rogers admitted that he had been downloading child pornography since the mid-1990's and that he is attracted to boys 9-12 years of age. Rogers also admitted that he had images and videos of sex acts, bondage and other sadistic acts involving children, and that he had downloaded child pornography just a few hours before agents arrived that day.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ 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 to 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 the case; Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.

AMARILLO, Texas — Billy Michael Grimes, 51, of Pampa, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to 96 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $2,800 in restitution for committing the armed robbery of a credit union in Pampa in September 2012. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, on September 15, 2012, Grimes, wearing a black hoodie and sweat pants and a New York Yankees ball cap, entered the Amarillo Community Federal Credit Union, located on North Hobart Street in Pampa, approached a teller and said he needed to make a withdrawal. The teller advised him that he would need to complete a withdrawal slip. Displaying a gun, Grimes told her he did not need a withdrawal slip and to give him all the money. After receiving the cash from the teller, Grimes ran out of the Credit Union. Shortly thereafter, Grimes was identified by law enforcement, located driving his vehicle and was stopped. He had a donut bag with him and said that he’d just come from the donut shop. The investigation revealed that Grimes used one of the bills from the robbery to purchase the donuts, just moments after robbing the Credit Union.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Pampa Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy L. Drake of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Amarillo, Texas, was in charge of the prosecution.

Shanice Adel Lambert Worked in Childress Independent School District

AMARILLO, Texas — A former teacher’s aide in the Childress Independent School District (CISD), Shanice Adel Lambert, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to 30 months in federal prison, following her guilty plea in November 2012 to one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Lambert was remanded into custody at the time of her guilty plea, and her custody was continued following the sentencing hearing.

According documents filed in the case, through her employment in the CISD as a teacher’s aide, and through this individual’s association with one of her children, Lambert met “John Doe,” a 15-year-old student at the school where she worked. In February 2012, Lambert engaged in a relationship with “John Doe” which became sexual in nature. On February 11, 2012, Lambert traveled to Altus, Oklahoma, for the purpose, among others, of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with “John Doe.” After arriving in Altus, Lambert rented a motel room and engaged in sexual acts with “John Doe.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Drake, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Amarillo, Texas, prosecuted.

DALLAS — A Plano, Texas, resident was convicted this afternoon by a federal jury for conspiring to hack into his former employer’s computer network, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Michael Musacchio, 61, was found guilty of one felony count of conspiracy to make unauthorized access to a protected computer (hacking) and two substantive felony counts of hacking. Each count of conviction carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the evidence submitted at trial, from 2002 to 2004, Musacchio was the president of Exel Transportation Services, a third party logistics or intermodal transportation company that facilitated links between shippers and common carriers in the manufacturing, retail and consumer industries. In 2004, Musacchio left Exel to form a competing company, Total Transportation Services, where he was the original president and CEO. Two other former Exel employees, Joseph Roy Brown and John Michael Kelly, also went to work at Musacchio’s new company. Trial testimony and exhibits established that between 2004 and 2006, Musacchio, Brown and Kelly engaged in a scheme to hack into Exel’s computer system for the purpose of conducting corporate espionage. Through their repeated unauthorized accesses into Exel’s email accounts, the co-conspirators were able to obtain Exel’s confidential and proprietary business information and use it to benefit themselves and their new employer.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment against the three men on Nov. 2, 2010. Brown and Kelly entered guilty pleas on May 19, 2011, and Aug. 2, 2012, respectively, and are awaiting sentencing. Musacchio is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis.

This was the first investigation of hacking for the purpose of corporate espionage that was conducted by the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property (CCIP) Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and the FBI.

The FBI Dallas Field Office was in charge of the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Linda Groves and Candina Heath and Trial Attorney Rick Green of the Criminal Division’s CCIP Section prosecuted.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Montray Lorenzo Cato, 29, of Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to 120 months in federal prison, following his conviction at trial, in November 2012, on two counts of bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Judge McBryde also ordered that Cato pay $7,747 in restitution.

During summer 2012, Cato robbed two branches of the First Convenience Bank in Fort Worth. Cato committed the June 13, 2012, robbery of the First Convenience Bank, located inside of a Kroger Store at 6650 North Beach Street and the July 28, 2012, robbery of the First Convenience Bank, located inside of a Walmart at 6756 West Vickery. On both occasions the bank robber wore similar clothing and held a cell phone to his ear during the robbery.

Cato was arrested on August 29, 2012, after employees at a First Convenience Bank, located inside of a Kroger Store at 9114 Camp Bowie Boulevard West, recognized Cato loitering in the store and notified the Fort Worth Police Department. After officers located Cato in the store, they escorted him outside and discovered that he had a realistic plastic replica of a firearm in his waistband. In addition, he had no money, credit cards or debit cards on his person that seemed to belie his claim that he was shopping at the Kroger.

The case was investigated by the Fort Worth Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Gulde and Megan Fahey prosecuted.

DALLAS — Howard Tyson, 45, of Dallas, pleaded guilty this morning, before Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, to a criminal information charging one count of possession of child pornography. Tyson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Judge Fitzwater ordered Tyson to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on Monday, March 4, 2013, and set a sentencing date of June 14, 2013. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Tyson used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download child pornography from the Internet onto his computer and his wife’s computer. When agents with the U.S. Secret Service executed a federal search warrant at his residence on July 26, 2011, Tyler admitted that he had been downloading child pornography for approximately one year. He said that he downloaded most of the child pornography onto his wife’s laptop computer. A forensic examination of both computers showed that the hard drives contained more than 8,000 images and 20 videos of child pornography. Tyson acknowledged that some of the images were sadistic and that the images and videos were of real prepubescent and pubescent 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.”

The U.S. Secret Service and the Plano, Texas, Police Department are investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.

LUBBOCK, Texas --- Jordan Weston Hamilton, 24, of Big Spring, Texas, appeared yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings and pleaded guilty to the federal charge of false information and hoaxes, stemming from a bomb threat he made in December 2012. Hamilton, who remains in custody, faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, on December 17, 2012, at approximately 10:05 a.m., Hamilton called the Howard County, Texas, 9-1-1 emergency call center. Hamilton admits that he intentionally conveyed false and misleading information to the emergency call center when he stated there was a bomb located in the Science room at the Big Spring High School. Hamilton also admits that emergency officials in Big Spring, reasonably believing the false and misleading information he conveyed, evacuated and searched the Big Spring High School for a bomb. No bomb was located at the school.

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Cunningham, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas.

Scheme Resulted in More Than $2 Million in Losses to Lenders

DALLAS — Patience Lavon Jackson, 50, of Arlington, Texas, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 63 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $2,801,661.95 in restitution, following her conviction for leading a conspiracy to defraud residential mortgage lenders, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Boyle ordered that Jackson surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 3, 2013.

Jackson pleaded guilty in October 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Co-defendant Anthony Davis, Jr., 32, of Mesquite, Texas, who was employed as a branch manager at Bank of America, pleaded guilty in September 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25, 2013. Charlie M. Smith, Jr., of California, another co-defendant in the case, is facing similar charges in the Southern District of Ohio; that case will be adjudicated first.

According to documents filed, Jackson admitted that the purpose of her scheme was to fraudulently obtain residential real estate mortgages. Holding herself out as a real estate investor, she offered investment “seminars” at her house. Her “investment program” included recruiting straw purchasers, including Davis, to buy real estate and obtain fraudulent proceeds from the transaction by submitting fake invoices for consulting, upgrades or repairs. In facilitating the fraudulent real estate transactions, she caused title companies to mail closing documents to residential mortgage lenders who then wired money to fund the purchases.

Jackson facilitated the mortgage loans for the straw purchasers by submitting false and fraudulent loan applications and documents. These applications included material misrepresentations regarding the borrower’s income, employment, assets and intention to occupy the property. Jackson also admitted that she supplied cash to some borrowers to make it appear as if the individual had the necessary financial assets to qualify for the loan, when they did not. Jackson also admitted that she received disbursements from some of the sellers that were not disclosed to the mortgage lenders.

For example, in one transaction, she facilitated fraudulent loans for an individual, “A.B.,” who was recruited by co-defendant Smith, to purchase Jackson’s residence on Hillcrest Lane in Dallas. Jackson admits that she notarized loan and closing documents purportedly bearing A.B.’s signature, but that she never met A.B. She also admitted that she provided money to A.B. for his down payment to purchase the Hillcrest property. False statements on this loan application and other documents caused the two mortgage lenders, JP Morgan Chase and First Magnus Financial Corporation, to wire a total of approximately $1.42 million to a title company to fund A.B’s purchase.

Davis admitted that in 2007, he conspired with Jackson and others to commit mail fraud. He attended real-estate investment “seminars” at Jackson’s house. She also recruited him to be a straw purchaser in her scheme, convincing him to purchase an investment property on Vickery in Dallas. Davis admitted that his loan application contained numerous false statements, including the amount of available cash assets and his intention to occupy the property as his primary residence.

In another instance, Davis signed a false verification of deposit form for an investor, whom Jackson recruited, falsely representing that this person had a certificate of deposit (CD) at Bank of America valued at $74,595. This document was part of this individual’s loan package to purchase a home on Willis Avenue in Dallas.

The conspirators allowed the purchased properties to go into foreclosure by not making the monthly mortgage payments, which resulted in more than $2 million in losses to mortgage lenders.

(This case was prosecuted in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit http://www.stopfraud.gov/.

The investigation was led by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Nicholas Bunch is in charge of the prosecution.