District of Utah

A federal grand jury sitting in the District of Utah has returned an indictment, which was unsealed today, charging the CEO and CFO of Washakie Renewable Energy (WRE), a Utah-based biodiesel company, and a California businessman with laundering proceeds of a mail fraud scheme, which obtained over $511 million in renewable fuel tax credits from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah, Don Fort, Chief of IRS Criminal Investigation and Jessica Taylor, Director of Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division.

According to the indictment, Jacob Kingston was Chief Executive Officer and Isaiah Kingston was Chief Financial Officer of WRE and each held a 50% ownership interest in the company. WRE has described itself as the “largest producer of biodiesel and chemicals in the intermountain west.” 

Jacob Kingston, Isaiah Kingston, and Lev Aslan Dermen (aka Levon Termendzhyan), owner of California-based fuel company NOIL Energy Group, allegedly schemed to file false claims for renewable fuel tax credits, which caused the IRS to issue over $511 million to WRE.  Jacob Kingston is separately charged with filing nine false claims for refund on behalf of WRE in 2013.

The IRS administered tax credits designed to increase the amount of renewable fuel used and produced in the United States. These tax credits were paid by the IRS regardless of whether the taxpayer owed other taxes.

From 2010 through 2016, as part of their fraud to obtain the fuel tax credits, the defendants allegedly created false production records and other paperwork routinely created in qualifying renewable fuel transactions along with other false documents.  To make it falsely appear that qualifying fuel transactions were occurring, the defendants rotated products through places in the United States and through at least one foreign country.  The defendants also allegedly used “burner phones” and other covert means to communicate during the scheme.

The indictment further charges that the defendants laundered part of the scheme proceeds through a series of financial transactions related to the purchase of a $3 million personal residence for Jacob Kingston.  Jacob and Isaiah Kingston are separately alleged to have laundered approximately $1.72 million in scheme proceeds to purchase a 2010 Bugatti Veyron.  Jacob Kingston and Lev Aslan Dermen are separately charged with money laundering related to an $11.2 million loan funded by scheme proceeds.

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum of 10 years in prison for each money laundering count and Jacob Kingston faces a maximum of 3 years in prison for each false tax return count. They also face a period of supervised release, monetary penalties, and restitution.

An indictment is an accusation.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah thanked special agents of IRS-CI, EPA-CID, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing, Leslie A. Goemaat, Arthur J. Ewenczyk, and Senior Litigation Counsel John E. Sullivan of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

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

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury sitting in the District of Utah has returned an indictment, which was unsealed today, charging the CEO and CFO of Washakie Renewable Energy (WRE), a Utah-based biodiesel company, and a California businessman with laundering proceeds of a mail fraud scheme, which obtained over $511 million in renewable fuel tax credits from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah, Don Fort, Chief of IRS Criminal Investigation and Jessica Taylor, Director of Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division.

According to the indictment, Jacob Kingston was Chief Executive Officer and Isaiah Kingston was Chief Financial Officer of WRE and each held a 50% ownership interest in the company. WRE has described itself as the “largest producer of biodiesel and chemicals in the intermountain west.” 

Jacob Kingston, Isaiah Kingston, and Lev Aslan Dermen (aka Levon Termendzhyan), owner of California-based fuel company NOIL Energy Group, allegedly schemed to file false claims for renewable fuel tax credits, which caused the IRS to issue over $511 million to WRE.  Jacob Kingston is separately charged with filing nine false claims for refund on behalf of WRE in 2013.

The IRS administered tax credits designed to increase the amount of renewable fuel used and produced in the United States. These tax credits were paid by the IRS regardless of whether the taxpayer owed other taxes.

From 2010 through 2016, as part of their fraud to obtain the fuel tax credits, the defendants allegedly created false production records and other paperwork routinely created in qualifying renewable fuel transactions along with other false documents.  To make it falsely appear that qualifying fuel transactions were occurring, the defendants rotated products through places in the United States and through at least one foreign country.  The defendants also allegedly used “burner phones” and other covert means to communicate during the scheme.

The indictment further charges that the defendants laundered part of the scheme proceeds through a series of financial transactions related to the purchase of a $3 million personal residence for Jacob Kingston.  Jacob and Isaiah Kingston are separately alleged to have laundered approximately $1.72 million in scheme proceeds to purchase a 2010 Bugatti Veyron.  Jacob Kingston and Lev Aslan Dermen are separately charged with money laundering related to an $11.2 million loan funded by scheme proceeds.

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum of 10 years in prison for each money laundering count and Jacob Kingston faces a maximum of 3 years in prison for each false tax return count. They also face a period of supervised release, monetary penalties, and restitution.
An indictment is an accusation.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah thanked special agents of IRS-CI, EPA-CID, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing, Leslie A. Goemaat, Arthur J. Ewenczyk, and Senior Litigation Counsel John E. Sullivan of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

SALT LAKE CITY – Ryan Bird Andersen, age 45, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty to a one-count misdemeanor information Thursday charging him with defacing a natural feature – the Corona Arch – by scratching graffiti into the rock.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Pead presided at the hearing in U.S. District Court.

As a part of the plea agreement, Andersen agreed to pay the maximum fine of $1,000, full restitution of $858.32 to the Bureau of Land Management, and a processing fee of $30.  Andersen also agreed to release a statement advocating the responsible use of public lands as a part of the plea agreement. (A copy of the statement is attached to this release.)

“Mr. Andersen’s conduct was troubling to us and anyone who values Utah’s beautiful public lands. People travel from around the world to visit these spectacular resources. Mr. Andersen learned a valuable lesson from this prosecution.  As he writes in his statement, we hope others can learn from his mistakes and always act responsibly with our natural treasures,” U.S Attorney John W. Huber said today.

Andersen’s guilty plea will be held in abeyance for a period of 18 months. During that period, the defendant is prohibited from entering or using any public land administered by the BLM, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Army Corps of Engineers.  The defendant can use public roads traversing public lands for necessary travel. 

August 23, 2018

Dear Friends and Concerned Citizens,

I want you all to know that I have reached an agreement with the government to account for my actions last spring at the Corona Arch in southern Utah.  With that agreement I have accepted responsibility for my conduct and have agreed to pay a fine and full restitution to address the damage caused to the arch. 

Although I have resolved my case with the government, I will remain committed to helping ensure that our public lands remain pristine.  In the future, I hope that others can learn from my mistakes and always act responsibly with our natural treasures.

Sincerely,

Ryan Andersen

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury returned a four-count superseding indictment Wednesday charging three individuals with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in the overdose death of an individual. According to the indictment, the controlled substance was cyclopropyl fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. 

Charged in the indictment, unsealed Friday afternoon, are Adam Hemmelgarn, age 37, of Hooper, Utah, Tyrell Jabbar Perry, age 20, of Roy, Utah, and Christian Scott Jimerson, age 19, of West Haven, Utah.  The three are also charged with distribution of cyclopropyl fentanyl.

The individual who died is identified as J.R. in the indictment.  Family members of J.R. have asked that his name, Jaydon Rogers, be released.  Rogers was found unresponsive in his residence in West Haven, Utah, on March 12, 2018, and transported to the hospital. He died March 14, 2018.  

In addition to the drug charges, Hemmelgarn is also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of firearms following a felony conviction. The indictment alleges Hemmelgarn had six firearms and associated ammunition in his possession.

Hemmelgarn was taken into custody Thursday. He had an initial appearance Friday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooke C. Wells and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.  A detention hearing for Hemmelgarn was continued to Aug. 31, 2018.

Perry and Jimerson were initially charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of cyclopropyl fentanyl in a sealed indictment returned by a grand jury on Aug. 2, 2018.  A summons will be issued to both of them to appear on the charges in the superseding indictment. 

Indictments are not findings of guilt.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

The potential maximum sentence for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death is life in prison with a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.  Possession of a firearm following a felony conviction has a maximum 10-year sentence and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense has a five-year mandatory minimum sentence, which would run consecutive to any sentence imposed for a drug offense. 

Agents, deputies, and officers of the DEA, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, and the Davis County Metro Narcotics Task Force are investigating the case.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

SALT LAKE CITY – Trial dates have been scheduled in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City for two individuals charged in a five-count indictment in connection with an alleged Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme. Charges include conspiracy to commit bank fraud by opening bank accounts under false identities in order to receive criminal proceeds generated by impersonating the officers of businesses and directing employees to wire money into the fraudulently opened accounts.

Saheed Yusuf, age 32, of Atlanta, and a co-defendant, Vanisha Wright Matthis, age 46, also of Atlanta, were charged in June by federal prosecutors in Utah as a part of a coordinated national enforcement operation targeting thousands of individuals now facing federal charges for alleged BEC schemes.  

U.S. Attorney for Utah John W. Huber, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Salt Lake Field Office Eric Barnhart, and Utah Department of Public Safety Commission Keith Squires announced the Utah indictment, which was unsealed Friday.

An FBI Cyber Task Force Officer from the Utah Department of Public Safety investigated the case and located the alleged defendants in the case.

U.S. Marshals returned Yusuf to Utah following his arrest in Lithonia, Georgia, on July 6, 2018.  He arrived in Utah last week.  He appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul M. Warner. He entered pleas of not guilty to the charges.  A four-day jury trial was set for Oct. 16, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby.  Federal prosecutors requested Yusuf be detained pending trial and Magistrate Warner ordered him to remain in custody.

Matthis had an initial appearance on the indictment in late June and entered pleas of not guilty to the charges in the indictment.  She is not in custody. A two-week trial has been set for Sept. 14, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby.

Yusuf and Matthis are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
 
“These scammers target victims by convincing them to transfer money to bank accounts they control. Often the scheme is facilitated by impersonating a key employee or business partner. Employees of the business think they are responding to a request from a company leader and transfer the funds to what turns out to be a shell bank account,” Huber said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah and our local and federal partners will continue to focus on this cyber-enabled financial fraud,” Huber said.

“Perpetrators of business email compromise schemes manipulate and exploit trusting individuals who believe they are conducting legitimate business.  The result can be devastating not only financially but emotionally.  The sophistication and evolving nature of these scams mean businesses should have increased awareness and prevention efforts in place.  If you’ve believe you’ve fallen victim to a BEC scam, contact your financial institution and local FBI immediately and file a complaint with www.ic3.gov,” Eric Barnhart, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office said.

"The Department of Public Safety and its agents are committed to protecting Utah business owners and will go after cyber criminals wherever they might be," said Commissioner Squires said today. "We value the partnership we have with the FBI to work as one in this fight against cybercrime."

According to the indictment, the defendants and their co-conspirators opened at least two bank accounts under the name of a business called Allied Logistics Group Inc., using false business names to disguise their identities and make it seem like a legitimate business rather than a shell company used to commit fraud.

With the accounts established, the defendants sent dozens of emails to businesses in the United States and the United Kingdom using the names of business executives without their knowledge or authorization. The apparent purpose of these emails, the indictment alleges, was to engage with employees of these businesses and give them wire instructions to wire the company’s funds. 

For example, on July 11, 2016, the defendants and their co-conspirators sent a series of email communications to a business in Utah, purporting to be a corporate officer whose initials are “B.B.” and using his name with the email address CEOEMAILSS@GMAIL.COM.  At about 9:06 a.m., the defendants sent an email using the name of the real person with the initials B.B., who was an officer of the company, with wire instructions for one of the Allied Logistics Group Inc. Bank accounts, and directed an employee of the victim business to send $58,000 from the business’s Utah account to the defendants’ account. At about 4:50 p.m. that same day, the wire of $58,000 was completed as requested by the defendants and was received by the bank account they had created for that purpose.  Later that day, the defendants started moving money out of the account through transfers and subsequent withdrawals.  After the successful completion of the fraud against the Utah business, the bank accounts created for Allied Logistics Group Inc. were closed.

Indictments are not findings of guilt.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.  The potential maximum charges for the charges in the indictment are 30 years for conspiracy to commit bank fraud; 20 years for the wire fraud and money laundering counts; and a two-year mandatory minimum for the aggravated identity theft count, which would run consecutive to any other sentence. 

The national operation was funded and coordinated by the FBI.  Private sector partners, including Symantec, provided significant assistance to the FBI Salt Lake City Cyber Task Force investigating BEC cases.

SALT LAKE CITY – Five individuals, who conspired to operate a payment-processing scheme for proceeds received by telemarketing call centers and other activities associated with fraudulent telemarketing programs, have been sentenced. 

The merchant processing fraud supported telemarketing call centers throughout the country, including a large operation in Phoenix, Arizona.  Several fraudulent products were sold through the call centers, including information guaranteeing government grants, business opportunities, and “Amazon rooms and accompanying advertising.”

Chad Gettel, age 43, of Salt Lake City, has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for the scheme.  The sentence will run concurrent to a sentence he received in the CC Brown case. According to federal prosecutors, the payment-processing scheme started while Gettel was on release in the CC Brown case.  Gettel has been ordered to pay $558,837.00 in restitution.

Jamie White, age 41, of St. George, and Peter Ian Seldin, age 51, of Miami, Florida, will each serve 36 months in federal prison for their role in the fraud scheme. William B. Rogers, age 39, of Salt Lake City, will serve 12 months in prison. White, Seldin, and Rogers were ordered to pay $32,500 in restitution. Parker Crow, age 26, of St. George, was sentenced to five years of probation and will pay $15,000 in restitution.

To set up the merchant processing accounts, the co-conspirators contacted individuals and convincing them to open Limited Liability Companies (“LLCs”) and bank accounts in those company names in order to obtain the merchant accounts that were used to process the funds from the telemarketing rooms.  These individuals are known as nominees because they mask the true nature of the operation that Gettel, White, Seldin and the others conducted on behalf of the partner fraudulent telemarketing operations. 

The nominees were told that their business provided merchant processing services to smaller businesses who could not obtain their own merchant accounts.  They were never informed that telemarketing was involved nor were they aware that the telemarketing sales were fraudulent. 

In furtherance of the scheme, Gettel, Seldin, White and others created the LLCs and fraudulently set up merchant bank accounts through which the telemarketing fraud victims’ payments were processed.  In executing the scheme to defraud, and in order to apply for and obtain merchant accounts the defendants created fraudulent documents they called “Creatives.”  These documents included fabricated bank statements, profit and loss statements and fabricated and altered invoices.  These nominees were unaware of the true purpose, use, and risk of the merchant banking accounts.

The merchant accounts enabled the telemarketers to capture, authorize, and process credit card account transactions; settle credit card transactions pursuant to merchant account agreements; and ultimately receive deposits from settled credit card transactions.

As part of the scheme, Gettel, White, Seldin, Rogers and Crow, along with others, contested charge-backs to these merchant accounts initiated by credit card customers of the telemarketing rooms.  Ultimately, banks would freeze merchant accounts and discontinue allowing those accounts to accept credit card payments due to suspicious activity and the large numbers of charge back requests.

The loss to the telemarketing room victims and associated banks exceeded $9 million.

Special agents of the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

SALT LAKE CITY – A Vernal, Utah, man will spend 180 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense.

U.S. District Judge Jill N. Parrish sentenced Steven Dean Hardinger, age 35, Thursday afternoon in federal court. Hardinger has been documented as a leader of the Soldiers of Aryan Culture, a white supremacist gang in Utah.

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper arrested Hardinger following a traffic stop on Interstate 15 in Juab County. Hardinger was speeding and did not have a valid driver’s license.  He also provided a rental car agreement for a car that did not include his name as an authorized driver and had expired three days earlier.

Based on these circumstances, the car was impounded. Four handguns were found in the vehicle, including a loaded one under the driver’s seat.  Additionally, the trooper found a hollowed-out book containing 297 grams of methamphetamine in the car.  As a part of a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Hardinger admitted he intended to distribute the methamphetamine to another person. 

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Hardinger with the drug and firearms violations in May 2017.

Troopers and agents with the Utah Department of Public Safety investigated case. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah.       

SALT LAKE CITY – Two Utah cases are included in a national health care fraud enforcement action announced Thursday morning by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“We take these health care cases very seriously in Utah.  Patients must be able to rely on their doctors to provide them with proper care and legitimate, FDA-approved drugs,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today.  “Additionally, health care providers who submits claims to government programs like Medicare and Medicaid must abide by the rules and regulations those programs have in place, including maintaining treatment records and conducting accurate billing. These crimes exploit patients and fleece American taxpayers,” Huber said. 

Federal prosecutors in Salt Lake City filed a one-count misdemeanor information Tuesday charging Living for Life MD, LLC, doing business as SLC Med Spa, with receipt and delivery of adulterated devices.  The Information alleges the Salt Lake City business imported non-FDA approved drugs manufactured overseas from an unauthorized distributor and administered them to patients.  The foreign-sourced devices, specifically products labeled as Juvederm Ultra 2 were adulterated and lacked pre-market approval required under federal law.

The Information includes a notice of intent to seek a forfeiture money judgment of $250,000 representing the value of the misbranded devices.  A summons will be issued to the company to appear in federal court on the charges. Special agents with the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations are investigating the case.

In the second case, a grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging Colette Krum Kolesar, age 48, of Spanish Fork, Utah, with one count of destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation.  Kolesar worked for a home health and hospice center with an office in Provo.

The indictment alleges the defendant altered medical records, including therapy notices from nursing visits, with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence an investigation being conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The potential maximum penalty for the charge in the indictment is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  A summon will be issued to Kolesar to appear on the charges in the indictment.  The Utah Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and special agents with the FBI and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are investigating the case.

Informations and indictments are not findings of guilt.  Individuals charged in these documents are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

NATIONAL HEALTH CARE FRAUD TAKEDOWN RESULTS IN CHARGES AGAINST 601 INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER $2 BILLION IN FRAUD LOSSES 

Largest Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action in Department of Justice History Resulted in 76 Doctors Charged and 84 Opioid Cases Involving More Than 13 Million Illegal Dosages of Opioids

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex M. Azar III, announced today the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action involving 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $2 billion in false billings.

Of those charged, 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics.  Thirty state Medicaid Fraud Control Units also participated in today’s arrests.  In addition, HHS announced today that from July 2017 to the present, it has excluded 2,700 individuals from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and all other Federal health care programs, which includes 587 providers excluded for conduct related to opioid diversion and abuse. 

Attorney General Sessions and Secretary Azar were joined in the announcement by Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Deputy Director David L. Bowdich of the FBI, Assistant Administrator John Martin of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Deputy Inspector General Gary Cantrell of the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), Deputy Chief Eric Hylton of IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Program Integrity Alec Alexander and Director Dermot F. O’Reilly of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Criminal Division, Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF) partners, a partnership between the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and HHS-OIG.  In addition, the operation includes the participation of the DEA, DCIS, IRS-CI, Department of Labor, other various federal law enforcement agencies, and State Medicaid Fraud Control Units. 

The charges announced today aggressively target schemes billing Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE (a health insurance program for members and veterans of the armed forces and their families), and private insurance companies for medically unnecessary prescription drugs and compounded medications that often were never even purchased and/or distributed to beneficiaries.  The charges also involve individuals contributing to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on medical professionals involved in the unlawful distribution of opioids and other prescription narcotics, a particular focus for the Department.  According to the CDC, approximately 115 Americans die every day of an opioid-related overdose.  

“Health care fraud is a betrayal of vulnerable patients, and often it is theft from the taxpayer,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “In many cases, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists take advantage of people suffering from drug addiction in order to line their pockets. These are despicable crimes. That’s why this Department of Justice has taken historic new steps to go after fraudsters, including hiring more prosecutors and leveraging the power of data analytics. Today the Department of Justice is announcing the largest health care fraud enforcement action in American history.  This is the most fraud, the most defendants, and the most doctors ever charged in a single operation—and we have evidence that our ongoing work has stopped or prevented billions of dollars’ worth of fraud. I want to thank our fabulous partners with the FBI, DEA, our Health Care Fraud task forces, HHS, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, Medicare, and especially the more than 1,000 federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers from across America who made this possible. By every measure we are more effective at finding and prosecuting medical fraud than ever.”

“Every dollar recovered in this year’s operation represents not just a taxpayer’s hard-earned money—it’s a dollar that can go toward providing healthcare for Americans in need,” said HHS Secretary Azar.  “This year’s Takedown Day is a significant accomplishment for the American people, and every public servant involved should be proud of their work.”

According to court documents, the defendants allegedly participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and private insurance companies for treatments that were medically unnecessary and often never provided.  In many cases, patient recruiters, beneficiaries and other co-conspirators were allegedly paid cash kickbacks in return for supplying beneficiary information to providers, so that the providers could then submit fraudulent bills to Medicare.  Collectively, the doctors, nurses, licensed medical professionals, health care company owners and others charged are accused of submitting a total of over $2 billion in fraudulent billings.  The number of medical professionals charged is particularly significant, because virtually every health care fraud scheme requires a corrupt medical professional to be involved in order for Medicare or Medicaid to pay the fraudulent claims.  Aggressively pursuing corrupt medical professionals not only has a deterrent effect on other medical professionals, but also ensures that their licenses can no longer be used to bilk the system.

“Healthcare fraud touches every corner of the United States and not only costs taxpayers money, but also can have deadly consequences,” said FBI Deputy Director Bowdich.  “Through investigations across the country, we have seen medical professionals putting greed above their patients’ well-being and trusted doctors fanning the flames of the opioid crisis.  I want to thank the agents, analysts and our law enforcement partners in every field office who work each and every day to stop these criminals and hold them accountable for their actions.”

“DEA is committed to ending the opioid crisis occurring in our communities and preventing prescription drug misuse,” said DEA Assistant Administrator Martin.  “DEA will continue to work with our partners every day to protect our citizens while ensuring that patients have adequate access to these critical medications.”

“This year’s operations, focusing on opioid-related schemes, spotlight the far-reaching impact of health care fraud,” said HHS Deputy Inspector General Cantrell.  “Such crimes threaten the vitally important Medicare and Medicaid programs and the beneficiaries they serve.  Though we have made significant progress in our fight against health care fraud; our efforts are not complete.  We will continue to work with our partners to protect the health and safety of millions of Americans.”

“It takes a special kind of person to prey on the sick and vulnerable as happened in many of these health care fraud schemes,” said Deputy Chief Hylton.  “Medical professionals and others callously placed individuals and vital healthcare services in harm’s way simply because of greed.  IRS-CI special agents continue to work side-by-side with other federal, state and local law enforcement officers to uncover these schemes and hold these criminals accountable for their actions.”

“CMS makes it a top priority to protect the health and safety of millions of beneficiaries who depend on vital federal healthcare programs,” said Alec Alexander, deputy administrator and director of the Center for Program Integrity.  “CMS’ Center for Program Integrity collaborates closely with our law enforcement partners to safeguard precious taxpayer dollars. Under Administrator Seema Verma, we will continue to strengthen this partnership with law enforcement in order to ensure the integrity and sustainability of these essential programs that serve millions of Americans.”

“Heath care fraud wounds our service members and veterans alike, as they rely upon and rightfully expect uncompromised care through the Department of Defense’s TRICARE Program,” said DCIS Director O’Reilly.  “Investigations that culminated in enforcement actions over the past several days underscore the steadfast commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our investigative partners to vigorously investigate fraud impacting TRICARE.  We remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure the high standards of care our service members, military retirees, and their dependents deserve while safeguarding American taxpayer dollars.”

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in 10 locations nationwide.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,700 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $14 billion.

*********

For the Strike Force locations, in the Southern District of Florida, 124 defendants were charged with offenses relating to their participation in various fraud schemes involving over $337 million in false billings for services including home health care and pharmacy fraud.  In one case, an owner, medical director, and two employees of a sober living facility were charged with conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, substantive counts of health care fraud, and substantive counts of money laundering.  The indictment alleges a scheme that illegally recruited patients, paid kickbacks, and defrauded health care benefit programs for widespread fraudulent urine testing.  During the course of the fraudulent scheme, the facility submitted more than $106 million in claims for substance abuse treatment services.

In the Central District of California, 33 defendants were charged for their roles in schemes to defraud insurance programs out of more than $660 million.  For example, one indictment in a compounding pharmacy fraud case alleges an attorney/marketer paid kickbacks and offered incentives such as prostitutes and expensive meals to two podiatrists in exchange for prescriptions written on pre-printed prescription pads, regardless of the medical need for the prescriptions.  Once the prescriptions were filled, members of the conspiracy submitted approximately $250 million in fraudulent claims to federal, state, and private insurers for the compounded drugs.

In the Southern District of Texas, 48 individuals were charged in cases involving more than $291 million in alleged fraud.  Among these defendants are a pharmacy chain owner, managing partner, and lead pharmacist charged with a drug and money laundering conspiracy. According to the indictment, the coconspirators used fraudulent prescriptions to fill bulk orders for over one million pills of hydrocodone and oxycodone, which the pharmacy, in turn, sold to drug couriers for millions of dollars.  In the Northern District of Texas, a home health agency owner was arrested on a criminal complaint for a $2.6 million health care fraud scheme.

In the Eastern District of Michigan, 35 defendants face charges for their alleged roles in fraud, kickback, money laundering and drug diversion schemes involving approximately $197 million in false claims for services that were medically unnecessary or never rendered.  In one case, a physician was charged in separate kickback conspiracies with two home health agency owners, which resulted in more than $12 million in fraudulent insurance billings.

In the Northern District of Illinois, 21 individuals were charged for various fraud schemes involving home health and dental services.  These schemes involved allegedly over $54 million in fraudulent billing.  One case alleges a home health fraud and kickback conspiracy, which resulted in more than $32 million paid by Medicare based on the fraudulent billings.

In the Eastern District of New York, 13 individuals were charged with participating in a variety of schemes including kickbacks, services not rendered, identity theft and money laundering involving over $38 million in fraudulent billings.  For example, the owner of a Brooklyn ambulette company was charged in a $7 million conspiracy stemming from the alleged payment of kickbacks for the referral of patients, who subjected themselves to purported physical and occupational therapy and other services, and were transported by the ambulette company.

In the Middle District of Florida, 13 individuals were charged with participating in a variety of schemes involving more than $21 million in fraudulent billings.  In one case, a physician and clinic owner were charged with a conspiracy to defraud Medicare of more than $2.8 million for fraudulent home health billings.

In the Southern Louisiana Strike Force, operating in the Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana as well as the Southern District of Mississippi, 42 defendants were charged in connection with health care fraud, drug diversion, and money laundering schemes involving more than $16 million in fraudulent billings.  One case alleges that three pharmacy owners and a nurse practitioner conspired to unlawfully dispense controlled substances and defraud TRICARE and private insurance companies out of $12 million.

In the Corporate Strike Force, five defendants were charged in the Middle District of Tennessee with a kickback conspiracy at a durable medical equipment company, which allegedly resulted in more than $1 million in kickbacks and over $2.5 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare.

*********

In addition to the Strike Force locations, today’s enforcement actions include cases and investigations brought by an additional 46 U.S. Attorney’s Offices, including the execution of search warrants in various investigations conducted by the Central and Northern Districts of California, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Georgia, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of North Carolina, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, and Western District of Washington.

In the Northern and Southern Districts of Alabama, 15 defendants were charged for their roles in eight health care fraud schemes involving compounding pharmacy fraud and unlawful distribution of controlled substances.

In the Eastern District of California, four defendants were charged for their roles in two health care fraud schemes, one of which included forged prescriptions.

In the Southern District of California, seven defendants, including a physician, were charged for their roles in three health care fraud schemes and one scheme involving identity theft and services that were not rendered.

In the District of Colorado, a defendant was charged with health care fraud related to billings to Medicaid and Medicare.

In the District of Connecticut, three defendants, including two medical professionals, were charged for their roles in two schemes involving compounding drugs and unlawful distribution of Schedule II and IV controlled substances.

In the District of Delaware, a physician/owner of a pain management clinic was charged with unlawfully prescribing more than two million dosage units of Oxycodone products.

In the District of Columbia, a durable medical equipment company owner was charged with defrauding Medicaid of $9.8 million.

In the Northern District of Florida, four defendants were charged in a scheme to defraud TRICARE and other private insurance companies out of over $8 million for medically unnecessary compounded creams and pills.

In the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia, 12 defendants, including two physicians, were charged in nine health care fraud, drug diversion, or compounding pharmacy schemes involving over $13.5 million in fraudulent billings.

In the District of Idaho, three defendants, all of who are medical professionals, were charged for their roles in three separate fraud schemes involving controlled substances.

In the Central and Southern Districts of Illinois, seven defendants were charged in six separate schemes to defraud the Medicaid program.

In the Northern District of Indiana, eight defendants were charged in various health care fraud schemes to defraud both the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

In the Northern District of Iowa, two defendants – both medical professionals – were charged for their roles in two opioid-related schemes.

In the Districts of Kansas and the Northern and Western Districts of Oklahoma, 12 defendants, including four physicians, were charged in various unlawful distribution of controlled substances schemes.  In the Western District of Oklahoma, one case marks the district’s first time charging unlawful distribution of controlled substances resulting in a death.

In the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky, 12 defendants, including five medical professionals, were charged in various schemes involving health care fraud, unlawful distribution of controlled substances, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.  One case involved the operation of two false-front medical clinics.

In the Districts of Maine and Vermont, two defendants were charged for their roles in two schemes to defraud various government programs including Medicare, Medicaid, and ones run by the HHS’ Administration for Children and Families.

In the District of Nebraska, seven defendants, including one physician, were charged in five separate schemes to defraud Medicare, Medicaid, and various HHS programs.

In the District of Nevada, four defendants, including three medical professionals were charged with conspiracies to commit health care fraud and distribute controlled substances.

In the District of New Jersey, eight defendants, including a New York doctor, an anesthesiology technologist for a Philadelphia hospital, and the owner of a medical billing company, were charged for their roles in five schemes to defraud private insurance companies of over $16 million.

In the Southern District of New York, two defendants were charged in schemes involving health care fraud or drug diversion.

In the Middle District of North Carolina, two defendants were charged with a conspiracy to defraud Medicare out of over $4 million.

In the Southern District of Ohio, three defendants – all medical professionals – were charged for their roles in two health care fraud schemes, one of which involved illegal drug distribution and kickbacks.

In the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, 12 defendants were charged for their roles in three drug diversion schemes.

In the Western District of Pennsylvania, four defendants – all physicians – were charged in various health care fraud and drug diversion schemes. One scheme involved 32,000 dosage units of buprenorphine.

In the District of Rhode Island, one defendant was charged for participating in a theft and aggravated identity theft scheme.

In the District of South Carolina, three defendants were charged for their separate roles in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl.

In the District of South Dakota, two defendants were charged in separate cases, one of which involved a scheme to defraud the Indian Health Service.

In the Middle District of Tennessee, 10 defendants were charged in two separate schemes, including a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain oxycodone.

In the Eastern District of Texas, two defendants were charged for their role in health care fraud schemes to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

In the Western District of Virginia, eight defendants were charged for their alleged roles in health care fraud schemes.  One $45 million scheme to defraud Medicaid involved falsification of documents in patient files.

In the Eastern District of Washington, a dentist and another individual were indicted for distributing and conspiring to distribute hydrocodone and tramadol without a legitimate medical purpose.

In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, three defendants were charged in a scheme involving the unlawful distribution of controlled substances and aggravated identity theft.

In addition, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, and Washington, 97 defendants have been charged with defrauding the Medicaid program out of over $27 million.  These cases were investigated by each state’s respective Medicaid Fraud Control Units.  In addition, the Medicaid Fraud Control Units of the states of California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia participated in the investigation of many of the federal cases discussed above.

The cases announced today are being prosecuted and investigated by U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide, along with Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the District of Utah, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of Michigan, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of Texas, Central District of California, Eastern District of Louisiana, Northern District of Texas, Northern District of Illinois, Middle District of Louisiana, and the Middle District of Florida; and agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG, DEA, DCIS, IRS-CI, Department of Labor, other various federal law enforcement agencies, and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Additional documents related to this announcement will shortly be available here:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/documents-and-resources-june-28-2018.

This operation also highlights the great work being done by the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.  In the past fiscal year, the Department of Justice, including the Civil Division, has collectively won or negotiated over $2 billion in judgments and settlements related to matters alleging health care fraud.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Ronald Wayne Leavitt, age 61, of Stansbury Park, Utah, who targeted friends, members of his church, and some of their relatives in an affinity fraud scheme, will serve 36 months in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge David Nuffer imposed the sentence Friday.  Leavitt must pay $519,420.55 in restitution and serve 36 months of supervised release when he finishes his federal prison sentence.

Leavitt pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in March.

In a court document filed as a part of a plea agreement reached in the case, Leavitt acknowledged that he told a variety of lies to friends and neighbors to get them to invest in his schemes. He told some that he owned several limousines while telling others he was the executor of large trust fund and that he owned property worth millions of dollars.  He also told some victims he had inherited millions of dollars from his parents. He also told victims that the investment opportunity was limited and, if they were lucky, he could get them a spot in the investment. He told others victims that an investor had pulled out and, although other investors would be upset, he would allow them to invest and make it work.

After gaining their trust, Leavitt admitted he convinced several individuals to invest in one of three different ventures.  Leavitt pitched a real estate venture in California, a high-end real estate development venture in Moab called Hidden Mesa, and a sugar substitute start-up company.

According to documents filed as a part of the plea agreement, Leavitt admitted that the real estate venture in California was an investment he fabricated.

The Hidden Mesa real estate development venture was an idea that Leavitt had discussed with an individual who had purchased land in Moab. This individual discussed with Leavitt the possibility of developing the land and talked with Leavitt about seeking investors for the project. However, without this individual’s knowledge, Leavitt used the concept of the venture to pitch the investment opportunity to some of his neighbors and some of their family members, eventually persuading some of them to invest in the venture.  He promised them returns as large as 300 percent within 60 to 90 days.  Leavitt admitted that once they made an investment in the project, he never provided any of that money to the individual who had purchased the land in Moab.

The sugar substitute start-up company is an actual company that Leavitt’s brother was involved in.  Leavitt had talked with his brother and another individual about trying to find investors.  As a part of his scheme to defraud, Leavitt admitted he convinced individuals to invest in the company.  Once they did, he did not inform the company of their investment or give them the money. Like the other two ventures, Leavitt admitted he kept the funds for himself and spent them.

Leavitt admitted that he spent the majority of the money he took from victims of the fraud schemes rather than investing it in anything.

Special agents of the FBI and members of its Financial Crimes Task Force investigated the case.  An IRS Criminal Investigation agent, assigned to the task force, also investigated the case.  The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City.

SALT LAKE CITY – Shayne Carson, age 54, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, dubbed the “Double Hat Bandit during a string of bank robberies committed in Utah and six other states between Oct. 15, 2016, and Sept. 16, 2017, has pleaded guilty to 18 robberies. Sentencing is set for Aug. 15, 2018, in U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish’s courtroom in Salt Lake City.

The plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah resolves four robberies in Oregon, three in Colorado, three in Washington, one in Idaho, two in Iowa, one in Ohio, and four in Utah. The majority of the robberies took place at banks inside grocery stores and involved a man wearing two hats.

Carson admitted to a Dec. 19, 2016, robbery of US Bank located at 4065 South Redwood Road in West Valley City; two Dec. 27, 2016, robberies of US Banks in West Jordan – one  at 4080 West 9000 South and one at 7061 South Redwood Road.  He returned to Utah to rob a US Bank at 922 East 2100 South in Salt Lake City on June 21, 2017.

The string of robberies charged in the Utah case started with an Oct. 15, 2016, bank robbery in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and ended with a credit union robbery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sept 16, 2017.  He received between $834 and $8,377 in each of the robberies.

In the majority of the robberies, Carson admitted he told the teller he had a gun and, in some cases, he admitted he brandished what appeared to be a handgun during the robbery. Law enforcement authorities now believe the handgun was not a real firearm.

The plea agreement includes a stipulated sentence of at least 144 months but not more than 180 months. The stipulated sentencing range is subject to the approval of the court. The amount of restitution Carson will be ordered to pay will be determined at the sentencing hearing in August.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City is prosecuting the case. According to prosecutors, FBI special agents did excellent work in solving a difficult case with assistance from a FBI analyst in New Mexico. Carson was arrested in Indiana in September 2017. Local and state law enforcement agencies in many states also assisted with the investigation.

ST. GEORGE, UT - A St. George, Utah, financial advisor was sentenced to 72 months in prison in U.S. District Court in St. George, Utah, Monday for his role in selling fraudulent tax-avoidance and investment strategies to his clients.  Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah announced the sentencing.

Henry Brock pleaded guilty to tax evasion, securities fraud and wire fraud earlier this year.  According to documents and information provided to the court, Brock founded a financial services company in 2009 and served as the president from 2009 through 2017.  As President, he marketed and sold a fraudulent tax scheme, called “IRA Exit Strategy,” to potential investors.  Brock promised investors that he could provide a way for them to avoid paying taxes on IRA withdrawals, which would otherwise be subject to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) penalties and taxes. 

To implement his scheme, Brock caused his business to issue tax forms to his clients falsely representing that they were investors in his business who incurred losses, which served to offset the clients’ tax liabilities.  As a result, Brock caused clients to file fraudulent income tax returns claiming a total of approximately $3.8 million in bogus business losses and resulting in a tax loss of more than $1.1 million.

During this period, Brock fraudulently raised more than $10.8 million in investments by making false representations to investors regarding the “IRA Exit Strategy,” the financial condition of his company and other matters.  On at least one occasion, Brock also transferred $196,323 of a client’s investment funds and used the money for his own personal and business expenses.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart ordered Brock to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $12 million.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Huber thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and the Utah Division of Securities, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Trina Higgins and Trial Attorney Matthew Hoffman of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case.

SALT LAKE CITY – Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, a resident of Syracuse, Utah, and a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer, was arrested Saturday afternoon on federal charges including the attempted transmission of national defense information to the People’s Republic of China.  FBI agents took Hansen into custody while he was on his way to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Washington, to board a connecting flight to China.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney John Huber for the District of Utah, and Special Agent in Charge Eric Barnhart of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office announced the charges.

“Ron Rockwell Hansen is a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer who allegedly attempted to transmit national defense information to the People's Republic of China's intelligence service (PRCIS) and also allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars while illegally acting as an agent of China,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “His alleged actions are a betrayal of our nation's security and the American people and are an affront to his former intelligence community colleagues.  Our intelligence professionals swear an oath to protect our country’s most closely held secrets and the National Security Division will continue to relentlessly pursue justice against those who violate this oath.” 

“These allegations are very troubling in their description of conduct that runs contrary to how we identify ourselves as Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Huber.  “On the other hand, revealed details of this lengthy investigation reflect effective performance and dedication on the part of the men and women of the FBI and their partners.”

“The allegations in this complaint are grave as it appears Mr. Hansen engaged in behavior that betrayed his oath and his country,” said Special Agent in Charge Barnhart.  “This case drives home the troubling reality of insider threats and that current and former clearance holders will be targeted by our adversaries.  The FBI will aggressively investigate individuals who put our national security at risk.”

Hansen will have an initial appearance Monday, at 5 p.m. EDT/3 p.m. MDT in U.S. District Court in Seattle.  He is charged in a 15-count complaint, signed by Chief Federal Magistrate Judge Paul M. Warner in Utah Saturday, with attempting to gather or deliver national defense information to aid a foreign government.  The complaint also charges Hansen with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, bulk cash smuggling, structuring monetary transactions, and smuggling goods from the United States.

According to court documents:

Hansen retired from the U.S. Army as a Warrant Officer with a background in signals intelligence and human intelligence.  He speaks fluent Mandarin-Chinese and Russian.  DIA hired Hansen as a civilian intelligence case officer in 2006.  Hansen held a Top Secret clearance for many years, and signed several non-disclosure agreements during his tenure at DIA and as a government contractor.

Between 2013 and 2017, Hansen regularly traveled between the United States and China, attending military and intelligence conferences in the U.S. and provided the information he learned at the conferences to contacts in China associated with the PRCIS.  Hansen received payments for this information by a variety of methods, including cash, wires and credit card transactions.  He also improperly sold export-controlled technology to persons in China.  From May of 2013 to the date of the complaint, Hansen received not less than $800,000 in funds originating from China.

In addition, Hansen repeatedly attempted to regain access to classified information after he stopped working on behalf of the U.S. Government.   Hansen’s alerting behavior ultimately resulted in the participation of a law enforcement source from whom Hansen solicited classified information.  Hansen disclosed to the source his ongoing contact with the PRCIS, including in-person meetings with intelligence officers during his trips to China. Hansen told the source the types of information his contacts in China were interested in and discussed working with the source to provide such information to the PRCIS.  Hansen suggested he and the source would be handsomely paid.

Complaints are not findings of guilt.  An individual charged in a complaint is presumed innocent unless or until convicted of the crimes in court. Hansen faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, if convicted of attempted espionage.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the assigned judge.

Special agents of the FBI, IRS, U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Counterintelligence, and the Defense Intelligence Agency are involved in the investigation.  U.S. Army Counterintelligence, the FBI Seattle Division, the IRS, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Weber County Sheriff’s Office assisted in law enforcement operations Saturday in Utah and Seattle.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert A. Lund, Mark K. Vincent and Karin Fojtik of the District of Utah, and Trial Attorneys Patrick T. Murphy and Adam L. Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Alicia H. Cook, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Utah and now a trial attorney in the National Security Division, is assisting with the case.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington (Seattle) assisted with this case.

Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, a resident of Syracuse, Utah, and a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer, was arrested Saturday afternoon on federal charges including the attempted transmission of national defense information to the People’s Republic of China.  The FBI agents took Hansen into custody while he was on his way to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle to board a connecting flight to China. 

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney John Huber for the District of Utah, and Special Agent in Charge Eric Barnhart of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office announced the charges.

“Ron Rockwell Hansen is a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer who allegedly attempted to transmit national defense information to the People's Republic of China's intelligence service (PRCIS) and also allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars while illegally acting as an agent of China,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “His alleged actions are a betrayal of our nation's security and the American people and are an affront to his former intelligence community colleagues.  Our intelligence professionals swear an oath to protect our country’s most closely held secrets and the National Security Division will continue to relentlessly pursue justice against those who violate this oath.”

“These allegations are very troubling in their description of conduct that runs contrary to how we identify ourselves as Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Huber.  “On the other hand, revealed details of this lengthy investigation reflect effective performance and dedication on the part of the men and women of the FBI and their partners.”

“The allegations in this complaint are grave as it appears Mr. Hansen engaged in behavior that betrayed his oath and his country,” said Special Agent in Charge Barnhart.  “This case drives home the troubling reality of insider threats and that current and former clearance holders will be targeted by our adversaries.  The FBI will aggressively investigate individuals who put our national security at risk.”

Hansen will have an initial appearance Monday, at 5 p.m. EDT in U.S. District Court in Seattle.  He is charged in a 15-count complaint, signed by Chief Federal Magistrate Judge Paul M. Warner in Utah Saturday, with attempting to gather or deliver national defense information to aid a foreign government.  The complaint also charges Hansen with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, bulk cash smuggling, structuring monetary transactions and smuggling goods from the United States.   

According to court documents:

Hansen retired from the U.S. Army as a Warrant Officer with a background in signals intelligence and human intelligence.  He speaks fluent Mandarin-Chinese and Russian.  DIA hired Hansen as a civilian intelligence case officer in 2006.  Hansen held a Top Secret clearance for many years, and signed several non-disclosure agreements during his tenure at DIA and as a government contractor.

Between 2013 and 2017, Hansen regularly traveled between the United States and China, attending military and intelligence conferences in the U.S. and provided the information he learned at the conferences to contacts in China associated with the PRCIS.  Hansen received payments for this information by a variety of methods, including cash, wires and credit card transactions.  He also improperly sold export-controlled technology to persons in China.  From May of 2013 to the date of the complaint, Hansen received not less than $800,000 in funds originating from China.

In addition, Hansen repeatedly attempted to regain access to classified information after he stopped working on behalf of the U.S. Government.  Hansen’s alerting behavior ultimately resulted in the participation of a law enforcement source from whom Hansen solicited classified information.  Hansen disclosed to the source his ongoing contact with the PRCIS, including in-person meetings with intelligence officers during his trips to China.  Hansen told the source the types of information his contacts in China were interested in and discussed working with the source to provide such information to the PRCIS.  Hansen suggested he and the source would be handsomely paid.     

Complaints are not findings of guilt.  An individual charged in a complaint is presumed innocent unless or until convicted of the crimes in court. Hansen faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, if convicted of attempted espionage.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the assigned judge.

Special agents of the FBI, IRS, U.S Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, U.S. Army Counterintelligence, and the Defense Intelligence Agency are involved in the investigation.  U.S. Army Counterintelligence, the FBI Seattle Division, the IRS, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Weber County Sheriff’s Office assisted in law enforcement operations Saturday in Utah and Seattle.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert A. Lund, Mark K. Vincent and Karin Fojtik of the District of Utah, and Trial Attorneys Patrick T. Murphy and Adam L. Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.  Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington assisted with this case.

SALT LAKE CITY – Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah John W. Huber announced Monday that the Department of Justice is taking a dramatic step to increase resources to combat violent crime, enforce immigration laws, and help roll back the devastating opioid crisis. The announcement was made on the 500th day of the Trump Administration.

In the largest increase in decades, the Department of Justice is allocating 311 new Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) to assist in priority areas. Those allocations are as follows: 190 violent crime prosecutors, 86 civil enforcement attorneys, and 35 additional immigration prosecutors. Many of the civil enforcement AUSAs will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction and Litigation Task Force, which targets the opioid crisis at every level of the distribution system.

Utah will get six attorney positions from the new allocations.  Three of these AUSAs will target violent crime prosecutions, two will focus on immigration crimes, and one will handle civil enforcement cases, Huber says.

“Under President Trump's strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis—and today we are sending in reinforcements,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is 'the coin of the realm.'  When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership. This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades.”

“President Trump and Attorney General Sessions have provided key positions to assist my office in carrying out our responsibilities in Utah.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah strives to be a high-performing office, with focus on productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness in administering justice.  Today’s announcement of these new positions may also be viewed as recognition of Utah’s successful efforts,” Huber said today. “We will put these positions to good use as we continue our commitment to reducing violent crime in Utah neighborhoods.”  

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal complaint unsealed Thursday afternoon charges 15 individuals associated with a drug-trafficking organization within the Glenmob street gang with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  According to the complaint, Glenmob is a hybrid street gang with associations with other streets gangs.

Law enforcement officers executed nine search warrants Tuesday and made 12 arrests.  Federal arrest warrants are pending for three other individuals charged in the complaint. Approximately 15 firearms have been recovered during the investigation along with approximately 15 pounds of methamphetamine, approximately one-half pound of heroin, and several pounds of marijuana. Approximately $36,000 in cash and three vehicles have been seized.

Agencies involved in the case include the FBI’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, ATF, Sandy Police Department, West Valley City Police Department, Salt Lake Police Department, the Metro Gang Unit, the Unified Police Department, the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, and Utah Adult Probation and Parole.  The South Jordan Police Department assisted in the take down of the case Tuesday.

The case is being investigated and prosecuted as a part of the Utah Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.  Prosecutors and law enforcement officers are using a variety of tools to aggressively target violent criminals and gang members they believe are responsible for the rising violent crime rate in Utah.  Law enforcement officers and prosecutors are looking for cases they believe will have a high impact on community safety.

The number of violent crimes in Utah increased almost 18 percent in 2016.  According to a Crime in Utah 2016 report prepared by the Utah Department of Public Safety, all violent crimes saw an increase in 2016, including homicides, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults. Firearms were used in 55 percent of the homicides reported. 

According to the complaint, in September 2017, the FBI began gathering information which indicated a substantial rise in gang violence in Salt Lake County.  After a series of coordination meetings, agents determined that the majority of violent incidents, drive by shootings, and aggravated assaults involved members of the Nortenos and the Surenos street gangs, specifically involving members of the Sur Towne Chiques 13. 

The FBI learned a large number of those associated with Chiques were also members of a music group named Glenmob.  Glenmob frequently posts music videos on Youtube. The FBI  identified many of those in the videos as suspected and known narcotics traffickers.  The FBI, along with the Utah Department of Public Safety and Salt Lake County police gang units, determined Glenmob, while identifying themselves as a music group, were involved in several violent crimes in Utah.  As a result, Glenmob was classified as a violent street gang.rs While gathering intelligence regarding the criminal acts perpetrated by members of Glenmob, the FBI learned local law enforcement suspected the music group of being a front for narcotics distribution.

Through months of investigation, the complaint says, investigators learned Glenmob is a very tight organization and rarely communicates with individuals outside their established circle.  Leaders distribute to a nominal number of buyers in an effort to avoid law enforcement penetration into the organization. 

Charged in the complaint are Daniel Silva, age 26; Abraham Sanchez, age 22; Angel Rivera, age 25; Sipriano Molina, age 21; Cameron Lucas, age 19; Melissa Kelly, age 32; Kenneth Reyos, age 20; Dominic Trujillo, age 23; David Miramontes, age 32; Nick Vigil, age 31; Jesus Alvarado, age 31; Salvador Tafolla, age 26; Juan Noriega, age 34; Tranqulino Reyos, age 23; and Fabien Uriel Tapia-Bustamante, age 18.  All are residents of the Salt Lake Valley.

According to the complaint, agents believe that based on evidence gathered in the case and investigative techniques described in the complaint that Silva, Sanchez, Molina, Lucas and Tafolla have conspired with each other and others to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine throughout the Salt Lake Valley.  Additionally, agents believe that Rivera, Kelly, Miramontes, Trujillo, Kenneth Reyos, Vigil, Alvarado, Tranqulino Reyos, Noriega, and Tapia-Bustamante are all sub-distributors and have conspired with each other and others to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine to other sub-distributors within the Salt Lake Valley.

Twelve defendants have appeared in court on the charge in the complaint. Melissa Kelly was released on conditions of supervised release.  Eleven have been detained. Federal arrest warrants remain active for Daniel Silva, Sipriano Molina, and Fabian Uriel Tapia-Bustamante.

The maximum penalty for the charge in the complaint is up to life in prison with a 10-year minimum mandatory sentence.  The penalty also includes a potential $10 million fine and five years of supervised release.

Complaints are not findings of guilt.  Defendants charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah Project Safe Neighborhoods partners have a message for those who “lie-and-try” in attempting to purchase a firearm from federal firearms licensees in Utah: If you lie on paperwork you are required to complete to purchase a firearm, you may end up facing a federal prison sentence.

Individuals restricted from possessing a firearm are not the only ones who could end up in federal court.  Federal firearms licensees (FFLs), who sell or transfer a firearm to a prohibited person, allow a straw purchaser to buy a gun for someone else, or fail to keep proper records of who they sell firearms to, also face potential criminal prosecution as well.

"Our background check systems are only as good as the information they receive," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "I have ordered our prosecutors to more aggressively charge those who lie to the background check system in order to try to get guns illegally.  Under my tenure as Attorney General, we have already increased federal gun prosecutions to a 10-year high and violent crime prosecutions to a 25-year high.  We are just getting started.  We intend to break these records again, punish more criminals who try to cheat the system, and deter many more from lying to a background check in the first place." 

“The Utah Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative fully supports the right of Utahns to own firearms and does not target legitimate firearms owners,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today.  “Our first priority is to stop crime before it is committed.  Keeping firearms out of the hands of those with felony convictions or other prohibiting factors is a key part of our efforts to make Utah communities safer. A firearm in the hands of a gang member with a felony conviction or someone convicted of a domestic violence offense is a recipe for more violent crime. Those who attempt to circumvent the law by selling guns to prohibited individuals or those who lie to try to buy one are committing federal crimes.”

“ATF partners with the West Valley City and Unified Police departments, as well as federal firearm licensees, to combat lie-and-buy cases,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Debbie Livingston said today.  “These partnerships are critical to our success.”

Two indictments returned by a federal grand jury last week targeted federal firearms licensees with violations of federal law related to the sale of firearms.

William Hammond, age 78, of North Salt Lake City, and Kristine Vanorman, age 57, of Woods Cross, Utah, are charged in an indictment with three counts of sale or transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person in relation to transactions occurring at their business. Hammond is charged in the first count of the indictment with selling a firearm to a person the indictment alleges he had reasonable cause to believe was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Vanorman is charged in the second count with selling a firearm to a person having reasonable cause to believe the person was prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law.  Both Hammond and Vanorman are charged in the third count with selling a firearm to a prohibited person.  The sales involved straw purchases where an individual was allowed to purchase a firearm for an individual prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law.  Hammond and Vanorman are the responsible parties for the federal firearms license. The maximum potential penalty for each count in the indictment is 10 years in prison.

In a second indictment, Kenneth Gene Yama, age 68, of Moab, is charged with two counts of failure by a federal firearms licensed dealer to keep proper records.  The indictment alleges Yama sold firearms at his business to individuals without noting the name, age, and place of residence of the firearms purchaser in records he is required to maintain under federal law. The maximum potential penalty for each count is five years in prison.

Six indictments recently returned by a federal grand jury target individuals with alleged “lie-and-try” efforts to get a firearm.  In each case, the indictment alleges the individuals knowingly made a false statement intended to deceive as they were attempting to purchase a firearm from a licensed firearms dealer.  Defendants in five of the cases answered no when asked if they were convicted felons. The sixth defendant falsely claimed that he had never been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.  The potential maximum penalty for making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm is 10 years in prison.

Defendants charged in the “lie-and-try” attempts are Tyrone Gary Taylor, age 43, of Elko, Nevada; Reginaldo Villicana, age 28, of Magna; Joshua Ian Newell, age 36, of Salt Lake City; Aaron James Stock, age 38, of Cottonwood Heights; Saul Perez, age 32, of Magna; and Michael Dean Brattin, age 27, of Tooele.

To aid federal firearms licensees in complying with federal law designed to keep our communities safe, PSN has produced a limited number of oversized clipboards.  When buyers are filling out or signing background check paperwork, the clipboards carry the clear warning to would-be unlawful purchasers and their accomplices that serious penalties are in store for the violation of federal law.

PSN is a program designed to bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.   U.S. Attorney General Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department of Justice’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, local strategies to reduce violent crime. PSN is based on five key principles:  leadership, partnership, targeted and prioritized enforcement, prevention of additional violence, and accountability.

“The heart of PSN is partnership.  None of us can combat violent crime on our own.  We all have a role to play—federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement; prosecutors; community members and organizations; victims’ advocates; social service providers; and many others.  If we work together, we can have a meaningful impact on our communities,” Huber said today.

So far, 97 PSN firearms cases have been indicted this year in Utah.

SALT LAKE CITY –  A federal indictment unsealed Thursday charges three individuals with attempting to damage or destroy bank ATM machines by means of fire and an explosive during a string of incidents at three Utah credit unions and a bank in January.

Brian Winters, age 32, Christopher Izatt, age 33, and Guillermo Cruz, age 34, all of Salt Lake County, are charged with destruction and attempted destruction of property used in interstate commerce by fire or explosive in the four-count indictment.

Winters is charged in connection with a Jan. 7, 2018, attempt to damage or destroy an ATM machine located at a Goldenwest Credit Union in West Jordan.  Izatt and Cruz are charged with attempts to damage or destroy two ATMs – an American First Credit Union ATM in Salt Lake City on Jan. 7, 2018, and a Chartway Federal Credit Union in West Jordan on Jan. 19, 2018.  The final count of the indictment charges Winters and Izatt with attempting to damage or destroy a Zions Bank ATM in Draper on Jan. 21, 2018.

Evidence collected at each attempt to damage or destroy an ATM, including surveillance videos at the credit unions, bank, and other locations, helped FBI agents develop suspects in the case.

Defendants in the case have had initial appearances on the charges in the indictment and have entered not guilty pleas.  A four-day jury trial has been set for June 25, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell.  Winters, Izatt, and Gruz will remain in federal custody pending the outcome of the case.

The potential maximum penalty for each count in the indictment is 20 years with a mandatory minimum of five years.

Indictments are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in an indictment are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty of the charges in court.

FBI special agents are investigating the case. Salt Lake fire investigators and officers with the Unified Police Department, West Jordan, Draper, Salt Lake City, and Sandy police departments also are contributing to the investigation.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah is prosecuting the case.   

SALT LAKE CITY – William Keebler, age 59, of Stockton, Utah, indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2016 in what the charges alleged was an attempt to damage or destroy a federal buildings managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, has pleaded guilty.

Keebler pleaded guilty to a one-count Felony Information filed Thursday morning charging him with attempted destruction of federal property by use of an explosive in U.S. District Judge David Sam’s courtroom Thursday morning.   Keebler admitted that between June 20, 2016, and June 22, 2016, he traveled from Tooele County, Utah, to Mount Trumbull in an attempt to damage or destroy a federal facility managed by the BLM.  He agreed that he attempted to detonate an explosive in order to damage the BLM structure.

According to a complaint filed in the case, Keebler served as the commander of a citizen militia group called the Patriots Defense Force, headquartered in Stockton, Utah.  He was present during the Bunkerville, Nevada, standoff involving the BLM in 2014.

The Utah case followed an extensive investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and its partner agencies. 

“Thanks to the professionalism and expertise of the FBI and its partner law enforcement agencies, we were able to detect a serious criminal threat and bring a successful prosecution,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today.  “We are pleased with the outcome of this priority case,” Huber said.

“Protecting our country and its citizens from terrorist attacks is the FBI’s highest priority.  This case illustrates our commitment to dealing with individuals who attempt violent acts against the government and wish to bring harm to the public,” said Eric Barnhart, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.  “This case is the result of the great work of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which brings together federal, state and local agencies together to keep our communities safe.”

The plea agreement includes a stipulated prison sentence between 12 months and one day, up to 70 months.  The sentence is subject to the approval of the court.  Sentencing is scheduled for July 9, 2018, at 3 p.m. in Judge Sam’s courtroom.

Huber says federal prosecutors look forward to presenting their sentencing arguments at the hearing and will advocate for a sentence at the high end of the sentencing range included in the plea agreement.  Keebler has been in federal custody since his arrest after the court determined he was a danger to the community.

SALT LAKE CITY – Big-D Construction Corp. and Creative Times Day School, Inc., have agreed to pay the federal government a combined amount of $1,062,900 and $150,000 respectively to resolve allegations that they violated the terms of a Small Business Administration (SBA) program for small and disadvantaged businesses.  Big-D Construction Corp. and Creative Times Day School, Inc. are Utah corporations that have performed construction projects for federal agencies under the terms of various government contracts.

U.S. Attorney for Utah John W. Huber and SBA Acting Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware announced the settlement Monday afternoon. The settlement with Big D was the result of a coordinated effort among the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, the SBA Office of Inspector General, the SBA Office of General Counsel and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Commands Major Procurement Fraud Unit.

The United States contends that Big-D, a large construction company, entered into a leasing agreement with Creative Times, a small business participant in the SBA programs, under which Big-D provided personnel who performed or substantially performed the work on the contracts. The United States contends that the leasing agreement was improper and caused Creative Times to fail to meet the SBA’s regulatory requirement that the small businesses perform a certain percentage of the work under the contracts, thereby causing the small businesses to submit false or fraudulent claims for payments to the United States.  The settlements involve a number of different government contracts in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah between July 2009 and June 2013.

“These programs exist to help small business, often minority owned, to receive federal contracts.  Those who apply for them must be honest and forthright in their dealings with the United States,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today.  “In our experience, these cases are on the rise in Utah.  We will continue to partner with the Department of Justice and our agency partners to investigate these cases,” Huber said.

“Concealing the true nature of a purported small business contract participation will be met with significant penalties,” said SBA Acting Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware.  “SBA OIG will continue to aggressively pursue parties that undermine Americans’ confidence in federal contracting programs designed to assist small businesses.  I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication in enforcing compliance in SBA’s programs.”

The qui tam complaint was filed in the District of Utah and is captioned United States ex rel, Bart Anderson v. Big D Construction Corp. et al., No. 1:11-cv-00176.  The settlement resolved allegations of non-compliance. Neither Big-D nor Creative Times Day School, Inc. admit liability.

WASHINGTON – A federal court entered an order against three Utah-based telemarketing companies and their owner, the Department of Justice announced today. That order permanently enjoins them from engaging in deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices.  The order also imposes a civil monetary penalty.           

The Department filed a complaint in May 2011, alleging that the defendants, Feature Films for Families Inc., Corporations for Character L.C., Family Films of Utah Inc., and Forrest S. Baker III, committed widespread violations of the FTC Act and Telemarketing Sales Rule in various telemarketing campaigns to sell DVDs and movie tickets, and in charitable solicitation call campaigns. The complaint alleged that the defendants: (1) made multiple deceptive claims regarding the use of sales proceeds and charitable donations and the sales purpose of calls; (2) placed millions of calls to phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry under the guise of survey and informational calls; (3) ignored consumers’ prior do-not-call requests; (4) transmitted inaccurate caller-identification information; (5) failed to make required oral disclosures; and (6) abandoned calls.

“Unwanted telemarketing calls invade the privacy of American consumers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “The Department of Justice will continue to work with the Federal Trade Commission to ensure telemarketers adhere to laws designed to protect against abusive and deceptive telemarketing practices.”

On May 25, 2016, following eight days of trial, a jury found the defendants committed more than 117 million knowing violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, including 99 million calls to phone numbers on the Do Not Call Registry, and more than four million additional calls in which they made misleading statements to induce DVD sales. The verdict was the first-ever in an action to enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule and Do Not Call Registry rules.

The stipulated final order, entered by the district court, permanently enjoins the defendants from making material misrepresentations or omissions in the course of marketing entertainment products, services, or recordings, and from violating any provision of the Telemarketing Sales Rule.  The stipulated order also imposes a civil penalty judgment of approximately $45.4 million, of which all but $487,735 is conditionally suspended based on the defendants’ inability to pay the entire penalty.

“As this case demonstrates, the FTC is aggressively pursuing law enforcement action against those that violate our nation’s Do Not Call rules, including those that use deception to secure sales or donations,” said Tom Pahl, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

This matter was handled by Trial Attorneys Arturo DeCastro and David A. Frank of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with assistance from Attorney Michael Tankersley of the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

SALT LAKE CITY – Following a three-day trial, a jury found Mark Porter, 59, a former resident of Draper, guilty late Wednesday afternoon of committing a federal hate crime when he used a stun device during the racially-motivated assault of a neighbor at his apartment complex in Draper, Utah.  The jury further found that the defendant used a dangerous weapon – a stun cane.  Prior to his arrest in this case, Porter was living in of Lake Havasu City, AZ.

Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division John Gore, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah John W. Huber, and Special Agent in Charge for the Salt Lake City Field Office of the FBI Eric Barnhart announced that the defendant was found guilty of the single offense charged in the indictment -- using force and the threat of force to injure, intimidate, and interfere with an African-American man because of his race and because of his occupancy of a nearby apartment in the complex.

Evidence presented at trial showed that the defendant shouted a racial slur at the victim’s 7-year-old son as the boy rode on a scooter in a common area at the apartment complex.  After the defendant told the child to “get out of here,” he used the stun cane to injure the victim, knocking the victim to the ground.  The defendant then used a racial slur to refer to the victim and his son and told them both to “get out of here.”

Evidence presented at trial also established that, prior to the incident, the defendant had told an employee and maintenance staff at the apartment complex that he did not want to live near any African-Americans.  Immediately prior to the incident with the boy and his father, the defendant told another neighbor that he thought that African-Americans needed to be “exterminated.”

“Porter’s violent conduct, motivated by his intolerance of another race, is an egregious crime that will not be tolerated by this Justice Department,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “We will continue to protect the civil rights of all individuals and vigorously prosecute hate crime cases.”

“There is no place in Utah for race-motivated hatred and violence,” said U.S. Attorney John W. Huber. “All families deserve the opportunity to live peaceably in their homes where they may pursue happiness in safe environments. The jury in this case spoke on behalf of our Utah communities and definitively stated that this criminal conduct will not be tolerated.”

Sentencing is set for May 30 before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson. The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years and a fine of $250,000.

Special agents of the FBI investigated the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Drew Yeates of the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Rose E. Gibson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

SALT LAKE CITY – Nathan Clark Ward, age 56, of Bountiful, pleaded guilty to production of child pornography Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court, admitting that he used a smart phone to stream several live videos from his home in Bountiful to Robert Francis in Lehi between June 2013 and August 2015.

Ward admitted that in some of the videos he lifted the shirt of a minor and in others pulled down the minor’s pants.

The maximum potential penalty for the conviction is 30 years in prison with a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence.  U.S. District Judge Dee Benson, who presided at the hearing, set sentencing in the case for May 31, 2018.  Ward remains in federal custody.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment in September 2017 charging Ward with production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography.  The case started with a tip reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that an individual had uploaded sexually explicit images of children to the internet.  Further investigation showed the user was in the Salt Lake City metro area.  NCMEC forwarded the case to the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for further investigation.  The Davis County Sheriff’s Office, an ICAC affiliate agency, subsequently took the lead investigating the case.

The investigation of the Ward case led law enforcement officers to Robert Edwin Francis, age 41, of Lehi, Utah.  Francis is serving 144 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Dee Benson imposed the sentence Jan. 22, 2018.  Francis was charged with production, receipt, and possession of child pornography in an indictment returned in August 2017.  Francis admitted he engaged in sexually explicit conduct involving children via an on-line social network and that he possessed at least 150 but fewer than 300 images of child pornography. 

Ward and Francis represent two of 41 child exploitation cases filed by federal prosecutors in Utah during 2017.  Several local, state, and federal Utah law enforcement agencies  contributed to the case.  These prosecutions are part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan D. Lyon of the Davis County Attorney’s Office and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Drew Yeates and Andrea Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City are prosecuting the cases.  Special agents and officers from the Davis County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Utah ICAC Task Force are investigating these cases.

SALT LAKE CITY – A four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City charges James Musa Gama, age 39, of Salt Lake City, with two counts of possession of the synthetic cannabinoid commonly known as “spice” and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

U.S. Attorney for Utah John W. Huber and Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Keith Squires announced the indictment Monday.

Gama was arrested on as federal complaint filed Mar. 5, 2018.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooke C. Wells ordered him to remain in custody after finding he constitutes a risk of danger to the community during an initial appearance Wednesday.  He is scheduled for an arraignment on the indictment Wednesday at 10:15 a.m.

According to the complaint, Gama came to the attention of agents working with the Operation Rio Grande Drug Task Force during enforcement efforts in the Pioneer Park area in December 2017 and January 2018.  The task force was targeting the suspected distribution of the synthetic cannabinoid commonly known as “spice.”

While an agent was working in an undercover capacity in Pioneer Park on Dec. 12, 2017, an unidentified man approached an agent asking what he was looking for.  The agent said he was looking for spice.  The unidentified man led the agent to Gama, who sold him one jar of spice for $40.  Other agents arrested Gama.  During a search incident to arrest, agents found five additional jars of spice in Gama’s possession, along with the $40 the agent had given him.  The Utah Bureau of Forensic Services later identified the substance in the jars as FUM-AMB, a Schedule 1 synthetic cannabinoid.  Agents also found a loaded handgun, previously reported as stolen, in Gama’s waistband.

According to the complaint, Gama told agents he had been selling three or four jars of spice per day.  He said he carried the handgun, which he bought for $300, for protection after being robbed and shot a year earlier.

Agents had a second encounter with Gama and two other individuals in Pioneer Park on Jan. 31, 2018, where they bought four jars containing suspected spice. Gama and the two others, identified as R.S. and M.G. in the complaint, were arrested.  During a search incident to arrest, agents found another handgun in GAMA’s waistband.  Again, the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services identified the substance in the jars as a Schedule 1 synthetic cannabinoid.  According to the complaint, Gama told agents he purchased the handgun for protection about a week earlier.  Gama also said he had purchased the four jars of spice earlier in the day to sell at Pioneer Park.

The two spice counts in the indictment each carry potential 20-year sentences.  The first firearm count carries a minimum mandatory sentence of five years.  The second count has a potential 25-year minimum mandatory sentence.  Sentences for the firearms counts would run consecutive to any sentence imposed for the spice counts.

Indictments are not findings of guilt.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

Agents with Utah Department of Public Safety are investigating the case.  Prosecutors in the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office are prosecuting the case.

Examples of other federal Operation Rio Grande cases:

US v Jose Rodriguez, aka King Kong: A grand jury returned a six-count indictment in December charging Jose Rodriguez, aka King Kong, age 35, of Salt Lake City, with drug and firearms violations. The two incidents that make up the indictment come from investigations done by Salt Lake City police officers working as a part of Operation Rio Grande.  Rodriguez is charged with distribution of heroin, distribution of cocaine base, carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime and felon in possession of a firearm for the first incident in late September.  He also faces distribution of heroin and felon in possession of a firearm in connection with an October incident. Rodriguez, age 35, a Mexican national living in Salt Lake City, faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the drug distribution counts and up to 10 years for each of the felon in possession counts.  Carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime has a mandatory five-year sentence, which would run consecutive to any other sentence imposed.  Indictments are not findings of guilt.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.  A five-day jury trial has been set for March 27, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby.  Rodriguez, who has entered not guilty pleas to the charges, will remain in custody pending the resolution of this case.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul M. Warner found him to be a danger to the community and a risk of non-appearance at a detention hearing.  Salt Lake City police officers are investigating the case.

US v Chris William Espinoza:   A trial is scheduled for May 14, 2018, in a case charging Chris William Espinoza, age 50, of Ogden, with possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm by a restricted person (felon), and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Agents with the Utah State Bureau of Investigation executed a court-authorized state search warrant at a residence in Ogden in September 2017. Agents found heroin and methamphetamine, along with other drugs and drug trafficking paraphernalia.  They also found two semi-automatic handguns. Espinoza is in custody pending resolution of the case. He has entered pleas of not guilty to the charges. The two drug counts each carry potential sentences of 40 years in prison with mandatory-minimum sentences of five years.  The potential maximum sentence for possessing a firearm following a felony conviction is 10 years.  Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense carries a five-year sentence, imposed consecutive to any other sentence. Indictments are not findings of guilt.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.  Agents of the State Bureau of Investigation are continuing their investigation of the case.

US v Tohi Ryan Ngata, aka Leaaetohi Ryan Ngata, aka Toni Ngata-Latu: Tohi Ryan Ngata, age 33, of Salt Lake City, was charged in a sealed indictment returned by a federal grand jury Feb. 7, 2018.  The three-count indictment, unsealed Feb. 23, 2018, charges Ngata with possession of a firearm by a restricted person (felon), possession of heroin with intent to distribute, and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Ngata, who has entered pleas of not guilty to all counts, is in custody pending resolution of the case.  Utah State Bureau of Investigation agents encountered Ngata on Jan. 18, 2018.  They tried to stop Ngata, but he fled on a bike.  Salt Lake City police officers, assisting the agents, were able to detain him.  Agents found a gun in his waistband.  They also found drugs, drug paraphernalia and cash. The potential maximum penalties for the counts in the indictment include 10 years for the firearms count and 20 years for the drug charge. There is a potential fine of $1 million.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Ronald Wayne Leavitt, age 61, of Stansbury Park, Utah, who targeted friends, members of his church, and some of their relatives in a fraud scheme, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the affinity fraud scheme Wednesday in federal court.

The plea agreement includes a stipulated sentence of 36 months in federal prison, which is subject to the approval and acceptance of the Court.  Leavitt agreed that the total loss amount for the fraud was $679,420.55.  He returned $160,000 of the money he obtained by fraud to three of the victims.  He has agreed to pay $519,420.55 in restitution as a part of the plea agreement.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells took the change of plea Wednesday. Sentencing in the case is set for June 4, 2018, before U.S. District Judge David Nuffer.

In a court document filed as a part of the plea agreement, Leavitt acknowledged that he told a variety of lies to friends and neighbors to get them to invest in his schemes. He told some that he owned several limousines while telling others he was the executor of large trust fund and that he owned property worth millions of dollars.  He also told some victims he had inherited millions of dollars from his parents. He also told victims that the investment opportunity was limited and, if they were lucky, he could get them a spot in the investment. He told others victims that an investor had pulled out and, although other investors would be upset, he would allow them to invest and make it work.

After gaining their trust, Leavitt admitted he convinced several individuals to invest in one of three different ventures.  Leavitt pitched a real estate venture in California, a high-end real estate development venture in Moab called Hidden Mesa, and a sugar substitute start-up company.

According to documents filed as a part of the plea agreement, Leavitt admitted that the real estate venture in California was an investment he fabricated.

The Hidden Mesa real estate development venture was an idea that Leavitt had discussed with an individual who had purchased land in Moab. This individual discussed with Leavitt the possibility of developing the land and talked with Leavitt about seeking investors for the project. However, without this individual’s knowledge, Leavitt used the concept of the venture to pitch the investment opportunity to some of his neighbors and some of their family members, eventually persuading some of them to invest in the venture.  He promised them returns as large as 300 percent within 60 to 90 days.  Leavitt admitted that once they made an investment in the project, he never provided any of that money to the individual who had purchased the land in Moab. 

The sugar substitute start-up company is an actual company that Leavitt’s brother was involved in.  Leavitt had talked with his brother and another individual about trying to find investors.  As a part of his scheme to defraud, Leavitt admitted he convinced individuals to invest in the company.  Once they did, he did not inform the company of their investment or give them the money. Like the other two ventures, Leavitt admitted he kept the funds for himself and spent them.

Leavitt admitted at the plea hearing Wednesday that he spent the majority of the money he took from victims of the fraud schemes rather than investing it in anything.

Special agents of the FBI and members of its Financial Crimes Task Force are investigating the case. An IRS Criminal Investigation agent, assigned to the task force, is also investigating the case.  It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’ Office in Salt Lake City.

SALT LAKE CITY – A former CEO of a Salt Lake City, Utah, company was sentenced Wednesday afternoon to 12 months and 1 day in prison for tax evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah.

Peter Nordberg, 62, of Alameda, California, pleaded guilty in September 2017 to tax evasion.  According to court documents, Nordberg was the Chief Executive Officer of Max International, a company that produces and markets nutritional supplements directly and through independent associates and distributors.  As an employee of Max International, Nordberg earned a salary and commissions equal to a percentage of sales. Nordberg caused Max International to pay his bonus income to a nominee entity he established, and used a bank account in the name of the nominee entity to pay personal expenses.  Nordberg concealed the bonus income and nominee entity from his return preparer and filed false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that underreported his income.  Nordberg’s conduct caused a tax loss of approximately $275,000.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson ordered Nordberg to serve 1 year of supervised release and to pay $354,770 in restitution to the United States Treasury.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Huber thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorney Matthew Hoffman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Hackford-Peer, who prosecuted the case.

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

A former CEO of a Salt Lake City, Utah, company was sentenced today to 12 months and 1 day in prison for tax evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah.

Peter Nordberg, 62, of Alameda, California, pleaded guilty in September 2017 to tax evasion.  According to court documents, Nordberg was the Chief Executive Officer of Max International, a company that produces and markets nutritional supplements directly and through independent associates and distributors.  As an employee of Max International, Nordberg earned a salary and commissions equal to a percentage of sales. Nordberg caused Max International to pay his bonus income to a nominee entity he established, and used a bank account in the name of the nominee entity to pay personal expenses.  Nordberg concealed the bonus income and nominee entity from his return preparer and filed false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that underreported his income.  Nordberg’s conduct caused a tax loss of approximately $275,000.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson ordered Nordberg to serve 1 year of supervised release and to pay $354,770 in restitution to the United States Treasury.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Huber thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorney Matthew Hoffman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Hackford-Peer, who prosecuted the case.

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

SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah man pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in federal court Tuesday afternoon for his role in a fraud scheme he devised to obtain government construction contracts set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses.

Stanley Raass, age 44, of Lehi, Utah, was charged in a Felony Information filed Jan. 27, 2018.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Pead accepted the guilty pleas to the two charges and set sentencing for May 23, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell. The plea agreement includes a stipulated sentence of 24 months which is subject to the approval of the court.  He also agreed to a money judgment of $640,000. 

The United States government sets aside contract benefits for qualifying individuals and companies considered Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB). Eligibility requirements include qualification as a small business, more than 50 percent owned by a service-disabled veteran, and daily operations of the business must be managed and controlled by the service-disabled veteran. 

Contractors obtaining a SDVOSB contract must self-certify annually that the contractor meets the requirements of the status-based business classification.

As a part of his plea agreement, Raass admitted that in August 2013 he devised a scheme to obtain a construction contract set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses. He falsely certified under oath that the firm that would perform the work on the contract met the requirements of the status-based classification, when in fact, he knew it did not.

According to the Felony Information, Raass owned and operated a construction company called Raass Brothers, Inc. During its existence, the company provided general construction for the federal government on construction contracts.  The defendant controlled the daily operations of the business.

Raass formed another company called RWT, LLC in 2009.  The business name corresponded to the initials of the defendant’s father-in-law.  The defendant listed his father-in-law as the president and 51 percent owner.  The defendant listed himself as the vice president and 49 percent owner.

At the time the defendant formed RWT, his father-in-law was a veteran with a 100 percent disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs. According to the Felony Information, the veteran was physically incapable of managing RWT.  In actuality, Raass controlled the managerial and daily business operations of RWT.  The defendant never served in the United States military.

Raass registered the company as an SDVOSB.  Between Sept. 19, 2009 and Aug. 26, 2013, Raass, through RWT, obtained 11 contracts set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses totaling $16,517,912 in payments from the government.  On multiple occasions, according to the Felony Information, the defendant certified RWT as meeting the requirements of the contracts, when he knew the business did not meet those requirements. 

The defendant’s other business (RBI) primarily performed the work on the contracts, and the defendant instructed employees to withhold information about the veteran from the government, according to the charging document.     

The case is being investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, the U.S. General Services Administration Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and IRS Criminal Investigation.      

"Service-disabled veterans are recognized for their sacrifices and are afforded some special consideration when conducting business with the U.S. Government" said Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos, Defense Criminal Investigative Service Southwest Field Office. "The resolution of this case shows that those who fraudulently claim affiliation with service-disabled veterans, for their personal gain, undermine the program, and will be pursued by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our partner agencies."

"Fraudsters like Raass who falsely claim set-aside status steal taxpayer dollars meant for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute such scams," said Carol F. Ochoa, Inspector General for U.S. General Services Administration

"The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business procurement program is to help and honor our veterans, not steal from them," said Las Vegas Field Office Special Agent in Charge Tara Sullivan. "Stanley Raass created an elaborate scheme with no purpose other than defrauding the government and other disabled veterans for his own personal gain. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to assist its other law enforcement partners with our unique skills in following the money."

“Our nation’s veterans are the ultimate victims when individuals scheme to fraudulently obtain access to federal contracting opportunities set-aside for deserving small businesses owned and operated by service-disabled veterans,” said Special Agent in Charge Kari A. Overson, U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General.
 
"Individuals who devise schemes and use businesses to defraud VA of funds will be aggressively pursued by the VA Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division and held accountable to the full extent of law," said A.E. Pleasant,  Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.
 

• 144 cases filed involving members/associates of gangs in Utah
• 204 Project Safe Neighborhoods cases filed – the majority targeting felons with guns
• 41 indictments returned in child exploitation cases
• 41 robbery cases indicted, including 29 bank robbery cases
• 300 cases filed charging illegal re-entry into the country

SALT LAKE CITY -- Efforts to capitalize on existing law enforcement partnerships and re-invigorate successful programs already in place to reduce violent crime and make communities safer for everyone are well under way in Utah.

“As the United States Attorney in Utah, I use my position to ensure that the efforts aimed at reducing violent crime in our state are working toward the same goal without duplicating efforts.  We are promoting collaboration between federal, state, local and tribal agencies, existing task forces, and other stakeholders to prioritize efforts to reduce violent crime in our neighborhoods,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today.

“We look to identify the offenders who are responsible for violent crime in Utah neighborhoods.  The cases we filed last year are representative of those efforts,” Huber said. “My partners and I will build on the momentum we established last year with targeted and prioritized enforcement efforts.  Our primary goal is to reverse recent trends and reduce violent crime in Utah, where every resident deserves to live and thrive in a safe neighborhood. The recent spate of violence on the west side of Salt Lake County – likely gang related – brings into focus the urgency of our combined efforts.”

Transitioning into 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is focused on enhancing and expanding Utah Project Safe Neighborhoods, an initiative targeting violations of federal firearms laws, to include other areas of violent crime such as gang activity, drug distribution, organized crime, domestic violence and robberies. 

Utah is fortunate to have well-established working relationships between law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels, Huber said. “Our law enforcement officers and agents in Utah are skilled at helping us identify the most violent offenders in a community.”

Case examples:

Gangs

• Operation Rio Grande case – US v Jose Rodriguez, aka King Kong: A grand jury returned a six-count indictment in December charging Jose Rodriguez, aka King Kong, with drug and firearms violations. The two incidents that make up the indictment come from investigations done by Salt Lake City police officers working as a part of Operation Rio Grande.  Rodriguez is charged with distribution of heroin, distribution of cocaine base, carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime and felon in possession of a firearm for the first incident in late September.  He also faces distribution of heroin and felon in possession of a firearm in connection with an October incident. Rodriguez, age 35, a Mexican national living in Salt Lake City, faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the drug distribution counts and up to 10 years for each of the felon in possession counts.  Carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense has a mandatory five-year sentence which would run consecutive to any other sentence imposed.  Indictments are not findings of guilt.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.  A five-day jury trial has been set for March 5, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby.  Rodriguez, who has entered not guilty pleas to the charges, will remain in custody pending the resolution of this case.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul M. Warner found him to be a danger to the community and a risk of non-appearance at a detention hearing. 
  Salt Lake City police officers are investigating the case.

Robberies

• 112-month sentence for serial bank robber:  Bret Michael Edmunds, age 41, of Salt Lake City, was charged with seven counts of bank robbery in an indictment returned May 3, 2017.  As a part of a plea agreement in October 207, he admitted to a March 28, 2017, robbery of Zions Bank in Draper and an April 3, 2017, robbery of Utah First Credit Union in Provo.  In both cases, Edmunds told the teller he had a gun. Edmunds is serving 112 months in federal prison for the convictions.  He was ordered to pay $8,977 in restitution to the victim banks.   
   
  The FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force, which includes officers from the Salt Lake City Police Department and the Unified Police Department, investigated the case.  Local police agencies in Salt Lake and Utah counties also assisted with responses to the robberies. 

Firearms

• Criminal career spanning a decade:  Jonathan Fernando Chavez, age 31, of Logan, Utah, was sentenced to 77 months in federal prison Nov. 9, 2017, after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition following a felony conviction.  U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby issued the sentence.  Chavez was charged with felon in possession of a firearm and associated ammunition and possession of a sawed off shotgun in April 2017.  In a sentencing memorandum, a federal prosecutor told the Court that Chavez’ criminal career – which spans more than a decade – includes a drug charges, escape from custody, and aggravated burglary. “The defendant’s criminal history score does not tell everything about his troubling characteristics, particularly his gang affiliation,” the prosecutor told the Court.  “An examination of the defendant’s criminal history suggests that the only apparent periods of non-criminality in the life of the defendant occur, for the most part, when he is in custody.  The defendant’s criminal history and characteristics are as disturbing as they are diverse,” the prosecutor wrote in the memorandum
   
  The Cache County Sheriff’s Office and special agents of the ATF investigated the case.  Utah AP&P also contributed to the case. 

• Assault on a federal officer:  Jarvis Charlie Cuch, age 28, of  Ft. Duchesne, will be sentenced in February after pleading guilty in December to assault on a federal officer and possession of a firearm after a felony conviction in U.S. District Court Monday afternoon.  The plea agreement includes a stipulated 12-year sentence, subject to the Court’s approval. As a part of stipulated facts included in the plea agreement, Cuch admitted that on Dec. 18, 2016, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) police officers working in Ft. Duchesne attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle he was driving. Cuch fled from the BIA officers. As the officers continued their pursuit, Cuch admitted he reached out of the vehicle window and fired two rounds from a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, according to the plea agreement.  The pursuit went from Ft. Duchesne through Vernal City.  Vernal City police officers and Uintah County Sheriff’s Office deputies assisted the BIA in apprehending Cuch after his tires were spiked and his car came to a stop in Vernal. Cuch was on escape status with federal authorities when the crimes occurred. Cuch was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in March 2017.
  Special agents of the FBI investigated the case. Vernal police officers and Uintah County Sheriff’s Office deputies assisted in stopping Cuch’s car and his bringing him into custody.

Child Exploitation

• 27 ½ years in prison, lifetime supervision: Donald Ray Fritcher, age 36, of Salt Lake City, is serving 27 ½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of child pornography.  He was sentenced in July 2017.  Fritcher will be on supervised release for life when he finishes his federal prison sentence. Fritcher admitted that between about July 1, 2015, and April 2016, he shared, through a file sharing program, images and videos of child pornography.  These images included depictions of prepubescent and minor children posing in various stages of undress and in sexually explicit poses.  He further stipulated that the images also depicted the sexual abuse of minor children.  Fritcher had more than 600 images and videos in his possession. Included in the pictures Fritcher took were images of two minor victims. Fritcher, a registered sex offender in Utah, has two previous state convictions for attempted sex abuse of a child.  According to the indictment filed in the case, the pictures of the two minors were taken after his convictions in state court.
  Federal authorities arrested Fritcher in Utah in May 2016.  His arrest followed an investigation conducted by special agents of Homeland Security Investigations in Salt Lake City and Philadelphia working in collaboration with an investigator with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  The special agents of Homeland Security Investigations in Utah are members of the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force.

• Second case from Dr. Ward investigation:  Robert Edwin Francis, age 41, of Lehi, Utah, will serve 144 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Dee Benson imposed the sentence Jan. 22, 2018.  Francis was charged with production, receipt, and possession of child pornography in an indictment returned in August 2017.  Francis admitted he engaged in sexually explicit conduct involving children via an on-line social network and that he possessed at least 150 but fewer than 300 images of child pornography.     
  Special agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Davis County Sheriff’s Office, and the Utah ICAC Task Force are investigating these cases.

• Change of plea hearing set in Dr. Ward case:  A change of plea hearing for Dr. Nathan Clark Ward has been scheduled for March 5, 2018, at 3 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson. 

Immigration

• Four deportations – four DUIs: Oscar Antonio Lara-Garcia was charged in September 2017 with illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien.  (There are 14 versions of his name – also known as -- on his plea agreement document.) Lara-Garcia has been removed from the United States four times.  He has four DUI convictions and two prior possession of controlled substances convictions. Lara-Garcia pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the country in November 2017. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 5, 2018.

• Firearms and drug distribution:  Mario Roman-Cornello was charged with illegal re-entry, alien in possession of a firearm, possession of an unregistered sawed off shotgun, and possession with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin in September 2017. He was selling heroin and had agreed to facilitate the sale of the sawed off shotgun and possibly other firearms at the time of his arrest.  He pleaded guilty in January to possessing a firearm while illegally present in the country and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Roman-Cornello faces a minimum mandatory five years in prison with a maximum of 40 years when he is sentenced in March.

SALT LAKE CITY -- A federal grand jury returned a 24-count indictment Wednesday afternoon charging Landon Blake Pilkey, age 33, of Leeds, Utah, with what the indictment alleges was a scheme to defraud the IRS.  Money obtained through the alleged fraud scheme was transferred to other co-conspirators in Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.

Announcing the indictment are Utah U.S. Attorney John W. Huber and Tara Sullivan, IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the Las Vegas IRS Field Office.

According to the indictment, the fraud scheme operated from about March 10, 2013, to May 28, 2013. Pilkey and other co-conspirators in the case used the names and personal identifying information of deceased individuals to file and fraudulently obtain federal tax returns.  At least 60 fraudulent tax returns were filed as part of the scheme. The fraudulent tax returns resulted in deposits of $58,658, the indictment alleges.

Pilkey facilitated the receipt of money as a part of the scheme. According to the indictment, Pilkey maintained and monitored several bank accounts where fraudulent tax refunds were deposited.  The indictment alleges Pilkey transferred money from the accounts to other co-conspirators of the scheme in Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates  Pilkey made at least 15 withdrawals from the accounts where the fraudulent tax returns were deposited and wrote four checks to himself from the accounts for which he had no signing authority, the indictment alleges. 

The first count of the indictment alleges conspiracy to submit false claims in connection with the attempt to defraud the IRS.  The potential maximum penalty for this count is 10 years in prison. 

Theft of public money is charged in 19 counts of the indictment reflecting money Pilkey received through the fraudulently filed federal tax returns.  The potential maximum penalty for each count of theft of public money is 10 years in prison.

The final four counts of the indictment allege aggravated identity theft.  These counts allege Pilkey possessed and used the identification of another person to commit a felony – in this case, theft of government money.  Each identity theft count has a potential minimum-mandatory sentence of two years in prison.  The sentence would be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed in the case.

Pilkey will be issued a summons to appearance in federal court.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  Individuals charged in an indictment are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard W. Daynes is prosecuting the case.  Special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating the case.

SALT LAKE CITY – Trent Sowsonicut, age 28, of Ft. Duchesne, Utah, pleaded guilty to  voluntary manslaughter Monday afternoon in federal court in Salt Lake City.  As a part of the plea agreement, Sowsonicut admitted that he killed L.M., an enrolled member of the Ute Indian Tribe, during a quarrel within the boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.

Sowsonicut, who is also a tribal member, admitted that on Aug. 13, 2016, he went to L.M.’s residence to confront L.M.  He said he brought a loaded shotgun into the residence and shot L.M. in the leg during a quarrel in L.M.’s bedroom.  L.M. died as a result of the gunshot. Sowsonicut admitted he acted recklessly and with extreme disregard for human life when he brought the loaded shotgun into L.M,’s bedroom.

First responders arrived at the victim’s residence in Gusher, Utah, about 1:07 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2016, after receiving a 911 call saying that L.M. was a victim of a shooting at the residence.  First responders attempted to stabilize the victim and eventually took him to the hospital. Acting on information provided during the investigation, FBI agents and Uintah County Search and Rescue officers found the loaded shotgun in the river beneath the Randlett Bridge.   

A federal grand jury indicted Sowsonicut in January 2017 on charges of second degree murder and use and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.  He entered his guilty plea to a Felony Information filed Friday charging him with voluntary manslaughter.

The plea agreement includes a stipulated sentence of 78 months in federal prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release.  The sentence is subject to the approval of the court.  U.S. District Judge David Sam set sentencing in the case for March 15, 2018, at 2:30 p.m.

Agents and officers with the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Ute tribal police participated in the investigation of the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen L. Nelson and Michael J. Thorpe of the U.S. Attorney’s Office are prosecuting the case.

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an 11-count indictment Wednesday afternoon charging Travis Luke Dominguez, age 33, of Midvale, Utah, with threats against the President, threats to injure others, and conveying false information.

The South Jordan Police Department and the FBI’s JTTF are investigating the case with substantial assistance from the Unified Police Department (UPD).

The indictment charges five counts of maliciously conveying false information in connection with the defendant’s use of the internet to convey false information concerning alleged attempts to kill, injure, and intimidate individuals at locations in South Jordan, Midvale, and Sandy.  A South Jordan movie theater complex, a South Jordan bank, and a Midvale business were targets of the alleged threats in November and December.  The indictment charges that in each incident, the defendant knew that the threat he was conveying was false.

Two counts in the indictment charge Dominguez with threats to take the life of President Trump while he was in Utah on Dec. 4, 2017.  The indictment also includes a count alleging Dominguez transmitted a communication via internet to the Unified Police Department’s web tip line threatening to injure another.  Specifically, the communication included a threat to injure police officers if they tried to stop him from killing the President.

In addition to the threat to injure another associated with the President’s visit, there are three additional counts alleging the defendant used the UPD web tip line to transmit threats to injure another. The indictment alleges that on Dec. 16, Dec. 24, and Sunday (Dec. 31), the defendant transmitted threats to injure individuals at a movie complex in South Jordan.  Sunday’s communication included a threat to harm police officers responding to the scene.

The threats generally involved an active shooter situation or the use of explosives.

Following the Sunday threat, Dominguez was observed in the area of the theater.  A vehicle stop was executed by South Jordan police officers and he was taken into custody.  Each count of the indictment carries a potential penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark K. Vincent in the U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Hailey Keele, age 35, of North Ogden, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of tax evasion in federal court Wednesday afternoon in connection with a $843,673 embezzlement scheme at the business where she worked.

 In court documents filed Wednesday, Keele admitted that from July 2006 through about November 2014, the company she worked for gave her access to its online American Express credit card account.  She prepared checks drawn on her employer’s bank account to American Express and presented the checks to the company’s business manager for signature.  She did this under the pretense the checks would be used to pay the company’s American Express account.

Keele admitted she did not disclose that the company’s American Express account would be fully paid by automatic online payments she set up using her online access.  She also did not tell the company that she intended to use the checks to American Express for payments for her personal American Express account.  Relying on her representations and omissions, the business manager signed the checks. She admitted she used the funds to pay for personal expenses and sometimes withdrew the funds in the form of cash advances, gift cards, and credit balance refund checks from American Express.

As a part of a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Keele admitted she committed mail fraud in furtherance of the scheme when she contacted American Express in August 2012 to request a credit balance refund check of $36,681.15.  She received the check by mail.  The tax evasion conviction involves tax returns she filed for tax year 2014. According to the plea agreement, Keele knew that she had obtained significant income through her fraud scheme.  However, she did not report or pay taxes on any of the $377,789 in income she obtained in 2014 through the scheme.  The total amount of income tax due on the unreported income was $100,300.

U.S. District Judge Dee Benson set sentencing in the case for Feb. 21, 2018, at 2 p.m. The potential maximum penalty for the mail fraud conviction is 20 years in federal prison.  The tax evasion count has a potential penalty of five years in prison.  She also agreed to forfeit all property acquired or traceable to her criminal conduct, including as money judgment of $843.673.

Special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carl D. LeSueur and Kevin L. Sundwall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office are prosecuting the case.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Jarvis Charlie Cuch, age 28, of Ft. Duchesne, pleaded guilty to assault on a federal officer and possession of a firearm after a felony conviction in U.S. District Court Monday afternoon.  The plea agreement includes a stipulated 12-year sentence, subject to the Court’s approval.

As a part of stipulated facts included in the plea agreement, Cuch agreed that on Dec. 18, 2016, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) police officers working in Ft. Duchesne attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle he was driving. Cuch fled from the BIA officers. As the officers continued their pursuit, Cuch admitted he reached out of the vehicle window and fired two rounds from a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, according to the plea agreement.

The pursuit went from Ft. Duchesne through Vernal City.  Vernal City police officers and Uintah County Sheriff’s Office deputies assisted the BIA in apprehending Cuch after his tires were spiked and his car came to a stop in Vernal.

He admitted that he forcibly assaulted, resisted, intimidated, and interfered with the BIA officers while they were engaged in the performance of their official duties.  He also admitted that in discharging the firearm during the incident, he violated a federal law related to using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

Cuch, a convicted felon, was prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm.

The plea agreement also includes a stipulation that Cuch will serve 60 months of supervised release when he finishes his prison sentence.  U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball set a sentencing hearing for Feb. 20, 2018, at 2:30 p.m.

Cuch was on escape status with federal authorities when the December 2016 incident with the BIA officers occurred.  U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell sentenced Cuch to 30 months in federal prison in August 2015 for a firearms violation. The sentence was to be followed by 36 months of supervised release. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons transferred Cuch to a halfway house in Salt Lake City on Aug. 31, 2016, pending his release on Jan. 27, 2017.  Cuch was placed on escape status on Sept. 26, 2016, when he left the halfway house without permission.

Special agents of the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Isaac Workman and Michael Thorpe in the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. Federal prosecutors acknowledged the important contributions of Vernal police officers and Uintah County Sheriff’s Office deputies for their assistance in stopping Cuch’s car and assisting with his arrest after his assault on the federal officers.

SALT LAKE CITY – In what is believed to be the largest settlement of its kind in Utah involving allegations of drug diversion, Intermountain Healthcare has agreed to pay the United States $1 million to resolve allegations that lax controls enabled a former employee to divert controlled substances for personal use.
U.S. Attorney John W. Huber and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) District Agent in Charge Brian S. Besser announced the settlement Friday morning.
In conjunction with the monetary settlement, IHC has implemented a comprehensive corrective action plan to prevent, identify, and address future diversions. The settlement is not an admission of liability by Intermountain Healthcare. 
“Under the law, healthcare networks such as IHC have a responsibility to ensure that controlled substances are used for patient care and are not diverted for non-medical purposes,” Huber said.  “Diversion of these drugs feeds addiction, contributes to potential illegal drug sales, and fuels the opioid epidemic that has had a devastating effect on Utah and the rest of the country.  We commend IHC for addressing its diversion problem and for taking steps to ameliorate future diversion by IHC personnel,” Huber said.
The settlement relates to civil claims arising from a diversion of controlled substances at a clinic and pharmacy in the Ogden area. Specifically, the United States contends that from September 2007 through March 2015, a diversion of controlled substances occurred at the clinic under DEA registration numbers for a physician and pharmacy. 
A DEA investigation found that a former medical assistant of a doctor at the clinic used the physician’s DEA registration number to issue prescriptions to herself and two family members, including prescriptions for Oxycodone, Diazepam, Phentermine and Hydrocodone. 
“With the burgeoning opioid epidemic sweeping across the country and the great State of Utah, the DEA takes very seriously its responsibility to ensure the public’s safety in regard to the proper prescribing and dispensing of highly-addictive controlled substances made available to our communities through the healthcare industry. DEA is committed to investigating any instances involving the unlawful diversion of powerful synthetic opioids with which many Utahan’s woefully begin their cycle of drug addiction,” Besser said today.
The United States contends, for example, that 244 prescriptions of Oxycodone 30 mg tablets (46,616 pills) were issued without a legitimate medical purpose and not in the course of the doctor’s professional practice.  Another 151 prescriptions for controlled substances, totaling 11,430 pills, w ere also issued. The pharmacy filled each of the prescriptions, which were picked up by the former medical assistant.  The physician and the pharmacy shared equal responsibility for ensuring the proper prescribing and dispensing of the controlled substances, the United States contends.
The Affirmative Civil Enforcement Division in the United States Attorney’s Office handled the civil action.

SALT LAKE CITY – A Salt Lake City, Utah, man was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday for dealing in firearms without a license and filing fraudulent tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg, of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah.
According to documents and evidence presented to the court, Adam Michael Webber reached an agreement with the United States in 2007 that barred him from applying for a federal firearms license or engaging in the business of dealing firearms.  Between 2007 and 2008, Webber was the sole owner of HK Parts, an Internet gun parts business. In 2008, Webber added firearms to his product line and primarily sold them on the Internet at hkparts.net.  He also sold firearms and firearm parts out of the basement of his residence.
Webber never held a federal firearms license and, from 2009 through May 2012, illegally sold firearms under the auspices of a company owned by another Utah resident.  Webber also sold firearms to undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents on two separate occasions, including selling one firearm for cash in a parking lot.  In May 2012, approximately $180,000 in cash, a 70-pound silver bar, silver coins, and firearms were found at Webber’s residence during the execution of a search warrant.
From 2007 through 2010, Webber earned more than $10 million in gross receipts from the sale of illegal firearms and his firearm parts business.  For those years, he reported only a total of $183,397 in gross receipts, underreporting his earnings on his 2007, 2008 and 2009 individual income tax returns and underreporting gross receipts on his 2009 and 2010 corporate tax returns.  In 2010, Webber paid $670,000 in cash for a new home in Salt Lake County.
In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson ordered Webber to serve three years of supervised release.  Webber paid $1,817,887.05 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service prior to sentencing.  He was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.  A jury convicted Webber of the tax offenses in September 2016. He later pleaded guilty to the firearms count. He agreed to forfeit more than 300 seized firearms.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Huber commended special agents of ATF, IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security, who conducted the investigation, and AUSAs Cy H. Castle and J. Drew Yeates and Paralegal Heather Nielson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Kathleen M. Barry of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

A Salt Lake City, Utah, man was sentenced to 4 years in prison today for dealing in firearms without a license and filing fraudulent tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg, of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah.

According to documents and evidence presented to the court, Adam Michael Webber reached an agreement with the United States in 2007 that barred him from applying for a federal firearms license or engaging in the business of dealing firearms.  Between 2007 and 2008, Webber was the sole owner of HK Parts, an Internet gun parts business. In 2008, Webber added firearms to his product line and primarily sold them on the Internet at hkparts.net.  He also sold firearms and firearm parts out of the basement of his residence.  Webber never held a federal firearms license and, from 2009 through May 2012, illegally sold firearms under the auspices of a company owned by another Utah resident.  Webber also sold firearms to undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents on two separate occasions, including selling one firearm for cash in a parking lot.  In May 2012, approximately $180,000 in cash, a 70 pound silver bar, silver coins, and firearms were found at Webber’s residence during the execution of a search warrant.

From 2007 through 2010, Webber earned more than $10 million in gross receipts from the sale of illegal firearms and his firearm parts business.  For those years, he reported only a total of $183,397 in gross receipts, underreporting his earnings on his 2007, 2008 and 2009 individual income tax returns and underreporting gross receipts on his 2009 and 2010 corporate tax returns.  In 2010, Webber paid $670,000 in cash for a new home in Salt Lake County.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson ordered Webber to serve three years of supervised release.  Webber paid $1,817,887.05 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service prior to sentencing, and he was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.  Webber was convicted by a jury of the tax offenses in September 2016 and later pleaded guilty to the firearms count. He agreed to forfeit more than 300 seized firearms.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Huber commended special agents of ATF, IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security, who conducted the investigation, and AUSAs Cy H. Castle and J. Drew Yeates and Paralegal Heather Nielson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Kathleen M. Barry of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced the appointment of nine new U.S. Attorneys to serve two-year terms on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC).  Utah U.S. Attorney John W. Huber will serve as the Vice Chair of the AGAC.

U.S. Attorney Richard Moore of the Southern District of Alabama will Chair the AGAC.

The AGAC was created in 1973 and reports to the Attorney General through the Deputy Attorney General. The AGAC represents U.S. Attorneys around the country and provides advice and counsel to the Attorney General on matters of policy, procedure, and management impacting the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys.

“I am pleased to announce the first members of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee under this administration. These U.S. Attorneys will play an important role in carrying out the Department of Justice’s mission to reduce violent crime, combat transnational criminal organizations, secure our southern border, end the devastating opioid crisis, and return to the rule of law,” said Attorney General Sessions.

“I am deeply honored to be asked to serve as an advisor to Attorney General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein.  These men are leaders of the highest caliber and are deeply committed to serving our great nation.  This appointment will give Utah an important voice in Department of Justice initiatives and priorities,” Huber said today.

Other new appointees include U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Justin E. Herdman; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Robert Higdon; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma Robert Trent Shores; U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Joshua Minkler; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeff Jensen; and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Bryan Schroder.

A brief bio on each nominee is below:

Richard Moore (Chair)

The Senate confirmed Richard Moore’s appointment as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama in September 2017.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Moore served as the Inspector General for the Tennessee Valley Authority.  From May 2009 to March 2011, Mr. Moore was the Chairman of the Investigations Committee for the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.  Prior to this position, Mr. Moore served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama from 1985 to 2003.  From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Moore was an Atlantic Fellow in Public Policy at Oxford University in England.  Mr. Moore received his B.S., summa cum laude, from Spring Hill College and his J.D. from the Samford University Cumberland School of Law.

John W. Huber (Vice Chair)

John Huber has served as the United States Attorney for the District of Utah since 2015, and in August 2017, the Senate again confirmed his appointment.  Prior to being United States Attorney, Mr. Huber served as an Assistant United States Attorney for 13 years.  Mr. Huber began his prosecutorial career in the Weber County (Utah) Attorney’s Office, and later served as the Chief Prosecutor for West Valley City, Utah, before joining the United States Attorney’s Office in 2002.  Mr. Huber received his B.A. from the University of Utah and his J.D. from the University of Utah College of Law.

Justin E. Herdman

The Senate confirmed Justin Herdman’s appointment as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio in August 2017.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Herdman was a partner at Jones Day and an Assistant United States Attorney in Cleveland, Ohio.  Mr. Herdman previously served as an Assistant District Attorney in New York City from 2001 to 2005 and as an associate at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP.  He is currently a Judge Advocate General in the United States Air Force Reserve.  Mr. Herdman received his B.A. from Ohio University, his Master of Philosophy from the University of Glasgow and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Robert Higdon

The Senate confirmed Robert Higdon to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina in October 2017.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Higdon was a partner at the law firm of Williams Mullen.  He previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Western and Eastern Districts of North Carolina.  In the Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Higdon served as Chief of the Criminal Division for more than 11 years.  Mr. Higdon also served as senior trial counsel in the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice.  He received his B.A., cum laude, from Wake Forest University and his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Jeff Jensen

The Senate confirmed Jeff Jensen to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri in October 2017.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Jensen was a partner at Husch Blackwell LLP.  He served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Missouri starting in 1999, and was Executive United States Attorney from 2005 to 2009.  Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Jensen was an FBI Special Agent from 1989 to 1999.  While working at the FBI, Mr. Jensen attended St. Louis University School of Law at night, graduating magna cum laude.  He also received his B.A., cum laude, from Indiana University School of Business.

Jessie K. Liu

The Senate confirmed Jessie Liu to be United States Attorney for the District of Columbia in September 2017.  Ms. Liu was previously Deputy General Counsel for the United States Department of the Treasury and a partner at the law firms of Morrison & Foerster LLP and Jenner & Block LLP.  In addition, she has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia and in several senior positions in the United States Department of Justice, including as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division, counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, and deputy chief of staff for the National Security Division.  Ms. Liu clerked for then-Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  She received her A.B., summa cum laude, from Harvard University and her J.D. from Yale Law School.

Joshua Minkler

The Senate confirmed Joshua Minkler to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana in October 2017.  Since June 2015, Mr. Minkler had served as the interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.  Prior to that position, he served for 21 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Indiana.  Before he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Minkler served for five years as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Office of the Kent County Michigan Prosecuting Attorney.  Mr. Minkler received his B.A. from Wabash College, and his J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.  

Bryan Schroder

Bryan Schroder’s nomination to be United States Attorney for the District of Alaska is pending in the Senate.  Mr. Schroder is currently the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Alaska, and previously served as the First Assistant United States Attorney and Criminal Chief.  Mr. Schroder has served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for more than 11 years.  Mr. Schroder is a retired Captain in the U.S. Coast Guard, having served for 24 years.  Mr. Schroder graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the University of Washington School of Law.

Robert Trent Shores

The Senate confirmed Robert Trent Shores to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma in September 2017.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Shores was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Oklahoma.  Mr. Shores previously served as First Assistant Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma and deputy director for the Department of Justice’s Office of Tribal Justice, where he developed initiatives to promote public safety in Indian Country.  Mr. Shores received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Guillermo Lopez-Casillas, age 37, of Compton, Calif., will serve 262 months in federal prison for possession of methamphetamine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.  U.S. District Judge Jill N. Parrish imposed the sentence Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court.

A jury deliberated for just a few hours before finding Lopez-Casillas guilty on both counts following a two-day trial in June. 

“Drug trafficking organizations regularly travel along Utah roadways to deliver their poison to Utah neighborhoods and points beyond,” observed Utah U.S. Attorney John W. Huber.  “The Utah Highway Patrol is one of the top law enforcement agencies in the nation in detecting and interdicting large shipments of narcotics.  As partners, we will continue to doggedly pursue those who exploit addictions for profit,” Huber said.

In addition to the UHP, DEA and the Utah State Bureau of Investigations contributed to the investigation of the case.

In August 2015, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper stopped Lopez-Casillas on 1-70 in southern Utah for a traffic violation.  The defendant told the trooper he did not have a driver’s license because it had been suspended for a DUI. After speaking with Lopez-Casillas and his juvenile passenger and observing their conduct, the trooper became suspicious that they were involved in criminal activity. Lopez-Casillas gave the trooper permission to search the car.  The trooper found 1,009.5 grams of cocaine and 646.7 grams of methamphetamine. Both individuals were arrested. 

The sentencing guideline range for the drug convictions was 262 to 327 months.  Federal prosecutors argued for a 300-month sentence.  In a sentencing memorandum filed with the court, prosecutors said the defendant was trafficking significant quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine.  Prosecutors were also concerned that the defendant involved a juvenile in his drug trafficking activities.    

Lopez-Casillas has a prominent gang affiliation and a lengthy history of criminal activity, including prior narcotics trafficking offenses, violent crimes, and possession and use firearms. 

Judge Parrish ordered Lopez-Casillas to serve five years of supervised release when he completes his federal prison sentence. Among other standard conditions of supervised release, the judge ordered special conditions including prohibiting contact with any member or associate of a street gang or prison gang and prohibited Lopez-Casillas from possessing material which gives evidence of gang involvement or activity.  He also cannot receive new tattoos associated with gangs or wear clothing identified with gangs.

The juvenile in the car with Lopez-Casillas was not prosecuted in federal court.

“After a thorough review and careful consideration, we notified the Court today that the United States intends to retry its case against Mr. Koerber.  We have asked U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby to set a status conference at which time the United States will request a firm date for retrial.

“On October 16, 2017, the Court dismissed the jury in the first trial after they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.  Since that time, a number of jurors have volunteered their perspectives relating to their jury service in this matter.  Based upon what we learned from these candid and informative discussions, and based upon the serious crimes alleged and unresolved, the United States will move forward with this case.  Immediately following the first trial, there were defense assertions that an overwhelming number of jurors were in favor of acquittal.  Based upon the information volunteered to our office, those claims appear to have no merit.

“While we recognize the cost, time, and energy it will take to retry this case, it is the right thing to do.  In a case where investors entrusted approximately $100 million to the defendant, of which well over $50 million was redistributed to other investors, a jury should reach a unanimous verdict as to the defendant’s culpability, or lack thereof.  For either party and for our broader community, justice demands the finality of a unanimous jury verdict.”

                                                            U.S. Attorney John W. Huber 

SALT LAKE CITY – Jason Thomas Llewelyn, age 46, of Helper, Utah, who pleaded guilty to one count of misprision of a felony in July, will serve six months in prison.  U.S. District Judge David Nuffer imposed the sentence Monday in Salt Lake City.

Llewelyn, who was working as the Carbon County Emergency Services Director at the time of the criminal conduct, admitted in court documents that he used a county credit card to purchase items for his personal use.  He had a county credit card to make purchases for various agencies within Carbon County.  Llewelyn is also a former Carbon County Deputy Sheriff.

Judge Nuffer also ordered Llewelyn to pay $64,723.03 in restitution to Carbon County.  He will also serve 12 months of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

“Civil servants are held to high standards of professionalism and integrity, and when they hold to those standards they deserve the public’s trust.  When a civil servant violates that trust with criminal intent, the resulting offense is very serious regardless of the dollar amounts involved.  A six-month sentence in federal prison fairly reflects the seriousness of the offense in this matter,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today.

In July of 2015, law enforcement officers discovered that Llewelyn had used his county credit card to purchase several parts for boat repairs.  Following an initial investigation, a search warrant was executed at his houseboat where officers located items.

The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI participated in the investigation of the case.

As a part of a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Llewelyn admitted he took an affirmative step to conceal the crime by making it appear the purchases were for the county when he knew the purchases were for his own personal use. He also admitted knowing Carbon County did not authorize the purchases.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Llewelyn with theft concerning programs receiving federal funds in November 2015.  The indictment alleged Llewelyn used county funds to purchase hundreds of items for his houseboat and other personal interests.  He pleaded guilty to a Felony Information charging him with misprision of a felony as a part of his plea agreement.

SALT LAKE CITY – A St. George, Utah, financial advisor pleaded guilty Monday afternoon to his role in selling fraudulent tax-avoidance and investment strategies to his clients, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah.

According to documents and information provided to the court, Henry Brock, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, securities fraud and wire fraud. Brock founded a financial services company in 2009 and served as the president from 2009 through 2017.  As President, he marketed and sold a fraudulent tax scheme, called “IRA Exit Strategy,” to potential investors.  Brock promised investors that he could provide a way for them to avoid paying taxes on IRA withdrawals, which would otherwise be subject to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) penalties and taxes.  To implement his scheme, Brock caused his business to issue tax forms to his clients falsely representing that they were investors in his business who incurred losses, which served to offset the clients’ tax liabilities.  As a result, Brock caused clients to file fraudulent income tax returns claiming a total of approximately $3.8 million in bogus business losses and resulting in a tax loss of over $1.1 million.

During this period, Brock fraudulently raised more than $10.8 million in investments by making false representations to investors regarding the “IRA Exit Strategy,” the financial condition of his company and other matters.  On at least one occasion, Brock also transferred $196,323 of a client’s investment funds and used the money for his own personal and business expenses.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 5, 2018, before U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart. Brock faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for tax evasion, 20 years in prison for securities fraud and 20 years in prison for wire fraud. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Huber thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and the Utah Division of Securities, who conducted the investigation, and AUSA Trina Higgins and Trial Attorney Matthew Hoffman of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case.

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

A St. George, Utah, financial advisor pleaded guilty today to his role in selling fraudulent tax-avoidance and investment strategies to his clients, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah.

According to documents and information provided to the court, Henry Brock, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, securities fraud and wire fraud.  Brock founded a financial services company in 2009 and served as the president from 2009 through 2017.  As President, he marketed and sold a fraudulent tax scheme, called “IRA Exit Strategy,” to potential investors.  Brock promised investors that he could provide a way for them to avoid paying taxes on IRA withdrawals, which would otherwise be subject to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) penalties and taxes.  To implement his scheme, Brock caused his business to issue tax forms to his clients falsely representing that they were investors in his business who incurred losses, which served to offset the clients’ tax liabilities.  As a result, Brock caused clients to file fraudulent income tax returns claiming a total of approximately $3.8 million in bogus business losses and resulting in a tax loss of over $1.1 million.

During this period, Brock fraudulently raised over $10.8 million in investments by making false representations to investors regarding the “IRA Exit Strategy,” the financial condition of his company and other matters.  On at least one occasion, Brock also transferred $196,323 of a client’s investment funds and used the money for his own personal and business expenses.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 5, 2018 before U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart. Brock faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for tax evasion, 20 years in prison for securities fraud and 20 years in prison for wire fraud. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Huber thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and the Utah Division of Securities, who conducted the investigation, and AUSA Trina Higgins and Trial Attorney Matthew Hoffman of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case.

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

SALT LAKE CITY -- The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City filed a civil complaint Wednesday morning against a group that calls itself the “Uinta Valley Shoshone Tribe (UVST)” and three of its officers seeking an injunction to stop what the United States believes to be wire fraud. 

The law allows the United States to seek a civil injunction to stop wire fraud while it is conducting further investigations.  The United States seeks to enjoin the defendants from selling hunting and fishing licenses that purportedly give hunters and anglers the right to hunt and fish on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.  The Ute Tribe is the only tribal entity authorized to issue hunting and fishing licenses within the reservation.  The Uinta Valley Shoshone Tribe is not recognized by the United States and has no legal authority over the lands or resources within the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. 

Named in the complaint against the UVST are Dora Van, chairwoman; Ramona Harris, director; and Leo LeBaron, wildlife director; and others who are working in active concert with the defendants to issue and use hunting and fishing licenses on Ute Tribal land over which the UVST has no jurisdiction.  The Ute Tribe has not delegated any of its authority over fish and wildlife to the defendants in the case.

According to the complaint, in late September 2016, Ute Fish and Wildlife officers and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officers began receiving information regarding the UVST selling hunting and fishing licenses for their purported members’ use in taking wildlife from Ute Tribal Trust Lands of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.  UVST sells these licenses for $25, the complaint alleges.  On the license application form, the defendants list a website and an email address for the UVST, and falsely state that the UVST is “a Federal Corporation d/b/a the ‘Ute Indian Tribe” of the Uinta and Ouray Reservations, Utah.”  Some of those who have obtained licenses from UVST have used them to take deer, elk, and fish from the Ute Tribal Lands.  The defendants have erected “No Trespass” signs on Ute Tribal Trust Lands and, according to the complaint, informed those who buy licenses that the Ute Tribal Trust Lands actually belong to the UVST and no entity can prevent licensees from hunting or fishing on those lands.

The civil action filed today asks the federal court to declare that the defendants have engaged in wire fraud by selling the licenses, preliminarily and permanently enjoin the defendants from selling or issuing hunting and fishing licenses, declare that the UVST hunting and fishing licenses that have been issued are null and void, preliminarily and permanently enjoin the use of licenses that have been issued, and award any other relief that the Court deems appropriate.

SALT LAKE CITY -- In a new, collaborative effort, Utah federal, state and local government officials established the Financial Fraud Institute and will hold a multi-agency seminar designed to educate Utah investors and consumers on how to recognize and avoid financial and consumer fraud, announced U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regional Director Richard R. Best and U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah John W. Huber. 

The free seminar is open to the public and will be held in St. George on Nov 2.  Follow us on Twitter at #StopFraudUtah.

Officials from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Utah Attorney General’s Office, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Utah Division of Securities, Utah Division of Consumer Protection, FBI, IRS and the Washington County Attorney’s office will participate in the seminar.

John Huber, United States Attorney for the District of Utah, will be the keynote speaker at the seminar. This is the third in a series of seminars as a part of the Financial Fraud Institute initiative.

The seminar will provide information on key questions to ask before making investment decisions, where to find free and unbiased information, how to spot financial scams, and how to report suspected fraud. 

WHO:  National and local experts from federal and state law enforcement and financial regulatory agencies

WHAT:  Financial Fraud Institute Seminars to educate investors and consumers on how to recognize and avoid fraud

WHEN:  November 2, 2017

                4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (

WHERE:  The Dixie Center

                   1835 Convention Center Drive

                   St. George, UT

Those interested in attending the seminar must register at:  www.utfraud.com, or call 801-579-6191. For more information, visit www.utfraud.com. 

The seminar is open to the press.  Press interested in attending the event should contact Melodie Rydalch of the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office on 801-243-6475 or melodie.rydalch@usdoj.gov.

SALT LAKE CITY – Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a reinvigoration of Project Safe Neighborhoods Thursday morning, a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. John W. Huber, U.S. Attorney in Utah, joined Attorney General Sessions at a roundtable discussion at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., Thursday morning as a part of the PSN announcement.

"According to the FBI, the violent crime rate has risen by nearly 7 percent over the past two years, and the homicide rate has risen by more than 20 percent. We cannot be complacent or hope that this is just an anomaly: we have a duty to take action,” Attorney General Sessions said in a statement today.

“Fortunately, we have a President who understands that and has directed his administration to reduce crime. The Department of Justice today announces the foundation of our plan to reduce crime: prioritizing Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that has been proven to work.

“Let me be clear – Project Safe Neighborhoods is not just one policy idea among many. This is the centerpiece of our crime reduction strategy,” the Attorney General said.

The Attorney General has issued a memo directing United States Attorneys to implement an enhanced violent crime reduction program that incorporates the lessons learned since Project Safe Neighborhoods launched in 2001.  The announcement of a reinvigoration of the PSN program is one of several actions the Department of Justice will be taking to reduce the rising tide of violent crime in the country.

News of a new nationwide commitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods is welcome news at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah.  Federal prosecutors in Utah, working together with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, built a strong PSN program more than 15 years ago and the collaborative effort has continued through the years.
 
“Project Safe Neighborhoods has been the most effective program for taking on violent crime in Utah for more than 15 years.  It is comprehensive and collaborative.  The Attorney General is wise to reinvigorate this project,” Huber said.  “We will use the Attorney General’s announcement as a springboard to energize and refocus our efforts to keep Utah communities safe.” 

Local, state, and federal partners involved in the Utah PSN initiative have contributed to the federal indictment of 3,501 armed offenders.
 
“Project Safe Neighborhoods has been one of the most successful law enforcement initiatives we have seen in Utah,” Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Keith Squires said Thursday.  “It has been an effective tool in both urban and rural communities of our state as local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors work together to target those violent criminals who disrupt the safety of our communities.”

“During my long career in law enforcement, the Utah PSN program and the partnerships it has created made a significant difference in reducing violent crime and saving lives,” Larry Marx, former commander of the Utah PSN Task Force and a long-time police officer in Utah, said Thursday.  “PSN provides law enforcement officers with a tool to reduce gun violence by criminals, gang members, and those who commit acts of domestic violence. Using existing federal gun laws, those who use firearms to commit crimes are convicted and sent to jail.”

Recent PSN case examples include:

Jonah Robinson, who was indicted in March 2017 and pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and possession of child pornography, has agreed to an 80-month prison sentence for sending a Snapchat of himself pointing a gun at four police officer and stating that for “15 snapshots I’ll shoot every last one.” Robinson is associated with the Kearns Town Bloods gang.   Sentencing in the case is Nov. 13, 2017, at 2 p.m. before U.S. District Judge David Nuffer.

Jarvis Cuch, who has a previous PSN conviction, was indicted in March 2017 after escaping from a halfway house.  The indictment allege he fired shots at BIA officers during an attempted traffic stop.  He is charged with felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, assault on a federal officer, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

SALT LAKE CITY – A former Orem, Utah, chiropractor, who also owned a health care products business, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for tax evasion and corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the internal revenue laws in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City Monday afternoon. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah announced the sentence.

Louis Hansen, 65, was convicted following a jury trial in July.  According to documents submitted to the court and evidence presented at trial, Hansen attempted to evade the payment of his federal income taxes for the years 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010.  For the years 2005, 2006 and 2010, Hansen filed a tax return reporting that he owed taxes, but did not fully pay the amounts due. Hansen’s 2007 return was audited and additional taxes assessed.

In March 2012, Hansen sent a check to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the amount of $342,699 that was drawn on a closed bank account held in the name of another individual, and claimed that the check paid off his tax debt.  Hansen then sent a signed letter to the revenue officer assigned to collect his unpaid taxes, claiming that he had paid the taxes owed.  A few months later, Hansen sent 10 additional checks all in the amount of $425,000, to at least six IRS locations, all drawn on another closed account in the name of a different individual, claiming to pay the back taxes due.  

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups sentenced Hansen to serve three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $342,699.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Huber thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin L. Sundwall and Assistant Chief Andrew Kameros of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

An Orem, Utah former chiropractor, who also owned a health care products business, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for tax evasion and corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the internal revenue laws, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah.

Louis Hansen, 65, was convicted following a jury trial in July.  According to documents submitted to the court and evidence presented at trial, Hansen attempted to evade the payment of his federal income taxes for the years 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010.  For the years 2005, 2006 and 2010, Hansen filed a tax return reporting that he owed taxes, but did not fully pay the amounts due. For 2007, Hansen’s return was audited and additional taxes assessed.  In March 2012, Hansen sent a check to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the amount of $342,699 that was drawn on a closed bank account held in the name of another individual, and claimed that the check paid off his tax debt.  Hansen then sent a signed letter to the revenue officer assigned to collect his unpaid taxes, claiming that he had paid the taxes owed.  A few months later, Hansen sent 10 additional checks all in the amount of $425,000, to at least six IRS locations, all drawn on another closed account in the name of a different individual, claiming to pay the back taxes due.  

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups sentenced Hansen to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $342,699.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Huber thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin L. Sundwall and Assistant Chief Andrew Kameros of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment charging Mark Porter, age 58, a former resident of Draper, Utah, with using force and the threat of force to injure, intimidate, and interfere with an African-American man because of his race after moving in nearby.  The indictment, returned by the grand jury Wednesday, was unsealed Friday morning.

Announcing the charges Friday are John Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; John W. Huber, United States Attorney for the District of  Utah; and Eric Barnhart, Special Agent in Charge for the Salt Lake City Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The indictment alleges that Mark Porter shouted racial slurs at the victim and his 7-year-old son, and then struck the victim with a stun cane.  The indictment further alleges that the stun cane is a dangerous weapon, and that the victim suffered bodily injury. 

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted on the civil rights charge, Porter faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was arrested on the charge in Arizona and will have an appearance in federal court in Arizona.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Drew Yeates of the United States Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Rose E. Gibson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

A former CEO of a Salt Lake City, Utah company pleaded guilty yesterday to tax evasion, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah.

According to documents filed with the court, Peter Nordberg, 61, of Alameda, California, was the Chief Executive Officer of Max International, a company that produces and markets nutritional supplements directly and through independent associates and distributors. As an employee of Max International, Nordberg earned a salary and commissions equal to a percentage of sales. Nordberg caused Max International to pay his bonus income to a nominee entity he established, and used a bank account in the name of the nominee entity to pay personal expenses. Nordberg concealed the bonus income and nominee entity from his return preparer and filed false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that underreported his income. He admitted to causing a tax loss of approximately $275,000.

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 30 before U.S. District Court Judge Benson. Nordberg faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Huber thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorney Matthew Hoffman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Hackford-Peer, who are prosecuting the case.

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

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday morning charging Jeremy Van Duren, age 43, of West Jordan, with robberies of two Salt Lake County credit unions in July.

The indictment alleges Van Duren committed a July 17, 2017, robbery of Deseret First Credit Union in Murray and a July 25, 2017, robbery of Chartway Federal Credit Union in West Jordan.

This is Van Duren’s second trip to federal court on bank robbery charges.  He was charged with 16 bank robberies in an indictment returned in March 2004. He pleaded guilty to eight of the robberies in June 2004 and was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison in September 2004.  He was ordered to pay almost $60,000 in restitution to the banks.  His sentence also included 36 months of supervised release at the end of the sentence. (There is no parole in the federal criminal justice system.) He later served an additional 14 months in custody for violations of his supervised release.  

Several law enforcement agencies were involved in a coordinated effort to bring Van Duren into custody in connection with the recent credit union robberies, including the Murray and West Jordan Police Departments and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force.

Following the first robbery, detectives with the Murray Police Department were able to use surveillance video from the area to identify a male they believed was involved in the robbery as well as the car they believed was used in the robbery.  As law enforcement officers continued the investigation, they developed information they were able to use to arrest Van Duren shortly after the second robbery was committed.

An initial appearance will be scheduled for Van Duren in U.S. District Court. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the two counts in the indictment.  An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged in an indictment are presumed innocent unless or until they are proven guilty in court.