Eastern District of Virginia

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man was sentenced today to 32 years in prison for conspiring to deal more than five kilograms of cocaine and discharging a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking felony.

Andre Monroe, 33, pleaded guilty on June 12. According to court documents, for over two years Monroe and his co-conspirators trafficked and distributed over 12 kilograms of cocaine from Maryland and North Carolina into the Tidewater area for distribution. In June 2016, while distributing cocaine, Monroe struck a drug purchaser in the face with a loaded Glock pistol. As the victim ran Monroe shot the victim in the leg, fracturing the victim’s femur.   

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, and Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.  

This case was investigated by the HSI’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force with the assistance of officers from the Hampton Police Division. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy E. Cross and Francesca Liquori 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-11.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Springfield, Virginia man was sentenced today to a total of 13 years in prison for interstate stalking, interstate domestic violence, and being a felon in possession of ammunition.

According to court records, Nam Quoc Hoang, 41, began stalking his ex-girlfriend in late December 2013. Nam’s harassment began when he sent his ex-girlfriend a series of messages in which he threatened to post sexually explicit photographs of her unless she paid him money. When his ex-girlfriend did not pay him, Nam posted the photographs and continued to repost the photographs even after Facebook took the photographs down. After posting the photographs, Nam and his co-conspirator, Khoa Dang Vu Hoang, traveled from Virginia to Maryland to stalk his ex-girlfriend throughout January 2014. This stalking included breaking into her home on two occasions and taking valuable personal items, which were never recovered.

On January 26, 2014, Khoa observed the ex-girlfriend’s Facebook post “checking in” to a nightclub in Washington, D.C. Khoa informed Nam about this post and the men drove to the nightclub and waited for Nam’s ex-girlfriend to return to her vehicle and leave. The men then followed her, and when she stopped at a traffic light Nam approached her vehicle, displayed a weapon, and demanded entry. His ex-girlfriend, afraid for her life, let Nam into the vehicle. Once inside the vehicle, Nam hit his ex-girlfriend in the face and threatened her and her family.

A federal jury convicted Khoa in March for interstate stalking and conspiracy, and he was sentenced to five years in prison on July 21, 2017.

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 Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James L. Trump, Carina A. Cuellar, and James Levine 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-193.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Gennaro Mattiaccio, 55, of Stafford was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for his fraudulent receipt of disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and making false statements to the SSA.

Mattiaccio, a former federal law enforcement officer with the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Command (“CID”), was convicted by a federal jury on February 24, 2017 of three felonies related to his fraud and false statements. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Mattiaccio received over $75,000 in Social Security disability benefits from April 2014 through September 2016, despite being gainfully self-employed during that same time period as the owner and sole proprietor of Rock Hill Honey Bee Farms, a commercial beekeeping business. That employment disqualified Mattiaccio from receiving any disability benefits from the SSA.

In support of his fraudulent claim for benefits, Mattiaccio testified falsely under oath to an Administrative Law Judge, and also submitted false and fraudulent documents, including a fake tax return, to the SSA. When he learned that he was under investigation for his fraud, Mattiaccio also attempted to obstruct justice by back-dating the signature card to his business bank account.

In addition to his theft from the SSA, Mattiaccio also carried out a similar disability benefits fraud scheme against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). From 2008 through 2016, he collected another approximately $120,000 in disability benefits from the VA that he was not entitled to receive, and which he similarly collected by means of false statements and fraudulent documents submitted to the government about his supposed inability to work.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Michael McGill, Special Agent-in-Charge, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General; and Michael J. Missal, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Pedersen and Samantha Bateman prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-215.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An El Salvadoran national pleaded guilty today to assaulting and impeding a transportation officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

On July 3, 2017, Marlon Danilo Rivas-Mendez, 28, was being transported from the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center to an ICE facility for deportation. Rivas-Mendez had previously been deported three times to El Salvador 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 scene.

Rivas-Mendez faces a maximum penalty of eight years in prison when sentenced on October 20, 2017. 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 Russell Hott, Field Office Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Hilton accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Ravas and Lilian Timmermann and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick 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-189.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Windsor, Virginia man was sentenced yesterday to nine years in prison for distribution of cocaine base, commonly known as “crack,” and for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Rashard Brown, 33, pleaded guilty on July 13, 2017. According to court documents, Brown admitted to having distributed between 280 and 840 grams of crack cocaine between October 2014 and January 2015. On July 28, 2016, officers of the Hopewell Police Department attempted to stop Brown’s vehicle, and after a short pursuit on foot, Brown was caught with a stolen Glock 9mm luger semiautomatic pistol and a distribution quantity of crack cocaine.

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 M. Hannah Lauck. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-62.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Suffolk man pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance program.

According to court documents, Kent Chillous, 55, is a veteran of the U.S. Navy who attended the Hampton Roads Skills Center (HRSC) utilizing Post-9/11 GI Bill funds.  HRSC purported to be a welding training school offering vocational skills to its students, many of whom were veteran students whose tuition was funded by the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  Rather than actually provide an education to students, however, HRSC did not provide regular instruction for any of their course offerings, either in a classroom lecture setting or a practical, hands-on setting.  Moreover, the majority of students were not even physically present at HRSC during most of the hours their courses were purportedly held.  Indeed, some students never once entered the HRSC building at any point during their period of enrollment.

According to court documents, Chillous was enrolled as an HRSC student between June 2016 and July 2017, during which time he did not receive welding instruction and was rarely, if ever, physically present at the school.  Nonetheless, on the basis of his enrollment, the VA paid him a regular housing stipend and paid HRSC for Chillous’ tuition.  Additionally, a few months after his enrollment at the school, Chillous and the school’s owner struck a deal for Chillous to recruit veterans to enroll in HRSC, to boost the GI Bill revenue coming into the school.  Chillous was paid a recruitment fee of approximately 8% of the tuition HRSC would receive from the VA on behalf of each veteran he successfully enrolled.  Over the next 10 months, Kent successfully recruited approximately 20 Post-9/11 GI Bill-eligible veterans to enroll at HRSC.

Chillous pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on January 11, 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 J. Missal, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; Kim Lampkins, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge, Mid Atlantic Field Office; 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 Mark S. Davis accepted the plea.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys V. Kathleen Dougherty and Kaitlin C. Gratton 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-81.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Fielding Smith Daniel, 53, of Culpeper, Virginia pleaded guilty yesterday to two charges involving the sexual exploitation of children.

According to court documents, in August 2016, Daniel met a young girl on a sugar daddy website.  The girl, who was 14 years old, arranged to meet with Daniel for the purpose of having sex for money.  Shortly after midnight on August 11, 2016, Daniel picked the girl up from her grandmother’s house in his 2016 BMW and drove her to a Motel 6, where they engaged in sex.  Although they had negotiated a rate of $200, Daniel only provided the girl with $100.  On August 23, 2016, he again arranged to have sex with the minor girl for $140 and drove her to a different hotel, where they again had intercourse.

In early September 2016, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search of Daniel’s residence in Culpeper, which is in the Western District of Virginia.  Law enforcement recovered numerous electronic devices, which were subsequently examined.  In addition to evidence of conversations with the 14-year-old girl, hundreds of sexually explicit online communications with women were recovered.  Among those chats were two 2016 conversations involving girls who indicated to Daniel that they were minors and in high school.  One of those girls, who was 17 at the time, produced pictures and videos of child pornography at Daniel’s request and sent them to his online account.  These pictures and videos were recovered from at least one of Daniel’s electronic devices.

Daniel entered guilty pleas to both commercial sex with a minor and causing a minor to produce child pornography.

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 the pleas were accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.  Daniel will be sentenced on January 19, 2018 in Alexandria by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jay V. Prabhu and Whitney Dougherty Russell are prosecuting the case.

Significant support for the investigation was received from the Stafford County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office; the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office; and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Virginia, the Eastern District of New York, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-110 and 1:17-mj-145.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Fairfax attorney has been indicted by a federal grand jury for his alleged role in three fraud schemes totaling over $1.4 million in losses, including embezzling over $653,000 from Virginia State Senator Richard Saslaw’s campaign fund.

According to the indictment that was unsealed today at his initial appearance in federal court, David H. Miller, 68, of Fairfax, participated in three fraud schemes from 2011 through 2014. In the first scheme, Miller, an attorney, along with his wife, Linda Wallis, created two fake law firms, the first known as Federal Legal Associates, and the second known as The Straile Group. Miller and Wallis used the two fake law firms to fraudulently bill Miller’s employer, SkyLink Air and Logistic Support, Inc. (SkyLink), a Canadian based aviation company that maintained an office in Dulles. Miller and Wallis allegedly caused approximately $368,400 in losses to SkyLink.

The second scheme alleged in the indictment details the embezzlement of approximately $653,000 from the campaign account of Senator Saslaw. From June 2013 to September 2014, Wallis served as the treasurer of the Saslaw for State Senate campaign. During that time, Wallis issued approximately 73 fraudulent checks from the Saslaw for State Senate campaign bank account, which totaled approximately $653,000. All of the checks were issued without the knowledge or permission of Senator Saslaw or his campaign staff, and were ultimately deposited into accounts that were controlled by Miller or Wallis. Miller and Wallis used the funds embezzled from Senator Saslaw’s campaign account for personal expenses, including to pay their home mortgage and to retain a personal lawyer.

The third scheme detailed in the indictment alleges misuse of funds from a charitable organization, which Miller co-founded and for which Wallis served as the Executive Director. The organization, known as The Community College Consortium on Autism and Intellectual Disabilities (CCCAID), claimed to provide assistance to community colleges to develop programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Between April 2010 and April 2013, community colleges located around the country and an individual donated approximately $783,000 to CCCAID. The funds contributed to CCCAID were supposed to be used to further the mission of the organization and not to enrich Miller or Wallis. Despite these restrictions, from April 2010 to August 2014, Wallis authorized approximately $482,000 in transfers from CCCAID’s account to other bank accounts controlled by Miller and Wallis. A significant percentage of the $482,000 embezzled from CCCAID was used to pay Miller and Wallis’s personal expenses, such as mortgage payments, upgrades to an oceanfront property owned by Miller in Bethany Beach, Delaware, and travel on private aircraft from Manassas, Virginia to Montego Bay, Jamaica for a family vacation.

Miller’s co-conspirator and wife, Linda Diane Wallis, previously pleaded guilty. Wallis was sentenced to 56 months in prison on March 18, 2016.

Miller has been charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, mail fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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 Uzo Asonye 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 are 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-213.

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.

A Manassas, Virginia man was indicted today on five counts of producing child pornography of prepubescent minors announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Clark E. Settles of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI).

According to the indictment, Dwayne Stinson, 52, coerced minors into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing pornographic images on at least five separate occasions.

Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Russell of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

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

NORFOLK, Va. – Juan Rivera-Gutierrez, 35, and Pedro Pabon, Jr., 42, both of Virginia Beach, were sentenced today for their respective roles in a three-and-a-half year cocaine conspiracy.  Rivera-Gutierrez was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and Pabon to 30 months’ imprisonment.

According to court documents, Rivera-Gutierrez and Pabon conspired to sell wholesale quantities of cocaine from September 2013 to April 2017. Special Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted nine controlled purchases and recovered over 500 grams of cocaine.  During one controlled purchase, Pabon suggested that a confidential informant add a cutting agent to cocaine known as “Aroma,” a product commonly used as a carpet cleaner, to increase profits.  On another controlled purchase, Rivera-Gutierrez sold a wholesale quantity of cocaine and five firearms with multiple 100-round clips and a silencer.  The silencer was a Department of Defense asset and the firearms included a Russian Izhmash Saiga 12 caliber shotgun, an Israeli Tavor Sar 556 caliber rifle, a DMPS Panther 223 caliber rifle, a stolen Olympic MRF AR-15 multi-caliber rifle, and a Colt M4LE 556 caliber rifle.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Bosse prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-60.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a Manassas man with five counts of production of child pornography.

According to the indictment, Dwayne Stinson, 52, coerced minors into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing pornographic images on at least five separate occasions.

Stinson faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum term of 30 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; Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Dougherty Russell and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Burke are prosecuting the case.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-211 or 1:17-mj-349.

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 U.S. Navy Petty Officer pleaded guilty today to the production of child pornography.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Gregory Kyle Seerden, 31, currently stationed in San Diego, California, used his iPhone to record himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct with a sleeping child in January 2017.

Seerden faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison when sentenced on January 18, 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 Cliff Everton, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Layne are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-67.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Lorton, Virginia man yesterday on charges of attempted robbery, attempted possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and the use and discharge of a firearm during those crimes.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Thomas Todd, 33, conspired to rob a drug dealer at gunpoint in the basement of an apartment building in Lorton. The drug dealer arrived at the apartment building with an armed associate on June 24, 2016, and a shootout occurred in the lobby in the middle of the night.

Todd faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison when sentenced on January 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; Paul D. Vanderplow, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Fahey and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ankush Khardori and Samuel Lord 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-24.

NORFOLK, Va. – A former investment adviser in Chesapeake pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of investment adviser fraud and one count of conducting unlawful monetary transactions.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Roger Odell Hudspeth II, 48, was an investment adviser and sole owner of Dominion Investment Advisors, LLC. Hudspeth, along with other associates, sold fraudulent, unregistered securities to his clients. Hudspeth performed inadequate due diligence into the fraudulent investment offerings and concealed that the offerings were created, offered, and controlled by his associate, who previously had been banned by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) for fraudulent activities.

As part of the scheme, Hudspeth and others held social security maximization seminars to obtain clients who were often in or near retirement. Hudspeth steered investors to investment offerings that were highly speculative, illiquid, and high risk by making material misrepresentations and omissions. Hudspeth’s clients lost over $6,000,000 as a result of the securities fraud scheme, and Hudspeth received over $700,000 in ill-gotten gains, including $20,000 that he used to put a down payment on a Range Rover.

In early 2016, the Virginia State Corporation Commission entered a judgment order against Hudspeth revoking his licenses, permanently closing Dominion Investment Advisors, LLC, and prohibiting Hudspeth from engaging in any investment advisory activities in the future.

Hudspeth faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison when sentenced on January 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; Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk 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 Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa E. O’Boyle and Elizabeth M. Yusi are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-122.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Washington, D.C., lawyer pleaded guilty today to distributing videos of child sexual abuse.

According to court documents, Jason Mark Sims, 35, replied to an advertisement placed by an undercover FBI agent on Craigslist. Sims and the undercover agent discussed meeting so that Sims could sexually abuse the undercover agent’s purported 10-year-old daughter. Although Sims ultimately declined to meet the undercover in person, he did provide the undercover with links to videos depicting the sexual abuse of girls as young as 4 years old.

Sims pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on December 1, 2017. 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 Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Fong and Kellen S. Dwyer are 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. 1:17-cr-191.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Atlanta, Georgia man was sentenced today to three years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in a bank fraud scheme that resulted in losses of approximately $2.7 million.

Thomas Scott Brown, 47, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution on June 9. According to court documents, from approximately 2006 through 2007, Brown purchased properties for buyers with his own money and then directed those individuals to apply for home equity loans with Navy Federal Credit Union, claiming that they owned the properties free and clear of any liens when, in fact, they still owed Brown for the properties. In applying for these home equity loans, Brown instructed the buyers to submit false documentation to the bank, including fraudulent Housing and Urban Development Settlement Statements and false membership applications. Brown further ordered these individuals to pay him from the proceeds of the home equity loans.

In most instances, the homes went into foreclosure after the bank approved the loans. In total, 51 properties Brown sold eventually went into foreclosure, causing Navy Federal Credit Union losses of $2.7 million.

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 Jamar K. Walker 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-104.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A previously convicted felon was sentenced today to 54 months in prison for possessing a firearm.

Miles Straker, 30, an illegal alien from Trinidad and Tobago, pleaded guilty to being a felon and illegal alien in possession of a firearm on June 5. According to court documents, Straker was charged with distribution of cocaine and illegal possession of the firearm. These charges arose from a series of controlled purchases of cocaine from Straker conducted by the Virginia State Police Tri-Rivers Task Force in February 2017 in Williamsburg. Following the controlled purchases, Straker was arrested and the firearms were discovered.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt 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-38.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Suffolk man was sentenced today to 40 months in prison for his role in a fraud scheme that prepared hundreds of false tax returns that resulted in a loss of approximately $1.6 million to the United States.

Kevin Towns, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and preparing false tax returns on June 7. According to court documents, Towns was one of the principal tax preparers at A Plus Tax Service and NN Financial, which operated as tax preparation businesses at different periods between July 2009 and February 2014. Towns, along with co-defendants Stephanie Towns and Brenda Benn, conspired to operate a business based on creating false tax returns that generated inflated refunds for their clients in order to cultivate good will and generate repeat business. They used methods such as claiming false education-related expenses, stating excessively high amounts of charitable contributions, and manipulating the amount of income to take advantage of certain tax credits. The customers did not persuade or instruct the tax preparers to generate the false returns.

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 Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Stoker 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-30.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Prince George man pleaded guilty today to attempting to strangle his girlfriend at military housing on Fort Lee.

According to court documents, Antonio Cain, 30, was staying with his girlfriend in residential housing on Fort Lee on July 29 when he physically assaulted her. During that assault, Cain repeatedly attempted to strangle his girlfriend, choking her to the point of unconsciousness on two separate occasions.

Cain pleaded guilty to assault on a spouse or intimate partner by strangling or suffocation, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on December 12. 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 Capt. Brian Bishop, Fort Lee Police Operations Officer, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-110.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty today to child pornography crimes including enticing minor victims to produce child sexual abuse images online.

According to court documents, Larry Anthony Radebaugh, 40, established chat-based relationships with multiple children in which he persuaded them to send him nude images and videos of themselves. Posing as a teenage boy, Radebaugh used applications such as Kik and TextNow to befriend his victims. Radebaugh enticed the minors to strike sexual poses and perform sexual acts and then transmit the images over the internet. With one victim, he used Skype to engage in “phone sex,” while his own camera was disabled. For some of his victims, this conduct lasted approximately 1 1/2 years. Radebaugh stored many of these images in an online storage service and possessed other images on his cell phone.

Radebaugh pleaded guilty to production of child pornography and possession of child pornography and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 18, 2017. 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 Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Stoker 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. 2:17-cr-86.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Dumfries man was convicted today by a federal jury on charges of sex trafficking of minors.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Michael Edward Gunn, 40, a previously convicted sex offender, was a pimp who sex trafficked two minor victims from July 2013 to July 2015. Gunn lured the two minor victims into his prostitution ring and kept them there by providing drugs, telling the victims the ring was a family that took care of each other, providing the victims a place to stay, and by engaging in sexual relationships with both minor victims.

According to evidence presented at trial, Gunn helped create online advertisements, drove them to prostitution appointments, and collected and controlled the money. Evidence also showed that Gunn knew both minor victims were underage. For example, around the time one of the victims was 14 years old, Gunn saw a missing persons poster with the girl’s photo and her actual date of birth.

Gunn’s two co-conspirators, adult prostitutes who assisted him in running the prostitution ring, testified at trial as to Gunn’s role in leading the conspiracy.

Gunn faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on December 22. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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, M. Jay Farr, Arlington County Chief of Police, Barry M. Barnard, Chief of Prince William County Police, and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Cain and Kimberly R. Pedersen are prosecuting the case.

The Dumfries 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. 1:17-cr-137.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Calnet, Inc., a Reston based government contractor and its Chief Executive Officer and President, Kaleem Shah, also of Reston, agreed to pay $300,000 to settle allegations that Calnet and Shah submitted false information in Calnet’s bid proposal to the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) to win an FAA contract for IT help desk services.

The settlement resolves civil claims alleged in a qui tam complaint filed against Calnet and Shah that allege that Calnet misrepresented its past private sector experience in providing help desk services in its proposal to the FAA in 2009 in an effort to win a contract to provide the FAA’s Aviation Safety office with technology support services, including help desk and desk side services throughout North America and at several international sites. FAA awarded the contract to Calnet.

The False Claims Act permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The civil lawsuit was filed in federal district court in the Eastern District of Virginia.

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 and the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General.

The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Roushdy and Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General. The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

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

RICHMOND, Va. – A Charlottesville man was sentenced today to 51 months in prison for a bank fraud scheme that resulted in a loss of $10.5 million to Fauquier Bank.

Michael P. Klekamp, 68, pleaded guilty on December 9. According to court documents, Klekamp was the President of Capitol Components and Millwork, Inc. (CCM), of Culpeper. CCM was involved in the manufacture, fabrication and distribution of architectural building material millwork items for mid to high-end residential and commercial buildings. To run its business, CCM drew money from a standard secured revolving line of credit line at Fauquier Bank. The credit line agreement required CCM to submit periodic reports to the Bank about the value of the underlying collateral, such as accounts receivable and inventory, and the creditworthiness of CCM.

According to court documents, Klekamp fraudulently maintained the credit line by misrepresenting the true financial condition of CCM and made a variety of false statements to the bank about the true amount and quality of the collateral of CCM. On Oct. 25, 2015, Klekamp submitted documents to the bank fraudulently stating there was approximately $17 million of total accounts receivable and inventory securing the bank’s $11.5 million credit line, while in actuality there was no more than $3.4 million of total accounts receivable and inventory. Contrary to the fake financial statements submitted to the bank, CCM was not able to repay the interest or principal amount of the loan, resulting in a loss of approximately $10.5 million as a result of the scheme.

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. The case was investigated by Richmond Division, Charlottesville Resident Agency of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire 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-141.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A former employee of a medical practice in Williamsburg was indicted by a federal grand jury today on fraud charges for allegedly embezzling over $500,000 from her employer.

Sherea Darnell, 33, of Southfield, Michigan, has been charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, use of an unauthorized access device, and filing false tax returns. According to court documents, from March 2012 through September 2016 Darnell was employed as the administrator at Cullom Eye and Laser Center in Williamsburg.

According to allegations in the indictment, Darnell was responsible for the administrative functions of the office and was provided with two business credit cards to be used for business purposes such as supplies and office equipment. The credit cards were paid automatically each month by Cullom’s business bank accounts. When Darnell resigned in September 2016 and moved to Michigan, Cullom began reviewing the practice’s bank accounts and saw that large payments had been made to office’s credit cards. Analysis of the business credit card statements and revealed numerous charges on the cards that what were obviously personal in nature, including paying for her son’s private school tuition, maid services for her home, entertainment, dining, high end clothing, jewelry, and airline travel for Darnell and members of her family to resorts around the country and abroad. Additionally, over $90,000 in cash advances were made on the cards.

 

Darnell faces a maximum penalty of 30 years on each count of bank fraud, 20 years on each count of wire fraud, and 3 years on each count of filing false tax returns, 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 Kimberly A. Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick 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-92.

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 men were each sentenced today to five years in prison for their roles in a conspiracy to steal firearms from businesses in Virginia.

Preston G. Holmes III, 24, and Matthew D. Jones, 23, both of Prince George’s County, Maryland, were convicted by a federal jury on July 3 of conspiracy and theft of firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Holmes and Jones participated in the burglary of a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in Chantilly, where they stole 35 semi-automatic handguns. Holmes and Jones were also involved in attempted thefts of firearms from FFLs in Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Arron J. Graves, Acting 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 Gerald Bruce Lee. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander E. Blanchard and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Rich 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-67.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man pleaded guilty today to receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents, Charles McClung, 64, was a member of an online bulletin board dedicated to trading child pornography. The board was hosted on the dark net and had over 1,500 members. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began an investigation into the board in September 2015, and McClung was identified downloading content from the board in December 2015. As a result of the investigation, HSI and other law enforcement executed a federal search warrant of McClung’s residence in Chesapeake and found hundreds of thousands of images of child pornography.

McClung faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on January 17, 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 Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Robert J. Krask accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-105.

RICHMOND, Va. – Edward R. Prestes, 48, of Glen Allen, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud the IRS of over $3 million in employment and income taxes.

According to court documents, the purpose of the conspiracy was to evade the payment of income and employment taxes to the IRS for laborers working for various construction companies by paying the laborers “under the table.” From in or about 2011 through in or about 2013, Prestes was an agent for the following nominee corporations, incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia: Virginia American Contractors, LLC; Elson Contractors, LLC; Proactive Services, LLC; Positive Solutions, LLC; and Service Contractors, LLC, (“nominee corporations”). These nominee corporations all had the same address, a post office box in Glen Allen, but each nominee corporation had a separate bank account for which Prestes was an authorized signatory.

According to court documents, various construction companies made regular payments to the nominee corporations. Prestes then distributed the funds from the nominee corporations to the laborers. Prestes would make these payments to laborers by both cash and check. Prestes did not withhold any income or employment taxes, issue Forms W-2 or 1099 to the laborers, or file quarterly returns (Forms 941) or yearly income tax returns for the nominee corporations as required by law. At the end of each year, the construction companies issued IRS Forms 1099 to the nominee corporations and deducted the payments.

According to court documents, from in or about 2011 through in or about 2013, the construction companies paid over $9.2 million to the nominee corporations. Prestes then paid the laborers approximately $2.8 million in cash and $6.3 million in checks. Prestes kept as a commission approximately 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 percent of the funds he received from the construction companies. As a result of this conspiracy, the IRS lost over $3 million in employment and income taxes.

Prestes faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison when sentenced on December 12. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant 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, and Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigations, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire is prosecuting 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 for Case No. 3:17-CR-114.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Three men have been sentenced for illegally transporting a 17-year old girl from El Salvador within the United States and demanding additional money from her family for her release.

According to court documents, Daniel Lopez-Martinez, 27, of Mexico, Juan Tomas Nicolas, 25, of Guatemala, and Ernesto Solis, Jr., 29, of Mission, Texas, worked together to transport a 17-year old girl from El Salvador within the United States for money. Once she arrived in Houston, multiple calls were made by the men to the girl’s father in Loudoun County. In the calls, the men demanded an additional $4,700. The men agreed to turn the girl over to the father only upon receipt and counting the money. The girl was rescued after FBI Agents and Task Force Officers in Houston interceded in the scheduled transfer of funds.

Solis was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in prison today. Lopez-Martinez was sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison on July 28, and Nicolas was sentenced to 2 years in prison on August 14.

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 Gregory C. Brown, Chief of Leesburg Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Cain prosecuted the case.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Offices’ Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with assistance from the Leesburg Police Department, the FBI’s Houston Field Office, the FBI’s McAllen Resident Agency, the U.S. Border Patrol, and Homeland Security Investigations.

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-6.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A North Carolina man who conspired with others to gain unauthorized access to government computer systems and online accounts belonging to several United States government officials was sentenced today to 5 years in prison.

Justin G. Liverman, aka “D3F4ULT”, 25, of Morehead City, pleaded guilty on January 6. Liverman admitted to being a member of a conspiracy that called itself “Crackas With Attitude” to commit unauthorized computer intrusions, identity theft, and telephone harassment. According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, beginning in November 2015, Liverman conspired to attempt to intimidate and harass U.S. officials and their families by gaining unauthorized access to victims’ online accounts, among other things. For example, Liverman publicly posted online documents and personal information unlawfully obtained from a victim’s personal account; sent threatening text messages to the same victim’s cellphone; and paid an unlawful “phonebombing” service to call the victim repeatedly with a threatening message. In November 2015, the conspiracy used that victim's government credentials to gain unlawful access to a confidential federal law enforcement database, where Liverman obtained information relating to dozens of law enforcement officers and uploaded this information to a public website. In total, the conspiracy targeted more than 10 victims and caused more than $1.5 million in losses to victims.

A co-conspirator, Andrew Otto Boggs, 23, of North Wilkesboro, was sentenced on June 30 to two years in prison. Other members of the conspiracy are located in the United Kingdom and are being prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

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 Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song and Jay V. Prabhu, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph V. Longobardo prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina, and the FBI’s Charlotte Division 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. 1:16-cr-313.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man who participated in 31 armed robberies in Hampton Roads was sentenced today to 14 years in prison.

According to court documents, from August 2016 to January 2017, Jesse Bray, 22, participated in 31 armed robberies with two other co-conspirators, including convenience stores, gas stations, cash advance stores and wireless phone stores. Bray and his co-conspirators would enter the various stores brandishing firearms, including in some instances a sawed-off shotgun, and demanding money. The men stole approximately $10,000 during the robberies.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Arron J. Graves, Acting 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.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Nokesville man was sentenced today to 6 1/2 years in prison for embezzling approximately $19.4 million from his employer, an information technology company headquartered in Reston.

Jon Frank, 48, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on June 9. According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Frank worked at the company as the controller. From 2007 until January 2017, he used his position to initiate transfers of approximately more than $19 million from the company’s bank account to his personal accounts. He created false documents to make it appear that the money was being sent as reimbursement to another company that was administering the health insurance plan for Frank’s employer. Relying upon his knowledge and the altered documents, he was able to mislead the individuals performing audits of the company’s financial records. Frank spent the money on expensive automobiles and real estate, among other things. In addition to his prison sentence, Frank was also ordered to pay $19,440,331 in restitution.

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. Attorney Jack Hanly 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-144.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former information technology official with the Department of Commerce was sentenced today to 4 years in prison and ordered to forfeit approximately $224,500 for conspiracy to pay and receive bribes, and acceptance of bribes by a public official.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Raushi J. Conrad, 43, of Bristow, served as the Director of Systems Operation and Security within the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), a branch of the Department of Commerce. In that position, Conrad was designated to oversee and manage a project whereby computer files were transferred from an old BIS computer network that had been infected by a virus to a new, uninfected network. Conrad was also to ensure that the transferred files were free of viruses and, in some instances, retained the full functionality of the files that had resided on the old network.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, while serving as the project manager for the data migration project, Conrad solicited and received bribes from James Bedford, a local businessman, in return for steering a lucrative subcontract and contract to perform the data migration work to companies owned in whole or in part by Bedford. One of Bedford’s companies made $208,000 in payments to a restaurant business owned by Conrad, and many of these payments were concealed through false and fictitious invoices created by Conrad. The fake invoices made it appear that Conrad’s restaurant business had performed various services for Bedford’s company, when in fact no such services had ever been provided. Bedford’s company also arranged for various employees and subcontractors to perform over $16,000 worth of free renovation work at Conrad’s residence. Bedford pleaded guilty and was sentenced on June 30 (Case number 1:16-cr-264).

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, Duane E. Townsend, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General, and Robert E. Craig, Special Agent in Charge for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Jamar K. Walker 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-169.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Springfield man pleaded guilty today to attempting to entice an eight-year-old minor to engage in sex during his trip to the Philippines in 2013.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Carl Sara, 63, participated in live-streaming webcam sessions depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and engaged in sexually explicit chatting with minors. During some of these chats, which occurred in or about May 2013, Sara attempted to have a woman in the Philippines assist him in enticing her eight-year old daughter to have sex with him during a 2013 trip to the Philippines. He paid her $200 dollars via Western Union as a down-payment and offered to pay her an additional $300 after he had sex with the eight-year-old.

Sara faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on December 8. 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 U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Burke IV and Assistant United States Attorney Nathaniel Smith III are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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-54.

RICHMOND, Va. – A previously convicted felon and alleged supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS”) was arrested yesterday on a charge related to his acquisition of a firearm, three weeks after he was released from state prison.

Casey Charles Spain, 28, of Richmond, was charged by criminal complaint with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Spain was incarcerated for over seven years after being convicted in 2010 for abduction with intent to defile. He was released from the Virginia Department of Corrections on August 11, 2017.

According to court documents, while incarcerated, Spain became radicalized and adopted extremist Islamic views. He obtained a tattoo on his cheek that reads “Cop Killa,” and a tattoo of the ISIS flag on his back. Two confidential sources of information who had contact with Spain while he was incarcerated separately reported that Spain swore a pledge of loyalty, commonly known as bayat, to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. Spain also allegedly told both individuals that he wanted to travel overseas to engage in jihad on behalf of ISIS, and that if he were not allowed to travel upon his release, he would engage in jihad, to include acts of violence, against targets in the United States.

Given this information, the FBI began conducting intensive surveillance of Spain immediately upon his release from incarceration. This surveillance included making covert contact with Spain through FBI undercover employees (“UCE”) and a confidential human source (“CHS”). According to the complaint affidavit, Spain spoke on multiple occasions to the CHS about his strong desire to both obtain a handgun and travel overseas to engage in actions in support of ISIS. The CHS’s information regarding Spain’s plan was corroborated by several recorded conversations Spain had with still-incarcerated prisoners after his release.

Based upon Spain’s 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 fact, it was a 9 mm Glock semi-automatic handgun that FBI personnel had rendered inert, for safety reasons.

According to court documents, in the early morning hours of August 31, 2017, as part of the undercover operation, the CHS and an FBI UCE met Spain outside of his Richmond residence. At that meeting, the CHS provided Spain the above-described firearm, and Spain was subsequently arrested by the FBI Richmond SWAT team. 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. The agents also recovered a cell phone and the gun, which Spain had discarded during the foot-chase.

On August 31, 2017, Spain made his initial appearance in federal court following his arrest on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. United States Magistrate Judge Roderick C. Young ordered that Spain be held without bond pending a probable cause and detention hearing, which is scheduled for September 6, 2017.

Spain faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. Any sentence would be determined by the court after considering the advisory 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 of the Eastern District of Virginia 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-mj-152.

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. – Adrian D. Briggs, 21, was convicted today by a federal jury on charges of carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

According to court records and evidence at trial, on Aug. 11, 2016, Newport News Police Department officers responded to a hotel parking lot following a report of a carjacking in which Briggs had brandished a firearm and threatened the victim, a U.S. Army veteran who had served two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The victim had agreed to loan Briggs his cell phone, which Briggs then took along with the car.

The investigation revealed video footage showing a man matching the defendant’s description entering the hotel shortly before the carjacking, and another video showing the same person pulling into a nearby 7-Eleven in the victim’s car just before using the victim’s credit card at the location. Briggs’ DNA was identified by fingerprints in the victim’s car, and the victim positively identified Briggs from a photo spread. In addition, phone records showed that Briggs had used the victim’s cell phone to call Briggs’ mother and sister on the morning of the crime.

Briggs faces a maximum penalty of 22 years in prison when sentenced on November 29. 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 B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bethany J. Lipman of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang 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. 4:17-cr-33.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Bowie, Maryland woman was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for bank fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The court also ordered Lewis to forfeit and pay over $249,000 in restitution.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Tonia Latrice Lewis, 47, obtained the identities of dozens of victims and used those identities to open bank accounts and apply for loans in the names of the victims, without their knowledge or consent. Lewis submitted over 30 applications to open accounts and get access to funds from various financial institutions, including Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Lafayette Federal Credit Union, U.S. Postal Service Federal Credit Union, Interior Federal Credit Union, D.C. Teachers Federal Credit Union, M&T Bank, and others. Most of the financial institutions that Lewis defrauded were not-for-profit credit unions.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Lewis took sophisticated steps to perpetrate the years-long scheme and conceal her identity. Lewis focused on financial institutions that allowed her to apply for and submit back-up documentation online, thereby minimizing the risk that she would be caught on surveillance video. Lewis fabricated a variety of fraudulent documents to substantiate the applications and stolen identities, including paystubs and driver’s licenses, and she paid to run detailed credit reports/checks on her victims. In perpetrating this scheme, Lewis created fake email accounts, purchased burner phones that were used as the contact numbers on the fraudulent applications, and caused the victims’ mail to be forwarded to vacant/abandoned properties. When Lewis went to withdraw funds from the fraudulent accounts, she often wore clothing such as hats, glasses, or scarves that obscured her face, and even took steps to cover up surveillance cameras by covering them with aluminum foil.

Lewis sought over $600,000 in loans and financing, and her actions caused actual losses of $249,858.29. Lewis used the proceeds from the fraud in part to purchase jewelry, items of clothing, and to gamble at a casino in West Virginia.

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 J. Thomas Manger, Montgomery County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine L. Wong and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Culhane Harper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-25.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials and four private VDOT contractors were arrested today for their alleged involvement in a bribery scheme involving the awarding of over $9.1 million in snow removal contracts.

According to allegations in the indictment, from as early as 2013, Anthony Willie and Kenneth Duane Adams, VDOT supervisors at the Burke Area Headquarters (AHQ), secretly used their official positions as employees of the VDOT Burke AHQ to enrich themselves by soliciting and accepting cash bribes in exchange for various favorable official acts, such as awarding snow removal work to local trucking companies during winter snow storms in the northern Virginia area.

According to the allegations in the indictment, Willie and Adams negotiated bribe agreements with several owners and operators of trucking and snow removal companies, including Rolando Alfonso Pineda Moran, Shaheen Sariri, and John Lee Williamson (see table below), seeking snow removal work from the VDOT Burke AHQ. At their core, each agreement stated that the company owners would provide a percentage or a flat rate of their hourly contracts as bribes in the form of cash payments to Willie and Adams, in exchange for being awarded snow removal work and having Willie and Adams sign off on their VDOT invoices. Beginning in the 2013‑2014 snow season and continuing through at least the 2015‑2016 snow season, Willie and Adams received approximately $140,000 in cash bribes from the company owners under those agreements.

The indictment also alleges that from 2011 through 2016, Adams conspired with Elmer Antonio Mejia by negotiating an agreement whereby Mejia would sub-contract snow removal work out to Adams’ nominee-owned company, Supreme Landscaping. During this period, Mejia paid Adams more than $160,000, frequently disguising the payments as pay for snow removal work allegedly performed by Adams’ nominee-owned company.

The indictment charges six defendants for the following offenses:

Name, Age

Hometown

Charges

Max Penalty

(per count)

Anthony “Andy” Willie, 54,

Culpeper, Virginia

Conspiracy; Honest Services Mail and Wire Fraud

20 years

Kenneth “Kenny” Duane Adams, 41, Fairfax, Virginia

Conspiracy; Honest Services Mail Fraud

20 years

Rolando Alfonso Pineda Moran, 50, Alexandria, Virginia

Conspiracy; Honest Services Mail Fraud

20 years

Shaheen “Shane” Sariri, 30,

Fairfax, Virginia

Conspiracy; Honest Services Mail Fraud

20 years

John Lee Williamson, 51,

Springfield, Virginia

Conspiracy; Honest Services Wire Fraud

20 years

Elmer Antonio Mejia, 50,

Aldie, Virginia

Conspiracy; Honest Services Mail Fraud

20 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; and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly R. Pedersen and Samantha P. Bateman are prosecuting the case.

This case involved a joint investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Virginia State Police, and Fairfax County Police Department. Additional assistance was provided by the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Office of Assurance and Compliance.

Any person who believes they may have information regarding public corruption or fraud in the northern Virginia area is encouraged to call the FBI’s Northern Virginia Public Corruption Hotline at 703-686-6225 or e-mail tips to NOVAPC@ic.fbi.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information 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-188.

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.

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a former University of Virginia football player today of his role in a $10 million fraud scheme.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Merrill Robertson, Jr., 36, of Chesterfield, started Cavalier Union Investments, LLC, and Black Bull Wealth management, LLC, with co-conspirator Sherman Carl Vaughn. From 2009-2016, Robertson and Vaughn solicited individuals to invest money in private investment funds that they managed, as well as distinct investment opportunities that they proposed. Robertson identified potential investors through various contacts; including contacts he developed playing football at Fork Union Military Academy, the University of Virginia, and in the National Football League, while Vaughn focused on developing investment opportunities.

“Behind every lie is a choice,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Mr. Robertson lied to his friends and mentors, and many times had the opportunity to come clean and tell the truth. Instead, he chose to continue his lies and fraud, which had devastating effects on his victims. I applaud the terrific efforts of the trial team and our law enforcement partners in investigating and prosecuting this important case.”

Robertson and Vaughn led individuals to believe they were experienced investment advisors, and that they employed other experienced investment advisors to manage their investment funds. For example, Vaughn represented that he was a long-time investor and philanthropist with extensive experience in business and real estate. In fact, Vaughn filed for personal bankruptcy four times, including twice during the time he was soliciting investors for Cavalier.

“There are consequences for people's choices,” said Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office. “Today Mr. Robertson was convicted for his scheme of manipulating friends and associates into trusting him with their savings and ultimately using it for his personal gain. I would like to commend the investigative team and the United States Attorney's Office for their dedication to bring justice to the victims associated with this case.”

As a result of this conspiracy, Robertson and Vaughn fraudulently obtained more than $10 million from over 50 investors, spending much of the money on their own personal living expenses, including mortgage and car payments, school tuitions, spa visits, restaurants, department stores, and vacations.

“The longevity and scope of Mr. Robertson’s scheme to defraud investors is simply astonishing,” said Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office. “Through the joint efforts of IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners, Mr. Robertson has been brought to justice and convicted by a jury of his peers. Today’s verdict is a reminder that IRS-CI will remain vigilant in our investigation of these schemes in order to combat this type of criminal conduct.”

“This case is merely the latest in a long tradition of Postal Inspectors relentlessly pursuing anyone who misuses the nation's mail system to commit fraud and take advantage of the American public.” said Inspector in Charge Robert Wemyss. “I'm proud of the work done by all the agents involved in this investigation, and look forward to the continued efforts of the Richmond Securities Fraud Task Force.”

Robertson was convicted of mail fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 330 years in prison when sentenced on December 6. 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, Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, and Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr., accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Lee Martin and Stephen E. Anthony are prosecuting the case.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission Division of Securities and Retail Franchising assisted 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. 3:16-cr-133.

NORFOLK, Va. – The former owner of a Virginia Beach investment company was arrested today for his alleged role in leading an investment fraud scheme that caused losses of at least $20 million.

Daryl Gene Bank, 47, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Raeann Gibson, 45, of Palm City, Florida, were previously residents of Virginia Beach. Each have been charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail and wire fraud, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. According to the allegations in the indictment, Bank created, owned and operated dozens of Virginia limited liability companies, including Dominion Investment Group (DIG), and Dominion Private Client Group (DPCG), with offices in Virginia Beach and in Port St. Lucie.

According to allegations in the indictment, Bank and Gibson engaged in a conspiracy by which they operated several investment fraud schemes from approximately January 2012 through July 2017. For example, in one fraud scheme, Bank caused numerous material misrepresentations and omissions to be made to several investors, including BC, who was blind and in his late 70s at the time he invested $20,000 of his retirement funds in an investment fraud called Prime Spectrum. Immediately upon receipt of BC’s funds, Bank and Gibson misappropriated 70 percent investment funds and sent BC a statement reflecting his investment in Prime Spectrum was fully invested.

During the various fraud schemes, Bank and Gibson prepared materially false and misleading investment offerings, and knowingly omitted information and made material misrepresentations to at least 300 investors, causing his victims to lose at least a combined $20 million.

According to the indictment, in 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint against Bank and entities he controlled accusing him of running a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud investors. That same year, the Virginia State Corporation Commission filed a civil enforcement action against both Bank and Gibson to enjoin them from the fraudulent sale of unregistered securities.

If you believe you may be a victim in this case, please call the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office at: 757-609-2514.

Bank faces a maximum penalty of 260 years in prison if convicted, and Gibson faces a maximum penalty of 240 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, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk 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 (USPIS), made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa E. O’Boyle and Elizabeth M. Yusi are prosecuting the case.

The FBI’s Miami Field Office provided significant assistance with the execution of the arrest and search warrants.

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-126.

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.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Henrico man who distributed a combined total of more than 20 kilograms heroin and cocaine into the Richmond area in 2016 was sentenced today to 262 months in prison.

Alphonso Jones, 43, pleaded guilty on May 23. According to court documents, Jones, who has multiple previous drug related convictions, admitted that he been involved in the distribution of more than seven kilograms of heroin and 15 kilograms of cocaine. These quantities convert to over 220,000 individual doses. Jones also admitted to possessing a .38 caliber handgun and ammunition as a convicted felon. In addition to his prison sentence, Jones was ordered to forfeit the firearm, and a monetary judgment was entered in the amount of $1.05 million, which represented the proceeds of Jones’ drug trafficking activities.

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, Alfred Durham, Chief of Richmond Police, and Colonel Thierry Dupuis, Chief of Chesterfield County Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-34.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man pleaded guilty today to receipt of child pornography.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Alfredo Martinez, 51, was identified in an online undercover operation as sharing images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In May 2017, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at his house in Norfolk. Martinez was found in possession of numerous items of electronic media that contained images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, including a cell phone, external hard drives, and three different computers. Martinez was arrested at the time of the search warrant and was later by indictment by a federal grand jury.

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

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 Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-98.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A previously convicted felon pleaded guilty today to his role in a violent carjacking.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Mark Anthony Johnson, 35, arrived at a convenience store on Shell Road in Hampton with two other vehicles in the evening of Nov. 20, 2016. Johnson got out of his car and brandished an AR-15 assault rifle at two individuals as he approached the store. He entered the store, brandished his rifle at the store clerk, then exited the store. After he exited the store, he pointed his rifle at the carjacking victim. Another vehicle that arrived with Johnson blocked the victim’s vehicle from exiting the parking lot. Johnson removed the victim from the victim’s vehicle at gunpoint, and struck the man with his rifle. The victim was forced to the ground, and a group of individuals, including Johnson, kicked the victim. The passenger of Johnson’s vehicle drove off in the victim’s car.

Johnson, who is currently on federal supervised release, pleaded guilty to carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He will be sentenced on December 4, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years for the carjacking, and a mandatory minimum of 7 years and a maximum penalty of life for brandishing the firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The latter sentence will be served consecutive to the former. 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 B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, 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-51.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former banking executive pleaded guilty today to a fraud and identity theft scheme that caused over $3 million in losses.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Kirk Russel Marsh, 39, of Oakton, was a former vice president at Virginia Commerce Bank (VCB) and later at Fulton Bank. Virginia Commerce Bank and Fulton Bank’s parent company, Fulton Financial Corporation, received $71 million and $376.5 million, respectively, in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds from the United States Treasury. At VCB, Marsh forged the signatures of senior bank officers to cause the fraudulent issuance of over $1.25 million in loans to small businesses. At Fulton Bank, Marsh used the name and personal identifying information of a former client to fraudulently apply for and obtain a $1 million line of credit, which he used to purchase another client’s software company, Wave Software, and make the down payment on his house. Marsh also made unauthorized draws on a $485,000 line of credit of another client, which he used to pay Wave Software operating expenses. After being fired by Fulton Bank, and while purportedly cooperating with the United States, Marsh pretended to buy a company that sold beauty products, Revive You Media. He then requested real financial information as part of purported due diligence. Marsh used that financial information to hold himself out as the owner of Revive You Media and seek financing. As part of those attempts to secure financing, Marsh also used the identities of other former clients and family members. The attempted loss is over $10 million.

Marsh pleaded guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on November 17. 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, Christy Goldsmith Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Wong 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-122.

Lionel Williams, 27, of Suffolk, Va., pleaded guilty today to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Dana J. Boente; Special Agent in Charge Martin Culbreth of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Chief Thomas E. Bennett of Suffolk Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen accepted the plea.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Williams attempted to send money to a person he believed was an ISIS financier on two occasions, believing the money would be used to kill. In court documents, Williams admitted his interest in ISIS began in 2014. On Dec. 3, 2015, the day after the San Bernardino terrorist attack, he bought an AK-47 assault rifle. In March 2016, he publicly declared his support for ISIS on social media, described his hope that ISIS would take over the U.S., and stated he would decapitate any law enforcement agents he caught surveilling him. After donating money to an individual he believed to be an ISIS financier - but was actually a persona adopted by an FBI employee - Williams was told his donation had helped purchase a rocket-propelled grenade. He responded with an Arabic phrase meaning, “Praise be to Allah, and Allah is the Greatest.” Later in 2016, Williams began discussing plans for a martyrdom operation with a woman living outside the U.S. He asked an FBI confidential source to send him specific types of AK-47 ammunition and told an FBI employee that his plan was for a “local” operation. Williams was arrested and charged shortly thereafter. After his arrest, he told agents he supported ISIS and believed he was part of a “holy war.”

As part of the plea agreement, Williams agreed that he will receive the statutory maximum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on December 20.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla and Andrew C. Bosse, and Trial Attorneys Alicia H. Cook and Joshua D. Champagne of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Suffolk man pleaded guilty today to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Lionel Williams, 27, attempted to send money to a person he believed was an ISIS financier on two occasions, believing the money would be used to kill. In court documents, Williams admitted his interest in ISIS began in 2014. On Dec. 3, 2015, the day after the San Bernardino terrorist attack, he bought an AK-47 assault rifle. In March 2016, he publicly declared his support for ISIS on social media, described his hope that ISIS would take over the United States, and stated he would decapitate any law enforcement agents he caught surveilling him. After donating money to an individual he believed to be an ISIS financier - but was actually a persona adopted by an FBI employee - Williams was told his donation had helped purchase a rocket-propelled grenade. He responded with an Arabic phrase meaning, “Praise be to Allah, and Allah is the Greatest.” Later in 2016, Williams began discussing plans for a martyrdom operation with a woman living outside the United States, asked an FBI confidential source to send him specific types of AK-47 ammunition, and told an FBI employee that his plan was for a “local” operation. Williams was arrested and charged shortly thereafter. After his arrest, he told agents he supported ISIS and believed he was part of a “holy war.”

As part of the plea agreement, Williams agreed that he will receive the statutory maximum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on December 20.

Dana J. Boente, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, and Thomas E. Bennett, Chief of Suffolk Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla and Andrew C. Bosse, and Trial Attorneys Alicia H. Cook and Joshua D. Champagne 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. 2:17-cr-1.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Fredericksburg man was sentenced today to two years in prison, ordered to pay $3 million in restitution, and ordered to forfeit $1.42 million for participating in a conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Bernard Ekelemu, 60, directed another individual to purchase a Gulf gas station in Fredericksburg in November 2013. Ekelemu then registered a Virginia corporation to operate that gas station, and obtained a “Certificate of Registration for the Collection of Virginia Sales and Use Tax” that exempted Ekelemu from paying the Virginia sales and use tax when making business purchases. Ekelemu opened business memberships at various wholesale clubs and with wholesale cigarette distributors in Virginia, and subsequently used those business memberships to make sales-tax-free purchases of more than $7.1 million worth of Virginia-stamped cigarettes between March 2014 and November 2016. Ekelemu stored those cigarettes at several locations, to include storage units in Fredericksburg and Springfield, where Ekelemu would sell those cigarettes to cigarette traffickers. The traffickers thereafter smuggled the cigarettes to New York State (among other locations), where they were sold as contraband cigarettes on the black market.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Michael B. Boxler, 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 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-46.

NORFOLK, Va. – Eleven people were arrested across three states this morning for their role in a large-scale heroin and fentanyl drug trafficking organization in Portsmouth.

Over 300 law enforcement agents made the arrests and executed 10 search warrants in Virginia, Georgia, and New York. The takedown is the result of a multi-year, multi-jurisdictional, and multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation designated Operation Hardest Hit.

According to the indictment, law enforcement began investigating Leroy Perdue and his drug trafficking organization (Perdue DTO) in early 2016 following the heroin overdose death of a young resident of Chesapeake. With the participation of nearly two dozen Confidential Human Sources, law enforcement infiltrated the Perdue DTO and made 10 undercover controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl. On June 22, the investigative team arrested Rhadu Schoolfield in Norfolk with 800 grams of heroin after he returned from a trip to New York.

“Tackling the opioid epidemic is one of our top priorities,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Through the combined efforts of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners we will continue to strangle the supply of heroin and fentanyl and bring to justice those who profit from other people’s misery.”

According to the indictment, the Perdue DTO distributed in excess of 100 kilograms of heroin (approximately 250,000 doses) over a 10-year period. Members of the Perdue DTO were responsible for supplying a violent gang based in Portsmouth and continued to sell dangerous narcotics even after learning that their drugs resulted in death. The United States is alleging that at least two members of the Perdue DTO have ties to criminal street gangs and that other members possessed firearms and ammunition. Ten of the 12 federal defendants are convicted felons.

“My top priority as attorney general is keeping Virginians and their families safe, which is why my team and I are relentlessly pursuing the heroin and fentanyl traffickers who profit off addiction and endanger the lives of Virginians,” said Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia. “Operation Hardest Hit is another important step in addressing what’s become one of Virginia’s most urgent public safety and public health threats. This operation, along with the work of the Hampton Roads Heroin Working Group, shows what can happen when local, state, and federal partners are committed to working cooperatively and collaboratively. The results speak for themselves and I hope communities around the country will look to this region as an example of what can be accomplished when we come together as a community.”

“This case demonstrates the steadfast commitment of the FBI and our law enforcement partners to protecting the public from destructive enterprises that eat at the heart and soul of our community,” said Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Division. “Operation Hardest Hit is an example of a coordinated, intelligence-driven strategy to choke the supply of these dangerous drugs by targeting the high level traffickers and criminal organizations most responsible for terrorizing our neighborhoods and poisoning our community.”

 

“This team effort helped take down a massive heroin and fentanyl drug trafficking organization that spanned across multiple states,” said Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of HSI Norfolk. “Today, I’m proud to say that our law enforcement actions saved lives. We’ll continue to be relentless in our pursuit of those who seek to exploit and harm our citizens with lethal drugs in communities across the country.”

The below individuals were among a dozen named in a 25-count indictment by returned by a federal grand jury on August 9:

Name

Age

Hometown

Charges

Leroy L. Perdue,

aka Dink, Big Heat, Big Cuz

45

Portsmouth

Conspiracy, Possession with intent to distribute heroin, Interstate travel in aid of racketeering

Rhadu J. Schoolfield, aka Big Face Dolla

33

Portsmouth

Conspiracy, Felon in possession of firearms, Interstate travel in aid of racketeering

Tywon McKelvy

42

New York

Conspiracy

Darion D. Perdue,

Aka Son Son

24

Portsmouth

Conspiracy

Abraham A. Atkins

35

Portsmouth

Conspiracy, Distribution, Possession with intent to distribute, Maintaining a drug-involved premises, Using a communications facility to cause, commit, and facilitate felony violations of the Controlled Substances Act

Valeria A. Waller

42

Portsmouth

Conspiracy; Distribution; Possession with intent to distribute; Felon in possession of a firearm

Eddie L. Tyson

46

Portsmouth

Conspiracy, Maintaining a drug-involved premises, Distribution of Fentanyl

Jamars A. Cooper,

aka Mall

26

Portsmouth

Conspiracy

Dominic Diablo Mosley

35

Portsmouth

Conspiracy

Edward Muckle,

aka Eddie

32

Portsmouth

Conspiracy, Maintaining a drug-involved premises

 

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 Division, Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of HSI Norfolk, Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division, Kelvin L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police, and Tonya D. Chapman, Chief of Portsmouth Police, made the announcement after arrests were made.

 

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Tidewater Violent Crime Task Force, in partnership with HSI’s Norfolk Field Office, ATF, Chesapeake Police Department, Virginia State Police, and the Portsmouth Gang Suppression Unit. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla, Andrew C. Bosse, William B. Jackson, and Kevin Hudson are prosecuting 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 for Case No. 2:17-cr-116.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Midasco, LLC, located in Elkridge, Maryland, has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle False Claims Act allegations related to their work on the Virginia I-495 HOV/HOT Lanes Project.

The government investigated allegations that Midasco had not complied with the Davis-Bacon Act, specifically that they had not paid workers who performed electrical work on the HOT Lanes Project the prevailing wage required by federal labor standards. Instead, Midasco improperly classified workers as supervisors and paid them a salary in order to avoid paying the higher wages they were entitled to as electricians. The alleged conduct occurred between July 2012 and May 2015.

Midasco worked as a subcontractor on the HOT Lanes Project, a project that created approximately 29 miles of reversible high-occupancy toll lanes along the I-95/I-495 corridor. Midasco’s contract included installation of highway signing, lighting, toll gantries, ITS infrastructure, and electrical communication components.

The investigation was initiated after a lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government when they believe that defendants submitted false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. The False Claims Act permits the government time to investigate allegations in qui tam complaints and to intervene in such lawsuits, when the government deems it appropriate. This case is captioned United States ex rel. David Ridley, et al. v. Midasco, LLC et al. (1:12-cv-1170 AJT-TCB).

The resolution in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General. The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Monika Moore and Assistant Attorney General Peter Broadbent. The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

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

Two men from Triangle, Virginia, have been convicted of multiple sex trafficking and child exploitation offenses. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office (WFO) made the announcement.

Christian Don’Tae Hood, 25, was convicted by a federal jury today before the Honorable Anthony J. Trenga following a three-day trial.  Co-defendant Abdul Bangura, 20, pleaded guilty on the first day of trial on Tuesday. 

According to the evidence presented at trial and other court documents, Hood and Bangura met the minor victim while she was living with her aunt at the Econolodge in Dumfries, Virginia.  The defendants, working together, recruited the minor into their prostitution scheme and began to advertise her on Backpage.com.  The minor victim was transported to multiple motels throughout Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland for commercial sex acts.  After customers paid money to sexually exploit the minor victim, the defendants collected a portion of the money.  Defendant Bangura also produced a video of child pornography involving the minor victim.   

The FBI WFO's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, Prince William County Police and Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Cain of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Kyle Reynolds of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

A Richmond woman pleaded guilty today healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, Chermeca Harris, 36, was a Medicaid beneficiary and would misrepresent her health condition to health care providers, such as hospitals and ambulance services, in order to obtain health care benefits. Specifically, Harris would falsely represent that she was suffering from sickle cell anemia and was having a sickle cell crisis in order to obtain pain killing drugs, such as dilaudid, which she wanted to receive intravenously through the neck. In fact, doctors tested Harris in January 2016, and determined she did not have sickle cell anemia. The hospitals involved were Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Chippenham, Bon Secours St. Mary’s, Memorial Regional, John Randolph Medical Center, and Henrico Doctor’s. According to court documents, it was a further part of the scheme that Harris also falsely represented her identity. On some occasions she used the name of M.M., and on other occasions she used the name of R.J.; both Medicaid recipients. She also falsely stated to investigating federal agents that her name was M.M. and that she had sickle cell anemia.

Harris was charged as part of the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, involving 412 charged defendants across 41 federal districts, including 115 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $1.3 billion in false billings. Of those charged, over 120 defendants, including doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics. Thirty state Medicaid Fraud Control Units also participated in today’s arrests. In addition, HHS has initiated suspension actions against 295 providers, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

Harris pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud on the Medicaid program and aggravated identity theft. She faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison, when sentenced on October 26. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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; and Nick DiGiulio, Special Agent in Charge, Philadelphia Regional Office of Inspector General of Department of Health and Human Services, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by Magistrate Judge David J. Novak. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-77.