Eastern District of Virginia

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Springfield woman was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in prison for witness tampering that occurred at the onset of a multi-week federal trial against four individuals relating to a murder, violent gang enterprise, and a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Virginia, California, and several other states.

According to court documents, Keira Ta, 27, was a member of the Lady Tigers, which was a subset of a violent Northern Virginia Street gang called the Reccless Tigers. Gang members, over a number of years, engaged in a persistent pattern of intimidation and retaliation against anyone who were believed to have cooperated with law enforcement. Gang members labeled those who cooperated with law enforcement as “snitches,” and used social media to convey threats to witnesses and inform other gang-members of their identities. In retaliation, gang members committed assaults, attacked homes with Molotov cocktails, and even murdered an individual who testified against a member of the Reccless Tigers in a Commonwealth of Virginia case.

According to court records, criminal racketeering and other charges against numerous members of the Reckless Tigers gang led to a trial that commenced on April 11, 2022. The allegations in the trial included, among other things, that certain defendants were involved in the murder of a former Commonwealth witness as described above. On the evening of April 11, 2022, after speaking through a jail call to a leader of the gang who was a defendant in the trial, Ta posted to social media revealing the names of the government’s upcoming witnesses, labeling them each a “snitch” and instructing associates to “come watch the snitches snitching.” Thereafter, the trial was delayed and certain witnesses in the trial later refused to identify the leader of the gang in open court because of the defendant’s threat.  On May 6, 2022, a jury convicted four defendants affiliated with the Reccless Tigers of numerous charges relating to a murder, a violent gang enterprise, and a drug trafficking conspiracy.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather D. Call and Ryan B. Bredemeier prosecuted the case.

The investigation into the Reccless Tigers criminal organization is a multi-jurisdictional OCDETF case involving the FBI Washington Field Office, ATF, HSI, IRS, U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Fairfax County Police Department, Prince William County Police Department, City of Richmond Police, Montgomery County (MD) Police, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Falls Church Police, City of Alexandria Sheriff’s Office, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, Fairfax County Fire Marshal, Prince William County Fire Marshal, Stafford County Fire Marshal, City of Monterey Park (CA) Police, Garden Grove (CA) Police, Anaheim (CA) Police; Trinity County (CA) Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, DEA San Francisco Division – Reading Office, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, California Department of Food & Agriculture, California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Cannabis Control, U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of California – Sacramento Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office Central District of California – Santa Ana and Riverside Offices, and the FBI’s Field Offices in Richmond, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-100.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Maryland man pleaded guilty today to committing five different armed robberies of convenience stores, hotels, and banks between October 2021 and December 2021. 

According to court documents, over the course of two months, Rickley Joshua Senning, 33, and Jesann Willis, 36, traveled throughout Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania to commit armed robberies. At each location, Senning entered brandishing a firearm at employees. In total, 15 different victims were held at gunpoint. The Virginia armed robbery occurred at a jewelry store in Richmond.  Senning held the business owner and the business owner’s son at gunpoint while Willis collected over $100,000 of jewelry belonging to the business. The robberies in Maryland and Pennsylvania took place at a mix of gas stations, convenience stores, and banks.

Senning is scheduled to be sentenced on June 6. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the armed robberies as well as a mandatory minimum of seven years and maximum of life in prison for brandishing a firearm during the jewelry store robbery. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and Colonel Eric D. English, Chief of Henrico County Police Division, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth R. Simon, Jr. is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-28.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two California men have been sentenced to prison in a conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal loans initiative designed to help businesses pay their employees and meet expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, Thanh Rudin, 58, was a principal of Mana Tax Services, a tax preparation business in the Los Angeles area. His coconspirator, Seir Havana, 46, was the company’s Vice President/Director and Chief Executive Officer. The defendants engaged in two fraud schemes using Mana tax. First, they prepared and filed with the IRS a series of false income tax returns on behalf of at least nine professional athletes. The false tax returns reported fictitious business and personal losses to generate refunds the athletes were not entitled to receive. They also filed amended tax returns for most of the athletes for prior years to correct what conspirators falsely characterized as “errors” made by their previous accountants. Mana Tax charged the athletes a fee of 30% of the resulting refunds issued by the IRS.  The tax fraud scheme caused a total tax loss of more than $19 million.

Second, the defendants prepared and submitted false applications for PPP loans on behalf of small businesses, shell companies, and other business entities they controlled. The co-conspirators prepared fraudulent PPP loan applications for these firms in exchange for a fee of 30% of the resulting loan. The co-conspirators submitted fabricated tax returns to support the PPP loan applications, and some of the business owners never saw their loan applications before Mana Tax filed them. To obtain fraudulent PPP loans, the co-conspirators grossly inflated the number of employees and monthly payroll costs claimed on the applications. Some of the businesses were not eligible for any PPP loan funds at all because they did not have any payroll expenses.

During the investigation, the government seized more than $11.8 million from bank accounts containing PPP loan fraud proceeds controlled by the conspirators. In addition, Havana surrendered cashier’s checks worth approximately $5.6 million, representing a portion of the fees charged to professional athletes for the preparation of their false tax returns, and a portion of the fees charged for obtaining fraudulent PPP loans. The two schemes resulted in total losses of more than $44 million.

Havana, was sentenced today to 42 months in prison. Thanh Rudin was sentenced on February 10 to 34 months in prison. Thanh Rudin’s brother, Quin Rudin, was sentenced in October 2022 to 10 years in prison for his role in the scheme. 

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division; Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and U.S. Small Business Administration provided assistance with the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Shartar and Kimberly R. Pedersen for the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Chief David Zisserson of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-116.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge man pleaded guilty today to illegally obtaining pandemic unemployment benefits from the state of California.

According to court documents, from August 2020 to on or about September 28, 2020, Osman Kanu, 26, executed a scheme to defraud the California Employment Development Department (California EDD) by filing at least 15 fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) applications using the personal identifying information (PII) of victims. On each of these applications, the defendant knowingly made false statements and false certifications to mislead California EDD. These included falsely submitting applications with the PII of real individuals without their permission or consent; falsely certifying the real individuals’ employment history and unemployment status; falsely certifying that the real individuals would receive the UI benefits; and falsely certifying the real individuals’ home addresses. Kanu committed this fraud from Virginia. He did not live in California during the scheme or qualify for California EDD benefits.

During a lawful traffic stop on Kanu’s vehicle, law enforcement discovered 15 visa debit cards with different names on each of them. After further investigation, federal law enforcement determined that the debit cards provided access to UI funds provided by California EDD and Kanu was arrested.

In total, California EDD funded $308,400 to the prepaid debit cards. The total intended loss was $628,708. In total, Kanu withdrew $178,000 from the prepaid debit cards between late August and September 2020. 

The California EDD funds loaded on the prepaid debit cards were derived from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, and from funds made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator to provide grants to participating states, territories, and the District of Columbia to administer delivery of lost wages assistance. All these programs were intended to help workers suffering economic consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kanu is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Troy Springer, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Michael E. Nachmanoff accepted the plea.

The Arlington County Police Department provided assistance in this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carina A. Cuellar is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-32.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Duncan, South Carolina man was sentenced today to 51 months in prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

According to court documents, from around February 2020 through June 2020, Jeel Patel, 22, was part of an international fraud scheme originating from call centers in India that disproportionately targeted elders. These call centers would initially contact victims using automated robocalls designed to create a sense of urgency with the recipients. After making initial contact with victims, conspirators known as closers would impersonate government officials such as FBI or DEA agents. These closers would trick and coerce victims into wiring funds to bank accounts controlled by the conspiracy, or shipping parcels of cash to addresses to which conspirators had access. Couriers working for the conspiracy would retrieve the victims’ stolen money, save a portion for themselves, and forward the remainder to the call center operators in India.

Jeel Patel was one such courier, working for a defendant previously prosecuted by the Eastern District of Virginia (Case No. 3:21-cr-47) named Bhavinkumar “Sunny” Patel. Sunny Patel, 28, of Richmond, operated a cell of couriers in several states that was responsible for losses exceeding $3 million to more than 120 victims. On April 8, 2022, “Sunny” Patel was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

During the brief, four-month period that Jeel Patel worked for Sunny Patel, the defendant retrieved or attempted to retrieve 14 packages from 10 different victims, with total actual losses of $485,020. Jeel Patel also participated in repeated home pickups during which he traveled to the residences of two different 80-year-old victims located in Michigan and South Carolina, and under the guise of being a DEA official took the money directly from the victims.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. Senior District Judge Henry E. Hudson.

The Union County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina provided significant assistance on this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Hood and Kaitlin Cooke prosecuted the case.

Combatting elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at seniors is a key priority of the Department of Justice. Elder abuse is an intentional or negligent act by any person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to an older adult. It is a term used to describe five subtypes of elder abuse: physical abuse, financial fraud, scams and exploitation, caregiver neglect and abandonment, psychological abuse, and sexual abuse. Elder abuse is a serious crime against some of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens, affecting at least 10 percent of older Americans every year. Together with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners, the Department of Justice is steadfastly committed to combatting all forms of elder abuse and financial exploitation through enforcement actions, training and resources, research, victim services, and public awareness. This holistic and robust response demonstrates the Department’s unwavering dedication to fighting for justice for older Americans.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-92.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pinellas Corporation (Pinellas), a for-profit school offering computer training courses in McLean and Richmond, and CEO and sole owner Paul Giordano, of Washington, D.C., agreed to pay $450,000 to settle allegations that Pinellas paid bonuses to consultants based on their success in securing enrollments of students receiving military veterans benefits.

Under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill), military veterans can receive tuition assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enroll as students at approved educational institutions. Their tuition assistance is paid directly to the educational institution. During the relevant period, education institutions could not be approved to enroll students receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits “if the educational institution provides any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments or financial aid to any persons or entities engaged in any student recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the award of student financial assistance.”

The United States alleged that from 2015 through 2016, Pinellas d/b/a New Horizons Computer Learning Center of Richmond Virginia, and New Horizons Computer Learning Center Of Washington, D.C., at Giordano’s direction, paid bonuses to consultants who recruited students receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill financial assistance based on their success in securing enrollments. The United States further alleged that, between August 15, 2015, and December 31, 2016, Pinellas falsely certified that it had exercised reasonable diligence in meeting all applicable requirements of Title 38 of the U.S. Code in submitting nearly 1,000 claims to the VA for Post-9/11 GI Bill payments.

The government alleged that because of the false certifications Pinellas made to the VA, the VA paid tuition payments to Pinellas that Pinellas was not eligible to receive, in violation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the False Claims Act.   

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration.

The matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Starr and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Krista Anderson. The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to 5 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on May 7, 2021, Louis Bernard Lee, III, 26, a former affiliate of the criminal street gang the United Blood Nation, was stopped by an Old Dominion University Police Department (ODUPD) officer for speeding. Lee had an outstanding warrant for an attempted malicious wounding that occurred on April 26, 2021. During the arrest, ODUPD discovered two firearms in Lee’s vehicle. Also recovered from the vehicle was a loaded 30-round extended clip and a loaded 50-round drum magazine. Lee was previously convicted of a felony in the City of Norfolk and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Lee admitted he used one of the firearms recovered from the vehicle in a shooting on April 26, 2021. For the April 2021 shooting he was convicted in Norfolk Circuit Court for attempted malicious wounding, use of a firearm in a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Lee was sentenced for those charges on December 22, 2021, and received a 4-year sentence.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ramin Fatehi, Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney; and Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham M. Stolle and Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler prosecuted the case. Stolle also serves as an Assistant Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-85.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Frederick, Maryland, man pleaded guilty yesterday to assault with a deadly weapon.

According to court documents, Juan Marcus Smith, 58, was driving on the George Washington Memorial Parkway when a motor vehicle accident occurred between his vehicle and a dump truck driven by the victim. Smith pulled in front of the dump truck and brought his vehicle to a complete stop in the righthand lane of the Parkway. He walked over to the victim’s truck, opened the driver’s side door, and brandished a knife while attempting to retrieve the keys to the victim’s dump truck. Smith then returned to his vehicle, recovered a baseball bat, and went back to the victim’s dump truck and struck the driver’s side window, shattering the window while the victim sat inside. 

When officers with the United States Park Police arrived at the scene, they found Smith standing outside his vehicle holding the key to the dump truck in the air. They also recovered a folding knife from Smith’s pant pocket and a baseball bat from the back seat of Smith’s vehicle.

Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on May 25. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Christopher Stock, Acting Chief of U.S. Park Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Patricia T. Giles accepted the plea.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyssa Levey-Weinstein and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bibeane Metsch are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-231.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man pleaded guilty today to evading his federal income taxes.

According to court documents, Eric Bautista, 37, from approximately January 2017 through December 2020, Bautista worked and earned income as an independent contractor for various commercial fishing companies in the Hampton Roads region and elsewhere. He was paid over $500,000 for his work during this time. Bautista failed to file U.S. Individual income tax returns for tax years 2012 through 2020.  He was levied by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but took steps to evade his income taxes, including working under a stolen identity and dealing heavily in cash.  For the years 2012 through 2020, Bautista owed a tax debt of over $170,000.

Bautista pleaded guilty to evasion of income taxed and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Darrell J. Waldon, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Samuels is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-95.

A Virginia man was arrested last night on criminal charges related to his alleged transportation of images depicting the sexual abuse of children.

According to court documents, the investigation into James Gordon Meek, 53, of Arlington, was initiated from an investigative lead sent by Dropbox and ultimately received by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. That lead ultimately led to a court-authorized search of Meek’s residence in April 2022 by members of the task force, where law enforcement seized multiple devices that allegedly contained evidence of the transportation of images of child sexual abuse.

According to court documents, several of Meek’s devices allegedly contained images depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and multiple chat conversations with users engaged in sexually explicit conversations where the participants expressed enthusiasm for the sexual abuse of children. In two of those conversations, a username allegedly associated with Meek received and distributed child sexual abuse materials through an internet-based messaging platform.

Meek is charged with transportation of child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division made the announcement.

Trial Attorney Whitney Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Bedell for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with significant assistance from the Arlington County Police Department. The task force is comprised of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.

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

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Midlothian man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud and commit offenses against the United States, including human trafficking of individuals from Central America, benefiting from forced labor, money laundering, and harboring undocumented non-citizens.

According to court documents, George William Evans, 68, was the fifty-percent owner of a commercial laundry business, Northstar Holdings of Virginia LLC d/b/a Magnolia Cleaning Services, LLC. Evans participated in a conspiracy to harbor, transport, and benefit from the employment of undocumented noncitizens at the commercial laundry business he co-owned.  Between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2022, the business’s wage records reflect approximately 121 employees with alleged invalid or mismatched Social Security Numbers and wage payments of more than $1.2 million to these employees.

At the direction of Evans and his coconspirators, Magnolia Cleaning Services exploited undocumented noncitizens to work long hours in poor working conditions. In some cases, employees were threatened with deportation, physical harm, and harm to their families if they refused to work as directed. Some undocumented employees lived in the laundry facility without access to a kitchen or bathroom with a shower or bathtub. One employee was a child who was made to work night shifts while attending school during the day. 

Evans pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud and commit offenses against the United States and engaging in a transaction in criminally derived property. Evans agreed to forfeit an amount not less than $3,938,630 to the United States - of which he agreed to pay $1,969,315 no later than thirty days before sentencing.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy offense and ten years in prison for the money laundering offense.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; Troy Springer, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, DC Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wilson Hanes accepted the plea.

This investigation was conducted by the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force, a collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental organizations, working together to combat human trafficking in the Hampton Roads Region.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and D. Mack Coleman are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-92.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Washington D.C. man pleaded guilty today to laundering roughly $3,500,000 generated by the illegal sale of marijuana and THC. 

According to court documents, Connor Pennington, 39, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Pennington was the Chief Executive Officer of JointVentures, LLC., a company that operated primarily under the name “Joint Delivery” as a delivery service of marijuana and THC products, including THC vape cartridges, wax, and edibles. JointVentures was never licensed as a medical marijuana dispensary in any state or the District of Columbia.

JointVentures operated the distribution and delivery side of the enterprise out of a residential building in downtown D.C., and delivered its products to customers using delivery drivers or cyclists. The business generated nearly $1.5 million in 2018 alone. By 2021, in just the first three quarters of the year, JointVentures generated well over $2.3 million in revenue. Pennington oversaw and approved of a scheme by which he and other representatives of the company deposited cash in denominations less than $10,000 into several bank accounts the company operated, thus allowing JointVentures to avoid scrutiny from the banks and to disguise the source of the cash.

Pennington is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Rumbaugh and David A. Peters are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-127.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Dumfries man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and serious bodily injury, and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl.

According to court documents, on September 21, 2021, Michael Vaughn, 28, distributed cocaine laced with fentanyl at a party at an apartment in the Skyline area of Fairfax County. Six individuals took the substance, believing it to be cocaine. All six suffered overdoses and were transported to area hospitals. Five of the overdose victims were able to be saved by the administration of Narcan. However, the sixth individual died as a result of a fentanyl overdose. At trial, the evidence showed that Vaughn had intentionally added fentanyl to the cocaine. Additionally, Vaughn possessed approximately 60 additional grams of fentanyl powder at his residence when he was arrested on October 20, 2021.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston.

Significant assistance was provided by the Prince William County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachael C. Tucker and Michael P. Ben’Ary prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-261.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Brooklyn, New York, man was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and aiding and abetting a straw purchase firearm transaction, both part of a large gun trafficking conspiracy.

According to court documents, Joseph Alexander Johnson, 38, spearheaded an interstate straw purchasing and gun trafficking conspiracy in which members were responsible for the illegal purchase, sale, and transport of at least 43 firearms, including AR-type firearms loaded with large-capacity magazines, between Virginia and New York. He organized and led the conspiracy, managing every aspect of it. As a felon, he could not lawfully obtain or possess a firearm, so he instead recruited at least three straw purchasers, all young women with no criminal records, to buy them for him. Once the straw purchasers obtained the guns and transferred them to him or his co-defendant, Tysohn Stevens, 39, of Brooklyn, New York, Johnson marketed the illegally purchased firearms over Facebook to many felons and gang members throughout Brooklyn.

Stevens pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and will be sentenced on February 24.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Jackson prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-64.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for unlawfully possessing unregistered firearm silencers.

According to court documents, George Pickard, 23, built homemade silencers, but did not register them with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. On December 29, 2020, during a lawfully obtained search warrant, agents found at least four firearms at his residence, including an AR-15-style rifle, and the silencers equipped to two of the firearms. He also loaded two firearms with large-capacity magazines. Pickard kept LSD in the same residence as his firearms. He did all this while maintaining ties to extremist organizations, including Identity Evropa, the American Identity Movement, the Right Stuff, and the Patriot Front. Pickard also cohosts a podcast called “White Phosphorus” that depicts women, African Americans, Jews, and other current events in a negative and derogatory manner. In February 2020, Pickard brought the AR-15-style rifle and suppressor to a militia camp and made online threats against several minority groups, including that he wanted to “use a belt fed machine gun” on one minority group.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wilson Hanes.

U.S. Marshal Services provided significant assistance in this case as part of the Norfolk Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Jackson and Joe DePadilla, as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Bosse, prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-87.

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Virginia Beach man today on charges of attempted coercion and enticement, attempted sex trafficking of a minor, obstruction of justice, and false statement to law enforcement officer.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Daniel Alan Puff, 38, negotiated to receive a sex act from a 13-year-old female, believing he was speaking to her mother. In fact, he was communicating with an undercover law enforcement agent (UC). The investigation began on March 29, 2022, when Puff contacted the UC and agreed to pay $60 in exchange for oral sex from what he believed was a 13-year-old female. On March 30, 2022, the UC directed Puff to the meeting location in Chesapeake. Puff arrived at the agreed-upon meeting location in Chesapeake and surveilled the area to check for the presence of law enforcement. Puff gave the $60 to the UC and stated the sex act he wished to engage in with the child. He was then arrested and taken into custody. While handcuffed in the back of a police vehicle, he deleted the text application from his phone and falsely claimed to a law enforcement agent that he was attempting to text someone.

Puff faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on June 22. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Montoya and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Liu are prosecuting the case.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-44.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake and a Suffolk man pleaded guilty today and earlier this week to their roles in a series of armed robberies of 7-Eleven establishments in the Cities of Newport News, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach.

According to court documents, just before midnight on July 24, 2019, and into the early morning hours of July 25, 2019, Deric Breon Simons, 23, Ronald Lee Brookins, Jr., 22, and a third individual conducted a series of armed robberies at 7-Eleven convenience stores. Beginning in Newport News, the three men entered the stores armed with a firearm, a knife, and a BB gun that resembled a real firearm. While brandishing their weapons, they demanded U.S. currency and commercial products from frightened employees. They committed three additional robberies, moving between Norfolk and Virginia Beach. During the fifth and final robbery, Brookins and the third co-conspirator entered the convenience store, while Simons remained in the getaway vehicle. In addition to the store employee, there were three customers inside the store at the time of the robbery. Fearing for everyone’s safety, an armed customer discharged his personal weapon, killing one co-conspirator and injuring Brookins.

Brookins pleaded guilty to his role in the robberies on January 24. Simons and Brookins are scheduled to be sentenced on June 1. They both face a mandatory minimum of 21 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police; Mike Goldsmith, Interim Chief of Norfolk Police; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristin Bird and Megan Montoya are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:19-cr-168.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal court convicted a Bremerton, Washington, man yesterday on charges of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, from around September to December 2020, Christopher William Kuehner, 38, was a prominent member of the website “Rapey.su,” which was dedicated to, among other things, child sexual exploitation. After becoming a member of the website, Kuehner repeatedly induced and enticed minor girls to produce child sexual abuse material for both him and the other members of the website. 

Special Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. field office seized and shut down the website in December of 2020.

Co-defendants, Jacob Royce Mullins, 20, of South Webster, Ohio, Kyle William Leishear, 43, of Bayonet Point, Florida, and Matthew Martin, 25, of Lancaster, Wisconsin pleaded guilty to their roles in the enterprise.

In a related case last year, a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia also convicted Ashley Kolhoff, 22, of Port Clinton, Ohio, of production of child pornography for her participation on the Rapey.su website. Other users around the country have been prosecuted successfully in state and federal court for their conduct committed on the website.

Kuehner faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 25. Mullins and Martin also face a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 25, as does Leishear when sentenced on May 9. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema announced the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Schlessinger and Trial Attorney Whitney Kramer of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.

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

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-120.

A federal court convicted a Washington state man yesterday for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Christopher William Kuehner, 38, of Bremerton, was a prominent member of the website “Rapey.su,” which was dedicated to, among other things, child sexual exploitation. After becoming a member of the website, Kuehner repeatedly induced and enticed minor girls to produce child sexual abuse material for both him and the other members of the website. 

In a related case last year, a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia also convicted Ashley Kolhoff, 22, of Port Clinton, Ohio, of production of child pornography for her participation on the Rapey.su website. Other users around the country have been prosecuted successfully in state and federal courts for their conduct committed on the website.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents seized and shut down the website in December 2020.

Kuehner was convicted of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25. Co-conspirators Jacob Royce Mullins, 20, of South Webster, Ohio; Kyle William Leishear, 43, of Bayonet Point, Florida; and Matthew Martin, 25, of Lancaster, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to their roles in the enterprise. Mullins and Martin are both scheduled to be sentenced on April 25. Leishear is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9. They each face a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of HSI Washington, D.C. made the announcement.

HSI Washington, D.C. investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Whitney Kramer of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Schlessinger for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

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

RICHMOND, Va. – Three Midlothian individuals were sentenced yesterday for conspiracy to commit forced labor for compelling the domestic labor of a Pakistani woman for 12 years. 

Zahida Aman, 80, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, Mohammed Rehan Chaudhri, 48, to 10 years in federal prison, and Mohammad Nauman Chaudhri, 55, to 5 years in federal prison in the Eastern District of Virginia. Additionally, the Court ordered Aman and Rehan Chaudhri to pay the victim approximately $250,000 in restitution for back wages and other financial losses she incurred as a result of the defendants’ criminal conduct. 

According to court documents, in 2002, the victim married Aman’s son, and the brother of defendants Nauman and Rehan Chaudhri. Thereafter, she lived in the home of the defendants. Over the next 12 years, the three defendants forced her to perform domestic services. To coerce that labor, the defendants verbally assaulted and physically abused the victim. The defendants slapped, kicked, and pushed the victim, even beat her with wooden board, and, on one occasion, hog-tied her hands and feet and dragged her down the stairs in front of her children. In addition, though the victim, a native of Pakistan, had temporary immigration status in the United States, defendant Aman took the victim’s immigration documents. Thereafter, defendants threatened the victim with deportation should she not obey their demands. The defendants also threatened to separate the victim from her children to coerce her labor.

Following a seven-day trial in May 2022, the jury convicted all of the defendants of conspiracy to commit forced labor, convicted two of the defendants of forced labor, and convicted Aman of document servitude.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shea Gibbons, Stephen Miller, and Heather H. Mansfield are prosecuting the case, along with Trial Attorney Leah L. Branch of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:19-cr-85.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Highland Springs man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for distribution of child pornography.

According to court documents, on or about April 12, 2022, Deric Wallace Peacock, 39, used Wickr, an encrypted messaging service, to distribute child pornography using his “vapastor” user account. At the time that Peacock distributed the child pornography, he was on probation for two prior state court convictions for procuring sex acts by computer of an individual believed to be under the age of 15. Prior to his incarceration stemming from his 2014 convictions, the defendant was a youth pastor at South Hopewell Church of God, which no longer exists.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Gibney.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla Jordan-Detamore prosecuted the case.

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

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-109.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Falls Church man yesterday evening on charges of unlawful possession of unregistered silencers.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Hatchet Speed, 41, began panic buying firearms in early 2021. From February to May 2021, Speed purchased at least twelve firearms and spent more than $40,000 at stores that sold firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition.

In March 2021, during the midst of his firearm purchases, Speed purchased three silencers from a company in Georgia. While the silencers were marketed as “solvent traps” ostensibly to be used in cleaning the barrel of a firearm, they were actually designed to serve as silencers. The silencers were not registered to Speed in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by law. By circumventing the registration requirements for silencers, Speed was able to take possession of the silencers within a week of purchasing them.

In early 2022, Speed met with an undercover employee of the FBI. During these meetings, Speed discussed his anti-Semitic, anti-government ideologies with the FBI undercover employee. Speed also discussed taking violent action in furtherance of his ideologies. Speed praised the approach of jihadists and suggested that their approach would be an effective way to “wipe out” the opposition, referring to Jewish people. Speed discussed his efforts to identify targets who were “reachable” by someone like him, stating that he thought about using a “mock trial” to decide which people to add to “the list.” During this discussion, Speed confirmed to the FBI undercover employee that he believed his “solvent traps,” meaning his unregistered silencers, would come in handy for this purpose.

Speed faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on April 13. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Michael H. Glasheen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division; and Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Traxler and Amanda Lowe are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-165.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Chesterfield man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for conspiracy and wire fraud and ordered to pay over $1.2 million in restitution to victims.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Joshua Brian Romano, 40, owned various businesses that purchased, rehabilitated, and sold homes around Richmond. He funded this work via construction loans that were held in escrow in the trust account of a Chesterfield County law firm. The loans were earmarked for use by Romano only for the purchase and rehabilitation of specific properties, and only with the lender’s express approval for each disbursement. Acting at Romano’s direction, Lindsey Epps Passmore, 39, a paralegal at the law firm, disbursed $1.2 million of a lender’s funds held in trust for Romano’s projects without receiving the lender’s approval or by misleading the lender about how the funds were to be used. The funds were then used for purposes outside the scope of the agreements with the lender.

On November 30, 2022, Passmore was sentenced to serve 14 months in prison for her role in the scheme.      

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Moore prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-26.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal judge convicted a Round Hill man yesterday on charges of receipt of child pornography and attempted destruction of evidence.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, from at least November 2019 through January 2022, Max Christian Frear, 35, used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to receive child pornography. When the FBI executed a search of the defendant’s home, law enforcement found a damaged computer storage device in Frear’s toilet. The evidence showed that Frear tried to destroy the storage device by dunking it in liquid for his 3D printer, breaking it in half, and attempting to flush it down the toilet. The FBI was able to recover and examine the storage device, which contained 84 videos and more than 5,600 images depicting child sexual abuse. Many of those files depicted the sexual abuse of prepubescent minor victims, including infants and toddlers. 

Frear faces a mandatory‑minimum penalty of 5 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 26. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton rendered the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Halper and Trial Attorney Rachel Rothberg of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-183.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to 92 months in prison for his illegal possession of firearms, including a machine gun conversion device, and ammunition as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on July 14, 2021, Marquis Bonhomme, 23, was arrested by the Richmond Police Department (RPD) during a traffic stop, in which officers discovered that Bonhomme had outstanding arrest warrants. Prior to leaving the arrest scene, RPD officers observed a firearm magazine in plain view inside of Bonhomme’s vehicle and obtained a state search warrant. 

A search of Bonhomme’s vehicle revealed a loaded Glock, Model 26, 9mm semi-automatic pistol; a Glock “switch” conversion device, which renders a pistol fully automatic when inserted to the rear of the firearm; a loaded Century Arms International, VSKA, 7.62 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, with a 35 round magazine; a 50 round drum magazine; and assorted 7.62 caliber and 9mm caliber ammunition. Federal agents later applied for and obtained a federal search warrant for Bonhomme’s Instagram accounts, which revealed numerous photographs of Bonhomme possessing other firearms, photographs and discussions related to Glock “switch” conversion devices, and his active involvement in illegal marijuana trafficking     

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Division; and Richmond Police Department Acting Chief of Police Richard Edwards, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Hannah M. Lauck.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-62.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Winsted, Connecticut, man pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl over the darknet.

According to court documents, from at least April 2020 through February 2021, Colby John Kopp, 23, and his co-conspirators used darknet marketplaces to conduct drug trafficking business. Kopp created, maintained, and controlled darknet marketplace accounts to further the Connecticut-based fentanyl distribution operation. As a darknet marketplace vendor, Kopp and other members of the conspiracy used the moniker “MadHatterPharma” to engage in the sale of counterfeit pressed pills containing fentanyl that the conspirators pressed themselves and then shipped to customers all over the country, including in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Kopp is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael Tucker is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-109.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Telleson, Arizona, man pleaded guilty today to production of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, Ethan Roberts, 28, met a then 14-year-old juvenile online in January 2022. The juvenile lived in Norfolk. Roberts engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the minor for a seven-month period, repeatedly asking her to create and send sexually explicit images of herself to him. In August 2022, Roberts traveled by bus from Arizona to Norfolk. He picked up the minor and the pair traveled back to Roberts’ apartment in Arizona. The FBI was able to locate and rescue the juvenile through her use of her Nintendo Switch account. 

Roberts is scheduled to be sentenced on April 19. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Mike Goldsmith, Interim Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi is prosecuting the case.

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

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-141.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for conspiring with his brother to distribute a kilogram of cocaine. 

According to court documents, Reginald Lamont Wilson, 42, conspired with his brother, John Samuel Shaw III, 46, to distribute a kilogram of cocaine to a confidential informant in Virginia Beach. This all while Wilson was serving a period of supervised release for a prior federal drug conviction.

Shaw was previously sentenced to 5 years in prison on November 9, 2022.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. Heck, Kevin M. Comstock, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Liu prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-54.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to 14 years in prison after committing three armed robberies between January and February of 2022.

According to court documents, on January 6, 2022, Jaquan Rakim Roberts, 21, entered a Darbytown Mini Mart, located in 1581 Darbytown Road, Richmond, with a ski-mask covering his face. When he reached the register, Roberts brandished two semiautomatic pistols at the cashier and demanded money as well as Black and Mild cigars. Under threat, the Darbytown Mini Mart Cashier handed over two boxes of Black and Mild cigars as well as approximately $1,800.

Roughly a month later, on February 28, 2022, Roberts drove to the Darbytown Mini Mart again to commit another armed robbery. Roberts wore a ski-mask over his face this time as well, walked up to the counter, produced a semiautomatic pistol, and demanded money from the same Darbytown Mini Mart employee who was working during the previous armed robbery. Facing the threat, the cashier gave Roberts approximately $137. This time, however, the cashier included currency affixed with a law enforcement tracker as part of the United States currency she handed over to Roberts. 

Roberts left Darbytown Mini Mart and headed up the road to Jack’s Place, located at 1881 Darbytown Road, Richmond, where he brandished two semiautomatic pistols and demanded a Jack’s Place employee to open the cash register and give him money. Because the cash register would not open, one of the employees gave Roberts $40 of his own money. Roberts then left.

Using the tracker, law enforcement apprehended Roberts and later executed search warrants at several residences associated with Roberts and on the car that he drove on February 28, 2022. During the execution of the residential search warrants, law enforcement recovered a loaded semiautomatic pistol and clothing, including the jacket worn during the first robbery of the Darbytown Mini Mart, and ski-masks similar to those worn during the robberies. During the execution of a search warrant on the car, law enforcement recovered two loaded semi-automatic pistols.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and Colonel Eric D. English, Chief of Henrico County Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth R. Simon, Jr. prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-76.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Henrico man pleaded guilty today to defrauding the Small Business Administration by obtaining over $1.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans on behalf of two defunct companies he owned.

According to court documents, throughout 2020 and 2021, Kortney T. Kelley, 45, filed at least four fraudulent applications for PPP loans on behalf of his two non-operational companies. As part of these loan applications, Kelley made numerous false representations and certifications about the operation of these two companies, including that the companies—which had no employees— together employed more than 140 workers and paid-out over $220,000 in monthly payroll expenses. Furthermore, Kelley submitted forged tax returns and other forged documentation purporting to substantiate his false claims that his companies paid substantial payroll expenses. 

Kelley spent the loan proceeds on purposes unrelated to those authorized by the Small Business Administration (SBA), including spending at least $142,711 in loan proceeds at various casinos and on gaming, and transferring at least $834,077 in loan proceeds to Kelley’s personal brokerage accounts. Kelley made further false statements to the SBA in a loan forgiveness application, which resulted in the complete discharge of the loans.

Kelley also defrauded other COVID-19 related assistance programs. Kelley submitted a separate fraudulent application under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to the SBA on behalf of one of his defunct companies, containing a false certification that loan proceeds would be used exclusively on business expenses. As a result, the SBA disbursed $10,000 to Kelley’s business bank account. Moreover, Kelley submitted fraudulent claims to the Virginia Employment Commission for unemployment benefits. The application for unemployment benefits falsely stated that Kelley was laid off from his job as a sales manager of a company that Kelley exclusively owned.

Kelley is scheduled to be sentenced on May 31. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge David J. Novak accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-35.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced to five years in prison today for using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a serious felony drug trafficking crime. 

According to court documents, on March 10, 2022, Deshan Harris, 21, possessed a concealed semiautomatic pistol while he possessed a half ounce of crack cocaine with intent to distribute it. Police encountered Harris after observing him leaving the area of the Carolina Express convenience store located in the North Highland Park area of Richmond.

According to information presented at sentencing, when the police stopped Harris’s vehicle, Harris failed to comply with the officers’ lawful requests during the traffic stop as Harris concealed the loaded, 9mm semiautomatic pistol under his leg. A subsequent search of Harris’ vehicle resulted in the seizure of 15.9 grams of cocaine, oxycodone pills, over an ounce of marijuana, a digital scale, packaging materials, $852 in U.S. currency and an extended magazine loaded with 9mm ammunition. A search of Harris’s person resulted in the recovery of $1,714 in U.S. currency. 

Just eight days earlier, police had seized another loaded, concealed pistol from Harris. According to ballistic evaluations submitted to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN),  Ti’Eric Brooks (Case No. 3:22-cr-79) straw purchased the pistol 28 days earlier.  From the time of the pistol’s purchase until its recovery from Harris on March 2, 2022, that pistol had been used in a shooting at the Homewood Suites by Hilton in the City of Richmond and the shooting of a young man off Porter Street.   

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division made the announcement after U.S. District Judge David J. Novak imposed the sentence. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Olivia Norman and Jessica Wright are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-80.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Miami, Florida, man pleaded guilty today to interfering with a flight crew and assaulting a flight attendant while onboard a United Airlines flight from Miami to Washington, D.C.

According to court documents, on October 4, 2022, Cherruy Loghan Sevilla, 24, was onboard United Airlines Flight 2116 flying from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). About an hour into the flight, Sevilla began to exhibit disruptive and erratic behavior, including wandering around the plane, running up and down the aisle, clapping loudly near the cockpit, and yelling obscenities. Sevilla refused to remain seated and laid on the floor in the aisle of the plane, preventing a flight attendant from walking up the aisle to her jump seat to prepare for landing. Suddenly, the defendant jumped up and lunged at this flight attendant, grabbing and twisting her right breast. A passenger, another flight attendant, and an onboard law enforcement officer attempted to pull the defendant off and subdue him. The defendant resisted and, in the struggle, twisted the arm of the second flight attendant.

Sevilla faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 21. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Michael H. Glasheen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the defendant’s guilty plea.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stefanie Schwartz and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Withers are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-218.

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Norfolk man last Friday on charges of abusive sexual contact of a minor.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in 2019, Donald Gene Ferguson II, 51, was working as a civilian Department of Defense employee in Iwakuni, Japan. During the summer of 2019, while in military housing in Iwakuni, Ferguson forced an 11-year-old minor to touch his genitals. While the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) was investigating the abuse, they discovered Ferguson also sexually abused a 12-year-old in the summer of 2012 while living in Florida. 

Ferguson faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on May 9. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Mack Hickman, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi and Trial Attorney Alicia A. Bove of the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-49.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Herndon man made his first court appearance today on charges of production and attempted production of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, in and around May 2022, Vincent Joseph Sarikey, 34, allegedly repeatedly engaged in sexually explicit discussions with at least two persons who identified themselves as minors, each of whom he successfully persuaded to produce sexually explicit pictures of themselves and send to him. Sarikey is alleged to have then provided the images of at least one minor to another individual who shared his stated sexual interest in minors. These exchanges took place on several social media platforms, including Telegram, Twitter, and Discord under the monikers “John Lugne,” “@JLugne,” and “triadus#9325.” Charging documents also allege that Sarikey attempted to groom and entice the minors to record themselves engaging in sexually explicit activity and that he sent some of the minors sexually explicit images of himself. Moreover, Sarikey’s electronic devices contained hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse material.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to attempt to identify additional victims. Anyone with information regarding these crimes is encouraged to call 1-800-CALLFBI or 1-800-225-5324.

Sarikey faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after Sarikey appeared in court.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura D. Withers is prosecuting the case.

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

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-48.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted an El Salvadorian citizen last week on charges of illegal reentry subsequent to an aggravated felony. 

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Jose Molina, 32, illegally reentered the United States after having been previously deported both in 2015 and in 2017. Molina was most recently deported in July 2017 after pleading guilty and serving a sentence in the Southern District of Texas. Molina was first found in Alexandria in February 2022 after an arrest by local law enforcement on unrelated charges. In a sworn affidavit upon his arrest by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in October 2022, Molina admitted that he was a citizen of El Salvador, that he had been previously deported, that he reentered the United States in 2018, and that he did not have the permission of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission.

Molina faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 19. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston accepted the verdict.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Clark and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Ray are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-209.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge man pleaded guilty yesterday to distributing a Schedule II controlled substance to a person under age twenty-one.

According to court documents, in April of 2022, Latae'veion Woods, 21, sold pills purporting to be Percocet to a 14-year-old, who died of a fentanyl overdose approximately five days after the distribution. Following the overdose death, officers found a clear plastic baggie containing four blue pills with markings consistent with 30 milligram Percocet pills in the juvenile’s pants. Analysis later showed that the pills actually contained fentanyl. Police also discovered text messages on the 14-year-old’s phone which revealed that Woods distributed pills to the juvenile on multiple occasions during March and April 2022. The messages further established that Woods instructed the juvenile how to redistribute the pills and directed him to resell the pills for a specific amount of money. No other messages were located on the juvenile’s phone to suggest he had any other source of supply for Percocet.

Messages also demonstrated that Woods offered to sell the juvenile a firearm, specifically, a Glock 19 or Glock 48 semiautomatic handgun. During a search warrant of Woods’ residence, law enforcement seized a Glock 48 handgun and a Glock-style semi-automatic “ghost” gun, both of which Woods admitted belonged to him.

Woods is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14. He faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of one year and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Peter Newsham, Chief of Prince William County Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III accepted the plea.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Hahn is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-226.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News woman was sentenced today to 52 months in prison and ordered to pay a $200,000 fine for evading the assessment of her 2015 and 2016 income tax returns. 

According to court documents, Nosuk Kim, 61, was formerly a licensed attorney, substitute judge, and member of the disciplinary committee for the Virginia State Bar. While serving in these capacities, she and her husband laundered more than $2.2 million in fraud proceeds through an entity in China and her attorney-trust account. The defendant used these funds to pay down a home equity line of credit on the family home and to purchase other real estate investments.

The laundered funds were proceeds of her husband’s extensive procurement fraud scheme involving more than $7 million in government contracts. The defendant’s husband, Beyung Kim, was previously prosecuted in the Eastern District of Virginia and sentenced to 58 months in prison in August 2021. 

Despite laundering approximately $970,000 of taxable income in 2015 and approximately $1,250,000 of taxable income in 2016, the defendant did not report any of this income on her federal income taxes for those tax years. As a result of her tax fraud, the defendant caused approximately $868,924.54 in lost tax revenue to the United States. 

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Chris Dillard, Special Agent in Charge for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; Cynthia L. Hearn, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Peter J. Tolentino, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak.

Significant assistance was provided by the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and D. Mack Coleman prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-52.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber announced today that the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) collected over $25 million in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2022. Of this amount, roughly $14 million was collected in criminal actions and almost $11 million was collected in civil actions.

Additionally, EDVA worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $6.1 million in cases pursued jointly by these offices. Of this amount, $13,000 was collected in criminal actions and over $6 million was collected in civil actions.

In November, EDVA secured a civil resolution with Raley and Advanced Spine and Pain, PLLC, owned by Thomas Raley, Jr, at the time, where the parties jointly paid $3,159,378.51 to settle civil claims under the False Claims Act, the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, and common law remedies. Raley was writing and referring compounded drug prescriptions in return for illegal kickback payments and sentenced to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal charges.

In February, after pleading guilty to fraud charges for 12-year bribery scheme with former Norfolk Sheriff Robert McCabe, Gerard Boyle, Chief Executive Officer of Correct Care Solutions, was sentenced to three years in prison and EDVA secured a court order for Boyle to forfeit $2,700,000, in addition to a $35,000 fine, both of which Boyle has paid in full.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Department of Justice’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. In FY 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in EDVA collected over $14,803,207 in restitution for crime victims. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the Department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in EDVA, working with Department of Justice partner agencies and divisions, obtained over $72.3 million in criminal asset forfeiture judgments and collected over $13.5 million in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2022. This amount does not include forfeitures in partnership with Department of Treasury law enforcement agencies. Forfeited assets are either deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund or are used to restore funds to crime victims.  Assets deposited into the Assets Forfeiture Fund are used for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

U.S. Attorney Aber extends her gratitude to the attorneys and staff in EDVA’s Asset Recovery Unit, who are responsible for ensuring that these significant funds are recovered in full to victims and the public fisc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Honduran woman pleaded guilty today to participating in a large-scale conspiracy to traffic cocaine for importation into the United States.

According to court documents, from 2006 until 2015, Erlinda Ramos-Bobadilla, aka Herlinda Bobadilla or Chinda, 62, served as a leader in the Montes-Bobadilla drug-trafficking organization, or “Los Montes,” one of the largest drug cartels in Honduras. Los Montes was based in the town of Francia, in the Department of Colón, on the northeastern coast of Honduras. There, the organization received maritime and clandestine air shipments of cocaine from sources in South America.  Individual shipments of cocaine usually carried hundreds of, and sometimes more than a thousand, kilograms of cocaine. After receiving a shipment of cocaine, Los Montes worked with other drug traffickers to transport the cocaine inland through Honduras into Guatemala and, eventually, Mexico, where the cocaine would then be imported into, and distributed within, the United States.

“The Los Montes cartel, under the leadership of the defendant and her family, trafficked thousands of kilos of illicit drugs and committed heinous acts of violence, including murder, causing a devastating wave of fear and destruction that reverberated from Honduras to the U.S.,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “My appreciation goes out to all of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners who work tirelessly to dismantle dangerous drug organizations, like Los Montes, that put so many innocent lives at risk. This effort is a message to those who continue to operate these cartels: you are not above the law, and you are not beyond our reach.”

“Today’s proceedings demonstrate DEA’s commitment to hold accountable violent criminals, domestic and abroad, who are peddling deadly drugs into our country and putting our families at risk. The Los Montes Cartel was a vicious drug trafficking organization that poisoned our citizens and engaged in violence to profit from drug trafficking. Our message to criminal organizations’ leadership is clear, we will not waver until drug distribution and it’s related violence is eradicated,” said Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Washington Division.

Los Montes was a family-run organization. Ramos-Bobadilla’s husband was the leader of the organization and she worked closely with him in their cocaine-trafficking business. When her husband died in 2010, their son, Noe Montes-Bobadilla, assumed control of the organization. Ramos-Bobadilla continued to serve as a leader within the organization. Along with her other sons, Ramos-Bobadilla and Noe Montes oversaw all aspects of the family’s cocaine-trafficking operations.

Ramos-Bobadilla played an active leadership role in Los Montes. Among other responsibilities, she participated in the negotiation of cocaine transactions with other drug traffickers in Central and South America, managed the proceeds that the organization made from the sale of cocaine and, at times, paid sources of supply for cocaine that Los Montes purchased. Ramos-Bobadilla employed armed individuals to work at her direction and control, including by providing security for her and her cocaine shipments.

Ramos-Bobadilla also participated in procuring, planning, and arranging acts of violence, including murders, in furtherance of the conspiracy. For example, Los Montes and other Honduran drug-trafficking organizations conspired to finance the murder of the head of Honduras’s anti-drug trafficking agency, in December 2009. Ramos-Bobadilla assisted in procuring Los Montes’s participation in the financing of that assassination. Along with her son, Noe Montes and, with the assistance of another drug trafficker, Ramos-Bobadilla also participated in coordinating and directing the murder of a permanent resident of the United States in Tocoa, Honduras, in June 2013 because they believed that she was a U.S. government informant.

In addition to her participation in these acts of violence, Ramos-Bobadilla engaged in bribery in furtherance of the conspiracy. Ramos-Bobadilla and her co-conspirators made payments to public officials in Honduras, including police officers and other law enforcement officials, to facilitate and protect the family’s drug-trafficking operations.

On October 8, 2015, Ramos-Bobadilla and five co-conspirators were charged in an indictment with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for importation into the United States. Three of Ramos-Bobadilla’s co-defendants have been convicted and sentenced in this case:

• Noe Montes-Bobadilla pleaded guilty in November 2018 and was sentenced to 37 years of imprisonment in April 2019.
• Arnulfo Fagot-Maximo was convicted by a jury in December 2018 and was sentenced to 33 years of imprisonment in May 2019.
• Jose del Trancito Garcia-Teruel pleaded guilty in June 2021 and was sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment in February 2022.

One co-defendant, Tito Montes-Bobadilla, aka Alejandro Montes-Bobadilla or Pimpi, is deceased.

The remaining co-defendant, Juan Carlos Montes-Bobadilla, aka Mono, is still a fugitive in this case. The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Juan Carlos Montes Bobadilla. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Erlinda Ramos-Bobadilla is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28, 2023. She faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and maximum penalty of life in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.

Assistance in the investigation and prosecution was provided by the Virginia State Police, FBI’s Washington Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of New York, the Middle District of Florida, and the Southern District of Florida. Assistance was also provided by the Honduran National Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas W. Traxler, Anthony T. Aminoff, and James L. Trump of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorneys Douglas Meisel and Janet Turnbull of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Ramos-Bobadilla. 

This case is being investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation Harpoon. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No.  1:15-cr-290.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Chester woman pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, and wire fraud, all stemming from her operation of a Richmond metro-area health care services company.

According to court documents, between 2014 and 2021, Sharon Johnson, 58, owned and operated “Sharon Y. Johnson & Associates” (SYJA). Johnson’s company purportedly provided Medicaid-reimbursed services that included both Service Facilitator services—supervising a Medicaid recipient’s personal care plan and provider— and personal care services—home health care aid services designed to allow a recipient to remain at home, rather than entering a nursing home or group home. Johnson signed up numerous of her Service Facilitator clients, often without their awareness or informed consent, to receive personal care services from her company. Johnson utilized her personal residence in Chester—a single-story, three-bedroom, 1,326-square foot structure—as an unlicensed group home, housing up to a half-dozen Medicaid recipients, in addition to Johnson and another SYJA employee, at any given time.

Between 2014 and 2021, Johnson fraudulently billed Medicaid for personal care services purportedly provided to at least 14 of her patients, knowingly submitting timesheets to Medicaid that falsely claimed that certain SYJA aides had provided services, when, in fact, those purported SYJA employees had not provided home health care services to the patients in question. To execute this fraud scheme, Johnson and her co-conspirators created online patient portal accounts in the names of her patients, and thereafter assumed those patients’ identities when “approving” and routing billing requests for SYJA home health care services that had not, in fact, been provided.

Separately, Johnson also executed a scheme to defraud the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) of pension payments paid by the VRS to one of Johnson’s unlicensed group home residents. To obtain control over her patient’s financial affairs, Johnson submitted fraudulent documents to the VRS including a “Medical Power of Attorney” form, and, after her patient’s death, changed the direct deposit location of her now-deceased patient’s VRS pension payments to Johnson’s own bank account. VRS thereafter paid at least 8 monthly pension payments into Johnson’s bank account before belatedly confirming the patient’s death. Johnson, knowing she was not entitled to those VRS funds, spent those payments for her own purposes.

Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18, 2023. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Hannah M. Lauck accepted the plea. The Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit assisted in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas A. Garnett and Shea Gibbons are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-16.

RICHMOND, Va. – Six individuals were sentenced recently to approximately 31 combined years in prison for taking part in a conspiracy to defraud several retail financing providers through various schemes involving the use of the names and other personal identifying information of over 1,000 identity theft victims. 

According to court documents, between April 2017 and January 2022, Wael Jibawi, 28, of Palos Heights, Illinois; Mohammad Jibawi, 27, of Tinley Park, Illinois; Mahmoud Aljibawi, 40, of Oak Forest, Illinois; Alaelddin Aljibawi, 37, of Orland Park, Illinois; Jamel Eljebawe, 48, of Tinley Park, Illinois; and Yanal Khrisat, 28, of Burbank, Illinois, conspired to defraud at least six retail financing providers of at least $2.8 million.

During that period, the defendants opened and maintained several retail furniture stores in and around the Chicago area, which they used to establish merchant relationships with the targeted financing providers. These relationships enabled defendants to submit financing applications in the names of customers. Instead, the defendants submitted applications in the names of identity theft victims then used the approved accounts to charge the financing providers for purchases that did not actually occur. Over 1,000 identity theft victims have been identified to-date.

Additionally, in February 2018, several of the defendants used social engineering to gain access to merchant accounts belonging to other businesses and change the bank accounts designated to receive payments owed to those businesses by one retail financing provider. The defendants then submitted the affected businesses’ customer accounts for funding, causing the financing provider to deposit money that the defendants were not actually owed into accounts that they had opened and controlled.

The defendants’ respective sentences for their role in the scheme are as follows:

Defendant

Charges

Sentence

Wael Jibawi

Conspiracy to Commit Wire and Bank Fraud

Accessing Protected Computer in Furtherance of Fraud

Wire Fraud

132 months

Mohammad Jibawi

Conspiracy to Commit Wire and Bank Fraud

Accessing Protected Computer in Furtherance of Fraud

Wire Fraud

87 months

Mahmoud Aljibawi

Conspiracy to Commit Wire and Bank Fraud

Accessing Protected Computer in Furtherance of Fraud

Wire Fraud

58 months

Alaelddin Aljibawi

Conspiracy to Commit Wire and Bank Fraud

Wire Fraud

48 months

Jamel Eljebawe

Conspiracy to Commit Wire and Bank Fraud

Wire Fraud

31 months

Yanal Khrisat

Conspiracy to Commit Wire and Bank Fraud

Accessing Protected Computer in Furtherance of Fraud

Wire Fraud

21 months

 

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Richmond Field Office; and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin G. Cooke and Carla Jordan-Detamore prosecuted the case.

Anyone who believes that they have been a victim of identity theft, or wants information about preventing identity theft, may obtain helpful information and complaint forms on various government websites including the Federal Trade Commission ID Theft Website. Additional resources regarding identity theft include the Department of Justice’s Identity Theft Website, the Social Security Administration’s Fraud Prevention and Reporting Website, and the IRS’s Identity Theft Central. 

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No.  3:21-cr-141.

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted two men last Friday on charges related to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by means of robbery.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Harold Spencer, 32, and Jon Morgan, 32, were members of a five-man armed robbery crew that were apprehended on March 18 after a high-speed pursuit through Virginia Beach following an attempted robbery of a Tiger Mart gas station. A pursuing Virginia Beach police cruiser’s dash camera captured the men throwing several loaded weapons from their car. Only after spike strips were deployed multiple times, did the car finally come to a stop. All men were apprehended, and police recovered ski masks and gloves from inside their vehicle. The clothing and shoes each of them was wearing matched what could be seen in video surveillance from six prior armed robberies. One robber wore a NASA sweatshirt at the first two of six robberies. He was arrested wearing that same NASA sweatshirt.

The rental vehicle they were arrested in was traced back to the Norfolk Airport from where it was rented. One of the co-conspirators caught on the airport video wearing purple shoes was caught later that night on surveillance committing an armed robbery of the Jr. Market in Norfolk wearing purple shoes. Spencer, who shot at a fleeing customer during the second of six-armed robberies, took a “selfie” on his cell phone wearing a ski mask worn in all six robberies—a ski mask, which was recovered after the high-speed pursuit and later was shown to contain his DNA. His cell phone also contained photographs of his co-conspirator holding a handgun with a drum magazine, multiple Glock firearms consistent with those thrown from the fleeing vehicle, pictures of large sums of cash, and lottery tickets.

The armed robbery crew stole cash, cigarettes, and lottery tickets. Investigators from the Virginia Lottery received alerts from convenience stores where attempts were made by Spencer and his co-conspirator, Kareem Ross, to cash the stolen tickets. Investigators pulled the surveillance video from those attempts and identified both men. Additionally, through a shoe impression expert from the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, investigators were able to connect the shoes Spencer was arrested in with a lift of an impression made at the Arrowhead Food Mart he had robbed on March 5. Those shoes could be seen at all six armed robberies Spencer had committed.

Several months before to this conduct, Morgan had completed a prior prison sentence for armed robbery.

Spencer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 31 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when. Morgan faces a maximum sentence of 40 years. Both men will be sentenced on June 2, 2023. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Co-conspirators Kareem Ross, 32, of Hampton; Marvin Lockhart, Jr., 32, of Virginia Beach; and Roshaun Griffin, 34, of Virginia Beach, pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. They are scheduled to be sentenced on February 16, March 3, and February 23, 2023, respectively.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Paul W. Neudigate, Chief of Police, Virginia Beach Police Department, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joe DePadilla and John F. Butler are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-106.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Today, Jessica D. Aber, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), announced an update on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s criminal and civil enforcement efforts to combat COVID-19 related fraud, including schemes targeting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, and Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs.

“Our country has been dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic for over two years now, but there is still considerable work to be done,” said Aber. “We continue to uncover more CARES Act fraud almost every day. The COVID landscape has changed dramatically in the past year but what has not changed is our dedication to recovering every possible dollar defrauded from these programs. We will continue to use a range of civil and criminal tools, in addition to interagency partnerships, to meet this goal.”

Since the start of 2022, EDVA has charged over 50 defendants in at least 26 cases of fraud schemes connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases involve attempts to defraud almost $125 million from the U.S. government. The success of these cases reflects a degree of reach, coordination, and expertise emblematic of EDVA’s and the Justice Department’s response to COVID-19-related fraud.

In March 2020, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion economic relief bill known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Anticipating the need to protect the integrity of these taxpayer funds and to otherwise protect Americans from fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Justice immediately stood up multiple efforts dedicated to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting such fraud.

On criminal matters, EDVA’s efforts to combat COVID-19-related fraud schemes in 2022 have proceeded on numerous fronts, including:

• Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud: The PPP fraud cases charged in EDVA this year involve a range of conduct, from individual business owners who inflated their payroll expenses to obtain larger loans than they otherwise would have qualified for, to a serial fraudster applying for multiple loans using false claims about business entities and income. Some charged defendants misappropriated loan proceeds for prohibited purposes, such as the purchase of houses, cars, jewelry, and other luxury items. In one case, U.S. v. Quin Ngoc Rudin, the Secretary, Director and CFO of a tax preparation business filed over 80 fraudulent PPP loan applications seeking over $100 million.

• Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) fraud: EDVA has also focused on fraud against the EIDL program, which was designed to provide loans to small businesses, agricultural and non-profit entities. Nationally, fraudsters have targeted the program by applying for EIDL advances and loans on behalf of ineligible, newly created, shell, or non-existent businesses, and diverting the funds for illegal purposes. In U.S. v. Darakshan, the defendants wrongfully obtained over $3 million, which they used to invest in the stock market, fund a home construction project, travel to Cancun, purchase a car, and pay other personal expenses.
• Unemployment Insurance (UI) fraud: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, since March 2020 through April 2022, DOL-OIG reports nationally roughly $16 billion paid in potentially fraudulent UI benefits. Early investigation and analysis indicate that international organized criminal groups have targeted these funds by using stolen identities to file for UI benefits. Domestic fraudsters, ranging from identity thieves to prison inmates, have also committed UI fraud. In U.S. v Huffman, the defendant operated a fraud scheme to obtain over $2 million in pandemic-related unemployment benefits from multiple state workforce agencies, such as the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC).

EDVA has also used numerous civil tools to address fraud in connection with CARES Act programs. For example, EDVA obtained a civil settlement of $107,347 to resolve allegations that Latifa Brooks, of Superb Movers, Inc., received two PPP loans and subsequently fraudulently obtained forgiveness on both loans. Another civil settlement of $31,000 with Zen Solutions Inc. was obtained this year to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by obtaining more than one PPP loan.

“The many cases included in this announcement highlight the unwavering commitment of the federal law enforcement community to hold accountable those who chose to defraud vital pandemic relief programs intended to help individuals through a challenging health and economic crisis,” said Troy W. Springer, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Washington Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG). “As the primary federal agency responsible for investigating fraud against the Unemployment Insurance program, the Office of Inspector General is committed to supporting the prosecution of those who seek to undermine the integrity of the program. I want to thank U.S. Attorney Aber, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Virginia Employment Commission, and our other law enforcement partners for their invaluable support of our mission.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic was one of America’s most vulnerable moments. Many businesses and individuals needed federal emergency assistance to stay afloat, but some fraudsters saw it as an opportunity to enrich themselves instead,” said Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Norfolk Field Office. “Our work through 2022 highlights the FBI and our partners’ dedication to finding those who commit pandemic-related fraud and hold them accountable for their crimes.”

“Over the past two years, the FBI and our partners have relentlessly identified and investigated those who have defrauded the programs designed to assist those who were in need during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Division. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to holding those accountable who attempt to fleece the government for their own personal benefit.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented opportunity for fraudsters to prey on the very programs designed to provide economic stability to businesses and individuals during this crisis,” said Stephen Farina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Richmond Field Office. “The FBI is committed to investigating fraudulent activity and working with our partners to hold accountable those who flagrantly disregard the purpose and need of these programs for the sustainability of our community's economy.”

“Through focused collaboration with law enforcement partners, fraudsters that stole from SBA programs and American taxpayers are being brought to justice,” said the Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite. “OIG is committed to rooting out bad actors and protecting the integrity of SBA programs. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”

“Postal Inspectors have worked aggressively to investigate all types of pandemic related frauds occurring via the U.S. Mail. Our continued commitment to investigate these frauds will bring the offenders to justice and serves as a deterrent to those who attempt to exploit these benefit programs,” said Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Washington Division.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented law enforcement with a new and changing criminal environment,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C.  “Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, fraud has become the ‘go-to crime’ for many perpetrators. Whether it means preventing fraudsters from selling counterfeit treatments, vaccinations, and protective equipment; or abolishing fraudulent websites deceiving the public; or prosecuting financial criminals attempting to defraud the American public; HSI will continue to adapt in order to respond to the evolving criminal environment ushered in by this pandemic. We remain vigilant in our mission to protect the members of our communities from any type of threat.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate criminal exploitation of this national emergency for personal gain,” said Cynthia L. Hearn, IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office. “To take advantage of governmental programs designed for those truly in need during the COVID-19 pandemic is incomprehensible and despicable. Those who do so will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Some of the major COVID-19-related cases prosecuted by EDVA in 2022 are as follows:

 

Case

Case number

Program Targeted

Intended Loss to Taxpayer

US v. Rudin

1:22-cr-46

PPP

$100,000,000

US v. Mitchum*

4:22-cr-47

EIDL, PPP, UI

$5,807,577

US v. Darakhshan

1:22-cr-22

PPP, EIDL

$3,500,000

US v. Huffman

3:22-cr-8

UI

$3,500,000

US v. Mitchell

3:22-cr-44

PPP, EIDL, UI

$1,800,000

US v. Mathews

3:22-cr-43

PPP

$1,700,000

US v. Wilhoit*

1:22-cr-191

UI

$1,500,000

US v. Rosser*

4:22-cr-91

PPP, EIDL

$1,164,999

US v. Parker

2:22-cr-10

UI

$760,921

US v. Obadeyi*

1:22-cr-102

EIDL

$438,000

US v. Crockett*

3:22-cr-32

UI

$318,727

US v. Smith

3:22-cr-20

UI

$223,984

US v. Carter

4:22-cr-60

PPP, UI

$176,829

US v. Jenkins

4:21-cr-69

UI

$141,632

US v. Jafari*

1:22-cr-197

PPP

$124,000

US v. Sherwood

3:22-cr-73

UI

$109,000

US v. Hargrove*

4:22cr49

PPP

$79,165

US v. Davis

4:22-cr-45

UI

$66,232

US v. Kokolis

2:21-cr-55

PPP

$54,112

US v. Ward

2:22-cr-111

UI

$27,000

US v. Toro

4:22-cr-1

UI, EIDL

$16,910

*pending sentencing

In addition to these efforts, last year, the Newport News Financial Crimes Task Force, led by the USPIS and in partnership with EDVA, the FBI Norfolk Field office through its Resident Agency in Newport News, and the Washington Regional Office of DOL-OIG, launched a joint pandemic counter-fraud operation focused on the Virginia Peninsula region. This collaborative initiative targets the trend of criminal organizations and networks incorporating pandemic-related fraud into their other illegal activities. As of October, this operation has resulted in 30 arrests of suspected fraudsters, 24 of whom have been convicted and sentenced, and $1,561,840 of court-ordered restitution.

All these efforts have been made possible through the diligent work of a wide range of law enforcement partners from the FBI (Washington, Norfolk and Richmond Field Offices), DOL-OIG, Department of Homeland Security, USPIS, the International Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), and the Office of the Inspector General of the SBA. 

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across the government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Virginia Coronavirus Fraud Task Force is a federal and state partnership led by the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia along with fraud investigators from the FBI and Virginia State Police. The task force’s mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud related to the ongoing pandemic. The task force reviews and investigates all credible leads of fraud associated with COVID-19, focusing on schemes to exploit vulnerable populations, including the elderly and concerned citizens. 

EDVA continues its fight against COVID-19 related fraud. To report a COVID-19-related fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Today Jessica D. Aber, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced that over the course of the past year, EDVA’s litigative efforts have resulted in the forfeiture of at least 164 illegally owned, possessed, used, or obtained firearms. Firearms that are criminally forfeited are removed from the possession of a convicted criminal defendant and relinquished to the government for disposal, including potentially the return of the firearm to a rightful owner.

“Removing illegal firearms from the hands of felons and other prohibited people is a significant tactic in our office’s efforts to reduce gun violence and keep our communities safe,” said Aber. “If not taken out of circulation, the same weapon can be passed along and used in multiple crimes by many people. The forfeiture of these illegal firearms ensures they will not be used in the future against our law enforcement partners or community members.”

Since the start of 2022, EDVA has charged approximately 250 defendants with federal firearms offenses, including possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, and straw purchasing of a firearm. These successes are a result of close cooperation between prosecutors and partners at federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). EDVA also partners with the Virginia State Police and local police and sheriffs across the District.

EDVA’s efforts to seize and forfeit illegal firearms in 2022 was the result of multiple investigative and prosecutorial efforts, including Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which seeks to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them, and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), whose purpose is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

“The criminal possession and illegal use of firearms plague the very communities in which we reside and often result in tragic loss,” said Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Washington Field Division. “We will continue to utilize intelligence driven approaches as we work alongside our law enforcement partners to combat gun violence in an effort to maintain safety and security in our communities.”

“We know the significant harm illegal firearms can pose, as well as the harm felons can inflict when they obtain those weapons. That’s why the forfeitures listed here today are so critical to keeping our communities safe,” said Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Norfolk Field Office. “The FBI and its partners will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to fight violent crime, including through the reduction of gun violence.”

"Every day the FBI and our federal, state, and local partners work toward our shared goal of combating violent crime," said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Division. "As violent criminals continue to threaten our communities, removing firearms from their hands helps us prevent gun violence and ensure our homes and neighborhoods are safe places to live and work."

“I’m grateful for the hard work of the DEA teams, EDVA’s litigative efforts, and our law enforcement partners, with whom we were able to execute dozens of arrests and seize illegal firearms from violent drug trafficking organizations. With these actions, these unscrupulous offenders were held accountable, making our communities safer from gun violence and drug trafficking,” mentioned Jarod Forget, DEA Washington Division’s Special Agent in Charge.

“HSI Washington, D.C. remains committed to leveraging federal resources to help dismantle firearms trafficking operations and keeping illegal weapons off our streets,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of HSI Washington, D.C. “HSI is focused on disrupting the illicit international flow of firearms, firearms components, and ammunition to the Unites States. HSI special agents investigate individuals and criminal organizations that are responsible for the financing, procurement, brokering, transportation, and dissemination of these components in support of transnational criminal organizations. Our aim is to enable law abiding residents to enjoy safety and peace in their communities, while holding criminals, especially those who seek to use a firearm in the commission of a crime, accountable for their actions.”

Some of the major firearms-related cases prosecuted by EDVA in 2022 are as follows:

Defendant

Case #

Conviction

Sentencing info

Patrick Tate Adamiak, 28, of Virginia Beach

2:22-cr-47

receiving, possessing, and transferring unregistered machineguns, and possession of four destructive devices

Sentencing March 21, 2023

Max sentence 10 years

Tre’shawn Brooks, 22, of Richmond

3:22-cr-110

straw purchase conspiracy

Sentenced December 16 to 12 months

Babak Safavi, 59, of Fairfax County

1:22-cr-76

felon in possession of a firearm

Sentenced September 22 to 27 months

Darren Walker, 34, of Suffolk

2:21-cr-89

aiding and abetting the making of a materially false statement during the purchase of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm

Sentenced March 10 to 156 months

Kevin Staton, Jr., 24, of Chesapeake

2:21-cr-141

conspiracy to make false statements in connection with 45 firearm transactions

Sentenced July 6 to 18 months

Tyereis Smith, 19, and Jhaimeek Carter, 19, of Virginia Beach

2:21-cr-92

trafficking firearms

Sentenced February 10 to 2 years

 

Sentenced January 26 to 30 Months

Rakeim T. Richardson, 27, of Hanover Maryland

1:21-cr-284

making false statements in an attempt to acquire 11 firearms

Sentenced March 2022 to 15 months

Jonathan C. Long, 39, of Hampton

4:22-cr-37

drug conspiracy, possession of over 40 grams of fentanyl with intent to distribute, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and maintaining a drug premises

Sentencing on April 24, 2023

 

Minimum penalty 35 years

On July 22, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice has launched five cross-jurisdictional strike forces to help reduce gun violence by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking in key regions across the country. Leveraging existing resources, the regional strike forces will better ensure sustained and focused coordination across jurisdictions and help stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms from source cities, through other communities, and into five key market regions: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area/Sacramento Region, and Washington, D.C. The strike force helps ensure sustained and focused coordination between law enforcement and prosecutors in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, including in the Eastern District of Virginia, with their counterparts in locations where many of the firearms originate.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man was sentenced yesterday to 6 years in prison for receiving images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, Robert Morris, 37, used a file-sharing program to provide more than 500 files depicting the sexual abuse of minors—including children as young as infants—to detectives in the Virginia Beach Police Department in December 2021. Detectives obtained a search warrant for his home, where they seized a laptop computer containing additional files depicting the sexual abuse of minors, which had been obtained from social messaging applications. At the time of his arrest, Morris was an assistant dean of students and systems administrator at Wave Leadership College, a religious institution in Virginia Beach. He was previously administratively separated from the U.S. Navy for misconduct, including sexual harassment.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wilson Hanes.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Gantt prosecuted the case.

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

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-81.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Hampton man on charges of conspiracy, drug and firearm charges.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on November 15, 2021, Jonathan C. Long, 39, of Hampton, was arrested for failing to appear on a federal supervised release violation. A search of the residence that had been leased by his then girlfriend, now wife, revealed distribution quantities of fentanyl, cocaine base, hundreds of vials for distribution to users, five cell phones, and three firearms, including an assault rifle. Over 100 rounds of ammunition were also located that included armor piercing and hollow point bullets. An additional cell phone and round of ammunition were located in another residence previously used by Long. Evidence extracted from cell phones and jail communications revealed the scope of Long’s drug dealing, his efforts to avoid apprehension by law enforcement from April through November 2021, and his location during this time. One of the firearms recovered had been purchased for Long, who was a prohibited person as a convicted felon, in April 2021, by one of his drug addict customers from a pawn shop in Hampton. 

Long was convicted of all five counts in the indictment, including drug conspiracy, possession of over 40 grams of fentanyl with intent to distribute, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and maintaining a drug premises. He faces a mandatory minimum term of 35 years in prison when sentenced on April 24, 2023. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Mark Talbot, Chief of Hampton Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Julie Podlesni and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Grace H. Bowen are prosecuting the case.

This investigation was also conducted by the FBI’s Peninsula Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership that includes the FBI, Virginia State Police, Hampton Police Division, James City County Police Department, Newport News Police Department, and United States Postal Inspection Service. This task force investigates the most violent criminal enterprises operating on the Virginia Peninsula. Tips regarding gang activity and other violent crimes in the region can be reported to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or www.fbi.gov/tips.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-37.

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal judge convicted a Norfolk man today on charges of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Charles Willoughby III, 39, served as a youth group leader at New Life Worship Center (NLWC) in Norfolk. From 2006 to 2012, Willoughby routinely groomed minor teenage girls who were part of the church’s youth program in order to attempt to sexually abuse them. On June 26, 2012, Jane Doe, who was then 15 years old, and other youth group members boarded a chartered bus from NLWC to travel to Georgia for a national church youth group conference. Willoughby served as one of the chaperones. While on the bus there, Willoughby forced Jane Doe to engage in a sexual act. Jane Doe did not disclose the abuse until 2018, and other victims were identified after that disclosure. 

Willoughby faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison when sentenced on April 19, 2023. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes pronounced the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Yusi and Megan Montoya are prosecuting the case.

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

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-96.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Washington, D.C. woman today on multiple charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, trafficking in unauthorized access devices, aggravated identity theft, unlawful possession of 15 or more access devices, and possession of access device-making equipment with intent to defraud.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Adiam Berhane, 50, carried out a fraud scheme from at least 2013 to 2016 in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area involving stolen credit card information that was used to purchase gift cards, expensive luxury goods, and other items from local retail stores. Berhane worked with multiple co-conspirators, including Keith Lemons, 55 of Clinton, Maryland; Tiffany Younger, 50 of Washington, D.C.; and an unindicted co-conspirator (UCC-1), to steal the identities of residents of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and elsewhere, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to area retailers and financial institutions.

The conspiracy created fraudulent payment cards using credit card manufacturing equipment that investigators found in the apartment that Berhane shared with UCC-1. Berhane would obtain stolen credit card information from the internet and provide it to UCC-1, who would then manufacture the cards, which Berhane then distributed to co-conspirators for use at area stores.

Berhane played a central role in the conspiracy. She bought the stolen card information. She managed the distribution of the fraudulent payment cards. She advised Lemons and Younger on how to carry out fraud in particular stores and decided how Lemons and Younger would be compensated. As part of the scheme, items purchased with victims’ credit card information would sometimes be returned for refunds to bank accounts that Berhane controlled, including her personal account and the accounts of Caffe Aficionado, a coffee shop in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington that Berhane owned and operated with UCC-1.

In addition to fraudulently purchasing items and receiving fraudulent refund proceeds to her bank accounts, Berhane used fraudulent payment cards to purchase gift cards at retail stores which were then redeemed at her business, Caffe Aficionado. More than a third of Caffe Aficionado’s income from June 2013 to July 2016 came from a pattern of highly unusual redemptions of American Express gift cards, with the pattern beginning several months before Caffe Aficionado actually opened in approximately October 2013.

Lemons and Younger previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and are awaiting sentencing.

Berhane faces a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison and a maximum penalty of 196 years in prison when sentenced on March 15, 2023. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Andy Penn, Arlington County Chief of Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the verdict.

This case was prosecuted with the assistance of the Montgomery County Police Department, the FBI Cyber Task Force, the U.S. Postal Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Capitol Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan S. Keim and Bibeane Metsch are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-27.

Keith Lemons and Tiffany Younger are being prosecuted in related cases in the Eastern District of Virginia. See United States v. Keith Lemons, 1:22-cr-9-ATJ; United States v. Tiffany Younger, 1:20-cr-25-AJT.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man pleaded guilty today to laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in disaster-related loan benefits made available in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents, between May 2020 and May 2021, Richard J. Rosser, II, 49, obtained disaster-related loan benefits in the form of Small Business Administration (SBA) sponsored Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. These programs, initiated and expanded under the Cares Act, were designed to provide support to small businesses for expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rosser owned and operated a construction business, Richard’s General Services (RGS), in Hampton. He submitted false disaster-related loan applications for his business. He grossly inflated the number of employees of RGS and its average monthly payroll. Rosser also provided fabricated tax returns to substantiate the false representations made in the loan applications. When the loans were funded, Rosser used the funds for personal expenditures, including withdrawing, transferring to personal accounts, and writing checks to himself cumulatively. 

Rosser submitted three false applications for disaster-related loan benefits. In all, Rosser obtained approximately $1,164,999 by fraud, at least $739,000 of which he laundered in transactions in excess of $10,000.

Rosser pleaded guilty to engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived proceeds and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Darrell J. Waldon, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Mack Coleman is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-91.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A 33-count indictment was unsealed today charging four people with joining together to defraud and commit offenses against the United States, including human trafficking of individuals from Central America, benefiting from forced labor, money laundering, and various other immigration-related offenses, such as harboring undocumented non-citizens.

According to allegations in the indictment, Ana Patricia Landaverde, 47, of Williamsburg, Jeffrey Dean Vaughan, 64, of Williamsburg, and George William Evans, 68, of Midlothian, engaged in a conspiracy to harbor, transport, and benefit from the employment of undocumented noncitizens at their commercial laundry business, Northstar Holdings of Virginia LLC, d/b/a Magnolia Cleaning Services, LLC. Between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2022, the business’s wage records reflect approximately 121 employees with alleged invalid or mismatched Social Security Numbers and wage payments of more than $1.2 million to these employees.

The fourth unnamed defendant is alleged to have acted as an illegal supplier of fraudulent identification documents. Prospective employees without proper documentation to work in the United States were allegedly referred to this defendant to purchase a counterfeit permanent resident card and social security card.

As further set forth in the indictment, Landaverde, Vaughan, and Evans also allegedly engaged in human trafficking of labor from Central America and benefitting from forced labor. One victim is alleged to have been brought to the United States when she was only 13 years old and forced to work nights while also attending school during the day. Allegations also include another victim being made to work under threats of deportation, physical violence, and other misuse of law and process. This same victim was made to pay rent to live in the commercial laundry facility where she lacked access to a kitchen, shower, or bath.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security; Troy Springer, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, DC Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Michael McGill, Special Agent-in-Charge, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General; and Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and D. Mack Coleman are prosecuting the case.

This investigation was conducted by the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force, a collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental organizations, working together to combat human trafficking in the Hampton Roads Region.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-92.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.