Eastern District of Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. – A Panamanian businessman was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role in an international drug trafficking conspiracy involving the importation of 22 kilograms of cocaine onboard a commercial shipping vessel.

Humberto Beckford, 36, of Panama City, Panama, pleaded guilty on Dec. 22, 2016. According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in March 2016 a Panamanian drug trafficking organization (DTO) secreted a cocaine load onboard a commercial shipping vessel traveling from Panama to Charleston, South Carolina. On March 11, 2016, Beckford, was directed by a member of the DTO to travel from Miami to Charleston to supervise the distribution of the cocaine load upon its arrival at the Port of Charleston. Unbeknownst to Beckford, law enforcement had intercepted the cocaine load onboard the ship. The next day Beckford met with undercover federal law enforcement agents to coordinate the distribution of a bag containing 22 kilograms of cocaine to a drug courier working for the DTO.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Daniel Salter, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Atlanta Division; Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik Siebert and Peter S. Duffey prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located be found 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-117.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A McLean man was sentenced today to five years in prison for collecting tens of thousands of images and videos of child pornography since 2004.

“For the last 12 years Seth Thornton visited depraved corners of the Internet to hunt for images and videos of young girls being sexually exploited and abused,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “It is beyond dispute that child pornography trafficking crimes are grievous offenses that deserve serious penalties. The distribution and receipt of child pornography fuels a market for further production and abuse, while continuing the victimization of children depicted in the images. While these crimes can be very difficult to talk about, we must continue to bring awareness to these prosecutions with the goal of protecting our children from sexual predators by deterring others from committing similar crimes, online and elsewhere.”

Seth Aaron Thornton, 43, pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 2016. According to court documents, Thornton, an information technology consultant who has worked for prominent consulting companies as well as the federal government, had been using peer-to-peer networks to amass a collection of tens of thousands of images and videos of minor girls, primarily aged approximately 8 to 14 years old, though many featured even younger children. Some child exploitation files in Thornton’s collection depicted sadistic, masochistic, or other violent imagery.

“Child pornography, in any form, haunts its victims for their entire lifetime,” said Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. “Our special agents are dedicated to identifying and investigating individuals who prey on children, and we will ensure they’re prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

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 after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maya D. Song and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Burke IV prosecuted the case.

This case is 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. 1:16-cr-246.

NORFOLK, Va. – A fugitive captured by the U.S. Marshals at a Suffolk hotel on January 6 pleaded guilty today to being a fugitive from justice in possession of firearms and ammunition.

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

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

 

Webb faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison sentenced on July 5. 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; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; Robert Mathieson, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Thomas E. Bennett, Chief of Suffolk Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Comstock 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-15.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former senior official with the General Services Administration and her husband pleaded guilty today to engaging in a nepotism scheme in which they conspired to fraudulently obtain employment from the U.S. government and private federal contractors.

According to the statement of facts filed with their plea agreements, Helen Renee Ballard, 51, and Robert S. Ballard, 56, both of Brandywine, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false statements to the United States.

Helen Renee Ballard (aka Renee Ballard) was the Director of the Central Office Contracting Division of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) from May 2006 to May 2011 and worked for GSA until 2016. From 2010 through July 2014, Renee Ballard and her husband, Robert S. Ballard (aka Steve Ballard), engaged in a scheme to enrich themselves by obtaining employment with federal contractors and the U.S. government through false and misleading statements concerning Steve Ballard’s relation, education, and qualifications. As part of the more than $200,000 scheme, Renee and Steve Ballard fraudulently induced a federal contractor located in Arlington to hire Steve Ballard. The Arlington based contractor then placed Steve Ballard on a federal contract awarded by GSA and supervised by Renee Ballard. Later, Renee Ballard attempted to hire Steve Ballard for a position within GSA under her supervision.

According to the statement of facts, Renee and Steve Ballard caused over 139 false employment applications to be submitted to federal agencies, including the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, U.S. State Department, U.S. Transportation and Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Education, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Labor, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and the Internal Revenue Service. These applications falsely misrepresented Steve Ballard’s education and qualifications, including that he had earned or taken classes toward a master’s degree and was certified in government contracting at Levels I, II, and III. In order to corroborate these false representations, Renee and Steve Ballard obtained and submitted fake certification documents. In addition to these fraudulent applications, the Ballards sent Steve Ballard’s false resume to the Executive Office of the President in an attempt to obtain employment there. Subsequently, Steve Ballard submitted false applications to at least six different private contractors who worked, at times on-site, with the federal agencies, including GSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The Ballards each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison sentenced on July 28. 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 Carol Fortine Ochoa, Inspector General, GSA, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Uzo Asonye and Katherine Wong 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. 1:16-cr-136.

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a Portsmouth man with sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.

According to the indictment, Naeem Lateef Odums, 39, of Clovis, California, and Portsmouth, Virginia, forced “Jane Doe” to engage in commercial sex acts in California and Virginia for nearly nine years. Odums used a combination of extreme physical violence, threats of violence, and threats of kidnapping Jane Doe’s children, and other forms of control to cause her to perform commercial sex acts. Odums arranged appointments for Jane Doe using a website known to promote prostitution, and collected all the money Jane Doe earned both from her appointments, as well as from her legitimate jobs. In January 2017, Jane Doe was hospitalized after Odums broke three of her ribs and punctured her lung. Odums was originally charged by criminal complaint on March 7.

Odums faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. 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; Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Tonya D. Chapman, Chief of Portsmouth Police Department, made the announcement after the indictment was returned. Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Kathleen Dougherty 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.

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 - Three local men who allegedly participated in several recent burglaries of local firearms dealers made their initial appearances here today in federal court.

Preston G. Holmes, 23; Matthew D. Jones, 23; and Daniel L. Quarles, 19, were charged today with conspiracy and theft of firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer. According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, the conspirators allegedly participated in three burglaries of federally licensed firearms dealers in the last 10 days: The March 11 burglary of 50 West Armory in Chantilly, where they allegedly stole 35 semi-automatic handguns in 45 seconds, and the March 14 burglaries of A.S.H. Tactical and SSG Tactical in Fredericksburg.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, law enforcement received a tip regarding the identities of the suspects and their criminal conduct. Law enforcement agents executed search warrants and arrested the men this past weekend. Charges were filed in federal court today.

Each defendant 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, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Michael B. Boxler, 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 the initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander E. Blanchard 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-mj-132.

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.

The Department of Justice has reached an agreement with the Suffolk City School District in Virginia that paves the way for the district to complete desegregation and achieve full unitary status. The consent order, which was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia today, addresses all remaining issues in the school desegregation case and, when fully implemented, will lead to the closure of that case.

 

The consent order declares that the district has achieved partial unitary status in the areas of facilities, extracurricular activities, transportation, and faculty and staff assignment. The consent order retains judicial supervision over the area of student assignment through the 2019-20 school year.

 

The consent order puts the district on a path to full unitary status within three school years provided it:

 

• Continues to implement its majority-to-minority transfer program in accordance with the court’s 2014 consent order and makes reasonable efforts to expand the program;

• Modifies the attendance zones of students who will be affected by the opening of the new schools in North Suffolk in a manner that furthers desegregation in the district; and

• Develops and implements a student discipline improvement plan to ensure fairness and consistency in the handling of disciplinary offenses.

 

The court will retain jurisdiction over the consent order during its implementation, and the Justice Department will monitor the district’s compliance.

 

“We are pleased that the district has made significant progress in this longstanding case,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division Tom Wheeler. “We look forward to working with the district to ensure fair and equal treatment for all its students and bringing this case to a successful close.”

 

Promoting school desegregation and enforcing Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.

RICHMOND, Va. – Larry Jay Horsey, 41, of Chesterfield, was sentenced today to 90 months in prison for an investment fraud scheme that caused a loss of $1.9 million to nine investors. Horsey was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to pay $1,767,065.76 in restitution to his victims, and agreed to forfeit $1,922,427.47 as proceeds of his offense.

Horsey pleaded guilty on Dec. 14, 2016. According to court documents, Horsey, a licensed insurance agent, was the founder and operator of “Heroes Academy,” a business that marketed itself as both a non-profit financial education school and a financial management company. Horsey represented himself to the public as a financial advisor, conducting financial planning seminars in Virginia and North Carolina. Between October 2012 and May 2016, Horsey targeted nine separate individuals, convincing those individuals to open what they believed would be investment or savings vehicles, such as an annuity or a Roth IRA, through Horsey’s Heroes Academy business. Instead of using those individuals’ savings as promised, however, Horsey instead spent the funds on various personal or business expenses. In total, Horsey defrauded those nine investors of a combined $1.9 million, and plead guilty to charges of mail fraud and engaging in monetary transactions derived from specified unlawful activities.

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; Thomas Holloman, Acting 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 sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett prosecuted the case.

The case was investigated by the Fraud Task Force, including the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, IRS-CI, and USPIS, with assistance from the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

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. 3:16-cr-153.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Anthony Darnell McCutchen, 27, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for his role in the illegal purchase of two firearms.

McCutchen pleaded guilty on Dec. 9, 2016. According to court documents, on Oct. 1, 2016, McCutchen met an individual, who he recruited to purchase two firearms on his behalf, at a Virginia gunshow. McCutchen aided and abetted this individual’s false statements to a firearms dealer by, among other things, accompanying the individual to the firearms dealer to help select the firearms for purchase, providing the purchaser with the money to purchase the firearms, and directing the purchaser how to behave when purchasing the firearms. Law enforcement observed McCutchen’s activity in the gun show and, after learning of McCutchen’s prior conviction for armed robbery in Washington, D.C., executed a traffic stop shortly after McCutchen left the gun show. Law enforcement recovered the two firearms from McCutchen’s possession.

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 Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carina A. Cuellar prosecuted the case.

 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-248.

A Virginia man was indicted today and charged with multiple crimes involving travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors and child pornography.

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 made the announcement.

Carl Sara, 63, of Springfield, Virginia, was indicted by a federal grand jury today with one count each of attempted sex trafficking of children, attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sex, traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors, and transportation and possession of child pornography.

According to the indictment, beginning in approximately May 2013, Sara allegedly used the internet to communicate with sellers of child pornography, and others, in the Philippines in order to obtain child pornography. Additionally, the indictment alleges that Sara traveled to the Philippines on one occasion to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. Further, the indictment also alleges that Sara transported child pornography across state lines.

The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI’s Washington Field Office is investigating the case. Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Smith 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 CEOS and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Delanio Vick, 31, and Teresa Gallop, 49, of Norfolk, and Jessie Davis, 20, of Portsmouth, were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements in an application to a federally insured institution, and aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment, these individuals conspired to obtain the personal property and identifying information of inmates housed in local jails. Conspirators inside the jails recruited inmates to retain the services of a fictitious legal services company, FamUnited, also known as Famm United or FamilyTranzitions. Other conspirators posed as paralegals during recorded jail calls with these inmates. During these calls, conspirators falsely promised to help the inmates obtain bonds in exchange for the release of their personal property from the jails’ custody. Some inmates agreed to release their property as instructed. For those who did not, conspirators submitted forged property release forms to the jail authorizing the release of inmate property to other conspirators. After obtaining inmate property, including wallets and cell phones, conspirators accessed and opened bank accounts in the inmates’ names. In some cases, conspirators created forged durable powers of attorney that purported to authorize them to act on the inmates’ behalf. Conspirators used these documents to add themselves as authorized users to the inmates’ existing bank accounts. Conspirators then used the compromised and newly created bank accounts to conduct fraudulent transactions, including worthless deposits and unauthorized withdrawals, through which they obtained money, goods, and services.

Persons who believe they may have information regarding this case are encouraged to contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 804-418-6104.

The defendants were initially indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 16, 2016. The superseding indictment returned yesterday includes additional charges. The defendants each face a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison to run consecutive to a maximum possibly penalty of 30 years in prison. The minimum and maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and 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; Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Michael Goldsmith, Chief of Norfolk Police; and Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton 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. 4:16-cr-88.

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 Haymarket, Virginia woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia to filing a false income tax return and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia.

 

According to documents filed with the court, Karen Holtz worked for JMS Ventures Inc. (JMS), which did business as the Kenyan Collection, and which is a small business that imports and distributes handmade Kenyan goods. Holtz was responsible for taking, processing, and fulfilling customer orders, accepting customer payments, which included charging customer credit cards, preparing customer invoices, keeping track of JMS’s inventory, and maintaining JMS’s books and records using the accounting software QuickBooks. From at least 2008 through April 2013, Holtz wrote herself unauthorized checks from JMS’s bank account and unlawfully diverted customer payments made using PayPal by transferring the payments directly to her personal bank account. Holtz also used JMS customers’ personal identification information to make fraudulent charges to their credit cards.

 

Holtz intentionally did not enter all of the unauthorized checks written to herself in the JMS QuickBooks. She also purposefully did not enter the transfers she made to herself from PayPal. As a result, the JMS’s books and records understated Holtz’s true income. For tax years, 2008 through 2013, Holtz filed false individual tax returns on which she failed to report more than $305,000 in income.

 

Sentencing is scheduled for June 23. Holtz faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for filing a false return and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Boente thanked special agents of the U.S. Secret Service and IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine L. Wong and Trial Attorney Kimberly G. Ang of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

 

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

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Bernardo Eugene Ford, Jr., 26, of Woodbridge, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury on charges related to his robbery and murder of a drug dealer in Falls Church.

On Jan. 5, 2017, Ford was charged in an indictment with conspiracy, armed robbery of a drug dealer, and using firearms in committing that robbery. According to the evidence presented at trial, on Feb. 23, 2016, Ford and another person, his co-conspirator, went to the victim’s apartment located on the 23rd floor of the South Tower of Skyline Towers off Seminary Road in Falls Church, intending to rob him of his drugs and drug proceeds. When the drug dealer resisted, Ford and his co-conspirator shot him, first in the arm and then in the back as he attempted to flee, severing his spine. Ford and his co-conspirator then fled, leaving behind approximately $2400 in cash hidden in the drug dealer’s closet, but taking with them one of the victim’s iPhones.

Telephone records introduced by the prosecution showed Ford’s and the victim’s phones contacting the same cell phone tower minutes after the murder and approximately two miles away from the apartment. Ford’s Facebook records contained communications in which he discussed with two different persons his intention to rob drug dealers. Cartridge casings and bullets recovered from the apartment were fired from two different semi-automatic handguns, leading to the conclusion that two persons were involved in committing the crime.

Ford faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on June 9, 2017. 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; Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police; and Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Rich and Carina Cuellar 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. 1:16-cr-149.

NORFOLK, Va. – Eugene Tillery, 30, of Suffolk, was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison for distribution of Fentanyl.

Tillery pleaded guilty on July 14, 2016. According to court documents, from November 2016 through December 2016, the Suffolk Police Department along with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted seven controlled purchases of Fentanyl from the defendant. The total weight of the purchases was 26 grams. Fentanyl is a powerful pain medication that is 100 times more potent than heroin. Lacing heroin with Fentanyl is a major reason for the alarming increase in thousands of deaths across the country from heroin overdoses. In addition, the defendant was a major supplier of heroin in Suffolk, and he distributed over two kilograms of heroin during 2015.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the DEA’s Washington Field Division; and Thomas E. Bennett, Chief of Police, Suffolk Police Department, 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 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. 2:16-cr-77.

RICHMOND, Va. – Six people were arrested yesterday for their alleged roles in an insurance fraud conspiracy involving over 30 fires, pursuant to an indictment unsealed in federal court today.

According to the indictment, from as early as May 2000 until as recently as Nov. 30, 2016, the defendants, in various combinations, had a series of over 30 fires—including fires consuming single-family homes, trailers, mobile homes, and cars. The details of each fire vary, but the frequent pattern was for the defendants allegedly to buy a car or home at auction or in foreclosure, insure it, and then collect insurance proceeds in excess of the purchase price after it burned.

In furtherance of their scheme, the defendants allegedly made numerous misrepresentations, both in writing and in interviews—sometimes under oath—to insurance companies, firefighters, and other law enforcement officers. The per-fire insurance payout for the fires ranged from approximately $1,000 to over $300,000, with the alleged insurance payouts in connection with the scheme totaling over $900,000.

The following defendants made their initial appearance in federal court after being arrested yesterday on the charges listed below:

Name

Age

City

Charge(s)

Verdon Taylor

72

Leesburg, Fla.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, use of fire to commit a federal felony, witness tampering

Vershawn Jackson

37

Sandston, Va.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, use of fire to commit a federal felony

Sylvia Mitchell

58

Tampa, Fla.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud

Marie Taylor

54

Richmond, Va.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud

Dorel Watson

32

Tampa, Fla.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud

Eugenia Fleming

57

Victoria, Va.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, use of fire to commit a federal felony, false statement

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 defendants Jackson, Taylor, and Fleming made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge David J. Novak. The Henrico County Fire Marshal’s Office and the City of Richmond Department of Fire and Emergency Services provided assistance in this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David V. Harbach, II 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-29.

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. – Eyad Salahedin, 40, of Elmwood Park, New Jersey, was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes. Salahedin also was ordered to pay $5,622,021 in restitution and forfeit $9,611,319.11 in criminal proceeds.

Salahedin pleaded guilty on November 10, 2016. According to court documents, Salahedin created five separate, fictitious Virginia businesses between March and July 2015, using the name and personal identifiers of his absent brother (who had lived overseas in Jordan since 2007) to register those sole proprietorships with the Commonwealth’s Department of Taxation. Salahedin and his co-conspirators then used those fictitious business registrations to create business memberships at Sam’s Club stores in Virginia, where the conspirators purchased more than $9.6 million in cigarettes between March 2014 and August 2015, all exempted from the Virginia sales and use tax.

As part of the conspiracy, Salahedin created secondary business membership accounts for numerous Virginia and New Jersey residents, often utilizing false identities, and he provided those individuals with cash and instructions on what cigarettes to purchase. Salahedin and those acting at his direction then smuggled the cigarettes north to New Jersey and New York, where they were sold as contraband cigarettes on the black market. Salahedin regularly relied on aliases and other individuals’ identities throughout the conspiracy, using those false identities to register his false businesses, purchase cigarettes, and maintain storage units in Virginia and New Jersey.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. The case was investigated by the Washington–Baltimore HIDTA task force’s Northern Virginia Financial Initiative and the New Jersey State Treasury’s Office of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas A. Garnett and Michael C. Moore prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-29.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jeffery Van Dyke, 46, of Weed, California, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to produce child pornography for his participation in a website that was operated for the purpose of coercing and enticing minors as young as eight years old to engage in sexually explicit conduct on web camera.

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 Section Chief John J. Brosnan of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section (VCACS) made the announcement.

Van Dyke was charged on April 4, 2016, and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia. Sentencing is set for June 9.

According to admissions made in connection with the plea agreement, members of the conspiracy created false profiles on social networking sites popular with children posing as young teenagers to lure children to two websites they controlled. Once on the conspirators’ websites, Van Dyke admitted that members of the conspiracy showed the children pre-recorded videos of prior minor victims, often engaging in sexually explicit conduct, to make the new victims think that they were chatting with another minor.

Van Dyke further admitted that conspirators used these videos to coerce and entice children to engage in sexually explicit activity on their own web cameras, which could be viewed live by other members without the victim’s knowledge and which the website automatically recorded and made available for download later. Van Dyke admitted that he linked minors to one of the websites and chatted with them there in furtherance of the conspiracy. The defendant also admitted that one of the websites ranked the efforts of the members to successfully coerce and entice children to engage in sexually explicit conduct on live web camera. Law enforcement agencies have disabled both websites.

VCACS special agents led the investigation with the assistance of the FBI’s Operation Rescue Me and the FBI’s Digital Analysis and Research Center and the Office of Victim Assistance. The South Africa Police Service, Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses, Gauteng; Royal Canadian Mounted Police, National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre; the Dutch Police Service Agency, KLPD; and the Australian Federal Police, Child Protection Operations, Sydney were active partners in Operation Subterfuge, a multinational investigation coordinated by members of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force. Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Russell of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.

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

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. 1:16-cr-128.

A Weed, California man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to produce child pornography for his participation in a website that was operated for the purpose of coercing and enticing minors as young as eight years old to engage in sexually explicit conduct on web camera.  

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 Stephen E. Richardson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Divisionmade the announcement.

Jeffery Van Dyke, 46, was charged on April 4, 2016, and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia.  Sentencing is set for June 9.

According to admissions made in connection with the plea agreement, members of the conspiracy created false profiles on social networking sites popular with children posing as young teenagers to lure children to two websites they controlled.  Once on the conspirators’ websites, Van Dyke admitted that members of the conspiracy showed the children pre-recorded videos of prior minor victims, often engaging in sexually explicit conduct, to make the new victims think that they were chatting with another minor.  Van Dyke further admitted that conspirators used these videos to coerce and entice children to engage in sexually explicit activity on their own web cameras, which could be viewed live by other members without the victim’s knowledge and which the website automatically recorded and made available for download later.  Van Dyke admitted that he linked minors to one of the websites and chatted with them there in furtherance of the conspiracy.  The defendant also admitted that one of the websites ranked the efforts of the members to successfully coerce and entice children to engage in sexually explicit conduct on live web camera.  Law enforcement agencies have disabled both websites.

VCACS special agents led the investigation with the assistance of the FBI’s Operation Rescue Me and the FBI’s Digital Analysis and Research Center and the Office of Victim Assistance.  The South Africa Police Service, Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses, Gauteng; Royal Canadian Mounted Police, National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre; the Dutch Police Service Agency, KLPD; and the Australian Federal Police, Child Protection Operations, Sydney were active partners in Operation Subterfuge, a multinational investigation coordinated by members of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force.  Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Russell of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted 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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Mohan L. Nirala, 52, of Laurel, Maryland, was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for willful retention of national defense information.

Nirala pleaded guilty on Sept. 16, 2016. According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Nirala was a full-time government employee and imagery scientist at the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) from February 2009 to 2015. On Jan. 10, 2014, eight days after his clearances were suspended, FBI agents recovered over 20 classified documents at Nirala’s home during the execution of a federal search warrant. A review of these documents determined that they ranged in classification from Secret to Top Secret. During the search, Nirala falsely stated that he did not bring home any classified documents.

According to the statement of facts, on March 8, 2016, agents arrived at Nirala’s home to execute an arrest warrant. After Nirala failed to answer the door, agents made forced entry and found Nirala in the basement before taking him into custody. During a sweep of the basement, agents discovered a white duct-taped box underneath the basement stairs. Inside the box were over 500 pages of documents classified at Top Secret and Secret levels.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord; and Gordon B. Johnson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Walutes of the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon L. Van Grack of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-124.

Mohan L. Nirala, 52, of Laurel, Maryland, was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for willful retention of national defense information.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. 

Nirala pleaded guilty on Sept. 16, 2016. According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Nirala was a full-time government employee and imagery scientist at the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) from February 2009 to 2015. On Jan 10, 2014, eight days after his clearances were suspended, FBI agents recovered over 20 classified documents at Nirala’s home during the execution of a federal search warrant. A review of these documents determined that they ranged in classification from Secret to Top Secret. During the search, Nirala falsely stated that he did not bring home any classified documents.

According to the statement of facts, on March 8, 2016, agents arrived at Nirala’s home to execute an arrest warrant. After Nirala failed to answer the door, agents made a forced entry and found Nirala in the basement before taking him into custody. During a sweep of the basement, agents discovered a white duct-taped box underneath the basement stairs. Inside the box were over 500 pages of documents classified at Top Secret and Secret levels.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Walutes of the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon L. Van Grack of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

NORFOLK, Va. – William E. Grobes, IV, 45, of Chesapeake, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for charges of conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Grobes was also ordered to pay over $4.5 million in restitution.

Grobes pleaded guilty on Nov. 30, 2016. According to court documents, Grobes owns the College of Beauty and Barber Culture (CBBC), located in Chesapeake. CBBC was purportedly a barber and cosmetology school approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide education and training to military veterans, including veterans who received tuition assistance under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Grobes represented to the VA that CBBC provided full-time schooling to hundreds of veteran students beginning in October 2011. In reality, the school was a sham. Most veterans enrolled in CBBC courses received few, if any, hours of instruction from CBBC employees, and there were no tests, exams, or practical exercises given. Rather, students were directed to simply sign in and out of the school each day so that Grobes could report to the VA that they were enrolled and attending. In exchange, CBBC received Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition payments for each veteran from the VA.

Based on Grobes’ provision of false information to the VA concerning the number of hours of instruction and the manner and quality of the instruction provided to veteran students, CBBC received over $4.5 million in Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition payments between October 2011 and September 2016.

Grobes has agreed to forfeit his home, six bank accounts totaling over $1 million, and nearly $200,000 in cash seized from a safe in the floor of his home. Grobes’ wife and co-conspirator, Katherine Grobes, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, March 10.

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; Thomas Holloman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Maureen Evans, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Kathleen Dougherty 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. 2:16-cr-154.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Christie Easter, 47, of Fort Worth, Texas, and Toheeb Odoffin, 28, of Chicago, each pleaded guilty today to charges related to their respective roles in a fraud scheme involving “Mystery Shoppers.”

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in 2012 federal law enforcement began an investigation into an extensive scheme that operated nationally and internationally, stemming from Nigeria. The investigation determined that participants in the scheme, including Easter and Odoffin, recruited individuals throughout the United States via email to serve as “Mystery Shoppers,” in which the individuals would receive financial instruments, such as a cashier’s check or Postal money order, to evaluate the services of certain money transmission services, including Western Union and Money Gram. Once a recruited individual, or “Mystery Shopper,” responded to the email solicitation with interest, the conspirators would obtain personal identification information from the Mystery Shopper, which was then placed on the counterfeit cashier’s check or Postal money order. The conspirators, including Easter and Odoffin, would then mail the Mystery Shoppers a counterfeit cashier’s check or Postal money order for the Mystery Shopper to negotiate at their own bank, keeping a portion of the payment for their services. The Mystery Shopper would then wire the majority of the funds to conspirators or other recruited individuals who retrieved the transmitted funds and engaged in further distribution of the fraudulent proceeds.

Easter and Odoffin each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Each faces mandatory minimum of two years in prison, and a maximum penalty of 32 years in prison. 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; Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk; Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and George Purefoy, Resident Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Resident Office, U.S. Secret Service, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Megan M. Cowles 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. 4:16-cr-49.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Cristan Taylor, 48, of Springfield was sentenced today to three years in prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Taylor pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2016. According to court documents, Taylor sold cocaine from November 2014 until February 2016. During much of this time period, Taylor obtained quantities ranging from one ounce to one kilogram at a time from Hameed Jide Bello of Fort Washington, Maryland. Taylor would then redistribute this cocaine to others in Fairfax County and Pennsylvania. In total, Taylor admitted to distributing between 3.5 and 5 kilograms of cocaine.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carina A. Cuellar prosecuted the case.

The case began as a narcotics investigation initiated by the Fairfax County Police Department, and was federally investigated by the FBI and DEA as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation Fifty Pounder. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

A copy of this press release 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. 1:16-cr-280.

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – James Eldon Osborne, 22, of Inwood, West Virginia, was convicted today in federal court for making a false statement, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Osborne admitted he lied to an agent with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives during questioning about the sale of a firearm in Berkeley County, West Virginia in March 2016. 

Osborne pled guilty to one count of “Making a False Statement.” He faces up to five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Z. Krasinski prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Seth Shaver, 26, of Warrenton, pleaded guilty today to possession of an unregistered firearm.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, on Aug. 24, 2016, officers of the Warrenton Police Department (WPD) responded to Shaver’s home for a report of a shooting. During a subsequent search, law enforcement recovered several firearms, including a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and two silencers.

On Oct. 22, 2016, law enforcement was again called to Shaver’s home for a report of a domestic disturbance. During a subsequent search, law enforcement recovered a semi-automatic rifle hidden in an air vent. The semi-automatic rifle was originally sold to Shaver as a pistol through a licensed federal firearms dealer. Shaver later modified the pistol into a short-barreled rifle.

Shaver faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on June 9. 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; Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; and Louis Battle, Chief of Warrenton Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen E. García 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. 1:16-cr-306.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Darius Crenshaw, 30, of Newport News, was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for various violent crimes he committed he was a high-ranking member of the Black P-Stones gang in Newport News.

Crenshaw was a lieutenant in the Black P-Stones gang, which was involved in the distribution of narcotics, the robbery of multiple individuals and the death of at least three individuals. Crenshaw was personally responsible for the murder of Erique Shaw on Nov. 6, 2007.

Crenshaw pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy on Nov. 17, 2016. According to court documents, Crenshaw recruited other individuals into the gang. On Nov. 6, 2007, Crenshaw lured another member of the Black P-Stones to a location in Newport News where he shot him to death. This murder resulted from Crenshaw’s belief that the other P-Stones member had been associating with members of a rival gang.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt and Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey of the Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case.

 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:13-cr-96.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Amit Chaudhry, 44, of Ashburn, was sentenced today to nine years in prison for his role and participation in a sophisticated and large-scale identity theft and credit card fraud conspiracy that resulted in a loss of over $25 million. Chaudhry was also ordered to pay $4.1 million in restitution.  

Chaudhry pleaded guilty on Sept. 22, 2016, to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit visa fraud. According to court documents, Chaudhry is an Indian national who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2005. Beginning in 2011, Chaudhry was part of a large, international wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy that involved processing stolen credit card numbers and laundering the proceeds through hundreds of bank accounts. Some of these bank accounts were set up in the name of shell companies, which did no real business. This fraud and money laundering conspiracy was carried out in part by teams of individuals working together in India, the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Some members would obtain the personal identifying information of real people; other members would obtain the credit card information from actual credit card customers, and yet others would be responsible for electronically processing the stolen credit card transactions. Chaudhry helped laundering the proceeds of the credit card fraud and assisting co-conspirators who would come to the United States from India to open bank accounts used to hold and receive fraud proceeds.

According to court documents, Chaudhry also helped conceal and launder proceeds from a fraud scheme that targeted customers seeking cheap travel, including airline tickets and hotel reservations. Chaudhry helped to promote the fraudulent travel websites, including through mass mailings to prospective customers. Other members of the conspiracy would hold themselves out as prospective travel agents to customers. Customers’ travel itineraries would be purchased with stolen credit cards, which often resulted in those reservations being canceled. The customer’s money would be held and transferred among bank accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy, including Chaudhry. There were more than 1,000 victims from this fraud, which used various sophisticated means to conceal the identities of the conspirators.

According to court documents, Chaudhry was also involved in a separate money laundering conspiracy with Jacqueline Green-Morris, who previously pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. Chaudhry and Green-Morris came up with a fraudulent billing scheme, whereby Chaudhry would submit inflated and fraudulent invoices for IT training to Victim A, a contractor based in Virginia. Green-Morris used her position as an employee at Victim A to pay these fraudulent invoices. Chaudhry and Green-Morris split the fraud proceeds, which totaled approximately $4.1 million between 2012 and June 2016.

According to court documents, from at least 2001 and through at least June 2016, Chaudhry and others conspired to commit visa fraud by submitting false and fraudulent H-1B visa applications by and through various entities that the Chaudhry and others owned and controlled, including Networkxchange, Technologyxchange, Secure Networks, and the Knowledge Center. The conspiracy involved the submission of false and fraudulent applications and supporting documentation to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Some of these documents were signed using the name John King, a journalist who is CNN’s chief national correspondent.

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; Thomas J. Holloman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Washington D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington; Joseph W. Cronin, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Christian Schurman, Acting Director of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) for the U.S. Department of State, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine L. Wong and Kimberly R. Pedersen prosecuted the case.

 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-211.

NORFOLK, Va. – Thomas W. Almberg, 50, of Virginia Beach, was sentenced today to 126 months in prison for charges of coercing and enticing minors to engage in illegal sexual activity. Almberg was also sentenced to 25 years of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.

Almberg pleaded guilty on Oct. 18, 2016. According to court documents, Almberg, a former lieutenant in the Chesapeake Fire Department, frequented several social media sites looking to chat with teenage girls. In January 2016, he met a 15-year-old boy pretending to be a 16-year-old girl on the interactive video game Clash of Clans and the two began chatting and text messaging. Over the next two months, the two exchanged over 8,000 text messages, often while Almberg was on duty and at his fire station. The conversations quickly grew to be sexually graphic, including Almberg sending sexually explicit photographs and requesting that the teen reciprocate. In April, Almberg met a 16-year-old girl on a different mobile chat application and their conversations quickly became sexual in nature, including the exchange of sexually explicit photographs. In May 2016, Almberg traveled to this victim’s workplace in North Carolina and propositioned her for sex. She declined, he left, and was taken into custody shortly thereafter.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Col. K.L. Wright, Chesapeake Chief of Police; 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 sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Kathleen Dougherty prosecuted the case.

 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-136.

NORFOLK, Va. – Over 150 law enforcement agents and officers executed a major takedown today, arresting dozens of individuals for their respective roles in selling drugs and guns in Norfolk. Twelve federal defendants are in custody for firearms and drug charges, while more than a dozen others were arrested on state charges.

“This historic operation represents our commitment to making the streets of Norfolk as safe as we can,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Illegal firearms are the principal tools employed in the deadly cycles of turf battles and gang conflicts that deprive our neighborhoods and families of the peace and security that we treasure as Americans. The actions taken today reflect the coordinated, skilled and brave work of law enforcement. They are to be applauded. But they should also remind each of us that a peaceful community can only be realized when citizens share in the serious work of upholding the common good and respecting the rule of law.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) began Operation Riptide in the Fall of 2016, and in collaboration with the Norfolk Police Department, Virginia State Police, and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, identified more than 30 individuals throughout Hampton Roads who were illegally selling firearms, heroin, and or other narcotics. Operation Riptide resulted in the recovery of over 50 firearms (including at least 3 assault rifles, 2 sawed off shotguns, and 47 hand guns, 18 of which had obliterated serial numbers or were stolen), over 170 grams of heroin, 65 grams of powder cocaine, 290 grams of crack cocaine, and a bullet proof vest. Ten of the 12 federal defendants are previously convicted felons, while seven are allegedly affiliated with the United Blood Nation gang.

“Deadly heroin overdoses and the recent spike in gun violence remain serious concerns in Hampton Roads,” said Attorney General Mark Herring. “This kind of unified, coordinated response to emerging public safety threats is exactly why I invested OAG resources in the Hampton Roads region. Because of hard work and collaboration by local, state, and federal partners, dozens of dangerous individuals are off the streets today.”

"Today's action was a collaborative effort between ATF and officers of the Virginia State Police, Norfolk PD, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake PD, the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, and the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office,” said Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division. The ATF actively partners with its law enforcement colleagues in the Hampton Roads area and targets those who commit violent crimes and illegally possess firearms.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; Gregory D. Underwood, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Norfolk; and Larry Boone, Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after the federal arrests were made and the indictments were unsealed.

This case was investigated by the ATF’s Norfolk Field Office, the Norfolk Police Department, and the Virginia State Police, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals, Virginia Beach Police Department, the Chesapeake Police Department, the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office and the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office. Attorneys from the Virginia Attorney General’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Unit, John F. Butler and James F. Entas, are prosecuting these cases with the assistance of Norfolk Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Catherine Paxson, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse, Kevin M. Comstock, Joseph E. DePadilla, Kevin Hudson, William B. Jackson, William D. Muhr, and Daniel T. Young.

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 Nos. 2:17-cr-21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37.

Below is table which lists the name, age, hometown, and respective charge(s) each defendant faces.

Name, AKA

Age, Hometown

Charge(s)

Leonard Lee Brickhouse,

aka “Leo Brixx”

24, Norfolk

Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime

Joseph Maurice Dobey,

aka “Joe”

38, Norfolk

Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime

Jason Gilliard,

aka “Hoodro Wilson”

32, Virginia Beach

Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin; Distribution of Heroin; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime

Adrean Lemont Hall,

aka “Ace”

24, Virginia Beach

Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Maurice Owen Johnson,

aka “Dink”

28, Norfolk

Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Distribution of Cocaine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime

Lamare Pierre Jordan,

aka “L”

30, Norfolk

Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin; Distribution of Heroin; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime

James Lamb, 28

aka “Murdok”

28, Chesapeake

Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Possession of a Firearm with Obliterated Serial Number

James Andre Martin,

aka “Big Buff”

44, Norfolk

Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Darryl Moore,

aka “Little Darryl”

28, Norfolk

Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Kejuan Dante Perry,

aka “KP”

25, Chesapeake

Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Distribution of Cocaine; Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime

Keone Devon Perry, 23

23, Chesapeake

Transfer of Firearm to Prohibited Person

Carl Lee Walton, 22

aka “CJ”

22, Virginia Beach

Felon in Possession of a Firearm

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Eric Charles Murray, 32, of Hampton, was sentenced today to 88 months in prison for his role in establishing and operating a high-tech credit card forgery lab in his home in 2016. Murray was also sentenced to five years of supervised release, which includes computer monitoring software on any computers Murray may have.

Murray pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank, mail, and wire fraud; aggravated identity theft; and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, on Nov. 15, 2016. According to court documents, Murray established a credit card forgery lab in his home in April 2016. Over a two-month period, he used Bitcoin currency to purchase stolen credit card information on the dark web, targeting information that belonged to Virginia residents. He and his conspirators then used the credit card forgery lab to place the stolen information on counterfeited credit and debit cards, which they had re-embossed in their own names and the names of others. Murray and his conspirators used these counterfeit cards to conduct unauthorized purchases of high-end electronics and cigarettes, which they then resold for cash in Hampton Roads and New York state. Murray was identified after two cardholders reported unauthorized uses of their cards to the Newport News Police Department. Surveillance images showed Murray purchasing items with counterfeit cards at multiple retail stores in Newport News. A May 2016 search of Murray’s home in Hampton recovered several items used to manufacture credit cards, 115 counterfeit credit cards, 233 stolen credit card numbers stored on a laptop, and two handguns—one of which had been previously reported stolen. At the time these items were recovered, Murray had been convicted of felony offenses, including a crime of violence, and his rights to possess a firearm had not been restored. After his arrest, Murray repeatedly attempted to obstruct the investigation and prosecution of his offenses by pressuring another individual to claim ownership and possession of the firearms found in his residence.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Joseph W. Cronin, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police; and Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton and Special Assistant Attorney Amy E. Cross prosecuted the case.

 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:16-cr-64.

Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan, 26, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was sentenced today to 11 years in prison and 10 years supervised release for attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and making false statements to the FBI.

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

Elhassan, who is originally from Sudan, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2016. According to court documents, Elhassan aided and abetted the attempt of Joseph Hassan Farrokh, 29, of Woodbridge, to travel from the U.S. to Syria in order to fight on behalf of ISIL. As part of their plan, Farrokh would travel first, followed by Elhassan at a later date. Farrokh and Elhassan spoke in detail about their potential travel, including discussing the different routes each would take to travel to Syria. Farrokh also provided $600 to Elhassan to aid in Elhassan’s future travel to Syria. Both men spoke openly with each other about supporting ISIL and violent jihad, with Farrokh saying on Oct. 2, 2015, that he had no patience and wanted to go right away and “chop their heads.”

According to the statement of facts, in an effort to conceal their plans to support ISIL, Farrokh and Elhassan communicated using apps they believed were safe from law enforcement detection. In the summer of 2015, Farrokh and Elhassan talked more seriously about going to join ISIL and concluded that they needed someone to help them do so. Elhassan contacted like-minded people all over the world and the men pursued two separate plans to travel to Syria to join ISIL, but neither plan worked out.

According to the statement of facts, Farrokh and Elhassan conspired with other persons they believed would help facilitate their travel to Syria. Over the course of many meetings, the men discussed in detail their travel plans and efforts to avoid law enforcement detection, including Farrokh shaving his beard and flying out of Richmond International Airport, where they believed there would be less security. Farrokh and Elhassan agreed that Farrokh should tell his family that he intended to travel to Saudi Arabia to study.

According to court documents, on Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan picked up Farrokh at his home in Woodbridge and drove him to Richmond to a location approximately one mile from the airport. Farrokh then took another cab to the airport, checked in for his flight, cleared security and (unbeknownst to Elhassan) was arrested as he was approaching his departure gate. When approached by investigators later that day, Elhassan falsely stated to special agents of the FBI that (a) Joseph Hassan Farrokh had flown out of Dulles Airport earlier that day on a flight to California to attend a funeral; (b) Farrokh had said that he would be back in about two weeks; (c) neither he nor Farrokh supported ISIL; and (d) neither he nor Farrokh ever tried to find someone to help them get to ISIL territory.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Dennis Fitzpatrick prosecuted the case with assistance from Trial Attorneys Andrew Sigler and Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan, 26, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was sentenced today to 11 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and making false statements to the FBI.

Elhassan, who is originally from Sudan, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2016. According to court documents, Elhassan aided and abetted the attempt of Joseph Hassan Farrokh, 29, of Woodbridge, to travel from the U.S. to Syria in order to fight on behalf of ISIL. As part of their plan, Farrokh would travel first, followed by Elhassan at a later date. Farrokh and Elhassan spoke in detail about their potential travel, including discussing the different routes each would take to travel to Syria. Farrokh also provided $600 to Elhassan to aid in Elhassan’s future travel to Syria. Both men spoke openly with each other about supporting ISIL and violent jihad, with Farrokh saying on Oct. 2, 2015, that he had no patience and wanted to go right away and “chop their heads.”

According to the statement of facts, in an effort to conceal their plans to support ISIL, Farrokh and Elhassan communicated using apps they believed were safe from law enforcement detection. In the summer of 2015, Farrokh and Elhassan talked more seriously about going to join ISIL and concluded that they needed someone to help them do so. Elhassan contacted like-minded people all over the world and the men pursued two separate plans to travel to Syria to join ISIL, but neither plan worked out.

According to the statement of facts, Farrokh and Elhassan conspired with other persons they believed would help facilitate their travel to Syria. Over the course of many meetings, the men discussed in detail their travel plans and efforts to avoid law enforcement detection, including Farrokh shaving his beard and flying out of Richmond International Airport, where they believed there would be less security. Farrokh and Elhassan agreed that Farrokh should tell his family that he intended to travel to Saudi Arabia to study.

According to court documents, on Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan picked up Farrokh at his home in Woodbridge and drove him to Richmond to a location approximately one mile from the airport. Farrokh then took another cab to the airport, checked in for his flight, cleared security and (unbeknownst to Elhassan) was arrested as he was approaching his departure gate. When approached by investigators later that day, Elhassan falsely stated to special agents of the FBI that (a) Joseph Hassan Farrokh had flown out of Dulles Airport earlier that day on a flight to California to attend a funeral; (b) Farrokh had said that he would be back in about two weeks; (c) neither he nor Farrokh supported ISIL; and (d) neither he nor Farrokh ever tried to find someone to help them get to ISIL territory.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement, after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Dennis Fitzpatrick prosecuted the case with assistance from Trial Attorneys Andrew Sigler and Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

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. 1:16-cr-64.

NORFOLK, Va. – John Francis Aragon, 50, of Virginia Beach, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release, for charges of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Aragon pleaded guilty on Nov. 21, 2016. According to court documents, in May 2016, Aragon posted an ad on Craigslist seeking “fetish sex with young girl.” A detective with the Virginia Beach Police Department, in an undercover capacity, responded to the ad pretending to be a 14-year-old girl. The “girl” told Aragon that she was 14 years old at the inception of the conversation. The two chatted over a period of time and the conversations became sexually explicit. Eventually, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations took over the alleged 14-year-old’s role.

On three occasions, Aragon left money under a rock at a local park in exchange for a pair of the girl’s underwear. Aragon also expressed his desire to meet the girl in person in order to engage in sexual activity. On August 16, 2016, Aragon showed up at the park in Virginia Beach to meet the girl and was then arrested.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk; and James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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 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. 2:16-cr-129.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Gennaro Mattiaccio, 55, of Stafford, was convicted today by a federal jury on charges of theft of government property, making false statements in relation to obtaining Social Security disability benefits, and concealing events affecting his right to Social Security disability benefits.

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 migratory beekeeping business. In support of his claim for Social Security disability benefits, Mattiaccio made multiple materially false statements under oath to an Administrative Law Judge from the Social Security Administration, and also submitted false and fraudulent documents, including a fake 2012 tax return, to the Social Security Administration.

Mattiaccio faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on June 16. 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; 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 the verdict was accepted 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 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. 1:16-cr-215.

NORFOLK, Va. – Joshua Manuel Treat, 20, of Virginia Beach, pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking of children.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from Sept. 26 to Oct. 12, 2016, Treat posted Jane Doe, a 14-year-old girl, on an Internet website and advertised her for prostitution. In order to make Jane Doe more amenable to prostitution, Treat would inject Jane Doe with heroin prior to her appointments with customers. When Treat was arrested, he was found with a handgun and a syringe containing heroin residue.

Treat faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on May 25. 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; Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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 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. 2:16-cr-172.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Eyal Katz, 38, a citizen of Israel, was sentenced today to seven years in prison for his role in an immigration fraud and money laundering scheme. Katz was sentenced to three years of supervised release, a $20,000 fine and ordered to forfeit certain property.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Katz, operating from an office in Tel Aviv, Israel, would identify, recruit and send foreign nationals from Israel to the United States on B-2 visitor visas. Once those foreign nationals were in the United States, they would be sent to work for one of several business entities, known collectively as RASKO, a mall-based kiosk business in Virginia, Georgia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey through which they sold Dead Sea Salt products. Katz and his co-conspirators would provide housing and transportation to the foreign nationals.

From 2011 through the present, the conspirators, led by Omer Gur in the United States and Katz in Israel, recruited over 140 foreign nationals from Israel to work at the kiosks, in violation of the workers’ B-2 visitor visa status. From 2012 through 2014, RASKO received over $14 million through its kiosk based sales. Several million dollars from these sales were then routed to Israel-based accounts, including accounts controlled by Katz, and spent on lodging, travel, kiosk rentals and other expenses of the scheme. To date, nine of the ten charged defendants in the case have been arrested. Katz is the ninth defendant to plead guilty.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Robin Blake, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Washington, DC Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk; and Christian Schurman, Acting Director of the Diplomatic Security Service for the U.S. Department of State, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels, Lisa R. McKeel and Kevin Hudson prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:16-cr-17.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Justin Brown, 25, of Newport News, was sentenced yesterday to 288 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to engage in racketeering as a member of the Black P-Stones gang. The Black P-Stones were involved in the distribution of narcotics, the robbery of multiple individuals and the death of at least three individuals.

Brown pleaded guilty on Dec. 16, 2015. According to court documents, among other criminal events, Brown drove several other Black P-Stones and associates to the home of a local marijuana dealer for the purpose of robbing him. During the course of the robbery, the marijuana dealer was murdered by one of the Black P-Stones. Following the murder, Brown drove the members away and the items taken from the marijuana dealer were divided up.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright-Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt and Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:13-cr-96.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Bruno Ivan Gonzales, 39, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of receipt of child pornography.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, between January and March 2015, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified an Internet Protocol address near Alexandria that was downloading child pornography via a peer-to-peer network. Based on that investigation, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant on a home where Gonzales lived. During the search, HSI agents seized several computer devices. Two desktop computers were found to contain child pornography, and forensic analysis of the devices revealed more than one hundred videos of child pornography and data destruction software. The analysis also confirmed that these devices had been used to download child pornography using a peer-to-peer program. When interviewed, Gonzales admitted to using the computers to receive child pornography.

Gonzales waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a criminal information on February 23, 2017. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 25, 2017. 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 Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Burke IV is 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 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. 1:17-cr-26.

RICHMOND, Va. – Four men were sentenced this week for their roles in several armed robberies of commercial establishments in Virginia and North Carolina.

Each of the four men listed below pleaded guilty on November 14, 2016 to robbery affecting interstate commerce and using a firearm during a crime of violence:

Name

Age

Hometown

Sentencing Details

Dikembwe Jahaan Akil Jones

25

Newport News, VA

Sentenced to 324 months

Dallas Cogdell, III

24

Hampton, VA

Sentenced to 360 months

Tyquan Demario MacCutcheon

24

Hampton, VA

Sentenced to 324 months

Armand Devon Mullen

26

Hampton, VA

Sentenced to 324 months

 

According to court documents, from May 6, 2016 through May 12, 2016, all four defendants robbed four Walgreens Pharmacy stores and one CVS Pharmacy in the Eastern District of Virginia, including in Williamsburg, Chesterfield, Henrico, Mechanicsville and Woodbridge. Subsequently, the four defendants traveled to North Carolina, where they robbed two Walgreens stores in Apex and Durham on May 16, 2016.

Immediately following the May 16 robbery in Durham, law enforcement performed a traffic stop on the vehicle the defendants traveled in and found evidence from the North Carolina robberies. From subsequent investigation, law enforcement linked the defendants to the robberies in the Eastern District of Virginia. Defendants Cogdell, Jones and Mullen were also found to have participated in several more commercial robberies occurring in Hampton, Virginia, from October 2015 through April 2016.

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. Attorneys Stephen E. Anthony and David V. Harbach, II, prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-103.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Donna Byrd Talley, 54, of Yorktown, was sentenced today to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after being convicted at trial on charges of acquiring or obtaining a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and mail fraud.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Talley worked as a long-time office manager for Dr. Steven Becker, a Hampton dentist. Talley had control over Dr. Becker’s bank accounts and was responsible for all office administration. From 2002 through 2011, Talley used Dr. Becker’s DEA license to fraudulently obtain over 100,000 pills of hydrocodone from two dental supply companies. Talley distributed the hydrocodone to her husband and others and used it to feed her own addiction. In 2011, Talley made various cash deposits to bank accounts she owned or controlled in amounts over $7,000.

On Aug. 18, 2011, investigators with the Virginia Department of Health Professions and the Virginia State Police interviewed Talley, who admitted to ordering hydrocodone. Later that same day, an investigator recovered a pill bottle containing hydrocodone from Talley’s residence, matching shipments of hydrocodone ordered by Talley and received by Dr. Becker’s office two days earlier. The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Richmond District Office Diversion Unit.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and Ruth A. Carter, Diversion Program Manager (DEA), made the announcement after the defendant was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Megan M. Cowles prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:16-cr-21.

Haris Qamar, 26, of Burke, Virginia, was sentenced today to 102 months in prison for attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization. Qamar was also sentenced to 20 years of supervised release to be completed after his released from prison.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Division made the announcement after the sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Qamar pleaded guilty on Oct. 17, 2016. According to court documents, in May 2016, Qamar and an FBI Confidential Witness (CW) discussed ISIL’s need for photographs of possible targets in and around Washington, D.C., for use in a video that ISIL purportedly was making to encourage lone-wolf attacks in the Washington, D.C., area. Qamar offered the CW ideas of what to photograph, including the Pentagon and numerous landmarks in Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., which could be targeted for terrorist attacks. On June 3, 2016, a conversation was audio and video recorded when the CW picked up Qamar in a vehicle and drove to area landmarks on the list Qamar previously developed. Qamar said “bye bye DC, stupid ass kufar, kill’em all.” Qamar and the CW met again on June 10, 2016, and drove to a location in Arlington to take additional photographs for the purported ISIL video.

According to the statement of facts, during numerous conversations with the CW, Qamar expressed his interest and excitement in the extreme violence associated with ISIL. Qamar said he loved the bodies, blood, and beheadings. He recalled watching a video of a Kurdish individual being slaughtered and he liked the cracking sound made when the individual’s spinal cord was torn. On several occasions, Qamar said he could slaughter someone and described how he would do it. Qamar also stated he admired lone-wolf attackers because they love Islam so much that they are willing to die as martyrs for Islam. In the same conversation, Qamar and the CW also discussed suicide bombings. The CW said the CW did not believe in suicide bombings, but Qamar responded, “I believe in it 100 percent.”

According to the statement of facts, on Sept. 11, 2015, terrorists connected with ISIL posted a “kill list” to the internet containing the names and addresses of U.S. military members. A few days later, Qamar told CW that the residences of several service members who appeared on the “kill list” were near Qamar’s home, and Qamar observed undercover police cars near those residences. On Sept. 16, 2015, Qamar tweeted his prayer that Allah “give strength to the mujahideen to slaughter every single US military officer.”

Moreover, according to the statement of facts, on Sept. 25, 2015, Qamar told the CW that he tried to join ISIL in 2014, and purchased a plane ticket from Newark, New Jersey, to Istanbul, Turkey. Qamar, however, did not show up for the flight because his parents prevented him from doing so; Qamar’s parents took his passport. Qamar said his parents threatened to notify law enforcement and said he fought with his father and called his father a traitor to Islam.  On Nov. 18, 2015, the CW asked Qamar if his father gave him back his passport, would Qamar travel overseas and join ISIL. In response, Qamar said if that happened, “I’m done, I leave.”

In a related matter, Soufian Amri, 32, of Falls Church, Virginia, and Michael Queen, 28, of Woodbridge, Virginia, acquaintances of Qamar, were arrested on Wednesday and charged with obstructing justice and conspiring to provide material false statements to law-enforcement officers who were investigating Qamar. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon D. Kromberg of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case with assistance from Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and Andrew Sigler of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Haris Qamar, 26, of Burke, was sentenced today to 8 1/2 years in prison for attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization. Qamar was also sentenced to 20 years of supervised release to be completed after he is released from prison.

Qamar pleaded guilty on Oct. 17, 2016. According to court documents, in May 2016, Qamar and an FBI confidential witness (CW) discussed ISIL’s need for photographs of possible targets in and around Washington, D.C., for use in a video that ISIL purportedly was making to encourage lone-wolf attacks in the Washington, D.C., area. Qamar offered the CW ideas of what to photograph, including the Pentagon and numerous landmarks in Arlington and Washington, D.C., which could be targeted for terrorist attacks. On June 3, a conversation was audio and video recorded when the CW picked up Qamar in a vehicle and drove to area landmarks on the list Qamar previously developed. Qamar said “bye bye DC, stupid ass kufar, kill’em all.” Qamar and the CW met again on June 10 and drove to a location in Arlington to take additional photographs for the purported ISIL video.

According to the statement of facts, during numerous conversations with the CW, Qamar expressed his interest and excitement in the extreme violence associated with ISIL. Qamar said he loved the bodies, blood, and beheadings. Qamar said he recalled watching a video of a Kurdish individual being slaughtered, and he liked the cracking sound made when the individual’s spinal cord was torn. On several occasions, Qamar said he could slaughter someone and described how he would do it. Qamar also stated he admired lone-wolf attackers because they love Islam so much that they are willing to die as martyrs for Islam and, in the same conversation, Qamar and the CW discussed suicide bombings. The CW said the CW did not believe in suicide bombings, but Qamar responded, “I believe in it 100 percent.”

According to the statement of facts, on Sept. 11, 2015, terrorists connected with ISIL posted a “kill list” to the internet containing the names and addresses of U.S. military members. A few days later, Qamar told the CW that the residences of several service members who appeared on the “kill list” were near Qamar’s home, and Qamar observed undercover police cars near those residences. On Sept. 16, 2015, Qamar tweeted his prayer that Allah “give strength to the mujahideen to slaughter every single US military officer.”

Moreover, according to the statement of facts, on Sept. 25, 2015, Qamar told the CW that he tried to join ISIL in 2014, and he purchased a plane ticket from Newark, New Jersey, to Istanbul, Turkey. Qamar, however, did not show up for the flight because his parents prevented him from doing so by taking his passport. Qamar said his parents threatened to notify law enforcement and said he fought with his father and called his father a traitor to Islam. On Nov. 18, 2015, the CW asked Qamar if his father gave him back his passport, would Qamar travel overseas and join ISIL, and, in response, Qamar said if that happened, “I’m done, I leave.”

In a related matter, Soufian Amri, 32, of Falls Church, and Michael Queen, 28, of Woodbridge, acquaintances of Qamar, were arrested on Wednesday and charged with obstructing justice and conspiring to provide material false statements to law enforcement officers who were investigating Qamar.

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 Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon D. Kromberg prosecuted the case with assistance from Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and Andrew Sigler of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

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. 1:16-cr-227 (Qamar) and 1:17-mj-62 (Amri/Queen).

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Homayoon Daneshvar, 63, a resident of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for charges related to a $1.9 million investment fraud scheme.

Danshevar was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, forfeit $1.945 million, and pay $926,020 in restitution.

Daneshvar pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2016. According to court documents, from in or about April 2009 to January 2013, Daneshvar lied and made false promises to eight victim investors to persuade them to give him approximately $1.9 million. Daneshvar told the victim investors the money would be used for bridge financing to purchase foreclosed property that would be “flipped,” or quickly resold for profit. Daneshvar promised a monthly return on their investments, but in reality Daneshvar used the money to invest in the stock market, pay “returns” on the investments back to the investors, and to pay for his own personal expenses.

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 Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorney Grace L. Hill prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-231.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – David John Russell, 38, of Fallbrook, California, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Russell pleaded guilty on Nov. 4, 2016. According to court documents, a methamphetamine distributor operating in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area traveled to California to obtain large quantities of methamphetamine. Russell met with this methamphetamine distributor and agreed to provide the distributor with methamphetamine. Then, on two separate occasions, Russell used the U.S. Postal Service to send approximately one pound of methamphetamine. Law enforcement successfully seized both packages.

The case was investigated by the DEA and U.S. Postal Service as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Ring of Ice. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and Joseph W. Cronin, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carina A. Cuellar prosecuted the case.

 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-202.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Maurice McLain, 33, of Newport News, was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy involving the Thug Relations gang in Newport News.

McLain was found guilty by a jury on June 17, 2016, after a three-week jury trial. According to court documents, McLain was a member of the gang Thug Relations. Members and associates of Thug Relations were responsible for drug trafficking, numerous shootings, home invasions, and murders. Specifically, the jury found McLain guilty of the murder of 17-year-old Aaron Sumler at Aqueduct Apartments on July 5, 2007. McLain, who at the time of trial was serving a 15-year sentence for using a gun during narcotics trafficking, will ultimately serve 50 years in prison for his crimes.

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; and Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Samuels and Lisa R. McKeel, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Yvonne Garcia prosecuted the case.

 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:14-cr-59.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Six Hampton Roads residents were indicted yesterday for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, heroin and fentanyl over a four-year period in Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

According to allegations in the indictment, Terry Glenn Williams, 33, of Newport News, was an armed drug dealer who distributed heroin and cocaine from various hotels in Hampton Roads and used female drug addicts to engage in prostitution to further the conspiracy. Williams is charged with the heroin overdose death of Michelle Gonyer on April 8, 2013, and another overdose involving serious bodily injury. Williams and Kristen Paiva, 26, of Hampton, are also charged with the heroin overdose death of Caroline Eaton on April 10, 2013. Williams is also charged with carrying firearms while engaged in selling and supplying heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and cocaine base.

Name

Age, Hometown

Charges

Terry Glenn Williams

33, Newport News

Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Cocaine, Cocaine Base and Fentanyl; Maintaining Drug Involved Premises; Use of a Communication Facility to Facilitate Drug Trafficking; Distribution of Cocaine, Cocaine Base and Heroin; Distribution of Heroin resulting Death and Serious Bodily Injury; Money laundering.

Longene Durae Alexander

34, Newport News

Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Cocaine, Cocaine Base and Fentanyl; Maintaining Drug Involved Premises; Use of a Communication Facility to Facilitate Drug Trafficking; Distribution of Cocaine, Cocaine Base and Heroin; Distribution of Heroin resulting Death and Serious Bodily Injury; Money laundering

Tymane Raymond Springs

32, Newport News

Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Cocaine, Cocaine Base and Fentanyl; Maintaining Drug Involved Premises; Use of a Communication Facility to Facilitate Drug Trafficking; Distribution of Cocaine, Cocaine Base and Heroin; Distribution of Heroin resulting Death and Serious Bodily Injury

Tiffany Renee Taylor

29, Newport News

Distribution of heroin resulting in serious bodily injury

Ashley Lorraine Kearney

32, Yorktown

Distribution of heroin resulting in serious bodily injury

Kristen Rose Paiva

26, Hampton

Distribution of heroin resulting in death

 

Williams, Alexander, Springs, Taylor, and Pava each face a maximum penalty of 20 years to life in prison, if convicted. Kearney faces a maximum penalty of 20 years. 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 Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Filed Division, made the announcement after the indictment was returned by the grand jury. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa R. McKeel and Howard J. Zlotnick 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. 4:17-cr-16.

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. – Allise Jones, 29, of Lanham, Maryland, was convicted today by a federal jury on charges of conspiracy to commit identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, two counts of access device fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Jones conspired with others to use personally identifiable information (PII) about current and former employees of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and others. From October 2012 to April 2014, Jones and her co-conspirators had access to PII from over 100 VA employees and more than 2,000 Freddie Mac employees and affiliates. Jones and her co-conspirators used that information to obtain fraudulent identification documents and credit accounts used to defraud financial institutions, retailers, and others. Jones used the information to obtain credit cards she used to purchase goods and services such as plastic surgery, expensive jewelry, and travel.

Jones faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of access device fraud, 5 years in prison for both conspiracy to commit identity theft and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft when sentenced on May 19, 2017. 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; Laura S. Wertheimer, Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA); and Michael J. Missal, Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Castanien and Charlie Divine and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Fahey 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. 1:16-cr-282.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Chadrick Lard, 26, of Newport News was sentenced today to 25 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his role in a 2010 Newport News robbery that ended with a murder.

Lard pleaded guilty on Dec. 30, 2015. According to court documents, Lard was an associate of the Black P-Stones gang in Newport News. As part of a gang initiation, Lard and three others went to a home in Newport News intending to rob its occupant of drugs and money. During the course of the robbery, one of Lard’s associates forced the occupant of the home to the ground and shot him in the head, killing him. Following the murder, Lard and his associates fled the scene and divided the proceeds of the robbery. The leader of the Black P-Stones, Michael Hopson, was convicted of racketeering charges including two murders and four attempted murders, on Dec. 5, 2016. Hopson is scheduled to be sentenced on March 10.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt and Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey of the Organized Crime and Gang Section 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. 4:13-cr-96.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Jayson Mickle, 31, of Hampton, was sentenced today to 210 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues.

Mickle pleaded guilty on June 27, 2016. According to court documents, from 2008 to 2014, Mickle sold smokable synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as “spice,” in the Hampton Roads area and, eventually, nationwide. Spice consists of plant material sprayed with ever changing active chemical ingredients often produced in clandestine laboratories in China. These chemicals mimic the effects of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Mickle sold blends of spice with names like Hampster Purp, HPT Cherry, Bizarro, and Orgazmo. Although the packets of spice were labeled “not for human consumption,” Mickle knew that the spice was to be smoked for its intoxicating properties.

Mickle began sales through retail stores by the name of Hampton Pipe and Tobacco, located in Hampton, Newport News, Gloucester and Norfolk. In 2010, Mickle also began a wholesale operation online called Blazin Herbs. In 2013, the wholesale outfit’s name was changed to 7 City Gifts. At times, Mickle was supplied by Zencense, which was a large-scale spice producer and wholesaler based in Florida. Between January 2012 and April 2013, Mickle’s spice distribution operation purchased in excess of 1,000 kilograms of spice for resale from Zencense and its successor company, Zenbio, which was based in California. Mickle’s operations also supplied the Red Barn, a convenience store in Newport News, with spice in late 2013 into early 2014. From 2010 to 2012 alone, Mickle’s retail operation, Hampton Pipe and Tobacco, grossed over $9.6 million in spice sales. Mickle, who used a significant portion of his drug proceeds to purchase over two dozen real properties, was also ordered to forfeit those properties.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk; Joseph W. Cronin, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Richard Myers, Chief of Police, Newport News Police Department; Terry L. Sult, Chief of Police, Hampton Police Department; and Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Hurt and Kevin Hudson, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Cross-Rochefort prosecuted the case.

 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:15-cr-18.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Fauquier County has agreed to resolve an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance review of its polling locations to ensure that its polling locations comply with the ADA.

 

“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Under this agreement, voters with disabilities in Fauquier County can vote at the polling place near their home and alongside their neighbors and friends.”

 

As part of a nation-wide Department of Justice voting rights initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office conducted an ADA compliance review of Fauquier County’s polling locations. The review revealed that many polling places in Fauquier County have architectural barriers that make them inaccessible to voters who use wheelchairs or have mobility impairments.

 

Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Fauquier County will make temporary and permanent changes to its polling places to make the locations accessible to voters who use wheelchairs or have mobility impairments. Fauquier County also has the option of relocating these polling locations to alternate accessible locations. Going forward, the county will only select new polling place locations that are accessible on election day. The county will also provide training to poll workers and file reports with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on its compliance.

 

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Gordon, who is the Civil Rights Enforcement Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

 

Title II of the ADA prohibits public entities from discriminating against people with disabilities in their programs, services and activities. With respect to polling places, public entities are required to select and use polling places that are accessible. To learn more about ADA requirements for polling place accessibility or about the ADA and other laws protecting the rights of voters with disabilities, visit www.ada.gov/ta-pubs-pg2.htm. For more information on the ADA and to access this publication, visit http://www.ada.gov or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).

 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.