Eastern District of Virginia

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man pleaded guilty today to felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, Kenneth Pressley, 44, was a passenger in a vehicle that fled from Newport News Police officers on May 8, 2018, when officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Pressley ran from the vehicle and into the backyard of a residence on 23rd Street in Newport News.  An officer followed Pressley and observed him in the backyard bent over at the waist and heard the firearm discharge. After Pressley was taken into custody, officers recovered a Glock 23 .40 caliber firearm, containing 12 rounds of ammunition, as well as the bullet Pressley discharged on scene.  Pressley was previously convicted of two counts of attempted malicious wounding, malicious discharge of a firearm into an occupied building, and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Pressley pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 15, 2019. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan M. Cowles 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:18-cr-71.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An admitted MS-13 gang member was sentenced today to 15 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, Oscar Melendez, aka Creeper, 29, of Alexandria, possessed ammunition after having been convicted of multiple felonies involving possession of a controlled dangerous substance and credit card fraud. Law enforcement recovered the bullets from his residence while investigating crimes committed by the criminal gang MS-13. During a Mirandized interview, Melendez admitted to possessing the ammunition and to being a member of MS-13.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, and J. Thomas Manger, Montgomery County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen C. Cain prosecuted the case.

Mitigating MS-13’s presence in the National Capital Region is a joint effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Several Department of Justice law enforcement components, to include the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Forces and Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces, DEA, USMS, and ATF, along with the Department of Homeland Security, have dedicated significant resources to this effort.

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. 1:18-cr-245.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Jamaican man was sentenced today to 87 months in prison for his role in transporting 15 kilograms of cocaine from South Carolina to Virginia, as a drug courier for a Panamanian drug trafficking organization (DTO). 

According to court documents, in February 2016, Oraine Lawson, 26, and a co-conspirator traveled from Brooklyn to Charleston, South Carolina, for the purpose of receiving a shipment of cocaine. On the same day, law enforcement intercepted 15 kilograms of cocaine on a commercial shipping vessel at the Port of Charleston sent by the Panamanian DTO. The next day, Lawson obtained a bag containing 15 kilograms of cocaine in Charleston from a co-conspirator while under surveillance of law enforcement. Upon taking possession of the cocaine, Lawson and his co-conspirator boarded a commercial bus line and traveled to the Eastern District of Virginia, where law enforcement ultimately executed a drug interdiction operation. During the stop of the bus, law enforcement surveillance observed Lawson’s co-conspirator hide the bag containing the 15 kilograms of cocaine under a seat inside the bus.  Shortly thereafter, law enforcement officers seized the bag containing the 15 kilograms of cocaine.    

This case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Brother’s Grimm. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Robert Murphy, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration-Atlanta Division, Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Christopher Healy, Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Charlotte, Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, and Humberto I. Cardounel, Jr., Chief of Henrico County Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik S. Siebert and Peter S. Duffey 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-108.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, Timothy Cureton, 29, was seen by Richmond police officers in a Facebook live video posted on January 25, displaying a brown handgun with an extended magazine. Officers suspected that Cureton stayed at an apartment in Creighton Court. Just five days later, on January 30, officers received information that individuals were storing illegal narcotics at an apartment in Creighton Court. During execution of a search warrant, officers located two firearms in a bedroom closet. One of those firearms was a brown Glock handgun, consistent with the firearm Cureton displayed in the Facebook live video. Inside the same bedroom of the residence, officers located Cureton’s social security card and a document with Cureton’s name on it.

Cureton pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on February 5, 2019. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather H. Mansfield 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-108.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former probation officer pleaded guilty today to obstructing a federal grand jury investigation into armed drug traffickers and gang members.

According to court documents, Abass Conteh, 28, of Dumfries, served as a Virginia Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Officer working in Prince William County in 2017. As part of his duties, Conteh met with law enforcement officers and discussed ongoing criminal investigations, including with a Prince William County Police Department (PWCPD) gang detective. During the course of 2017, Conteh used his cell phone and social media accounts to convey confidential law enforcement information about ongoing federal investigations into drug traffickers and gang members. Conteh learned this information from the PWCPD detective and other sources. During these communications, Conteh provided advice to individuals under investigation on how to avoid being prosecuted.

For example, Conteh, informed his cousin Nasiru Carew, a multi-time convicted felon, that federal law enforcement were investigating the individuals who supplied local rappers with guns, money, and drugs. Conteh revealed further information to Carew he learned from the PWCPD detective, including that the “FEDS got they eye on Shy Glizzy and GG etc. The FEDS are investigating MS-13 and the [expletive] supplying the guns, the drugs, and money.”

In March 2017, Conteh informed Carew that federal law enforcement were investigating Tarvell Vandiver, who was the leader of the Imperial Gangsta Blood gang. Carew later passed this information to Vandiver, who he had conspired with to distribute controlled substances.

In December 2017, the PWCPD Detective informed Conteh that federal law enforcement were investigating Alpha Kamara and his sources of supply for narcotics. Shortly thereafter, Conteh revealed the information to Carew and later another individual. Conteh wrote, “[The PWCPD detective] brought All their names up. He never brought their names up until Alpha got womped. The feds goal is to find the supplier for the guns and drugs… They can’t do [expletive] to nobody if alpha [Kamara] don’t snitch”.

In January 2018, Kamara pleaded guilty to being an armed drug trafficker (1:18-cr-12). In April, Carew pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking offense (1:18-cr-8). In May, Vandiver pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and firearms offenses (1:18-cr-16).

Conteh pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 22, 2019. 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.

Conteh, Carew, Vandiver, and Kamara were prosecuted as part of Operation Tin Panda, which has resulted in 44 federal convictions and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Division, FBI Washington Field Office, and Barry M. Barnard, Chief of Prince William County Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Uzo Asonye and Carina A. Cuellar 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. 1:18-cr-367.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A local businessman pleaded guilty today to charges of orchestrating a multi-year investment fraud scheme causing at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to dozens of victims.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Amrit Jaswant Singh Chahal, 30, of Fairfax, operated an investment fraud scheme through The Kane Capital Investment Group, LLC (Kane Capital), a company he established and operated. Chahal executed this fraud through falsely representing that Kane Capital had earned returns of roughly 28 to 34 percent annually, when in fact, Chahal had suffered substantial losses in managing investors’ funds. Chahal also created falsified brokerage statements to conceal the losses he had sustained and siphoned off some of his investors’ funds by transferring the money to accounts he controlled or by spending the funds on personal items. When investors asked for returns on their investment, Chahal frequently used money from newer investors to pay disbursements to older investors, without disclosing this fact to his investors.

Chahal pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of securities and commodities fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count and 25 years in prison on the securities and commodities fraud count when sentenced on Feb. 8, 2019. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Jamar K. Walker are prosecuting the case.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission provided significant assistance with this investigation.

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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-152.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A local businessman pleaded guilty today to charges of orchestrating a multi-year investment fraud scheme causing at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to dozens of victims.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Amrit Jaswant Singh Chahal, 30, of Fairfax, operated an investment fraud scheme through The Kane Capital Investment Group, LLC (Kane Capital), a company he established and operated. Chahal executed this fraud through falsely representing that Kane Capital had earned returns of roughly 28 to 34 percent annually, when in fact, Chahal had suffered substantial losses in managing investors’ funds. Chahal also created falsified brokerage statements to conceal the losses he had sustained and siphoned off some of his investors’ funds by transferring the money to accounts he controlled or by spending the funds on personal items. When investors asked for returns on their investment, Chahal frequently used money from newer investors to pay disbursements to older investors, without disclosing this fact to his investors.

Chahal pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of securities and commodities fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count and 25 years in prison on the securities and commodities fraud count when sentenced on Feb. 8, 2019. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Jamar K. Walker are prosecuting the case.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission provided significant assistance with this investigation.

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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-152.

RICHMOND, Va. – United States Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire will lead the efforts here in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming midterm elections on November 6. 

Maguire has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Richmond Division of the Eastern District of Virginia, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud,” said Terwilliger. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election day.

Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy).

In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 6, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Terwilliger stated that Maguire will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at the following telephone number: (804) 819-5400.

“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate,” said Terwilliger. “It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (804) 261-1044.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, DC by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to voting.section@usdoj.gov or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.

NORFOLK, Va. – United States Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy C. Stoker will lead the efforts here in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming midterm elections on November 6. 

Stoker has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Norfolk and Newport News Divisions of the Eastern District of Virginia, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud,” said Terwilliger. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election day.

Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy).

In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 6, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Terwilliger stated that Stoker will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at the following telephone number: (757) 441-6331.

“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate,” said Terwilliger. “It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (757) 455-0100.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, DC by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to voting.section@usdoj.gov or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – United States Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Gillis will lead the efforts here in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming midterm elections on November 6. 

Gillis has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Alexandria Division of the Eastern District of Virginia, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud,” said Terwilliger. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election day.

Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy).

In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 6, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Terwilliger stated that Gillis will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at the following telephone number: (703) 299-3700.

“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate,” said Terwilliger. “It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (202) 278-2000.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, DC by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to voting.section@usdoj.gov or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for his role in a firearms trafficking scheme.

According to court documents, Jason Fields, 28, illegally purchased a total of 13 firearms in 10 separate transactions on three different days in the summer of 2016 from federally licensed firearms dealers. For each transaction, Fields represented on forms required for the transactions that he was the true purchaser of the firearms, when he was actually purchasing the firearms for other individuals. Fields later told authorities that the individuals told him they were from Washington, D.C., which would have made their transactions in Virginia illegal.

At sentencing, the Court applied a sentencing enhancement, finding that Fields knew or should have known that the individuals for whom he obtained the firearms intended to dispose of the firearms unlawfully. Indeed, three of the firearms were subsequently recovered by police officers in Richmond, Prince George County, Maryland; and Washington, D.C. The other 10 firearms have not been recovered.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Miller 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-43.

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Hampton woman today for her role in a fraud conspiracy related to a federally funded summer food service program. 

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Shaun Brown, 59, defrauded the USDA’s summer food service program (SFSP) aimed at feeding low income children. Brown and her mother ran a non-profit company, JOBS Community Development Corporation, which served as a sponsor for the SFSP. Over the course of the 2012 Summer, Brown inflated the number of meals JOBS purportedly served to low-income children and submitted four fraudulent claims for reimbursement based on the inflated numbers. Brown also orchestrated a massive scheme to falsify hundreds of documents to support her fraudulently inflated meal count numbers. Additionally, Brown ordered excessive amounts of food and milk products which she was well aware would never be used to feed needy children. At her direction, Brown’s employees disposed of this food and milk, purchased with federal funds, in large mounds behind buildings in Newport News as well as a pig farm in Southern Virginia. As a result of her fraudulent actions, the USDA paid JOBS over $800,000 in federal funds. 

Brown was convicted of conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of theft of government funds and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on March 13, 2019. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Michael C. Westfall, State Inspector General of Virginia, and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth M. Yusi and Melissa E. O’Boyle 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-169.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Guatemalan man was sentenced today to over 23 years in prison for his leadership role in operating a large-scale Guatemalan drug trafficking organization (DTO) that moved 3,739 kilograms of cocaine throughout Central America, as part of a coordinated international law enforcement investigation codenamed Operation Go Explorers.

According to court documents, Max Alberto Estrada-Linares, 36, who was extradited to the United States in December 2017, served as the head of the DTO. In this leadership role, Estrada organized cocaine transportation networks, directed others to buy and sell cocaine on behalf of the DTO, initiated the construction of a semi-self-propelled semi-submersible vessel to transport cocaine, directed the movement of cocaine loads, and served as the overall leader of the DTO.

Operating throughout Central America, Estrada’s DTO knowingly orchestrated the movement of over 3,000 kilograms of cocaine from Costa Rica to the Guatemalan-Mexican border. In May 2016, Estrada directed the use of violence against co-conspirators in an effort to locate approximately 500 kilograms of cocaine suspected to be stolen from the DTO off the Pacific coast of Guatemala. In September 2016, Guatemalan law enforcement authorities seized the self-propelled semi-submersible vessel under construction by Quinonez and the DTO in Guatemala.

Operation Go Explorers was investigated as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik S. Siebert, Peter S. Duffey, and Heather H. Mansfield 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-67.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Three New York area men made their initial appearances in federal court this afternoon after they were arrested yesterday in Fairfax County for conspiring to purchase 100 kilograms of cocaine. Law enforcement seized over $1 million in cash at the time of the arrest.

According to court documents, Luis Rafael Tavarez, aka “El Primo,” 36, Manny Lizardo, 24, and Luis M. Liriano-Toribio, 31, all of whom reside in the New York area, are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The men allegedly traveled from New York to Fairfax County to obtain 100 kilograms of cocaine (50 kilograms up front, and another 50 kilograms on consignment) in exchange for over $1 million in cash. Lizardo and Liriano-Toribio traveled to assist Tavarez in trafficking and/or transporting the large shipment of cocaine back to New York. Tavarez served as the main point of contact for the operation, and was arrested at a hotel in Vienna in possession of the cash. Lizardo, who inspected and attempted to test the cocaine, and Liriano-Toribio, who voluntarily joined the conspiracy and participated in the trip in exchange for thousands of dollars, were arrested in a parking garage in Fairfax attempting to take possession of the cocaine.

Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh is prosecuting the case.

Significant assistance with this investigation was provided by the Vienna Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department, Charles County Sheriff’s Office and D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-mj-510.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Mexican man was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for his leadership role in transporting over 3,300 kilograms of cocaine for a large-scale Guatemalan drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in Central America, as part of a coordinated international law enforcement investigation codenamed Operation Go Explorers.

According to court documents, Edgar A. Quinonez-Salazar, 40, was extradited to the United States in September 2017, served as a high-level leader within the DTO. In this leadership role, Quinonez organized cocaine transportation networks, negotiated cocaine purchases and sales of cocaine on behalf of the DTO, oversaw the construction of a semi-submersible vessel to transport cocaine, directed the movement of cocaine loads, and served as trusted advisor to the leader of the DTO. Operating throughout Central America, Quinonez knowingly orchestrated the movement of 3,339 kilograms of cocaine from Costa Rica to the Guatemalan-Mexican border on behalf of the DTO. In May 2016, Quinonez directed the use of violence against co-conspirators in an effort to locate approximately 500 kilograms of cocaine suspected to be stolen from the DTO off the Pacific coast of Guatemala. In September 2016, Guatemalan law enforcement authorities seized the semi-submersible vessel under construction by Quinonez and the DTO in Guatemala.

Operation Go Explorers was investigated as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik S. Siebert, Peter S. Duffey, and Heather H. Mansfield 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-67.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty today to robbing three banks and one credit union.

According to court documents, from October 2017 through April 2018, Rian Michael Lopez, 30, robbed a Wells Fargo bank of $7,700, a Bank of America of $17,191, a BB&T bank of $4,076, and a Bayport Federal Credit Union of $6,800. At the last robbery the bank tellers secreted bait money into the money they gave to Lopez. Sometime later an alert Virginia Beach police officer caught Lopez casing another Wells Fargo bank for a potential robbery, and a search of his car and his home revealed clothing he had worn to the previous robberies and a large of amount of money that included the bait money from the Bayport Federal Credit Union robbery. 

Lopez pleaded guilty to bank robbery and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 25, 2019. 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.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney William D. Muhr 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-135.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man pleaded guilty today to unauthorized access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, Christopher Brannan, 31, a former teacher at Lee-Davis High School, intentionally accessed without authorization internet and email accounts, including Apple iCloud, Yahoo!, and Facebook accounts, and thereby obtained complete iCloud backups, photographs, and other private information belonging to more than 200 victims, including both celebrities and noncelebrities. He hacked email accounts by answering security questions that he could easily research by reviewing victims’ Facebook accounts. Brannan also gained access to victims’ accounts by using phishing email accounts to send fraudulent email addresses designed to look like legitimate security accounts from Apple, misrepresenting to the victims that the emails had come from Apple in order to obtain username and password information for the victims’ internet accounts. Because of the victims’ belief that the email had come from Apple, the victims would provide their usernames and passwords. Brannan would then use the fraudulently obtained usernames and passwords to access the victims’ email accounts, search the content of the victims’ email accounts, and obtain personal information, such as sensitive and private photographs and videos, including nude photographs. Brannan would use software such as Elcomsoft to download full iCloud accounts, which he then perused for personal information. Authorities identified Brannan as a suspect during a Los Angeles-based FBI investigation into hacked iCloud accounts commonly known as “Celebgate.”

Brannan pleaded guilty to unauthorized access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft. He faces a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge, which shall run consecutively to any sentence imposed for the offense of unauthorized access to a protected computer. The total maximum possible penalty is seven years in prison. The parties have made a recommendation, which is not binding on the court, that Brannan be imprisoned for 34 months when he is sentenced on Jan. 25, 2019.  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.

This matter stems from an investigation conducted by the FBI in Los Angeles into the leaks of photographs of numerous female celebrities in September 2014. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, which is leading the prosecution, filed charges against Brannan in April, and the parties later agreed to transfer the case to the Eastern District of Virginia for further prosecution.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian R. Hood of the Eastern District of Virginia and Ryan White of the Central District of California 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-118.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Belizian national was sentenced today to 11 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including nearly two pounds of Fentanyl.

According to court documents, Fiorman Erick Gillett, 48, who was living illegally in the United States, conspired with others to ship about three pounds of 100 percent pure methamphetamine and almost 2 pounds of pure Fentanyl to Virginia from Texas. The amount of Fentanyl Gillet shipped to Virginia was enough for a lethal dose for hundreds of thousands of people.

As part of his plea agreement, Gillett will be deported pending the completion of his prison sentence. 

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. Comstock 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-90.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A criminal complaint was unsealed here today charging a Russian national for her alleged role in a Russian conspiracy to interfere in the U.S. political system, including the 2018 midterm election.

“The strategic goal of this alleged conspiracy, which continues to this day, is to sow discord in the U.S. political system and to undermine faith in our democratic institutions,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This case demonstrates that federal law enforcement authorities will work aggressively to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of unlawful foreign influence activities whenever feasible, and that we will not stand by idly while foreign actors obstruct the lawful functions of our government. I want to thank the agents and prosecutors for their determined work on this case.”

According to allegations in the criminal complaint, Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, 44, of St. Petersburg, Russia, served as the chief accountant of “Project Lakhta,” a Russian umbrella effort funded by Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin and two companies he controls, Concord Management and Consulting LLC, and Concord Catering. Project Lakhta includes multiple components, some involving domestic audiences within the Russian Federation and others targeting foreign audiences in the United States, members of the European Union, and Ukraine, among others.

“Today’s charges allege that Russian national, Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, conspired with others who were part of a Russian influence campaign to interfere with U.S. democracy,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “Our nation is built upon a hard-fought and unwavering commitment to democracy. Americans disagree in good faith on all manner of issues, and we will protect their right to do so. Unlawful foreign interference with these debates debases their democratic integrity, and we will make every effort to disrupt it and hold those involved accountable.”

Khusyaynova allegedly managed the financing of Project Lakhta operations, including foreign influence activities directed at the United States. The financial documents she controlled include detailed expenses for activities in the United States, such as expenditures for activists, advertisements on social media platforms, registration of domain names, the purchase of proxy servers, and “promoting news postings on social networks.” Between January 2016 and June 2018, Project Lakhta’s proposed operating budget totaled more than $35 million, although only a portion of these funds were directed at the United States. Between January and June 2018 alone, Project Lakhta’s proposed operating budget totaled more than $10 million. 

“This case serves as a stark reminder to all Americans: Our foreign adversaries continue their efforts to interfere in our democracy by creating social and political division, spreading distrust in our political system, and advocating for the support or defeat of particular political candidates,” said Director Wray. “We take all threats to our democracy very seriously, and we’re committed to working with our partners to identify and stop these unlawful influence operations. Together, we must remain diligent and determined to protect our democratic institutions and maintain trust in our electoral process.”

The alleged conspiracy, in which Khusyaynova is alleged to have played a central financial management role, sought to conduct what it called internally “information warfare against the United States.” This effort was not only designed to spread distrust towards candidates for U.S. political office and the U.S. political system in general, but also to defraud the United States by impeding the lawful functions of government agencies in administering relevant federal requirements.

The conspirators allegedly took extraordinary steps to make it appear that they were ordinary American political activists. This included the use of virtual private networks and other means to disguise their activities and to obfuscate their Russian origin. They used social media platforms to create thousands of social media and email accounts that appeared to be operated by U.S. persons, and used them to create and amplify divisive social and political content targeting U.S. audiences. These accounts also were used to advocate for the election or electoral defeat of particular candidates in the 2016 and 2018 U.S. elections. Some social media accounts posted tens of thousands of messages, and had tens of thousands of followers.

The conspiracy allegedly used social media and other internet platforms to address a wide variety of topics, including immigration, gun control and the Second Amendment, the Confederate flag, race relations, LGBT issues, the Women’s March, and the NFL national anthem debate. Members of the conspiracy took advantage of specific events in the United States to anchor their themes, including the shootings of church members in Charleston, South Carolina, and concert attendees in Las Vegas; the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally and associated violence; police shootings of African-American men; as well as the personnel and policy decisions of the current U.S. presidential administration.

The conspirators’ alleged activities did not exclusively adopt one ideological view; they wrote on topics from varied and sometimes opposing perspectives. Members of the conspiracy were directed, among other things, to create “political intensity through supporting radical groups” and to “aggravate the conflict between minorities and the rest of the population.” The actors also developed playbooks and strategic messaging documents that offered guidance on how to target particular social groups, including the timing of messages, the types of news outlets to use, and how to frame divisive messages.

The criminal complaint does not include any allegation that Khusyaynova or the broader conspiracy had any effect on the outcome of an election. The complaint also does not allege that any American knowingly participated in the Project Lakhta operation.

The investigative team received exceptional cooperation from private sector companies, such as Facebook and Twitter.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Christopher Wray, Director of the FBI, made the announcement after the charges were unsealed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay V. Prabhu and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Iftimie are prosecuting the case, with assistance of Trial Attorneys Matthew Y. Chang and Patrick T. Murphy of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-mj-464.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Annandale man was sentenced today to nine years in prison for conspiracy, aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, mail and wire fraud.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Jose Manlapaz, 55, owned and operated a tax preparation business named JBM Financial Services or JBM Financial Group in Falls Church. Between 2007 and 2017, Manlapaz prepared thousands of false tax returns for his clients by adding false or inflated items, including education credits, childcare expenses, and fake business expenses. Manlapaz knew that the items he added to client returns would cause many clients to be audited, and set up a document mill in the Philippines called TMendoza Accounting Services to fabricate fake receipts and tax forms that he could submit on behalf of his clients to the IRS. Manlapaz made money by charging higher fees for getting clients higher refunds and for preparing fraudulent responses to IRS audit notices. After the IRS-CI searched JBM in 2013, and up until a second search of JBM in 2017, Manlapaz and JBM kept preparing false tax returns, but removed his preparer information so it looked like his clients were submitting the returns themselves. A search of his residence and two safe deposit boxes in 2017 resulted in the seizure of over $1.3 million in cash and valuables, including Rolex watches. The investigation also revealed that Manlapaz had also wired approximately $1.5 million to the Philippines during the conspiracy. 

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kelly R. Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine L. Wong and Kimberly R. Pedersen 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-115.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Triangle man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin, and using and carrying a firearm while drug trafficking.

According to court documents, Tarvell Vandiver, 29, has been a member of the Imperial Gangsta Blood (IGB) gang for years. IGB is a “hood” of the national gang, United Blood Nation. During the course of the conspiracy, Vandiver served as the IGB superior in this region. In his role as the regional leader of IGB, Vandiver coordinated with leadership in multiple states, oversaw the IGB in the region, called for regional and local meetings, and acted as the disciplinary officer. He also provided guidance to other gang members on how to distribute controlled substances and arranged for gang members to illegally purchase firearms.

During his time as the regional leader for IGB, Vandiver regularly distributed cocaine base and cocaine to gang members, other drug distributors, and users while armed or while having access to firearms. These firearms were used and carried in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities. Vandiver was recently convicted in D.C. Superior Court for his role in conspiring to commit murder in Washington, DC.

Vandiver was arrested in December 2017, when over 300 law enforcement agents and officers executed a coordinated takedown as part of Operation Tin Panda. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division and the FBI’s Washington Field Office Safe Streets Task Force began Operation Tin Panda in the spring of 2017. In collaboration with federal and local law enforcement, investigators and prosecutors began jointly investigating Blood gangs and other drug distributors involved in violent crime and other criminal activity in northern Virginia. Multiple criminal acts were tied to gang and drug activity, including homicide, malicious wounding, robbery, shootings, and drug and firearms distribution. During the course of this investigation, more than 40 individuals throughout Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and California, who were illegally selling firearms and controlled substances or were involved in other criminal acts, were arrested on federal firearms and drug charges.

Operation Tin Panda also resulted in the seizure of over 95 firearms, $150,000 in cash, nine vehicles with an estimated value of over $300,000, and approximately 3 pounds of cocaine base, 10 pounds of cocaine, 7 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 5 pounds of heroin, 4 pounds of ecstasy, 227 pounds of marijuana, and 79 pounds of THC.

Operation Tin Panda was led by the ATF’s Washington Field Division and the FBI’s Washington Field Office Safe Streets Task Force. The DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Prince William County Police Department, Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, Fairfax County Police Department, Alexandria Police Department, Stafford County Sherriff’s Office, Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, King George County Sheriff’s Office, Caroline County Sheriff’s Office, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Prince George’s County, Maryland Police Department, and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, provided significant assistance during the operation.

Operation Tin Panda was investigated as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carina A. Cuellar and Colleen E. García 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-16.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was sentenced today to 26 years in prison for production of child pornography.

According to court documents, over at least a two year period, Skydance MacMahon, 45, conspired with an adult in Canada to produce over a thousand sexually explicit images and videos of minor children in Canada. These images and videos were produced at the direction of MacMahon using Skype and hidden cameras as well as overt recording. MacMahon distributed these image and video files to other users and consumers of child pornography by providing access to the files on his cloud storage services and also by directly sending the files to other users.  In addition to the child pornography images and videos MacMahon himself created, he also received and possessed thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

During the time he committed these offenses, MacMahon was a Digital Media Administrator at the Foreign Services Institute of the U.S. Department of State in Arlington. 

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

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Steve A. Linick, Inspector General for the Department of State, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Dougherty Russell prosecuted the case.

Significant assistance was provided by the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office, the U.S. Department of State Office of Inspector General’s Cyber Forensic Division, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Halifax Regional Police, Crown Prosecution Service, Special Prosecution Section, the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, the Arlington County Police Department, and the Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-261.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Georgia man pleaded guilty today to fraudulently discharging over $200,000 in student loan debt.

According to court documents, Corey Cadet Dukes, 39, of Jonesboro, and formerly of Alexandria, was an employee of the U.S. Department of State from 2013-2017. Simultaneously, Dukes was also a full-time supervisor for a security company providing protection to a federal building in Washington, D.C. Nevertheless, Dukes applied through the Department of Education for a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge of over $200,000 in student loan debt, affirming that he was unable to work and was disabled.

The Department of Education conditionally discharged Dukes’ student loans subject to successful completion of a three-year income monitoring period, which required that TPD applicants not earn over the Federal Poverty Guidelines for a family of two, which was no higher than $16,020. Earned income over that amount triggered a repayment obligation and the loans would be reinstated. After failing to respond to multiple requests for proof of income, in October 2016, Dukes submitted a signed self-certification stating: “I, Corey Dukes, did not have any earned income from May 1, 2013 – October 13, 2016.” In reality, during this same period Dukes had earned over $331,000 from his two full-time jobs, had purchased a Bentley, a Porsche, and other luxury vehicles. The Department of Education permanently discharged $205,687.74 of Dukes’ student loan debt.

Dukes pleaded guilty to wire fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 4, 2019. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Steve A. Linick, Inspector General of the State Department, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Russell L. Carlberg and Kimberly R. Pedersen 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-298.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – After two days of jury trial, an Ashburn woman pleaded guilty today to wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to impersonate a federal agent to demand money, and obtaining confidential phone records.

According to court documents and the evidence at trial, Keisha L. Williams, 43, solicited over $5.4 million from more than 50 victims by telling them that she had paid a lot of money for a certain healthcare-related software overseas in Austria; that the software was being held in “escrow” because she still owed taxes, attorney’s fees, and other debt associated with the purchase; and that if they would just give her a short-term loan to get this software out of escrow and bring it to the United States, the software would be a huge success and everyone would be quickly repaid, with interest.

In truth, Williams spent over 95 percent of the victims’ money on creating a lifestyle of luxury for herself, including millions on international travel, retail purchases at stores like Chanel and Gucci, and close to half a million on maintaining her girlfriend. Williams also recruited others to pose as federal law enforcement agents in order to demand money from several individuals to whom she sent proceeds of the software fraud. Williams recruited still other individuals to purchase private telephone records of one of the extortion victims from T-Mobile retail stores.

Four other individuals entered guilty pleas in connection with this case before trial. See table below for details.

Name, Age

Hometown

Charge(s)

Sentencing

Christian D’Andrade, 69

California

Wire Fraud

December 14

Carla McPhun, 50

Maryland

Wire Fraud

December 10

Arthur Robinson, 53

Manassas

Conspiracy to Impersonate a Federal Agent

December 10

Ruben Gresham, 53

Maryland

Conspiracy to Impersonate a Federal Agent

December 10

 

Williams faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 18, 2019. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Grace L. Hill and Jack Hanly 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-160.

NORFOLK, Va. – Nearly 150 law enforcement officers from the FBI, DEA, Norfolk Police, and the U.S. Marshals participated in Operation Goodfellas this morning in Norfolk, executing arrest warrants on five Hampton Roads men for their alleged participation in a $19 million drug trafficking conspiracy. One man remains a fugitive.

“These defendants allegedly distributed approximately $19 million of illegal narcotics in Hampton Roads,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The resources and collaborative efforts used to investigate this alleged drug trafficking organization is a prime example of the positive impact of federal, state, and local cooperation. My sincere thanks to our law enforcement partners for their outstanding efforts on this case.”

According to allegations in the indictment, from approximately 2009 to present, several significant drug traffickers from the Ingleside section of Norfolk have been involved in distributing large quantities of heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana. In September 2016, law enforcement began making controlled buys of cocaine from Reginald Sam Beale, 38, of Norfolk, and continued making controlled purchases of cocaine, heroin, and crack cocaine from Beale’s co-conspirators, including Maurice Antonio Barnes, 36, of Norfolk, Brandon Jaami Williams, 37, of Virginia Beach, Breon Lashawn Dixon, 39, of Chesapeake, and Johnell Deshawn Stepney, 34, of Norfolk. Through June 2018, law enforcement made a total of 29 controlled purchases from the defendants. Evidence obtained in the Summer of 2018 established that Barnes’ local source of supply was obtaining large amounts of cocaine and heroin from a Los Angeles based source of supply. The cocaine was being trucked to Virginia and off-loaded at a public storage facility in Virginia Beach in 10 and 20-kilo loads. In June 2018, Williams was arrested with 13 kilograms of cocaine (with a street value over $500,000) when he tried to transfer the cocaine from an apartment in the luxury ICON apartments in downtown Norfolk to another luxury apartment on Granby Street.

“This investigation represents the FBI's long-standing commitment to working with our law enforcement partners at every level to strangle the source and supply of dangerous drugs in our communities,” said Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office. “No one agency can do it alone and it is now more important than ever that we work together as one team in this fight. However, to make the greatest impact we also need allies in the community. Brazen criminals who poison and terrorize our neighborhoods often hide in plain sight, and citizens who come forward with information about criminal activity help law enforcement make Hampton Roads a safer place to live, work, and raise our families.”

Additional evidence led to the arrest of two members of the California and Mexico-based drug trafficking organization, Jose Moices Luna-Abrego, 20, of Los Angeles, and Ulises Abel Garcia-Razo, 39, of Mexico, after they flew to Virginia to attempt to retrieve some of the cocaine previously shipped, and collect over $500,000 in proceeds. Luna-Abrego, who is a United States citizen, and Garcia-Razo, a Mexican citizen, were arrested in July 2018 in a successful hotel sting operation conducted by FBI, DEA and Norfolk Police.

“For years, members of this organization have allegedly distributed significant quantities of narcotics throughout Hampton Roads,” said Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division. “These indictments and arrests represent the dismantling of an allegedly prominent drug trafficking organization responsible for the smuggling, transportation and distribution of substantial quantities of narcotics from Los Angeles to Norfolk. This successful investigation demonstrates the commitment of the DEA, FBI and Norfolk Police Department working together to protect the citizens of this community.”

A conservative estimate of the amount of narcotics this drug trafficking organization is responsible for distributing is 11 1/2  kilos of crack, 436 kilos of cocaine, 54 kilos of heroin, 1 ounce of fentanyl and over 20 pounds of marijuana, with a street value over $19 million.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation Goodfellas. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program 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.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, and Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherrie S. Capotosto is prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Marshals provided significant assistance with the execution of arrest warrants this morning.

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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-156.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesterfield man who owned and operated an investment firm in Virginia Beach pleaded guilty today to mail fraud and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.

According to court documents, Edward Lee Moody, Jr., 47, was a registered investment adviser and the sole owner and operator of CM Capital Management LLC, an investment firm with its principal office located in Virginia Beach. Moody solicited investors on the basis of his representation that he would profitably invest their assets in securities on their behalf and manage those investments on an ongoing basis. In reality, he ran a Ponzi scheme over a 13-year period, during which he solicited and collected approximately $6.1 million from 53 investors, at least 13 of whom were elderly persons who liquidated assets from their existing, legitimate retirement accounts in order to provide funds to him that they expected he would invest on their behalf. In most instances, Moody did not manage the accounts of the investors or buy or sell securities on their behalf, and did not even open individual brokerage accounts for them. Instead, Moody diverted investor monies for his own personal benefit and to enrich himself, using at least $1.4 million for business expenses, to purchase a home, make car loan payments, shop, travel to Las Vegas and other destinations. He also used approximately $885,000 of investor monies to buy and sell securities on his own behalf. Moody perpetuated the scheme by using approximately $1.5 million that he received from new investors to make periodic lulling payments to earlier investors, and he provided investors with fraudulent monthly account statements that falsely indicated that the investors’ funds had been invested in securities and had earned returns.

Moody faces 20 years in prison on the mail fraud charge and 10 years for engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property when sentenced on Feb. 5, 2019. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, and Kelly R. Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan M. Salsbury 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-154.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a Hampton man with making multiple bomb threats in Hampton and Newport News in an effort to divert authorities away from his armed robbery of the Virginia Educators Credit Union (VECU).

According to allegations in the indictment, Oscar Von Alston II, 31, made a series of bomb threats to public facilities in both Hampton and Newport News including two courthouses, two hotels, and a YMCA.  During the evacuations of the threatened locations where both local police and firemen were dispatched, Alston robbed the VECU at gunpoint. Alston was apprehended less than 20 minutes after the robbery with over $22,000 from the VECU.  

Alston is charged with five counts of making a threat with explosives, five counts of false information and hoax, bank robbery, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of seven years and maximum 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Osyf 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:18-cr-79.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Maryland man was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for masterminding a fraudulent scheme that exploited the identities of at least 124 victims and caused over $870,000 in losses in less than two years.

According to court documents, Michael Oginni, 46, of Rockville, perpetrated fraud for over 20 years, using violence to exert control over his underlings. His schemes evolved from simple credit card fraud to a sophisticated operation designed to outsmart security features that the United States banking system had adopted, such as microchip-embedded credit cards. He was convicted of fraud-related offenses in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and advanced his criminal schemes in the United States after relocating to this country in 2007.

From 2015 to 2017, Oginni ran a conspiracy that exploited the identities of victims throughout the United States. Oginni ordered custom-made counterfeit drivers’ licenses bearing the photographs of his co-conspirators and the real information of his victims, including their real dates of birth and addresses. Then, he directed his co-conspirators to enter into fraudulent apartment leases in the Washington, D.C. area using those victims’ identities. The members of the conspiracy used the “new addresses” of their victims to receive important mail: debit and credit cards that he and his co-conspirators had applied for in the names of their victims. From there, Oginni and his co-conspirators wreaked havoc on the credit of their victims, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges for luxury goods and gift cards, and making high-interest transfers from credit accounts to debit accounts. Oginni used the fraudulent income to finance a lavish lifestyle, frequently entertaining escorts and making purchases of luxury goods.

Oginni’s co-conspirators, Lacola Nickens (1:17-cr-208), Andraliesha Jefferson (1:17-cr-92), and Robert McCrickard (1:17-cr-51), were each convicted and sentenced earlier this year.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Peter R. Rendina, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Fong, Alexander P. Berrang, and Maya D. Song prosecuted the case.

Some of the charges were initially brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-172 and Case No. 1:18-cr-231.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Chester man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for possessing a stolen, high-capacity firearm after a violent felony conviction.

“Violent felons who illegally possess firearms are a threat to the safety of our law enforcement officers and the communities they serve,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We will continue to aggressively pursue those who have forfeited their Second Amendment rights due to felony conviction, and together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners we are zeroing in on felons who are unlawfully possessing firearms. My thanks to the ATF for their excellent work on this case.”

According to court documents, Derrick Anthony Savage, 29, was stopped on April 2 while driving through Fort Lee with a defective headlight. When officers made contact with Savage, they smelled the strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside the car, in which Savage was transporting four young children and their father. When officers directed Savage and the front-seat passenger to get out of the car, Savage refused and tried to stop his passenger from getting out as instructed. After officers physically removed Savage from the vehicle, he continued to resist efforts to detain him, requiring one officer to draw his Taser. A search of the car recovered a plastic bag containing 43.5 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, and a handgun loaded with a high-capacity magazine. The handgun was found under the driver’s seat, unsecured and in close proximity to the children. After the gun was recovered, Savage repeatedly stated that he had stolen it to protect himself from unspecified threats. Savage had previously been convicted of robbery, a violent felony, and was prohibited from possessing a firearm.

“Armed criminals threaten the safety of our communities, and combatting violent gun crime is ATF’s top priority,” said Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to catch those who illegally possess firearms and put them behind bars where they belong.”

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin G. Cooke 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-54.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to over 17 years in prison for distribution of crack cocaine, possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, and violations of supervised release.

“Firearms in the hands of drug distributors, especially those who have been previously convicted of a felony, are a deadly combination,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We will continue to aggressively pursue those who have forfeited their Second Amendment rights because of felony conviction, as well as those who represent the greatest danger to the community by pedaling poison and doing so while armed. It is not only reasonably foreseeable, but highly likely that guns in the hands of drug dealers result in deadly violence. I want to thank our investigative partners at ATF for their terrific work on this important case.”

According to court documents, in January 2017, Kevin A. Brown, 31, was the passenger in a vehicle stopped by Richmond Police officers. During a consensual search, the officers recovered a distributable quantity of crack cocaine from Brown. He subsequently admitted to the officers that he was selling the crack, and that on two occasions in October 2017, Brown sold quantities of crack cocaine in Richmond to a confidential informant working with the Richmond Police Department. Officers stopped Brown as he was leaving the second drug deal, and recovered the buy money for the crack deal, an additional quantity of crack, a quantity of heroin, and a .45 caliber revolver. Brown had previously been convicted of a felony, and was not legally permitted to possess the firearm.

“This is another good example of law enforcement working together to keep our communities safe,” said Thomas Chittum, ATF Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Division. “Drug dealers who carry firearms are making a poor choice. This should serve as a warning to others who might do the same. We will work with our partners throughout Virginia to catch you and put you behind bars where you belong.”

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Miller and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Holli R. Wood 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-50.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Guatemalan man was sentenced today to over 17 years in prison for his role in transporting 1,107 kilograms of cocaine for a large-scale Guatemalan drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in Central America, as part of a coordinated international law enforcement investigation codenamed Operation Go Explorers.

According to court documents, Paulo Cesar Montenegro-Arevalo, 41, conspired to distribute over 1,000 kilograms or more of cocaine, knowing and intending that it would be unlawfully imported into the United States from 2015 to 2016. Montenegro, who was extradited to the United States on March 14, 2018, served as the DTO’s logistical coordinator for Guatemalan trafficking operations. In this role, Montenegro supervised a transportation team, tested the purity of the cocaine purchased by the DTO, organized transportation efforts, and directed the movement of cocaine loads. Operating primarily within Guatemala, Montenegro and his team knowingly orchestrated the movement of 1,107 kilograms of cocaine to the Guatemalan-Mexican border on behalf of the DTO. In May 2016, Montenegro, along with other co-conspirators, participated in a search and rescue recovery effort of approximately 500 kilograms of cocaine lost at sea by the DTO off the Pacific coast of Guatemala.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.   Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik S. Siebert, Peter S. Duffey, and Heather H. Mansfield prosecuted the case.

Operation Go Explorers was investigated as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program 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.

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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-67.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Fairfax man surrendered to the FBI on an outstanding arrest warrant today in connection with being charged with having committed securities fraud.

According to court documents, Todd Elliott Hitt, 53, is alleged to have committed securities fraud in connection with his ownership and operation of Kiddar Capital, a self-described asset management firm based in Falls Church. According to the allegations, Hitt falsely claimed that Kiddar Capital managed $1.4 billion in assets and had offices located in Houston, Palm Springs, and London. The complaint further alleges that Hitt raised more than $16 million from investors by misrepresenting that Hitt would invest $6 million as a general partner as part of a planned $33 million purchase of a Herndon building adjacent to a future stop on the Silver Line of the Washington, D.C., Metro. According to the complaint, Hitt further failed to disclose to investors his extravagant spending, which included the leasing of private jets and the purchase of sports tickets and jewelry, among other things.

Hitt, who will make his initial appearance today at 2 p.m. at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, is charged with securities fraud, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the charges were unsealed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark D. Lytle is prosecuting the case.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with significant assistance provided by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-480.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program (PSN), which Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy.

“As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, I am proud to reaffirm our commitment to PSN and highlight key efforts that are already paying dividends,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

• In Northern Virginia, we are partnering with law enforcement agencies to address violent gangs like MS-13 and the Bloods, and have furthered our efforts to reduce gun violence by prosecuting straw purchasers and illegal gun traffickers.
• In Norfolk, crime is down to the lowest level in 32 years, and the Norfolk Police Department seized more crime guns than in any previous year, and nearly as many as the total of the previous 10 years combined.
• In Richmond, where federal, state, and local law enforcement have partnered to focus on specific, violence plagued areas, violent crime in 2018 is down 26 percent, homicides are down 64 percent, aggravated assaults using firearms are down 53 percent, and robberies using firearms are down 31 percent.

“Throughout the past year, we have partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community in an effort to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods throughout the Eastern District safer for everyone,” said Terwilliger. “Through these partnerships we have identified the violent crime issues unique to Northern Virginia, greater Richmond, and Tidewater, and strategically designed and implemented strategies to address and dismantle violent street gangs, such as MS-13 and the Bloods. We are also investigating and prosecuting individuals illegally acquiring and providing firearms to criminals, and working with state and local agencies to bring federal resources against criminals who are driving a disproportionate amount of crime in their respective communities.”

 “Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs.  I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face.  Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”

Enforcement Actions

In the Alexandria Division, the violence is driven largely by organized multi-jurisdictional gangs, most particularly the Bloods (United Bloods Nation), the Crips (Original Crips Homies), and MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) as well as more regional gangs and neighborhood crews. Investigations have revealed that these criminal organizations have also impacted the neighboring Western District of Virginia. To address this issue, we are partnering with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force, and the Virginia State Police Drug and Gang Task Force to address violent gangs. Additionally, the Alexandria Division has targeted efforts to reduce gun violence by prioritizing the prosecution of straw purchasers and illegal gun traffickers. For example, the Alexandria Division recently prosecuted a group of defendants who straw purchased approximately 30 firearms from Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) in northern Virginia. 

In Newport News, along with our law enforcement partners, we have dismantled the violent 36th Street Bang Squad and are continuing to investigate and prosecute other violent gangs.  We have also initiated Operation Undertow with ATF, a strategy that focuses on a section of Newport News that has been especially plagued by drug-trafficking and firearms violence. Additionally, we are working in partnership with the Newport News Police Department and the Newport News Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to identify appropriate gun and drug cases for federal prosecution.  Over the last year, the Newport News Division has charged approximately 30 Project Safe Neighborhood cases. 

In Norfolk, we are using a strategy to identify and prosecute dangerous individuals in the community using federal racketeering laws. Beginning in 2017, the office, in partnership with ATF and local authorities, used this strategy to launch Operation Riptide, an aggressive program to prosecute dozens of armed felons. Additionally, we have supported the Norfolk Police Department in focusing on community policing of the most violent neighborhoods, and have joined its partners in outreach to local schools, and in developing partnerships with faith-based groups and other non-profit organizations, focusing specifically on community re-entry. In the last year, the Norfolk Division has charged 48 Project Safe Neighborhoods cases. This aggressive program in the Norfolk Division has led to historic reductions in crime. In 2017, the Norfolk Police Department seized more crime guns than in any previous year; indeed, it was nearly more than the total of the previous 10 years combined.  In addition, crime in the area dropped by double-digits, to the lowest rate in the previous 32 years. 

In Richmond, we are working with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to identify the most dangerous segments of the community and have aggressively prosecuted several homicides and shootings in those areas. In doing so, we have removed numerous dangerous individuals from the streets of those communities. We also meet regularly with federal, state and local law enforcement partners to identify violent trends in greater Richmond and develop strategies to address them, including identifying cases against dangerous individuals appropriate for federal prosecution. In Richmond we have prosecuted over 35 Project Safe Neighborhood cases in the last year.

Improvements to Community Safety

The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.

The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.

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.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man pleaded guilty today to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, Earlon Delton Mitchell, 28, was arrested by Norfolk Police for trespassing and having outstanding arrest warrants. Mitchell, who is a self-admitted general of the Nine Trey Blood Set, resisted and attempted to flee. After a two-minute struggle, the officers detained Mitchell and found a loaded semi-automatic handgun tucked into his pant leg. Mitchell was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a 2007 conviction for which he sentenced to 11 years in prison on nine gang-related felony charges, including malicious wounding by mob, using and discharging a firearm while committing a felony, gang participation, and robbery. 

Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on January 10. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney William B. Jackson 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-118.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Mexican national pleaded guilty today to participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving the distribution of kilogram-level amounts of controlled substances on behalf of co-conspirators located overseas and throughout the United States.

According to court documents, Gilberto Paz Madrid, 33, traveled to northern Virginia in June 2018 with another citizen of Mexico to distribute controlled substances, including heroin, on behalf of co-conspirators located in Mexico, the Washington, D.C. area, and elsewhere. Following a successful operation, law enforcement agents from Homeland Security Investigations interdicted and seized nearly nine kilograms of heroin.

In June, the Virginia State Police attempted a traffic stop of a sport utility vehicle that Madrid was driving along the Capital Beltway after he and a co-conspirator paid thousands of dollars for what they believed were numerous bricks of illicit narcotics. Madrid accelerated away from a law enforcement vehicle that activated its blue emergency lights. Madrid’s vehicle then collided into several cars and continued to flee from law enforcement until officers successfully contained the threat and arrested both individuals.

Madrid pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and attempted possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on Jan. 4, 2019. 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.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Virginia State Police as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Washington, D.C., Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-317.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Georgia man was sentenced today to over 15 years in prison for armed robbery of two banks and one credit union.

According to court documents, Marquis Larosa Buckley, 41, of Townsend, conducted an armed robbery of a Fulton Bank and a PNC Bank, both located in Virginia Beach. At the Fulton Bank, Buckley stole $973, and at the PNC Bank he stole $8404. During the PNC Bank robbery a teller secreted a GPS device within the money given to Buckley. The device allowed law enforcement to locate Buckley and his co-conspirator as they were driving away from the robbery. Buckley also conducted an armed robbery of SPE Federal Credit Union in State College, Pennsylvania, wherein they netted $7,177. During each of these robberies, Buckley used a fake bomb in addition to a firearm to enhance his threats and to serve as a diversion for law enforcement while he made his escape.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorney William D. Muhr 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-2.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Dinwiddie County man was sentenced today to 27 years in prison and ordered to pay $97,500 in restitution for producing images of child sexual abuse involving two local minor victims.

“The nature and circumstances of Burke’s conduct are nothing short of horrendous,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “His predation on these two minor survivors is likely to have personal and public reverberations for decades to come. I want to thank and applaud our law enforcement partners and prosecutors for ensuring that Burke will now be in a place where he cannot sexually abuse minors. Our office has a long history of engaging with our state, local, and federal partners outside of the immediate Richmond area and we will continue to fight crime no matter where the conduct is occurring within the Eastern District of Virginia.”

According to court documents, throughout 2017, Thomas James Burke, 34, sexually abused two minors under 11 years of age and produced images of the sexual abuse with his cell phone. Federal agents executed a search warrant at Burke’s Dinwiddie County residence after the images he produced were discovered by Australian law enforcement on the computers of an Australian individual who was being investigated for child pornography offenses. Burke had sent the images, as well as other child pornography, to the Australian defendant over the “Kik” application on his cell phone. An additional image produced by Burke was also recovered off of an individual’s phone in Oregon after he was arrested for child pornography crimes.

“Those who think they may conceal their heinous crimes behind technology and across international borders are sorely mistaken,” said Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. “Our highly trained investigators will continue to identify and locate these offenders wherever they are hiding to ensure Thomas Burke and criminals like him answer for their actions and cannot victimize another child.”

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

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Fishel 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-19.

A Saudi Arabian national living in Arlington, Virginia pleaded guilty today to downloading child pornography through the dark web. 

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)’s Washington, D.C. made the announcement. 

Ammar Atef Alahdali, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady of the Eastern District of Virginia.  Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 18.

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Alahdali paid cryptocurrency to become a member of a website dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography.  This website operated over the dark web—i.e., it could only be accessed through special software that masks the user’s real internet protocol address.  In 2017, he used this website to download more than 20 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including at least one video depicting sadistic sexual conduct.

HSI investigated the case.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Kyle P. Reynolds and William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Fong of the Eastern District of Virginia.

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

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Florida man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for using Kik, an instant messaging mobile application, to coerce and entice a minor.

According to court documents, in late 2016, Anthony C.A. Martin, 27, of Pensacola, began communicating via Kik with a 15 year-old female living in Alexandria. In March 2017, over Kik, they discussed Martin traveling from Ohio, where he was living at the time, to Virginia to have sexual intercourse with the minor victim and then transport her back to Ohio. Days later, Martin met the minor victim in a room at a hotel in Alexandria, where the two had sex before driving to Ohio.  There, Martin used Kik to ask the minor victim to send him explicit photographs and videos. Later in June 2017, after the minor victim had returned to Virginia, Martin again traveled to Alexandria, where he met the minor victim at a different hotel and recorded their sexual encounter with his cell phone and without the minor victim’s consent.

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

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Division, FBI Washington Field Office, and Michael L. Brown, Alexandria Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Blanchard and Kellen S. Dwyer 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. 1:18-cr-238.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Marshall man pleaded guilty yesterday to aiming the beam of a laser pointer at two aircraft in flight.

According to court documents, Nicholas Pifer, 45, struck the cockpit of two commercial aircraft with the beam of a laser pointer. Both aircraft were in the process of landing at Washington Dulles International Airport, but managed to land safely. All four pilots reported seeing the cabin illuminated with a green light.

Pifer pleaded guilty to one count of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on December 21, 2018. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Division, FBI Washington Field Office, and Michelle McVicker, Principal Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at the U.S. Department of Transportation, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Peters and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Clark 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-282.

A Woodbridge, Virginia man pleaded guilty today to one count of production of child pornography.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. 

David Edward De Vere, 53, a former Equal Employment Specialist at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady of the Eastern District of Virginia to production of child pornography.  According to admissions made in connection with his plea, in March 2017, De Vere met and began communicating online with a 16-year-old minor living in Colorado.  During the course of these communications, De Vere induced the minor to take and send him images of the minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  Additionally, in April 2017, De Vere travelled from Virginia to Colorado in an attempt to engage in sexual activity with the minor, but failed to make contact with the minor.        

De Vere is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 11, 2019.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which is comprised of agents of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and detectives from the Prince William County Police, Fairfax County Police, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Metropolitan Police, Alexandria City Police, Arlington County Police, Leesburg Police, Virginia State Police and the Offices of Inspector General of several federal agencies.  Trial Attorney William Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kellen S. Dwyer 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. Attorneys’ 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.

 

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (Petrobras), a Brazilian state-owned and state-controlled energy company, entered into agreements with U.S. and Brazilian authorities and agreed to pay a combined total of $853.2 million in penalties to resolve the U.S. government’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with Petrobras’s role in facilitating payments to politicians and political parties in Brazil, as well as a related Brazilian investigation. 

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director Robert Johnson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.

“Executives at the highest levels of Petrobras—including members of its Executive Board and Board of Directors—facilitated the payment of hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Brazilian politicians and political parties and then cooked the books to conceal the bribe payments from investors and regulators,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section—together with our partners in the Eastern District of Virginia, the SEC, and the FBI—are grateful for the assistance provided by our Brazilian law enforcement counterparts.  This case is just the most recent example of our ability to work with our foreign counterparts to investigate companies and other criminal actors whose conduct spans multiple international jurisdictions.”

“Protecting the integrity of U.S. financial markets is one of the highest priorities of this Administration,” said U.S. Attorney Terwilliger. “Those who choose to access our capital markets while failing to disclose the corrupt activities of company executives will be held accountable. I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their diligence and dedication in pursing this important case.”

“Today’s global resolution demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to thoroughly investigating and holding accountable those international companies who seek to take advantage of our financial system while also facilitating bribes and fraud in other countries,” said FBI Assistant Director Johnson.  “The hefty $853.2 million criminal penalty should act as a deterrent to anyone seeking to perpetrate this kind of fraud in the future.  This case proves that no company is above the law and that corruption that spans borders will not be tolerated by the United States. I want to thank the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who investigated this case in parallel with Brazilian authorities. We will continue to pursue any and all companies and individuals throughout the world who disregard the rule of law and threaten our fair and competitive marketplace for their personal gain.”

“Today’s substantial resolution demonstrates the FBI’s continued commitment to working with U.S. and international partners to investigate corruption no matter where it occurs,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division. “We remain committed to holding companies and executives who violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act accountable for their activity, and we will continue to work diligently to uphold the integrity of an increasingly global marketplace."

According to Petrobras’s admissions, while the company’s American Depository Shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, members of the Petrobras Executive Board were involved in facilitating and directing millions of dollars in corrupt payments to politicians and political parties in Brazil, and members of Petrobras’s Board of Directors were also involved in facilitating bribes that a major Petrobras contractor was paying to Brazilian politicians.  During this period, for example, a Petrobras executive directed the payment of illicit funds to stop a parliamentary inquiry into Petrobras contracts, and the executive also directed payments received from Petrobras contractors to be corruptly used to pay millions of dollars to the campaign of a Brazilian politician who had oversight over the location where one of Petrobras’s refineries was being built. 

Petrobras admitted that it failed to make and keep books, records and accounts that accurately and fairly reflected the company’s capitalization of property, plant and equipment as a result of the bribes being generated by the company’s contractors with the cooperation of certain Petrobras executives, and that certain Petrobras executives signed false Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) 302 sub-certifications while they were involved in, and were aware that other executives at Petrobras were involved in, obtaining and facilitating the payment of millions of dollars in bribes to Brazilian politicians, to Brazilian political parties and to themselves.  Petrobras also admitted that certain executives failed to implement internal financial and accounting controls in order to continue to facilitate bribe payments to Brazilian politicians and Brazilian political parties.     

Petrobras entered into a non-prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $853.2 million to resolve the matter.  This reflects a 25 percent discount off the low end of the applicable U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range for the company’s full cooperation and remediation.  In related proceedings, Petrobras reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Petrobras entered into an agreement to reach a settlement with the Ministerio Publico Federal in Brazil.  Under the non-prosecution agreement, the United States will credit the amount that Petrobras pays to the SEC and Brazil under their respective agreements, with the Department of Justice and the SEC receiving 10 percent ($85,320,000) each and Brazil receiving the remaining 80 percent ($682,560,000).  As part of the agreement, Petrobras has agreed to continue to cooperate with the Department in any ongoing investigations and prosecutions relating to the conduct, including of individuals, to enhance its compliance program and to report to the Department on the implementation of its enhanced compliance program.

The Department reached this resolution based on a number of unique factors presented by this case, including that Petrobras is a Brazilian-owned company that entered into a resolution with Brazilian authorities and is subject to oversight by Brazilian authorities, and that, in addition to the significant misconduct engaged in by Petrobras, a number of executives of the company engaged in an embezzlement scheme that victimized the company and its shareholders.  In addition, the company did not voluntarily disclose the conduct, but did notify the government of its intent to fully cooperate after learning of the allegations of misconduct; Petrobras fully cooperated in the investigation and fully remediated.  Petrobras’s cooperation included conducting a thorough internal investigation, proactively sharing in real time facts discovered during the internal investigation and sharing information that would not have been otherwise available to the Department, making regular factual presentations to the Department, facilitating interviews of and information from foreign witnesses, and voluntarily collecting, analyzing and organizing voluminous evidence and information for the Department in response to requests, including translating key documents.  Petrobras also took extensive remedial measures, including replacing the Board of Directors and the Executive Board (the company’s high-level managers) and implementing governance reforms, as well as disciplining employees and ensuring that the company no longer employs or is affiliated with any of the individuals known to the company to be implicated in the conduct at issue in the case.

In the related SEC matter, Petrobras also agreed to pay to the SEC disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling $933,473,797, which shall be reduced by the amount of any payment Petrobras makes to the class action Settlement Fund in the matter of In re Petrobras Securities Litigation, No. 14-cv-9662 (S.D.N.Y.).

The FBI’s International Corruption Squad in Washington, D.C. investigated the case.  Assistant Chiefs Christopher Cestaro and Lorinda Laryea and Trial Attorney Derek Ettinger of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Grace Hill of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case. 

The Department appreciates the significant cooperation provided by the SEC and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs in this case. 

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all FCPA matters.  Additional information about the Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former medical assistant from Woodbridge was sentenced today to four years in prison for her role in leading a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, which involved supplying thousands of dangerous opioids for distribution.

According to court documents, Tatiana Bailey, 32, was employed as a medical assistant with INOVA Bariatric Surgery in Woodbridge. From at least February 2015 to October 2015, Bailey abused the trust of the doctors who employed her by stealing blank oxycodone prescriptions, to which she had access by virtue of her position as an employee, and forged a number of those prescriptions using an INOVA physician’s name and registration number. She then sold blank and forged prescriptions to others, none of whom were patients of the medical practice, who would fill the prescriptions and use or distribute the oxycodone. During the course of the conspiracy, Bailey facilitated the fraudulent filling of over 90 prescriptions, totaling approximately 6,520 oxycodone pills.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh prosecuted the matter and handled the sentencing hearing. Former Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison Garnett and Troy Edwards provided assistance investigating 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-222.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty today to maintaining a drug-trafficking operation out of a storage unit and possessing with intent to distribute heroin.

According to court documents, Demetress Donyah Bratton, 36, was storing, manufacturing, and packaging heroin for distribution out of a storage unit that he was renting in Virginia Beach. After executing a search warrant on the storage unit, Virginia Beach Police recovered 89 grams of heroin, $20,000 in cash, cutting agents, other drug paraphernalia, and four guns. Shortly after the search, Bratton arrived at the storage unit, and SWAT team members arrested him in possession of 38 grams of heroin, cutting agents, more drug paraphernalia, and approximately $1600. Bratton has been trafficking heroin for the past six years and is an eight-time felon.

Bratton faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum term of 40 years in prison when sentenced on January 3, 2019. 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.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. Comstock 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. 2:18-cr-123.

James R. Casey of Poquoson, Virginia, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Newport News, Virginia, on charges that he led a lucrative conspiracy to falsely label millions of dollars worth of foreign crab meat as “Product of USA,” announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and G. Zachary Terwilliger, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

“Blue crabs are a classic American seafood product and a vital resource for coastal communities in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and other parts of the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood. “As a nation, we invest tremendously in the management of Atlantic blue crab populations and other marine resources, and those efforts – along with the jobs of American seafood workers – are placed at risk by frauds like the one exposed in this case. The Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, will continue to take action to enforce the law and to protect the economic competiveness of American products and the safety of American consumers.”

“Mr. Casey conspired to replace Atlantic Blue Crab with crab meat from Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Central and South America,” said U.S Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Casey falsely labeled nearly 400,000 pounds of crab meat with a retail value in the millions of dollars. This fraud causes real financial harm to economies here in the region, and threatens to tarnish the good name of the waterman who have worked these waters for generations. We are committed to working with our federal and state partners to ensure compliance with the Lacey Act, and to enforce our nation’s environmental laws that are in place to protect consumers from similar fraud schemes.”

"Seafood fraud undermines the economic viability of U.S. and global fisheries, deceives consumers, and threatens the health of those who consume tainted or misidentified seafood products," said James Landon, Director of NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement. "This case underscores the efforts taken by federal law enforcement to strengthen seafood fraud detection throughout the supply chain, and our continued commitment to diligently work to safeguard the industry and consumers." 

Casey was the owner and President of Casey’s Seafood Inc., a wholesale processor of crab meat and other seafood. He pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to substitute foreign crab meat for Atlantic blue crab and, as part of the plea, admitted to falsely labeling more than 183 tons of crab meat, which was then sold to grocery stores and independent retailers.

A significant decline in Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) harvests that began in 2010 made it increasingly expensive to purchase live Atlantic blue crab and increasingly difficult to profit from the labor-intensive process of picking meat from live-harvested blue crab. As part of his guilty plea, Casey admitted that, because of this decline, he and his company could not and did not process sufficient quantities of Atlantic blue crab to meet customer demands. To make up the shortfall, the co-conspirators used foreign crab meat to fulfill customer orders. During the periods when the company did not process blue crab—which sometimes lasted three months—the co-conspirators purchased crab meat (not live crabs) from Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and other foreign locales.

The crab meat from Indonesia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam included meat from Portunus pelagicus, Portunus haanii, and Ovalipes punctatus, which are all Indo-West Pacific species of crab that do not live in the continental waters of the United States. The company also purchased crab meat (not live crabs) from Central American sources, which did include Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, but also included other species such as Callinectes bocourti, Callinectes bellicosis, Callinectes toxotes, and Callinectes arcuatus. 

As part of the guilty plea, Casey further admitted that beginning at least as early as 2010, and continuing through June 17, 2015, he directed company employees to unpack foreign crab meat from his suppliers’ containers, comingle it with domestic blue crab and/or other types of crab, and re-pack that crab meat into Casey’s Seafood containers, all of which were labeled “Product of USA.” 

As part of the plea, Casey admitted that part of the conspiracy was to purchase discounted foreign crab meat, some of which was referred to as “distressed” because it was approaching or beyond its posted “best used by” dates. Casey admitted to directing company employees to “re-condition” the “distressed” crab meat by re-pasteurizing it, and then packaging the “re-conditioned” meat into the company’s containers, which were labeled and sold as blue crab and “Product of USA.” Casey also directed employees to place labels with “Product of USA” on containers that concealed labels marked as “Product of China” and “Product of Brazil.”

This case was part of an ongoing effort by the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, in coordination with the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Homeland Security, The Virginia Marine Police, and the Department of Justice to detect, deter, and prosecute those engaged in the false labeling of crab meat.

The guilty plea took place before U.S. District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson in Newport News. Sentencing will take place on January 9, 2019. The maximum sentence for conspiracy to falsely label crab meat is five years in prison and a fine of up to half the gross gain of the offense.

The investigation is continuing. This prosecution is being handled by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Eric Hurt and Trial Attorney Gary N. Donner. 

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Chesterfield County man today on charges of attempted sex trafficking of a minor, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Richard Todd Haas, 48, attempted to use a prostitute he knew to help him obtain young girls to sexually molest and produce child pornography, which he then intended to sell for a profit. Haas first met the prostitute in 2012 on the now-defunct website Backpage.com, and they got together several times for sex that year. They lost touch but reconnected in May 2016, again through Backpage. The woman visited Haas at his Chesterfield home to provide sexual services, and during that visit, Haas shared with her his desire to have sex with children. Haas showed her child pornography on his laptop, and asked her if she had access to any young girls because they could produce child pornography together and make a lot of money. The woman feigned interest in the defendant’s proposal, but instead of actually participating in the plan, she notified the FBI.

Working in conjunction with FBI investigators, the woman stayed in contact with Haas via phone and text, and informed the defendant she had access to both an 8-year-old and 12-year-old girl living in Baltimore, Maryland. The woman obtained incriminating text messages and recorded conversations during which the defendant used evasive language about the plan and told the woman to refer to the age of the children as shoe sizes.

The FBI’s undercover investigation was cut short in August 2016, shortly after the last recorded call between the woman and Haas, when investigators received information that Haas had recently sexually molested an 11-year-old girl in Chesterfield. Federal investigators executed a search warrant on the defendant’s home and business on September 1, 2016, seizing among other things the defendant’s laptop. A forensic examination of the defendant’s laptop revealed more than 7,000 images and movies of child pornography involving child victims whose identities are known, as well as many more child pornography images and movies involving unidentified victims.

Haas faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum possible punishment of life imprisonment when sentenced on December 6, 2018. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian R. Hood and Heather H. Mansfield 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-139.

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority (VCU), which operates VCU Medical Center and related healthcare facilities in Richmond, agreed to pay $3,994,151 to settle claims for billing overpayments paid by Medicare, Tricare, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHB) for services rendered to patients.

The resolution follows from a voluntary disclosure by VCU to the U.S. Attorney’s Office after VCU discovered through audits of patient files and claims data that Federal healthcare payors had been overbilled for radiation oncology services. After VCU discovered the conduct that had caused a variety of billing errors, VCU took corrective action to prevent the conduct that caused the overpayments and made the disclosure. The settlement resolves claims arising out of errors in VCU billings to Federal healthcare payors from 2009 through September 2014.

VCU provided assistance during the government’s investigation, which was a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Office of Inspector General.  The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McIntosh.

The civil claims settled 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.

A Latvian “non-citizen,” meaning a citizen of the former USSR who resided in Riga, Latvia, was sentenced to 168 months in prison today for offenses related to his operation of “Scan4you,” an online counter antivirus service that helped computer hackers determine whether the computer viruses and other malicious software they created would be detected by antivirus software, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division.

Ruslans Bondars, 38, was convicted on May 16, following a five-day jury trial, of one count of conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of computer intrusion with intent to cause damage and aiding and abetting.

“Ruslans Bondars helped malware developers attack American businesses,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners make no distinction between service providers like Scan4You and the hackers they assist:  we will hold them accountable for all of the significant harm they cause and work tirelessly to bring them to justice, wherever they may be located.”

“Ruslans Bondars designed and operated a service that provided essential aid to some of the world’s most destructive hackers,” said U.S. Attorney Terwilliger. “This prosecution demonstrates our commitment to combating global computer crime by taking away the essential tools upon which hackers rely.”

“We continue to face sophisticated cyber threats from state-sponsored hackers, hackers for hire, organized cyber syndicates, and terrorists,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge DeSarno. “This prosecution should serve as an example to those who assist or facilitate criminal hacking activity that they will be exposed and held accountable no matter where they are in the world.”

According to testimony at trial and court documents, from at least 2009 until 2016, Bondars operated Scan4you, which for a fee provided computer hackers with information they used to determine whether their malware would be detected by antivirus software, including and especially by antivirus software used to protect major U.S. retailers, financial institutions and government agencies from computer intrusions.

A Scan4you customer, for example, used the service to test malware that was subsequently used to steal approximately 40 million credit and debit card numbers, as well as approximately 70 million addresses, phone numbers and other pieces of personal identifying information, from retail store locations throughout the United States, causing one retailer approximately $292 million in expenses resulting from the intrusion.   

Another Scan4you customer used the service to assist the development of “Citadel,” a widely used malware strain that was used to infect over 11 million computers worldwide, including in the United States, and resulted in over $500 million in fraud-related losses.  The Citadel developer took advantage of a special feature of Scan4you that allowed its integration directly into the Citadel malware toolkit through an Application Programming Interface, or API.  The API tool allowed Scan4you users the flexibility to scan malware without the need to directly submit the malware to Scan4you’s website.

At its height, Scan4you was one of the largest services of its kind and had at least thousands of users.  Malware developed with the assistance of Scan4you included some of the most prolific malware known to the FBI and was used in major computer intrusions committed against American businesses.

Scan4you differed from legitimate antivirus scanning services in multiple ways.  For example, while legitimate scanning services share data about uploaded files with the antivirus community and notify their users that they will do so, Scan4you instead informed its users that they could upload files anonymously and promised not to share information about the uploaded files with the antivirus community.

In issuing the sentence, the court found a loss amount of $20.5 billion.  In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady ordered Bondars to serve three years of supervised release.  A decision regarding forfeiture and payment of restitution to victims of the offenses is forthcoming.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case.  Trial Attorneys C. Alden Pelker and Ryan K. Dickey of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kellen Dwyer and Laura Fong of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case. The Government of Latvia, including the Latvia State Police International Cooperation Department, the Latvia State Police Cybercrime Unit, and the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Latvia – International Cooperation Division, provided assistance and support during the investigation.  Additional assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office and the Operational Technology Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Minnesota and the Northern District of Georgia.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Vermont woman was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for committing multiple armed bank robberies in Virginia and Vermont.

According to court documents, Amber R. Fusco, 30, drove from Vermont to Virginia in December 2017 with two other individuals. On the way to Virginia, the three stopped in New York City where Fusco stole a $35,000 Rolex watch from a jewelry store. The watch was recovered, but Fusco and her associates managed to get away. Once in Virginia, Fusco robbed a BB&T Bank in Henrico on Dec. 20, 2017. She entered the bank armed with a revolver and handed the teller a demand note. Fusco then displayed the firearm to the teller demanding that she hurry up. After receiving the money, Fusco fled the bank returning to where her associates were waiting. On Dec. 23, 2017, Fusco went into a Wells Fargo Bank in Richmond and handed a teller a note demanding money. After receiving the money, Fusco fled the bank, and managed to elude capture. Fusco returned to Vermont on Christmas Eve and committed three more bank robberies in January 2018. As part of her plea, Fusco admitted to committing all five bank robberies, and to brandishing a weapon during the BB&T robbery.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, Alfred Durham, Chief of Richmond Police, and Humberto I. Cardounel, Jr., Chief of Henrico County Police Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-67.

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment yesterday charging Caroline County residents and a City of Richmond man with conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl and a number of other drug trafficking crimes, including distribution and possession with intent to distribute a mixture containing heroin and fentanyl, the use of which resulted in the death of Elizabeth Rosie on or about Nov. 28, 2017.

According to the indictment, Leonus Stevenson Peterson, 43, of Richmond, Gregory Kenneth Rosie, 42 of Caroline County, Marcus Ian Watson, 43, of Caroline County and Jenna Rose Queen, 33, of Caroline County, were charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin and more than 40 grams of fentanyl over a twelve-month period of time. If convicted of this count, the defendants face a mandatory minimum term of 5 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

According to the indictment, Peterson and Rosie also were charged with distribution and possession with intent to distribute a mixture that contained heroin and fentanyl on or about Nov. 28, 2017, the use of which resulted in the death of Elizabeth Rosie, who was Greg Rosie’s wife. If convicted, the men face a mandatory minimum 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent, and Tony Lippa, Jr., Caroline County Sheriff, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia L. Norman 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-90.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.