Eastern District of Virginia

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced to 34 years in prison today for his role in five armed robberies of Tidewater businesses.

According to court documents, Jerrod Pemberton, 21, along with co-conspirator Olandjuwan Beale, 21, and a third co-defendant, planned and executed five commercial robberies in Newport News and Hampton. Over a 10-hour period on March 6, the men used firearms while robbing a Newport News 7-Eleven, 1st Stop Mart, Luckie’s Convenience Store and Mary’s Deli and Convenience Store, as well as a 1st Stop Mart in Hampton. In each robbery, Beale approached the clerks and ordered them to provide cash. By the last robbery in Hampton, Beale also robbed customers in the store. Pemberton provided security for the robberies by brandishing a firearm at victims and putting customers on the ground.  Beale and Caron Walker, 21, were arrested after a concerned citizen photographed the license plate of the vehicle the men used to flee the final robbery and forwarded the information to the Hampton Police Division.  Pemberton was arrested later in Newport News.

Beale was sentenced to 33 years on October 21, and the final co-defendant, Caron Walker, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 11. 

Dana J. Boente, 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, Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, and Michael C. Grimstead, Acting Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross 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. 4:17-cr-50.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Charlottesville man was sentenced today to seven years in prison for committing three fraud schemes that resulted in total losses of over $3.5 million. 

According to court documents, Victor M. Dandridge, III, 53, committed three separate frauds. First, in 2006, he offered to handle the finances of his best friend’s widow and her minor children. Over the following 10 years, Dandridge diverted most of their money to bank accounts for entities he owned and controlled, using most of her money for his personal expenditures and to prop up his other failing businesses, without telling the widow. In total, Dandridge stole nearly $3.2 million from the widow. Second, in 2015, Dandridge provided false representations and omissions to Blue Ridge Bank to obtain a $300,000 line of credit. He also created fake statements for a brokerage account that was supposed to serve as collateral for the loan. Third, Dandridge embezzled over $100,000 from his fraternity alumni association, the Virginia Omicron Chapter House Association. Dandridge served as the chapter president and in 2014 refinanced their fraternity house, but diverted proceeds to his own personal bank account.

In addition to his prison sentence, Dandridge was also ordered to forfeit over $3.5 million and pay that same amount in restitution to his victims.

Dana J. Boente, 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 sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber 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. 3:17-cr-83.

NORFOLK, Va. – A retired Navy veteran was arrested today for the kidnapping of Ashanti M. Billie, a 19 year-old Virginia Beach woman.

According to court documents, Eric Brian Brown, 45, allegedly abducted Billie on September 18 as Billie arrived for work at a Blimpie’s restaurant on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. On September 29, Billie’s body was found in a wooded area behind a church on Greir’s Grove Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, approximately 300 yards from Brown’s childhood home.

According to court documents, Brown, who spent 21 years in the navy, worked as a day laborer and participated in the construction of the Blimpie’s this past summer. Based on the investigation to date, agents believe that Brown is homeless and lives at random facilities and buildings on and off the naval bases. Billie’s coworkers reported that Brown would visit the Blimpie’s almost every day, and that he was seen so often in the neighboring buildings, such as a 24-hour laundromat directly next door, that they believed Brown worked there. Witnesses reported seeing Brown attempting to flirt with Billie on several occasions, and one witness recalled hearing a conversation where Brown made a crude sexual comment directly to Billie.

Video surveillance recorded Billie’s car enter the base at 4:58 a.m. on September 18, and circle the Blimpie’s at 5 a.m. The driver of the vehicle in both videos was a person wearing dark colored clothing, consistent with the clothing Billie was reportedly wearing. Video surveillance recorded a person in light colored clothing driving Billie’s car exit the base at approximately 5:33 a.m. At approximately 5:44 a.m., residential video surveillance recorded a person wearing light colored clothing driving a car consistent with Billie’s stop at a construction dumpster in Norfolk. A few hours later, construction workers found Billie’s cell phone in the dumpster.

According to court documents, Billie’s car was found in Norfolk on September 23. Inside of the car, agents recovered Billie’s pants, which contained dirt and debris, consistent with being removed while outside and on the ground. The undercarriage of the car also contained dirt and vegetative debris, consistent with being driven off-road. During interviews conducted on or about September 30, several witnesses described seeing a car like Billie’s during the week of September 18 parked at various locations in Charlotte neighborhoods near to where Billie’s body was found. The property on which the body was found is owned by and located next to the church where Brown attended vacation Bible school as a child.

A detailed review of Brown’s wireless internet usage data indicates that Brown used his mobile devices nearly every day from September 1 to September 29. The only day in that time period that there was no usage data is September 18, which is the day Billie went missing.

Further, the review of Brown’s wireless internet usage data indicates that he was on base from September 14 until late in the evening of September 17, which is when all usage data ceased until starting again on September 19. A review of security camera video from all of the gates on the base revealed no evidence of Brown ever leaving the base from September 14 through September 18. A records check of base entry logs indicate that Brown reentered Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek on the afternoon of September 19.

A review of Brown’s phone’s web history indicates that when Brown first initiated web activity on September 19, he made numerous searches of Norfolk news to include “police looking for man,” “Norfolk police looking for man in connection with homicide,” “amber alert sept 2017,” “missing woman and baby,” and “missing woman and man.” Additionally, Brown searched for information on Charlotte news websites on September 21, which was eight days before the victim’s body was recovered by law enforcement.  And on September 22, Brown entered searches for “JEB Little Creek Blimpies” and a search regarding parents of a missing college student.

During an interview with law enforcement on October 27, Brown told agents he was on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek on the evening of September 17, and that at one point he blacked out and had no recollection of what he did for several days after that. When discussing the abduction and murder of Billie, Brown confirmed that he could not remember if he did anything to Billie.

Billie’s body and clothing were processed for evidence and on two separate articles of clothing an unknown male DNA profile was identified. The first male DNA profile was obtained from a swab of the pocket openings of Billie’s hooded sweatshirt found on her body in Charlotte. This DNA profile was compared to a buccal swab of Brown. The male DNA profile from the hooded sweatshirt was consistent with the DNA profile of Brown, and the probability of this DNA profile belonging to any other person is 1 in 2.7 quadrillion. The second male DNA profile was obtained from a swab of the outside, back center torso area of Billie’s shirt, also found on her body in Charlotte. This DNA profile was also compared with a buccal swab of Brown. The male DNA profile from the shirt was consistent with the DNA profile of Brown, and the probability of this DNA profile belonging to any other person is 1 in 720 billion. 

Brown has been charged with kidnapping and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Martin Culbreath, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office, Cliff Everton, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, Larry D. Boone, Chief of Norfolk Police, James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, and Kerr Putney, Chief of Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin M. Comstock and Randy C. Stoker are prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Navy 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. 2:17-mj-562.

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.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man pleaded guilty today to robbing a Wells Fargo Bank in Newport News.

According to court documents, on Nov. 18, 2016, Carl E. Knightor, 33, went into a Wells Fargo Bank in Newport News with his face covered and demanded money from a bank teller. After the teller gave Knightor money, he stated that it was not enough, and the teller handed him more money from a second drawer. Knightnor fled the bank with a total of $5,368 and got into a taxi. The money Knightnor stole contained a GPS tracker, and law enforcement tracked the signal. Knightor was apprehended minutes later in the back seat of a taxi with the money from the bank robbery.

Knightnor, who has seven prior felony convictions, including possession of a sawed off shotgun and grand larceny, pleaded guilty to bank robbery and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on February 26, 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.

Dana J. Boente, 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 Michael C. Grinstead, Acting Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan M. Cowles 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. 4:17-cr-10.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A man who has been convicted of a dozen prior felonies pleaded guilty today to cocaine and firearms offenses in Newport News.

According to court documents, Clarence L. Lyons, 44, of Newport News, distributed cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin during February 2017. As law enforcement investigated Lyons, they received information that he was usually in possession of a firearm when engaged in narcotics distribution.  On Feb. 24, 2017, law enforcement conducted surveillance of Lyons’s hotel room in Newport News, and arrested Lyons as he came out of the hotel room. At the time of his arrest, he was carrying a loaded firearm, marijuana, cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin. Law enforcement searched his hotel room, where they located a syringe and a marijuana smoking device.

Lyons pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  He faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of life for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking, consecutive to a maximum penalty of 20 years for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Lyons is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20, 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and Michael C. Grinstead, Acting Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan M. Cowles 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. 4:17-cr-87.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Houston, Texas, woman was sentenced today to nearly 15 years in prison for her role in a $6 million fraud scheme involving “Mystery Shoppers.”

Timeiki Hedspeth, 39, was found guilty of nine charges by a federal jury on June 30, 2017. According to court documents, in 2012 federal law enforcement began an investigation into an extensive scheme that operated nationally and internationally, stemming from Nigeria. The investigation determined that participants in the scheme, including Hedspeth, recruited individuals throughout the United States via email to serve as “Mystery Shoppers,” in which the individuals would receive financial instruments, such as a cashier’s check or Postal money order, to evaluate the services of certain money transmission services, including Western Union and Money Gram. Once a recruited individual, or “Mystery Shopper,” responded to the email solicitation with interest, the conspirators would obtain personal identification information from the Mystery Shopper, which was then placed on the counterfeit cashier’s check or Postal money order. The conspirators would then mail the Mystery Shoppers a counterfeit cashier’s check or Postal money order for the Mystery Shopper to negotiate at their own bank, keeping a portion of the payment for their services. The Mystery Shopper would then wire the majority of the funds to conspirators or other recruited individuals who retrieved the transmitted funds and engaged in further distribution of the fraudulent proceeds.  From 2010  - 2016, Hedspeth had millions of dollars worth of counterfeit checks and money orders emailed or shipped to her for distribution to Mystery Shoppers, and retrieved and forwarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds from money transmission services.

Hedspeth was sentenced today to 175 months in prison. Several co-conspirators have also been sentenced, including: Toheeb Odoffin (90 months), Zoelithia Williams (100 months), Hafeez Odoffin (110 months), Habeeb Odoffin (120 months), and Christie Easter (130 months).

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and George Purefoy, Resident Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Resident Office, U.S. Secret Service, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Samuels 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. 4:16-cr-49.                                                       

RICHMOND, Va. – A Fredericksburg woman was sentenced today to two years in prison for a $246,000 healthcare fraud.

According to court documents, Raven M. Zaal, 39, is the mother of a Medicaid eligible disabled child who was entitled to receive home health care services from attendants. From October 2011 through October 2014, Zaal and the attendants submitted timesheets to Medicaid for 11 home health attendants, claiming that the aides provided 15,645 hours of services and resulting in at least $217,519 in Medicaid payments for the care of the child. However, the attendants did not provide care to Zaal’s daughter. In actuality, the attendants worked as childcare providers for other children in Zaal’s daycare center, Raven’s Childcare Connections, while being paid with Medicaid money intended for the benefit of Zaal’s child.   

Zaal also applied for and received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) on behalf of her disabled child. SSI is a needs based program that requires disclosure of all assets and income. In 2011 and 2012, Zaal failed to accurately report her income, her marriage, or her joint bank account with her husband to the Social Security Administration, resulting in her receiving $14,655 in SSI benefits to which she was not entitled.

Zaal also applied for and received money from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. SNAP benefits are administered by the Virginia Department of Social Services but the money provided is from federal funds. SNAP is also a needs based program that requires recipients to fill out forms listing all assets, monetary income and household members. From 2011 through 2015, Zaal failed to report her income from Raven’s Childcare Connections and other sources and failed to report her marriage or the joint bank account with her husband. Based on this fraud, Zaal received $14,784 in SNAP benefits to which she was not entitled.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Mark R. Herring, Virginia Attorney General, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Tooker 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-157.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

 

According to court documents, Craig Alexander Brodie, 29, from October 2016 to September 2017, conspired and carried out a plan to rob prostitutes in Newport News and Williamsburg. During the course of the conspiracy, Brodie identified potential victims over the internet, then set up meetings in person. His co-defendant, Kimberly Lannytte Gardner, acted as a driver for him. Once he was at the victims' rooms, he brandished a firearm and robbed the victims. In multiple cases, he forced the women at gunpoint to strip naked and then fondled or attempted to fondle the victim's breasts. During the robberies, Brodie said to his victims, “you don't understand, you're about to die,” and “next time it will be worse,” and “the only reason I'm not killing you is because you have kids.”  Brodie also bragged about being in the Army and said he was “trained for this sort of thing.” As an additional intimidation tactic, Brodie took pictures of multiple women's drivers’ licenses during the robberies.

 

Dana J. Boente, 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 U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. 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. 4:17-cr-41.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man, who is a previously convicted felon and supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), pleaded guilty today to acquiring a firearm three weeks after he was released from state prison.

According to court documents, Casey Charles Spain, 28, was in prison for over seven years after being convicted in 2010 for abduction with intent to defile. While in prison, Spain became radicalized and expressed a desire to engage in acts of violence. Additionally, the FBI received information that Spain swore a pledge of loyalty, commonly known as bayat, to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. Spain also obtained a tattoo of the ISIS flag on his back.

After Spain was released from the Virginia Department of Corrections on August 11, he took up residence in the Richmond area. Due to his activity while in prison, the FBI began conducting surveillance of Spain immediately upon his release, including making covert contact with Spain with FBI undercover employees (UCE), as well as the use of a Confidential Human Source (CHS). Spain spoke on multiple occasions to the CHS about his strong desire to obtain a handgun. On August 30, the CHS and a UCE met with Spain and Spain described to the CHS his intention to purchase a semi-automatic handgun with a 50-round barrel canister, and that he had made arrangements to buy the handgun from an individual online. Given Spain’s criminal history, his desire to obtain a firearm, and the impatience he exhibited with regard to obtaining one, the CHS—as part of a controlled FBI undercover operation—offered to provide Spain with what the CHS described as his own personal weapon. In reality, the firearm, which was a 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun, was the property of the FBI that had been rendered inert for safety reasons.

On August 31, as part of the undercover operation, the CHS and UCE met Spain outside of his residence. The CHS provided Spain the above-described firearm, at which point members of the FBI Richmond SWAT team moved in to arrest Spain. Spain initially attempted to flee and escape arrest by running and jumping a nearby fence, but FBI SWAT members pursued Spain on foot and quickly apprehended him, and also recovered a mobile phone discarded by Spain during the chase and the above-described firearm.

Spain pleaded guilty to being a being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 12, 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.

Dana J. Boente, 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hood and Trial Attorney Raj Parekh of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section 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. 3:17-cr-123.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Franklin man was sentenced today to 76 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, Taylor Beale, 23, sold LSD to an undercover Franklin Police detective on three occasions in September 2016. Beale brought a handgun to one of these drug deals and showed it to the undercover Franklin detective. On a fourth occasion in September 2016, Beale was also stopped by Virginia State Police Meherrin Drug Task Force Officers and found to be in possession of twenty dosage units of LSD and a handgun. When Beale was arrested, he admitted that he had previously robbed another LSD dealer at gunpoint. In addition to the 76 month sentence, the court also ordered the forfeiture of Beale’s car, and two guns Beale brought to LSD deals.   

Dana J. Boente, 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, Phillip M. Hardison, Chief of the Franklin Police Department, and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Hudson 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. 2:17-cr-100.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chicago man was sentenced today to four years in prison for conspiring to prostitute a 17 year-old in the Tidewater region.

According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, in February 2017, Juan Hollis, 23, started prostituting a 19 year-old in the Tidewater area. Soon after, the pair recruited a 17 year-old that the 19 year-old knew previously. Hollis would post the minor’s image on the Internet and advertise for prostitution clients for the minor. An undercover operation by the Norfolk Police Department targeting commercial sex discovered the minor. Hollis previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sex traffick a child.

Dana J. Boente, 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 Larry D. Boone, Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi 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. 2:17-cr-62.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to 27 years in prison for his role in a large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy.

According to court documents, Marvin O’Neal Carter, 50, along with Michael Stephen Kuna, 42, of Canada, and brothers Hilario Rodriguez, 50, and Daniel Rodriguez, 49, both of California, were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Carter was also charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and maintaining a drug involved premises.

According to court documents, agents observed the arrival of a tractor trailer at a garage leased by Carter. With the assistance of Michael Kuna, who stopped traffic and directed the driver, the trailer was off-loaded next to the garage. Agents observed Daniel and Hilario Rodriguez arrive and park in Carter’s garage parking lot. The men then worked together to unload cocaine from a hidden compartment located underneath the trailer. A short time later, Kuna left and returned with two large duffel bags which were taken underneath the trailer. Kuna left the location after loading the now-empty duffel bags into a vehicle. Law enforcement agents conducted a traffic stop on Kuna and located the two duffle bags which smelled of bulk currency. As Kuna was being detained, agents executed two federal search warrants on the garage and trailer. During the search, approximately 54 kilograms of cocaine and 100 bundles of cash in $5,000 to $10,000 stacks, totaling nearly $1 million, were recovered. The search of the garage also led to the recovery of a firearm, a quantity of heroin and more cocaine, in addition to approximately $49,000 in cash from a safe.   

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Michael C. Grinstead, Acting Chief of Newport News Police, and Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross 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. 4:16-cr-76.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for a series of armed robberies.

According to court documents, from August 2016 through January 2017, Zakee Hawkins, 25, conspired with two others to conduct a series of armed robberies of various commercial establishments. They robbed a Metro PCS, 7-Eleven, Boost Mobile, Tinee Giant, Fast Auto Loan and Quick N Save stores and various gas stations located in Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Hampton. In each of these robberies, Hawkins and a co-conspirator would enter the store brandishing firearms and demand that employees turn over all the money. They would then flee the scene in a get-a-way vehicle. After the 15th robbery, an employees picked Hawkins out of a photo lineup as the person who robbed the store. Afterwards, Hawkins was arrested, but his co-conspirators continued the armed robbery spree by robbing 16 additional stores and gas stations before they were arrested. In total, they conducted 31 armed robberies of various locations, with over 50 employees as victims of their crimes.          

Dana J. Boente, 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 Arenda Wright Allen. 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. 2:17-cr-51.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man was sentenced today to 36 years in prison for his role in leading a drug trafficking conspiracy that resulted in more than a dozen overdoses and multiple deaths.

“Dawson’s predatory and cold-hearted actions led to the death of two Virginians,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who seek to prey upon vulnerable members of our community, however, law enforcement does not possess the complete answer. We must continue to strive for increases in opioid awareness, education, prevention and treatment so that our communities can rid themselves of this invasive agent of human misery.”

According to court documents, Erskine A. Dawson, 33, managed more than half a dozen individuals who sold between three and ten kilograms of heroin from a Studios 4 Less motel on Military Highway in Virginia Beach. Dawson’s New Jersey sources of supply, Rashad Clark and Kenneth Stuart, aka “Bones,” used stuffed animals to conceal the heroin and fentanyl as they were transported down the East Coast on commercial buses.

“Today’s sentencing sends a strong signal across the Commonwealth that those who put poison on our streets, profit off addiction and threaten the lives of Virginians will be held accountable for their actions,” said Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia. “The partnerships we’ve made at the local, state and federal levels continue to put dangerous dealers and traffickers behind bars and help keep Virginians safe as we continue our relentless work to combat the heroin and opioid epidemic.”  

According to court documents, Dawson’s organization was known for its potent heroin and fentanyl, which was distributed in wax baggies stamped “King of Death,” “Last Call,” and “Steph Curry,” among many others. Dawson and his dealers knew that multiple individuals had overdosed and even died using the product, yet continued to sell it anyway.

“Dawson’s knowledge of the damage and possible death he was dealing to his customers shows his blatant disregard for the sanctity of human life,” said Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division. “He and other dealers like him will be held accountable for their actions. We are pleased to be part of a successful prosecution team that puts death-dealers like Dawson in jail.”

Dawson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute heroin and fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, and possession of firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime on July 18.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, and Kelvin L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse and Daniel T. Young 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. 2:17-cr-61.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton woman was sentenced today to nine years in prison for tax refund fraud and identity theft.

According to court documents, Tonya Nicole Matthews, aka Tonya Nicole Williams, 44, has a previous conviction for tax refund fraud and identity theft, and was serving a term of federal supervised release when she undertook her most recent scheme. Over the course of more than four years, Williams filed 172 fraudulent federal income tax returns in the names of 75 stolen identities for over $450,000. Each of these returns claimed that the individuals in whose names they were filed had earned income from one of three fake businesses that Matthews created to further her scheme. To legitimize these claims, Matthews incorporated the businesses in the Commonwealth of Virginia, registered them with the IRS, and filed false wage and withholding documents in which she claimed the businesses had paid millions of dollars in wages to her identity theft victims and withheld over $500,000 in taxes from those wages as required by law. Matthews filed all of the false returns electronically from her residence in Hampton, using accounts she had created in her victims’ names. Matthews directed the IRS to deposit the claimed refunds into prepaid debit card accounts she had also opened in the victims’ names.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton 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. 4:16-cr-95.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Portsmouth woman who faked her own death in connection with an elaborate bank fraud scheme pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and fraud charges.

According to court documents, Alexandra Hatcher, 49, conspired with her husband, Albert Hatcher Jr., to collect on life insurance policies the two had obtained to insure Hatcher’s life. After traveling to Washington state and changing her legal name in August 2015, Hatcher and her husband submitted false death claims on at least two of these policies. In support of these claims, Hatcher created fake death certificates and published a death notice in the Daily Press. After insurers denied their claims, Hatcher and her husband undertook a cross-country fraud scheme through which they fraudulently obtained at least 20 new and newer-used luxury vehicles by presenting worthless and counterfeit checks and forged documents to car dealerships in several states. Hatcher and her husband retitled these vehicles and then used them as collateral for loans and other vehicles. The two also resold vehicles to other dealerships for cash. Hatcher used the legal name she adopted just prior to faking her death to purchase, title, and resell vehicles in furtherance of the scheme. 

The Hatcher’s each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, possessing and uttering a counterfeit security of an organization, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Each faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced. Alexandra Hatcher will be sentenced on Feb. 12, 2018. Albert Hatcher will be sentenced on Jan. 22, 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton 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. 4:17-cr-48.

NORFOLK, Va. – Two illegal aliens, one of whom was previously convicted of an aggravated felony in Arizona and has been deported at least three times, pleaded guilty today to dealing methamphetamine in Norfolk.

According to court documents, Jaime Sanchez-Huerta, aka “Carlos Slim,” 23, of Mexico, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.  Alejandro Rodriguez-Vargas, 34, of Mexico, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and illegal reentry by a deported alien. 

According to court documents, on April 25, Norfolk Police arrested Sanchez-Huerta on his way to a drug deal in Norfolk. Sanchez-Huerta, an illegal alien, was in possession of a loaded .45 caliber pistol. Norfolk Police searched Sanchez-Huerta’s vehicle and hotel room and discovered $4,000 in cash, 4.5 grams of methamphetamine, marijuana, digital scales, and a box of .45 caliber ammunition. On April 26, Norfolk Police searched a second hotel room tied to Sanchez-Huerta and discovered Rodriguez-Vargas, another illegal, and 137 grams of “Ice.” Rodriguez-Vargas has been deported at least three times before and he was previously convicted of re-entry by a deported alien subsequent to a conviction for an aggravated felony in Arizona in 2013.

Both men face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years in prison and maximum sentences of life in prison when sentenced on Feb. 16, 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.

Dana J. Boente, 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 Larry D. Boone, Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl J. Mitchell is prosecuting the case.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Virginia Beach Police Department 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. 2:17-cr-129.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Florida man pleaded guilty today to participating in a fraudulent credit card chargeback scheme that primarily targeted internet services businesses.

According to court documents, Gustavo Carvajal, 28, of Coral Springs, worked from June 2014 to May 2015 for a business named Smith Associates, which operated out of a strip mall location in Margate, Florida. Smith Associates targeted individuals who had attempted to set up their own online business, and incurred thousands in credit card bills in the process. Smith Associates advertised itself as a law firm that would conduct arbitration on behalf of these potential clients to win refunds of the money they had spent in attempting to create an online business. Smith Associates did not employ any lawyers, however, and never conducted any arbitration on behalf of its clients. Instead, Smith Associates simply filed chargebacks on their clients’ credit card expenses, and pursued those chargeback claims by creating and submitting fraudulent documents to their clients’ credit card banks. Smith Associates did not advise its clients it would be committing fraud on their behalf, and to avoid any chance their clients might learn of the fraud scheme, Smith Associates also created phone numbers that spoofed their clients’ actual numbers, using those spoofed numbers to contact the banks and impersonate the client. Smith Associates took a 40 percent cut of the refunds that it fraudulently obtained, and over the course of the conspiracy, defrauded more than 10 internet services businesses of nearly $9.5 million.

Carvajal pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 25, 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge David J. Novak accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas A. Garnett and Katherine Lee Martin 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. 3:17-cr-144.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to 33 years in prison for conspiring to rob five Tidewater businesses at gun-point.

Olandjuwan Beale, 21, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and two counts of possession, use and brandishing a firearm in crime of violence on August 3. According to court documents, Beale and two co-defendants planned and executed five commercial robberies in Newport News and Hampton, using firearms in each, over a 10-hour period on March 6, robbing a Newport News 7-Eleven, 1st Stop Mart, Luckie’s Convenience Store and Mary’s Deli and Convenience Store, as well as a 1st Stop Mart in Hampton. In each robbery, Beale approached the clerks and ordered them to provide cash. By the last robbery in Hampton, Beale also robbed customers in the store. Beale was arrested after a concerned citizen photographed the license plate of the vehicle the men used to flee the final robbery and forwarded the information to the Hampton Police Division. 

Dana J. Boente, 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, Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, and Michael C. Grinstead, Acting Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross 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. 4:17-cr-50.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A former employee of Old Dominion University’s computer science department pleaded guilty today to receiving images of child sexual abuse.

According to court documents, Christopher J. West, 33, of Virginia Beach, distributed child pornography to an FBI agent working in an undercover capacity in 2016. After an investigation linked the IP address of the downloads to West, the FBI executed a search of West’s apartment in Virginia Beach on April 20. During an interview West admitted he used a file sharing program to download child pornography videos from the internet. Forensic analysis on the electronics seized from West’s residence determined that he had multiple videos of child pornography on his electronic devices.

West pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 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.

Dana J. Boente, 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 Robert J. Krask accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan M. Cowles is prosecuting the case.

This case is 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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources” for more information about Internet safety education.

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. 4:17-cr-88.

A Greenwich, Connecticut man pleaded guilty yesterday to failing to report funds he maintained in foreign bank accounts to the Department of Treasury, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Chief Don Fort, IRS Criminal Investigation. 

 

According to court documents and information provided in court, Hyung Kwon Kim, a citizen of South Korea and, since 1998, a legal permanent resident of the United States, resided in Massachusetts and later in Connecticut.  Around 1998, Kim traveled to Switzerland to identify financial institutions at which to open accounts for the purpose of receiving transfers of funds from another individual in Hong Kong.  Over the next few years, Kim opened accounts at several banks, including Credit Suisse, UBS, Bank Leu, Clariden Leu, and Bank Hofmann.  In 2004, the value of the funds in Kim’s accounts exceeded $28 million.

 

U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and permanent legal residents with a foreign financial interest in or signatory authority over a foreign financial account worth more than $10,000 are required to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as an FBAR, disclosing the account.

 

Kim conspired with several bankers, including Dr. Edgar H. Paltzer, to conceal the funds from U.S. authorities.  Paltzer, who was convicted in 2013 in the Southern District of New York for conspiring to defraud the United States, and the other bankers assisted Kim in opening accounts in the names of sham entities organized in Liechtenstein, Panama and the British Virgin Islands.  Paltzer and the other bankers facilitated financial transactions for Kim, so that Kim could use the funds in the United States.  For example, between 2003 and 2004, Kim directed Paltzer and another banker to issue nearly $3 million in checks payable to third parties in the United States for the purchase of a residence in Greenwich, Connecticut.  In 2005, Kim created a nominee entity to hold title for the purchase of another home on Stage Harbor in Chatham, Massachusetts, for nearly $5 million.  Kim and Paltzer communicated about the purchase in a manner that created the appearance that Kim was renting the property from a fictitious owner.

 

Between 2000 and 2008, Kim took multiple trips to Zurich, Switzerland and withdrew more than $600,000 in cash during these visits.  He also brought his offshore assets back to the United States by purchasing millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry and loose gems.  For example, in 2008, Kim purchased an 8.6 carat ruby ring from a jeweler in Greenwich, Connecticut, which he financed by causing Bank Leu to issue three checks totaling $2.2 million to the jeweler.

 

In 2008, during a trip to Zurich, Kim’s banker at Clariden Leu informed Kim that due to ongoing investigations in the United States, Kim could either disclose the accounts to the U.S. government, spend the funds, or move the funds to another institution.  Kim moved the funds into nominee accounts at another bank. In 2011, Kim liquidated the accounts by, among other things, withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars in cash and purchasing three loose diamonds for about $1.7 million from the Greenwich jeweler.

 

Kim also admitted that from 2000 through 2011, he filed false income tax returns for 1999 through 2010, on which he failed to report income from the assets held in the foreign financial accounts that he owned and controlled in Switzerland. 

 

As part of his plea agreement, Kim will pay a civil penalty of over $14 million dollars to the United States Treasury for failing to file, and filing false, FBARs, which is separate from any restitution the Court may order.

 

“For more than a decade Hyung Kim concealed his wealth in secret offshore accounts, evading reporting requirements and the payment of income taxes due,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg.  “With his guilty plea, he is now held to account for his criminal conduct.  Offshore tax evasion is a top priority for the Tax Division, and we will continue to work with our partners at IRS to follow the money and actively pursue those who persist in thinking that they can safely hide their income and assets offshore.”  

 

“Mr. Kim’s plea is another example of what happens to those who dodge their tax obligations by utilizing offshore tax havens,” said Chief Don Fort, IRS Criminal Investigation. “We owe it to the vast majority of honest U.S. taxpayers to tirelessly search for and prosecute those who avoid paying their fair share, regardless of how they may try to disguise their income.”

 

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2018 before U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III.  Kim faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.  He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties, in addition to the FBAR penalty.

 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg, U.S. Attorney Boente and Chief Don Fort commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Senior Litigation Counsel Mark F. Daly and Trial Attorney Robert J. Boudreau of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle of the Eastern District of Virginia, who are prosecuting this case.

 

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

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

Mohamad Jamal Khweis, 28, was convicted by a federal jury on June 7. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Khweis left the United States in mid-December 2015, and ultimately crossed into Syria through the Republic of Turkey in late December 2015. Before leaving, Khweis strategically planned his travel. Using a sophisticated scheme of tradecraft, Khweis purposefully traveled to other countries first before entering Turkey to conceal his final destination. During his travel to the Islamic State, he used numerous encrypted devices to conceal his activity, and downloaded several applications on his phone that featured secure messaging or anonymous web browsing. Khweis used these applications to communicate with ISIS facilitators to coordinate and secure his passage to the Islamic State.

“The evidence at trial demonstrated that Mohamad Khweis is an unpredictable and dangerous person who was radicalized towards violent jihad,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Division. “This office, along with the National Security Division and our investigative partners, are committed to tracking down anyone who provides or attempts to provide material support to a terrorist organization.”

After arriving in Syria, Khweis stayed at a safe house with other ISIS recruits in Raqqa and filled out ISIS intake forms, which included his name, age, skills, specialty before jihad, and status as a fighter. When Khweis joined ISIS, he agreed to be a suicide bomber. In February 2017, the United States military recovered his intake form, along with an ISIS camp roster that included Khweis’ name with 19 other ISIS fighters.

“Today's sentencing of Mohamad Khweis demonstrates the relentless efforts of the FBI and our partners within the Joint Terrorism Task Force, whom work 24/7 to identify individuals who pose a risk or harm to U.S. persons or interests,” said Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office. “Khweis purposefully traveled overseas with the intent to join ISIS in support of the terrorist group's efforts to conduct operations and execute attacks to further their radical ideology. Khweis recognized that ISIS uses violence in its expansion of its caliphate and he committed to serving as a suicide bomber.”

During the trial, the evidence showed that Khweis spent 2 1/2 months as an ISIS member, traveled with ISIS fighters to multiple safe houses, participated in ISIS-directed religious training, attended ISIS lectures and constantly watched military videos with his fellow ISIS members for inspiration, frequently gave money to ISIS members, and was forward deployed to Tal Afar, Iraq, before he was captured. Kurdish Peshmerga military forces detained Khweis in March 2016. A Kurdish Peshmerga official testified at trial that he captured Khweis on the battlefield after Khweis left an ISIS-controlled neighborhood in Tal Afar.

On cross-examination, Khweis admitted he consistently lied to United States and Kurdish officials about his involvement with ISIS, and that he omitted telling United States officials about another American who had trained with ISIS to conduct an attack in the United States.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Andrew W. Vale, 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. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick and Trial Attorney Raj Parekh of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force provided assistance in this 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. 1:16-cr-143.

Mohamad Jamal Khweis, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Dana J. Boente, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.

“The evidence at trial demonstrated that Mohamad Khweis is an unpredictable and dangerous person who was radicalized towards violent jihad,” said Mr. Boente.  “This office, along with the National Security Division and our investigative partners, are committed to tracking down anyone who provides or attempts to provide material support to a terrorist organization.”

“Today's sentencing of Mohamad Khweis demonstrates the relentless efforts of the FBI and our partners within the Joint Terrorism Task Force, whom work 24/7 to identify individuals who pose a risk or harm to U.S. persons or interests,” said Mr. Vale.  “Khweis purposefully traveled overseas with the intent to join ISIS in support of the terrorist group's efforts to conduct operations and execute attacks to further their radical ideology.  Khweis recognized that ISIS uses violence in its expansion of its caliphate and he committed to serving as a suicide bomber.”

Khweis was convicted by a federal jury on June 7.  According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Khweis left the United States in mid-December 2015, and ultimately crossed into Syria through the Republic of Turkey in late December 2015.  Before leaving, Khweis strategically planned his travel.  Using a sophisticated scheme of tradecraft, Khweis purposefully traveled to other countries first before entering Turkey to conceal his final destination.  During his travel to the Islamic State, he used numerous encrypted devices to conceal his activity, and downloaded several applications on his phone that featured secure messaging or anonymous web browsing.  Khweis used these applications to communicate with ISIS facilitators to coordinate and secure his passage to the Islamic State.

After arriving in Syria, Khweis stayed at a safe house with other ISIS recruits in Raqqa and filled out ISIS intake forms, which included his name, age, skills, specialty before jihad and status as a fighter.  When Khweis joined ISIS, he agreed to be a suicide bomber.  In February 2017, the U.S. military recovered his intake form, along with an ISIS camp roster that included Khweis’ name with 19 other ISIS fighters.

During the trial, the evidence showed that Khweis spent two and a half months as an ISIS member, traveled with ISIS fighters to multiple safe houses, participated in ISIS-directed religious training, attended ISIS lectures, constantly watched military videos with his fellow ISIS members for inspiration, frequently gave money to ISIS members and was forward deployed to Tal Afar, Iraq, before he was captured.  Kurdish Peshmerga military forces detained Khweis in March 2016.  A Kurdish Peshmerga official testified at trial that he captured Khweis on the battlefield after Khweis left an ISIS-controlled neighborhood in Tal Afar.

On cross-examination, Khweis admitted he consistently lied to United States and Kurdish officials about his involvement with ISIS, and that he omitted telling U.S. officials about another American who had trained with ISIS to conduct an attack in the United States.

Trial Attorney Raj Parekh of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.  The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force provided assistance in this case.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was sentenced today to three years in prison for running multiple scams that defrauded investors of over $2.3 million.

According to court documents, Gregg Seitz, 50, recruited investors to invest in a purported real estate opportunities. Investors were told that Seitz and others were involved in purchasing, renovating and reselling distressed real estate for pennies on the dollar, and that the investors’ money would be used to help purchase and “flip” the real estate. Seitz claimed to have experience with large real estate deals and to be earning large returns on his own money from these investments. Later, Seitz found additional investors, who asked to loan money to finance a purported software company, which investors were falsely told had a lucrative contract with U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In fact, there were no real estate deals and there was no lucrative contract with the Department of Homeland Security. Rather, Seitz used new investor money to pay back old investors and finance his own lifestyle. For example, Seitz spent some of the money on luxury cars, mortgage payments on a townhouse in Alexandria, a wine business, travel to Mexico, Italy and the Caribbean, and purchases from high-end retailers. The total loss to investors was over $2.3 million.

In addition to his prison sentence, Seitz was also ordered to forfeit $2.3 million and pay $2.3 million in restitution to his victims. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine L. Wong 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. 1:16-cr-98.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Windsor woman was sentenced today to nine years in prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft offenses.

Amanda Porter-Eley, 37, pleaded guilty on July 13. According to court documents, beginning in 2012, Porter-Eley used social security numbers assigned to others to open bank accounts through which she negotiated worthless checks and thereby fraudulently obtained nearly $50,000. Beginning in September 2015, Porter-Eley totally assumed the identity of A.F.P., a registered nurse then residing in New York state.  Porter-Eley used A.F.P.’s Virginia registered nursing license to obtain employment as a nursing supervisor, a position she held for nearly six months despite lacking the requisite training and qualifications. In the weeks before she was fired from this position, Porter-Eley began using A.F.P.’s personal identifying information to obtain bank, credit, retail, loan, and mortgage accounts. In total, Porter-Eley opened and attempted to open more than three dozen accounts with over 15 financial institutions and retailers operating in Hampton Roads. Through these accounts, Porter-Eley attempted to obtain more than $450,000 in cash, credit, goods, and services, including at least three vehicles and one residential property. Porter-Eley’s use of A.F.P.’s identity continued until her arrest in September 2016 and caused losses to banks and retailers in excess of $120,000. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton 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. 4:16-cr-89.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Maryland man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for conspiring to defraud Medicaid and evading both his personal income taxes and his company’s employment taxes.

Lamar Taylor, 39, of Bowie, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and tax evasion, on August 4. According to court documents, Taylor was the owner and operator of Alexandria-based Global Interventions, LLC, a business that marketed itself as a provider of therapeutic treatment services for at-risk children. Taylor obtained contracts with Alexandria City Public Schools and Hopewell City Public Schools, becoming an approved Medicaid-contracted service provider for mentoring services to at-risk youth.  Between April 2014 and September 2016, Taylor billed Alexandria City Public Schools and Hopewell City Public Schools for hundreds of therapeutic day treatment sessions with at-risk youth that did not take place, receiving approximately $595,000 in fraudulently obtained Medicaid funds. Taylor also evaded paying over his personal income taxes and Global’s employment taxes from 2012 to 2015, resulting in a tax evasion liability of approximately $398,000.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, and Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas A. Garnett and David V. Harbach II 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. 3:17-cr-101.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging six people with conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud, conspiring to traffic in contraband cigarettes, aggravated identity theft, and access device fraud.

According to allegations in the indictment, Travon Williams, 33, of Portsmouth, Rodriguez Norman, 29, of Temple Hills, Maryland, Nathaneal Williams, 25, of Manassas, and Marvin Mitchell, 33, Gentle Grant Tyson, III, 32, and Ebony Coe, 29, all of Virginia Beach, purchased stolen financial information including credit and debit card numbers from black market websites. The conspirators encoded that stolen information, including information belonging to real people, onto forged credit cards that they used to purchase things of value, including cartons of cigarettes. They then resold over 10,000 of those cigarettes to black market resellers for $47 per carton.

According to the indictment, laptops recovered from the conspirators included files of thousands of credit card numbers, including 2,000 numbers recovered from Travon Williams’ laptop and over 10,000 numbers recovered from Nathaneal Williams’ laptop.

Each defendant has been charged with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes, and at least one count of aggravated identity theft. Additionally, defendants Travon Williams, Nathaneal Williams, and Marvin Mitchell have been charged with access device fraud. The conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, and the aggravated identity theft charges carry a mandatory term of two 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song, Whitney Dougherty Russell and Katherine E. Rumbaugh 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. 1:17-cr-254.

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.

NORFOLK, Va. – A fugitive captured by the U.S. Marshals at a Suffolk hotel on January 6 was sentenced today to eight years in prison.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, the U.S. Marshals captured convicted felon David Webb, 40, of Georgia, at a hotel in Suffolk after being on the run for multiple outstanding arrest warrants issued in Dekalb and Chatham County, Georgia.  During his time as a fugitive, Webb evaded or eluded police on at least three occasions, including one instance when he fled from police by jumping out of the back window of a hotel and hiding in an alligator-infested swamp.

According to court documents, prior to his capture, Webb was able to evade law enforcement through his use of 15 various aliases and 20 false identity documents.  When U.S. Marshals arrested the defendant, he was in possession of more than a dozen driver’s licenses bearing his image but associated with different names.  These identification documents included driver’s licenses purportedly issued by the states of Texas, Nebraska, Illinois, Connecticut, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and the District of Columbia.  Webb was also in possession of five social security cards bearing names other than his own, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs identification card, and a U.S. Military Common Access Card bearing Webb’s picture and claiming the rank of Sergeant in the Army.  At the time of his arrest, U.S. Marshals also recovered methamphetamine, $7,300 in cash, a digital scale, drug packaging materials, ammunition, and three firearms, one of which had an obliterated serial number.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, Arron J. Graves, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Robert Mathieson, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas E. Bennett, Chief of Suffolk Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Comstock prosecuted the case.

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.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching Case No. 2:17-cr-15.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal judge convicted an Alexandria man today on charges of arson after throwing Molotov cocktails and setting fire to an apartment building in Alexandria.

According to court records and evidence presented at the bench trial, Josepha Kasai, 23, smashed a Molotov cocktail at the door of a third floor apartment unit, setting fire to the doorway and trapping nine individuals on the third floor. Kasai then went outside and threw another Molotov cocktail at the third floor apartment unit, breaking through the bedroom window. The entire building was evacuated due to the fire. A victim inside the third floor apartment jumped from his balcony and Kasai chased the victim with what appeared to be a knife. After Kasai’s arrest, he informed law enforcement he intended to kill the victim who jumped from the balcony and claimed the victim had previously stolen his iPhone. 

Kasai was convicted of arson and possession of an unregistered destructive device and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 30 years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 9, 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Arron J. Graves, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Robert C. Dubé, Chief of Alexandria Fire Department, and Michael L. Brown, Chief of Alexandria Police Department, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga rendered the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen C. Cain and Nicholas U. Murphy II 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. 1:16-cr-268.

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Florida man today of running a 15-year insurance fraud scheme that involved at least 27 fires in two states.

Verdon Taylor, 72, of Leesburg, was found guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud, use of fire to commit a federal felony, and witness tampering in connection with the fraud. Taylor and four co-conspirators, Vershawn Jackson, 39, and Marie Taylor, 54, both of Richmond, along with Sylvia Mitchell, aka Sylvia Jackson, 59, of Tampa, Florida, and Eugenia Fleming, 57, of Victoria, were indicted on March 8. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Verdon Taylor and his co-conspirators participated in a long-running arson-for-profit scheme in which the conspirators purchased cars or mobile homes at auction, or signed leases at rental properties, insured the property, and set fire to the insured property to collect insurance proceeds. In many instances, the time between the purchase of insurance and the fire was mere weeks or even days. The evidence at trial also showed that the defendants made a practice of staging mobile homes and rental properties with furniture and clothing that had been purchased at flea markets or auctions, and on several occasions had been in other properties that previously burned. Over the course of the scheme, defrauded insurance companies paid out over $1 million on claims by the conspirators.

Verdon Taylor faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 2, 2018. The co-defendants have entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Arron J. Graves, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Henry Rosenbaum, Henrico County Fire Marshal, and Melvin D. Carter, Chief of the Richmond Fire Department, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David V. Harbach, II, Michael C. Moore, and Janet Jin Ah Lee are prosecuting the case.

This case was investigated by the ATF with assistance from the Henrico County Fire Department and the Richmond Fire 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. 3:17-cr-29.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Leesburg man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for wire fraud in connection with his role in a $9.5 million investment fraud.

Tamer Moumen, 40, pleaded guilty on May 12. According to court documents, Moumen defrauded over 45 clients between 2012 and 2017. Moumen falsely told investors that he was a successful trader who consistently beat the S&P500 and was overseeing tens of millions of dollars through his company, Crescent Ridge Capital Partners. Moumen encouraged dozens of clients, including many who were nearing retirement age, to liquidate their other investments and retirement accounts, and invest with him. Moumen did not tell investors that he actually had no experience managing a hedge fund, had a history of losing money in the securities market, and was relying on investor money to support his lifestyle and pay personal expenses. For example, Moumen used investor money to help finance the purchase of a $1 million personal residence in Leesburg, Virginia, a new Tesla, and to repay old investors. In nearly all instances, Moumen lost or spent his clients’ money within a matter of weeks or months of their original investment, but would conceal those facts by providing statements that showed the investment as steadily growing.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, beginning in 2015, Moumen was involved with two fundraising efforts that solicited donations to benefit refugees, including a GoFundMe campaign and the Northern Virginia Refugee Fund. Moumen had sole control of the donated funds, some of which he transferred into accounts in his name, where the money was commingled with investor funds. Moumen used tens of thousands of dollars in these accounts to pay personal expenses.

In addition to his prison sentence, Moumen was also ordered to forfeit $9.5 million and pay $7.5 million in restitution to his victims. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine L. Wong 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-77.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Maryland man was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for international parental kidnapping.

According to court documents, federal agents with the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested Faical Chebbi, 45, of Accokeek, on June 14 after he landed at Dulles International Airport. In November 2011, Chebbi removed his two children, then ages 2 and 5, from the United States and took them to Tunisia in violation of the parental rights of the mother.

According to the FBI, as a result of Chebbi’s return to the United States, both children have been reunited with their mother as ordered by the court. In addition to his prison sentence, Chebbi was also ordered to pay $119,807 in restitution.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Casey Owen Durst, Director of CBP’s Baltimore Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Haynes prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Department of State and the United States embassy in Tunisia provided assistance with this matter.

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. 1:11-cr-140.

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Chester man late yesterday of retaliating against a federal agent by false claim, and bankruptcy fraud.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Shapat Nabaya, aka Norman Abbott, 60, filed numerous civil lawsuits and a false mechanic’s lien against an IRS revenue officer in retaliation for the officer filing a lien on Nabaya’s pension after Nabaya had failed to pay his federal taxes for several years. Nabaya also filed a false involuntary bankruptcy petition against the same revenue officer in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Nabaya faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 19, 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gabrielle Michalak and Jessica D. Aber 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. 3:17-cr-03.

A former MS-13 gang member was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for assaulting and impeding a transportation officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

According to court documents, on July 3, Marlon Danilo Rivas-Mendez, 28, an El Salvadoran national, was being transported from the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center to an ICE facility for deportation. Rivas-Mendez had previously been deported to El Salvador five times and had recently been found in Loudoun County after having again re-entered the United States illegally. During the transportation, Rivas-Mendez complained repeatedly that his handcuffs were too tight. When the officer tried to help him, Rivas-Mendez struck the officer in the chest and neck, before fleeing the vehicle.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Russell Hott, Field Office Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Ravas and Lilian Timmermann and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick 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-189.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Florida man pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking a 16-year-old girl throughout the United States.  

According to court documents, Andrew Lee Thompson II, aka “Slim,” 34, met the minor victim in Arizona and began sex trafficking her with his two co-defendants, Delberta McKenzie and Rachel Robillard. Thompson posted prostitution advertisements on the Internet, and from February through June 2017, he drove and flew the minor victim across the country for prostitution, including to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. After the prostitution dates, he collected all the money.  

While in Arlington, a security guard called police after seeing multiple men go in and out of two rooms at a hotel on Glebe Road. When law enforcement investigated, they found evidence of prostitution related activity in the hotel rooms and recovered the minor victim. After arresting Thompson, law enforcement found tattoos on his body bragging about his pimping activities, including on his arm and across his chest. 

Thompson pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a minor. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on Feb. 9, 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and M. Jay Farr, Chief of Arlington County Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the plea.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen C. Cain 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. 1:17-cr-168.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty today to money laundering in connection with a fraud scheme that resulted in a loss of at least $3.9 million.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Edward Zinner, 58, operated Ocean Equity, a collection of businesses that engaged in credit card processing and merchant cash advances. In operating Ocean Equity, Zinner and others acting on his behalf, provided false representations to private investors/lenders to obtain over $4.5 million in funds.

In addition to the $4.5 million from private investors/lenders, Zinner obtained six business loans for Ocean Equity in the amount of $3 million. In obtaining these loans, Zinner falsely represented that the loans would not be used for personal, family, or household purposes. However, Zinner spent large amounts of company money on personal expenditures, including, travel, vehicle expenses, gambling, day-trading, mortgage payments, renovations to his personal residence, medical bills, personal credit cards, a rock band, and other expenditures. From 2011 to 2016, approximately $2 million was transferred from the Ocean Equity accounts to Zinner’s personal accounts.

Zinner closed down Ocean Equity in early 2016, and at the time he still owed at least $3.9 million in business loans and loans from private investors/lenders.

Zinner faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Henry C. Morgan, Jr., accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Samuels and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bethany J. Lipman 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. 4:17-cr-3.

NORFOLK, Va. – A member of the Nine Trey Gangsters was sentenced today to 45 years in prison for his role in two gang-related murders.

Alvaughn Davis, 29, of Suffolk, pleaded guilty on May 23 to RICO conspiracy, use of a firearm resulting in death, and to being an accessory after the fact to a murder in aid of racketeering.

According to court documents, Davis, along with Anthony Foye, 25, of Suffolk, and other charged co-conspirators, were members of the Nine Trey Gangsters, a street gang with members in states across the East Coast that is affiliated of the United Blood Nation. Foye previously pleaded guilty to murdering Al-Tariq Tynes, Vandelet Mercer, Linda Lassiter, and Wayne Davis in furtherance of his membership in the gang. Davis, in furtherance of his membership in the gang, helped conceal Tynes’ body and was the driver during the shooting of Mercer.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Larry D. Boone, Chief of Norfolk Police, Tonya D. Chapman, Chief of Portsmouth Police, James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, Col. K.L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police, and Thomas E. Bennett, Chief of Suffolk Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla and Andrew C. Bosse, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler, and Trial Attorney Teresa A. Wallbaum of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, are prosecuting the case.

The case was investigated by the FBI's Norfolk Field Office as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Operation Billy Club. 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. 2:16-cr-130.

RICHMOND, Va. – A New York man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes that resulted in a tax loss of more than $1.6 million.

Ki Hin Lee, 31, of Flushing, pleaded guilty on June 20, 2017. According to court documents, Lee participated in a cigarette trafficking conspiracy that spanned from January 2015 to November 2016. Lee and another New York City resident traveled from New York City to Fredericksburg and Springfield in order to purchase bulk quantities of Virginia tax-stamped cigarettes from a Fredericksburg gas station owner. After completing their purchases, the pair transported the cigarettes back north to Staten Island, where they were sold on the black market. Lee eventually took over the role of courier and facilitator, and thereafter made at least 46 solo trips – renting large SUVs in order to maximize his carrying capacity – from Staten Island to Virginia. During these trips, Lee handed over tens in thousands in cash to purchase quantities of cigarettes ranging between 600 and 900 cartons. Lee then smuggled the cigarettes back to the Staten Island home of his New York City co-conspirator. All told, Lee personally smuggled at least 276,000 packs of cigarettes from Virginia to New York City for illegal re-sale, resulting in a tax loss of more than $1.6 million. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Keith Krolczk, Chief of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Investigative Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett 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. 3:17-cr-73.

**UPDATE** On May 29, 2018, U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga ordered that the jury's verdict finding the defendant guilty of counts one and two of the indictment be set aside, the judgment of conviction vacated, and the indictment dismissed. Original press release announcing the trial conviction is below.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Sterling man today on charges of distributing and receiving images of child sexual abuse.

Jerry Dean Dillingham, 38, was convicted of distribution and receipt of child pornography. According to evidence presented at trial, Dillingham was found sharing child pornography files on a peer-to-peer network on the Internet. Agents executed a federal search warrant at Dillingham’s home, and Dillingham admitted he downloaded and shared child pornography on the Internet. Forensic review of Dillingham’s computer revealed child pornography images involving prepubescent children, including bondage and bestiality.

Dillingham faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 2, 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.

Dana J. Boente, 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 U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Dougherty Russell and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Burke IV are prosecuting the case.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington D.C., and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

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.

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-184.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A California man pleaded guilty today to drug trafficking charges related to his role in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of crystal meth.

According to court documents, Shawn Yaeger, 45, of West Hollywood, led a conspiracy to distribute crystal methamphetamine in several states, including Virginia, New Jersey, California, and Florida. Yaeger admitted to receiving large-scale quantities of crystal methamphetamine through various parcel services and providing it to co-conspirators for re-distribution. Yaeger also admitted to obtaining stolen personal identifying information and credit card information, which he used to commit access device fraud and bank fraud. Specifically, Yaeger produced numerous counterfeit and unauthorized credit and debit cards, and used stolen or otherwise fraudulent identities to open bank accounts and acquire access to credit.

Yaeger pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on Jan. 26, 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and M. Jay Farr, Arlington County Chief of Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Peters and Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen E. Garcia are prosecuting the case.

The case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Operation Four Horsemen. 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. 1:17-cr-241.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Triple Canopy, Inc. (Triple Canopy), located in Reston, has agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle civil False Claims Act allegations that the company submitted false claims for payment to the Department of Defense for unqualified security guards stationed in Iraq. 

“Contractors must be held accountable for their actions, especially when the safety of government personnel is at stake” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This settlement should remind contractors of the high value we place on safeguarding our personnel abroad.”

The allegations stem from Triple Canopy’s one-year contract with the Joint Contracting Command in Iraq (JCC-I), an entity established to provide contracting support related to the government’s relief and reconstruction efforts in Iraq. Under the 2009 contract, Triple Canopy was required to perform a variety of security services at Al Asad Airbase, the second largest air base in Iraq.   

The government’s complaint in intervention alleges that Triple Canopy knowingly billed the United States for security guards who could not pass contractually required firearms proficiency tests. The tests were designed by the Army to ensure that the guards hired to protect U.S. and allied personnel were capable of firing their assigned weapons safely and accurately. The government further alleges that Triple Canopy concealed the guards’ inability to satisfy the firearms testing requirements by creating false test scorecards that Triple Canopy was required to maintain for government review, in an effort to induce the government to pay for the unqualified guards.    

The government’s claims are based on a whistleblower suit initially filed by a former employee of Triple Canopy in 2011. The suit was filed in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act, which allows private persons to file suit on behalf of the United States. Under the False Claims Act, the government has a period of time to investigate the allegations and decide whether to intervene in the action or to decline intervention and allow the whistleblower, also called the relator, to go forward alone. The government intervened in the relator’s suit in June 2012. The False Claims Act also provides the whistleblower a share of the government’s recovery. As part of the resolution, the whistleblower will receive approximately $500,000.

 

The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Army Criminal Investigation Command. The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Sponseller and Christine Roushdy. 

The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

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

NORFOLK, Va. – A Winchester man was sentenced today to nearly 6 years in prison for defrauding a woman of approximately $377,000 based on false statements that included a fraudulent inducement of marriage.

Harry Randall Withers, Jr., 38, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property on June 27. According to court documents, Withers made a series of false representations to a woman to induce her to lend him approximately $377,000. Withers told the woman he was the owner of a wine and cheese bar and that his employees had embezzled from him, when in fact he was the manager of the bar and had embezzled from the actual owner. Wither also told the woman he was a member of an affluent family that had founded Union Camp Corporation, a pulp and paper company that was later acquired by International Paper; that his grandmother had died and left him a large inheritance that he would use to repay a loan; and that the IRS had frozen his bank accounts. He made the further false representation that if they were married, it would solve tax and legal issues that were preventing him from accessing his money and that he would then be able to repay her. In reliance on these misrepresentations, the woman married Withers and lent him the money, which he used for his own benefit with no intention of repaying her. Withers wrote a series of checks that purported to be in partial repayment of the money the woman had lent him, but they were written on funds that had insufficient funds or were closed. He also forged the woman’s signature on checks written on her account that he made payable to himself. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan M. Salsbury 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. 2:16-cr-166.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An owner of a Fairfax gaming center was sentenced to prison today for obstructing justice and making false statements involving international terrorism.

Michael Queen, 28, of Woodbridge, was sentenced to 2 years in prison. According to court documents, Queen and Soufian Amri, 32, of Falls Church, lied to FBI agents to prevent them from learning about and investigating their friend Haris Qamar’s attempt to travel to join the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Queen and Amri knew that Qamar had attempted to travel overseas to join ISIS in 2014, yet they lied to and misled the FBI by saying that the only person they knew who might travel to join ISIS was a “tall, thin, Indian” individual. Queen later told Qamar that Queen and Amri gave the FBI the name of a Hindu individual as someone who might support ISIS. Queen told Qamar, “I’m never going to throw a Muslim underneath the bus to try to do the right thing.”

Qamar was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison on February 17 for attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Amri is scheduled to be sentenced on October 27.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Colleen E. Garcia 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-50.

NORFOLK, Va. – A former comptroller for the Norfolk Ship Support Activity (NSSA) was sentenced today to 40 months in prison for conspiracy to receive gratuities by a public official.

According to court documents, William R. Hutsenpiller, 57, of Mount Dora, Florida, oversaw the $200 million operating budget for the NSSA while serving as the civilian GS-15 Financial Department Head/Comptroller from October 2009 through November 2013. During this time, Hutsenpiller conspired with others to essentially force a government prime contractor to use a specified subcontractor—Global Services Corporation, based in Fayetteville, North Carolina—that he knew would collaborate with him to misuse government funds. As part of the scheme, Hutsenpiller directed the prime contractor to pass government funds to Global, a defense subcontractor, and in turn, Hutsenpiller directed Global to withhold unexpended funds that should have been returned to the government or to the prime contractor.

From 2010 through 2014, Hutsenpiller made numerous requests that Global provide him with various items of value and services for his personal use, which Global agreed to purchase with government funds. The gratuities that Global provided to Hutsenpiller included a variety of personal electronic items and accessories for Hutsenpiller and his family, such as cell phone service and accessories, multiple iPads, a computer, home thermostat, and streaming television boxes.

On April 10, 2017, Hutsenpiller pleaded guilty to receiving $35,870.69 in gratuities from Global Services Corp. As part of today’s sentencing, Hutsenpiller was ordered to pay a Restitution Judgment of $35,870.60, and to pay a forfeiture amount of $35,000.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Robert E. Craig, Special Agent in Charge for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Cliff Everton, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by the U.S. District Judge Rebecca B. Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alan Salsbury and Stephen Haynie prosecuted the case.

The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) provided significant assistance with this 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-43.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The sixth and final defendant in a multi-state crack cocaine and firearms distribution investigation was sentenced today to nearly 14 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy.  As part of this case, ATF Agents and the Prince William County Police seized more than 20 firearms and 800 grams of crack. 

Steve Pate, 41, of Shannon, North Carolina, was sentenced to 167 months in prison. According to court documents, Pate engaged in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine from at least May 2016 through February 2017. As part of the conspiracy, Pate would purchase cocaine, which he would prepare into crack. Pate would then supply the crack to co-conspirators Jerry Bullard and Cedric McEachern, who sold the drugs from a trailer in Robeson County, North Carolina.   

As part of the conspiracy, co-conspirators Kristie Middleton and Kevin Shaw traveled from Virginia to purchase multi-ounce quantities of crack from Bullard and McEachern, and firearms from Bullard. Middleton and Shaw then returned to Dale City, Virginia, where they redistributed the crack and possessed and sold firearms alongside co-defendant Nifer McLaurin.  See the table below for information on each defendant in this case.

Name, Age

Hometown

Pleaded Guilty to

Sentencing

Nifer McLaurin, 20

Dale City, Virginia

Using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense

Sentenced to 5 years on March 24

Kevin Shaw, 42

Dale City, Virginia

Conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base; Using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense

Sentenced to 10 years on March 31

Cedric McEachern, 41

Red Springs, North Carolina

Conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base

Sentenced to 10 years on June 30

Jerry Bullard, 37

Shannon, North Carolina

Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base; Using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense

Sentenced to 15 years on July 21

Kristie Middleton, 40

Dale City, Virginia

Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base; Using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense

Sentenced to 15 years on August 4

Steve Pate, 41

Shannon, North Carolina

Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base

Sentenced today to 167 months

 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Paul D. Vanderplow, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Stephan M. Hudson, Chief of Prince William County Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tobias D. Tobler 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-149.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a Herndon man with threatening to murder officials, officers, and employees of the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. State Department, as well as Virginia law enforcement officers.

William Lewis Weaver II, 36, is charged with two counts of threatening to assault and murder federal officials, officers, and employees and three counts of transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing threats to injure the person of another. The indictment alleges that between August 23 and September 16, Weaver used a Twitter account to post tweets that threatened to murder a number of government officials, including specific threats involving bombs and a shotgun.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the indictment was returned. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander P. Berrang 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. 1:17-cr-235.

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 federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging five members and associates of MS-13 with the murder of Christian Alexander Sosa Rivas, 21, on January 1 at a park in Dumfries.

 

According to allegations in the indictment, Edgar Oswaldo Blanco Torres, Jose Martir Larios Espenal, Samuel Enrique Villalobos Sanchez, Dimas Misael Canales Santos, and Keyri Sujey Portillo Gonzalez conspired together and with others to kidnap and murder Sosa Rivas because they believed he was a member of a rival gang who was falsely representing himself as a member of MS-13. The indictment further alleges that the defendants kidnapped and murdered Sosa Rivas for the purpose of gaining entrance to and maintaining and increasing position in MS-13, which is an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity.

 

Name

Age, Country of Origin

Charges

Max Penalty

Edgar Oswaldo Blanco Torres

25, El Salvador

Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering;

 

Murder in Aid of Racketeering;

 

Kidnapping Resulting in Death

10 years

 

 

Death or Life in prison

 

Death or Life in prison

Jose Martir Larios Espenal

21, El Salvador

Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering

 

Murder in Aid of Racketeering

 

Kidnapping Resulting in Death

10 years

 

 

Death or Life in prison

 

Death or Life in prison

Samuel Enrique Villalobos Sanchez

19, El Salvador

Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering

 

Murder in Aid of Racketeering

 

Kidnapping Resulting in Death

 

10 years

 

 

Death or Life in prison

 

Death or Life in prison

Dimas Misael Canales Santos

27, El Salvador

Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering

 

Murder in Aid of Racketeering

 

Kidnapping Resulting in Death

10 years

 

 

Death or Life in prison

 

Death or Life in prison

Keyri Sujey Portillo Gonzalez

19, El Salvador

Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering

 

Murder in Aid of Racketeering

 

Kidnapping Resulting in Death

10 years

 

 

Death or Life in prison

 

Death or 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.

 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the indictment was returned. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebeca H. Bellows, J. Tyler McGaughey, and Nicholas U. Murphy are prosecuting the case.

 

This case was investigated by the FBI's Washington Field Office and the Prince William County Police Department. The Virginia Commonwealth Attorney's Office provided significant assistance with the 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. 1:17-cr-238.

 

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. – Two companion indictments were unsealed today charging four men with participating in a bribery and kickback conspiracy involving a contract for the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General (DOD OIG).

According to allegations in the indictments, William S. Wilson, 52, of Florida, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to Timothy R. Donelson, 56, of Georgia, and Ronald A. Capallia, Jr., 37, of Alabama, in return for Donelson and Capallia providing favorable treatment to Wilson’s companies in connection with prime government contracts. At the time of the kickbacks, Donelson and Capallia were employed by a telecommunications company that had been awarded a prime contract to provide an array of voice and data services to the DOD OIG and other federal agencies.  In return for the kickbacks, Donelson and Capallia provided favorable treatment to Wilson’s companies, including Donelson’s award of a subcontract to one of Wilson’s companies to provide information-technology related support services to the DOD OIG, notwithstanding that Wilson’s company focused on construction and construction management, and had no relevant expertise in information technology. Capallia similarly caused his employer repeatedly to order items such as computer software and hardware and routine office moving services from Wilson’s construction company despite the lack of any legitimate business or economic reason to do so.

The indictment further alleges that Wilson paid tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to Matthew Kekoa LumHo, 42, of Fairfax Station, then employed at the DOD OIG, in return for LumHo taking official acts that benefitted Wilson’s companies. According to the indictment, these actions included LumHo placing numerous fraudulent orders through the prime contract awarded to the telecommunications company employing Donelson and Capallia, thereby causing a continued flow of revenue from that telecommunications company to Wilson’s company as its subcontractor. 

As set forth in the indictment, LumHo, along with Wilson and Capallia, repeatedly caused the DOD IG to issue fraudulent service orders that were used to conceal that the co-conspirators were arranging for Wilson’s company to buy standard, commercially available items such as computer software, hardware, and accessories, and routine office moving services, significantly inflating the price, and then falsely billing the government as through it had been supplied with various professional services.  As the indictment alleges, by doing so, the co-conspirators enabled Wilson’s company to reap substantial profits from transactions where there was no legitimate business or economic reason to involve Wilson’s company, and where Wilson’s company provided virtually no value to the United States.

According to the indictment, Wilson paid the bribes and kickbacks in several forms, including hundreds of thousands of dollars paid from Wilson’s companies to a side business owned by Donelson that were masked through fake invoices for non-existent work, hundreds of thousands of dollars in supposed payroll payments to Capallia’s spouse, who was nominally placed on the payroll at Wilson’s company despite doing virtually no work, and tens of thousands of dollars of supposed payroll payments to a relative of LumHo, for a job that LumHo’s relative never actually held.  Wilson further paid bribes and kickbacks by paying for part of the purchase price of two vehicles bought by Donelson, by buying two vehicles outright for Capallia, paying for more than $60,000 worth of Caribbean cruises, hotel accommodations, and flights for Capallia, his family members, friends, friends’ children, and on at least one occasion, babysitters to watch Capallia’s children on one of the cruises, and paid bribes to LumHo by supplying him with electronics and high-end photography equipment.

Each defendant has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.  The companion indictments further charge Wilson, Capallia, and LumHo with False Claims Act violations, charge Wilson and LumHo respectively with bribery and acceptance of bribes, and charge LumHo and Donelson with false statements. The conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud charges each carry a maximum sentence of imprisonment of 20 years; the False Claims Act violations each carry a maximum sentence of imprisonment of 5 years; the bribery charges each carry a maximum sentence of imprisonment of 15 years; and the false statement charges each carry a maximum sentence of imprisonment of 5 years.  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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Robert E. Craig, Special Agent in Charge for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the indictment was unsealed. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Samantha Bateman 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 Nos. 1:17-cr-222 and 1:17-cr-223.

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. – Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced several Department of Justice actions to reduce the rising tide of violent crime in America.

Foremost of those actions is the reinvigoration of “Project Safe Neighborhoods,” a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In announcing this recommitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Attorney General issued a memo directing United States Attorneys to implement an enhanced violent crime reduction program that incorporates the lessons learned since Project Safe Neighborhoods launched in 2001.

In a statement on the program, the Attorney General said, “According to the FBI, the violent crime rate has risen by nearly seven percent over the past two years, and the homicide rate has risen by more than 20 percent. We cannot be complacent or hope that this is just an anomaly: we have a duty to take action. Fortunately, we have a President who understands that and has directed his administration to reduce crime. The Department of Justice today announces the foundation of our plan to reduce crime: prioritizing Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that has been proven to work. Let me be clear – Project Safe Neighborhoods is not just one policy idea among many. This is the centerpiece of our crime reduction strategy. Taking what we have learned since the program began in 2001, we have updated it and enhanced it, emphasizing the role of our U.S. Attorneys, the promise of new technologies, and above all, partnership with local communities. With these changes, I believe that this program will be more effective than ever and help us fulfill our mission to make America safer.”

The Attorney General also announced the following Department of Justice initiatives to help reduce violent crime:

-Additional Assistant United States Attorney Positions to Focus on Violent Crime – The Department is allocating 40 prosecutors to approximately 20 U.S. Attorney’s Offices to focus on violent crime reduction.

-More Cops on the Streets (COPS Hiring Grants) – As part of our continuing commitment to crime prevention efforts, increased community policing, and the preservation of vital law enforcement jobs, the Department will be awarding approximately $98 million in FY 2017 COPS Hiring Grants to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.

-Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force’s (OCDETF) National Gang Strategic Initiative –The National Gang Strategic Initiative promotes  creative enforcement strategies and best practices that will assist in developing investigations of violent criminal groups and gangs into enterprise-level OCDETF prosecutions.  Under this initiative, OCDETF provides “seed money” to locally-focused gang investigations, giving state, local, and tribal investigators and prosecutors the resources and tools needed to identify connections between lower-level gangs and national-level drug trafficking organizations.

-Critical Training and Technical Assistance to State and Local Partners –The Department has a vast array of training and technical assistance resources available to state, local and tribal law enforcement, victims groups, and others.  To ensure that agencies in need of assistance are able to find the training and materials they need, OJP will make available a Violence Reduction Response Center to serve as a “hot line” to connect people to these resources. 

-Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGIC) – The Department has provided grant funding to support a comprehensive approach to identifying the most violent offenders in a jurisdiction, using new technologies such as gunshot detection systems combined with gun crime intelligence from NIBIN, eTrace, and investigative efforts.  These FY 2017 grants were awarded to Phoenix, AZ, and Kansas City, MO. 

-Expand ATF’s NIBIN Urgent Trace Program – The Department will expand ATF’s NIBIN Urgent Trace Program nationwide by the end of the year.  Through this program, any firearm submitted for tracing that is associated with a NIBIN “hit” (which means it can be linked to a shooting incident) will be designated an “urgent” trace and the requestor will get information back about the firearm’s first retail purchaser within 24 hours, instead of 5 to 6 business days.

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

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was arrested today for allegedly threatening to murder African-Americans at Howard University.

John Edgar Rust, 24, a previously convicted felon, has been charged with the transmission in interstate commerce of a communication containing threats to injure the person of another. According to court documents, on Nov. 11, 2015, Rust used the in-store Wi-Fi of a restaurant in Alexandria to post a statement online threatening to murder African-Americans at Howard University.

Rust is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa C. Buchanan at the federal courthouse in Alexandria tomorrow at 2 p.m. for a preliminary and detention hearing.

Rust faces a maximum penalty of 5 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.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas U. Murphy and Maya D. Song 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. 1:17-mj-56.

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.