Eastern District of Virginia

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jennifer Xanten, 51, of Frederick, Maryland, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for mail fraud relating to her stealing more than 550 checks totaling approximately $437,000 out of her employer’s incoming mail. Xanten was also ordered to pay $437,016.01 in restitution.

Xanten pleaded guilty on Oct. 14, 2015.  According to court documents, Xanten, an employee of a rehabilitation center in Rockville, Maryland, admitted to stealing the checks out of the center’s incoming mail from February 2014 to July 2015.  To effectuate her scheme, Xanten, who was responsible for mailing out the companies’ invoices, would send out invoices to collect payment for services the center performed. One such company who received invoices was located in Chantilly. She would then intercept the incoming check payments and deposit the checks into her personal account without authorization.  Xanten, who was responsible for inputting entries into the bookkeeping records, falsified entries related to the stolen checks in order to conceal her scheme.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamar K. Walker 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. 1:15cr286.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Obayedul Hoque, 49, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Hoque owned and operated a gas station in Alexandria called Skyhill Shell and multiple Subway restaurant franchises in Alexandria, Arlington, and Washington, D.C.  Hoque admitted that between 2008 and 2014, he and his co-conspirators, who were managers of some of the Subway franchises and the gas station, conspired to defraud the United States for the purpose of obstructing the IRS in the ascertainment and collection of individual and corporate income taxes.  Hoque and his co-conspirators did not deposit all of the gas station or the Subway franchises’ gross receipts into the corporate or partnership bank accounts.  Instead, Hoque and the managers retained a portion of the gross receipts for their personal benefit and failed to report those funds to the IRS.  For the Subway franchises that had no co-conspirator managers, Hoque retained all of the unreported gross receipts for himself. 

For the period of 2008 through 2013, point of sales records for the Subway franchises reflected total sales of $20,805,667.  However, Hoque and his co-conspirators provided false monthly sales figures to the accounting firm to prepare the Subway entities’ tax returns.  As a result, Hoque and his co-conspirators caused false corporate and partnership tax returns to be filed for the Subway franchises, which reported sales of only $14,377,696.  Hoque and a co-conspirator also caused false corporate tax returns to be filed on behalf of Skyhill Shell.  For some years, some of the entities did not file tax returns with the IRS.  Hoque also filed false individual income tax returns with the IRS.  Hoque admitted that his conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS of between $1.5 million and $3.5 million. 

Hoque faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when sentenced on May 13, 2016. As part of his plea agreement, Hoque agreed to pay restitution to the IRS for tax liabilities for the years 2008 through 2013.  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 Caroline D. Ciraolo, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye is prosecuting the case along with Assistant Chief Caryn Finley and Trial Attorney Kimberly Shartar of the Tax Division.

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-9.

Ardit Ferizi, 20, a citizen of Kosovo, made his initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis of the Eastern District of Virginia on charges alleging that he provided material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and committed computer hacking and identity theft violations in conjunction with the theft and release of personally identifiable information (PII) of U.S. servicemembers and federal employees.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Michelle S. Klimt of the FBI’s Jacksonville, Florida, Division made the announcement.

Ferizi, who was detained by Malaysian authorities on a provisional arrest warrant on behalf of the United States, was charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 6, 2015.  The criminal complaint was unsealed on Oct. 15, 2015.  Ferizi subsequently waived extradition.

If convicted, Ferizi faces a maximum penalty of 35 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.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Jacksonville Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Van Grack of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Gregory Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.  The Malaysian authorities and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Ardit Ferizi, 20, a citizen of Kosovo, made his initial appearance here this afternoon on charges alleging that he provided material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and committed computer hacking and identity theft violations in conjunction with the theft and release of personally identifiable information (PII) of U.S. service members and federal employees.

Ferizi, who was detained by Malaysian authorities on a U.S. provisional arrest warrant, was charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 6, 2015. The criminal complaint was unsealed on Oct. 15, 2015.

Ferizi’s next court appearance will be on Friday at 2 p.m. at the federal courthouse in Alexandria.

Ferizi faces a maximum penalty of 35 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 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; John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Michelle S. Klimt of the FBI’s Jacksonville, Florida, Division, made the announcement after Ferizi’s initial appearance in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon L. Van Grack and Trial Attorney Gregory R. Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case. The investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and FBI’s Jacksonville Division. 

The U.S. Attorney, Assistant Attorney General, and FBI Assistant Director thanked the Malaysian authorities for their assistance in this matter.

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. 1:15-MJ-515.

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.

NORFOLK, Va. – Collie Rashad Sanks, 37, of Emporia, was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and his firearms trafficking activities. 

Sanks pleaded guilty on Sept. 17, 2015.  According to court documents, Sanks was the second highest ranking member of a Bloods street gang known as the Red Stone Rydahs, which operated in Emporia and Franklin.  Along with his co-conspirator, Phillip Jerome Murphy, 41, of Franklin, Sanks began distributing significant quantities of heroin in Franklin, Smithfield, and Emporia in approximately 2012.  As frequently as twice per month, Sanks and Murphy would travel to New York to purchase bulk quantities of heroin and then travel back to southeastern Virginia to distribute the drug.  Both men sold heroin themselves, and also employed other individuals to assist them in their distribution activities.  Additionally, court documents revealed that Sanks was heavily involved in firearms trafficking on behalf of the Red Stone Rydahs.  On two occasions, he sold a total of eleven firearms – including high caliber rifles, assault rifles, and pump action shotguns – as well as a ballistic vest to an undercover law enforcement officer.  During search warrants executed at residences associated with Sanks, law enforcement recovered four different types of ammunition, an AK-47 assault rifle, and three other firearms, in addition to heroin, marijuana, narcotics packaging materials, and gang paraphernalia. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John S. Adam, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Ricky Pinksaw, Chief of Emporia Police; and Phillip Hardison, Chief of Franklin Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Muhr and 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 . 2:15cr115 (Collie Sanks) and Case No. 2:15cr103 (Phillip Murphy).

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Robert Everett Bonner, Jr., aka Ace, 34, of Fredericksburg, was sentenced today to 360 months in prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion. Bonner was also sentenced to five years of supervised release, ordered to pay $317,750 in restitution to his victims, and ordered to forfeit $400,250.

Bonner pleaded guilty on July 2, 2015.  According to court documents, Bonner was a leader of an interstate sex trafficking venture that prostituted over 55 women in at least seven states, and thus is the largest sex trafficking venture ever discovered in the Eastern District of Virginia.  Bonner and his co-conspirators recruited victims from Internet websites by calling the victims and promising a better life.  For example, he falsely promised various victims that he would permit them to keep a substantial portion of the money that they earned from prostitution.

Bonner specialized in sex trafficking women who had substance abuse issues and he used this to manipulate them.  Bonner would sometimes get victims addicted to drugs, such as heroin, and then withhold those drugs until the victims performed commercial sex acts and gave him the proceeds.  Bonner often intentionally allowed victims to experience severe symptoms of drug withdrawal as a means of punishing and controlling victims.  If the victims balked at his demands, Bonner simply cut off the drug supply, which caused most victims to become compliant.

Bonner’s actions resulted in the death of a 21 year-old victim known as “Laurabeth.”  On July 25, 2013, Bonner instructed a co-conspirator to deliver a fentanyl patch to Laurabeth.  From this patch, Laurabeth absorbed a lethal dose of Fentanyl.  She died in the hotel room from which Bonner was prostituting her.

In addition to using drug addictions to control victims, Bonner also used force and other forms of coercion to maintain control over victims.  For example, Bonner often isolated women from their families and from each other to prevent them from leaving and to render them helpless. With his size and demeanor, he also intentionally intimidated victims to ensure that they continued to prostitute and provide their prostitution proceeds to him.  On one occasion, Bonner ordered a co-conspirator to beat one victim.  He also frequently confiscated victims’ identification documents and victims’ cellular telephones (because they often contained the contact information of victims’ family members who might help them escape).  Bonner also had a habit of anally sodomizing victims forcibly as a means of inflicting pain and punishing them.

A co-conspirator, Michael Anthony Randall, also known as “Divine tha Victorious Mack,” previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Sheriff David P. Decatur of the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler, Jr., Chief of the Fairfax County Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Frank and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn A. Kimball prosecuted the case.  The Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, the Henrico County Police, and the Stafford County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.

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. 1:14-CR-425.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Paul N. Batinas, 31, of Romania, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Batinas acknowledged that from June 2014 through his arrest in September 2015, he and several others installed skimming devices and cameras on Navy Federal Credit Union ATMs located throughout the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere.  Batinas and his co-conspirators used these devices to capture the debit and credit card account numbers and PIN access codes of others, which they later used to make unauthorized withdrawals from the compromised accounts.  Batinas and his co-conspirators accessed these accounts by re-encoding the account numbers onto other cards, such as gift cards, and using those cards and the associated PINs at ATMs belonging to other financial institutions.  Batinas is responsible for compromising more than 3,700 debit and credit cards from which conspirators withdrew approximately $550,000.

Batinas was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 10, 2015, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, as well as a mandatory consecutive two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft charge, when he is sentenced on April 28, 2016. The maximum and minimum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are 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;  John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Office, Douglas Mease, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service Richmond Office and George Purefoy, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service Norfolk Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Kaitlin C. Gratton 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. 4:15cr63.

NORFOLK, Va. – Donald G. McManus, 22, of Wallingford, Connecticut, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for distribution of heroin aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier that led to the overdose of an active duty sailor. McManus was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

McManus pleaded guilty on Oct. 14, 2015.  According to court documents, Donald McManus was an active duty sailor in the United States Navy assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier in February 2015.  While in a restricted status on-board the USS Bush, Donald McManus had his wife smuggle heroin and syringes aboard the aircraft carrier.  The McManus couple sold heroin to another sailor who was later found unresponsive on the floor in the ship’s berthing area.  The USS Bush’s medical personnel immediately responded and worked with emergency medical technicians in an attempt to save the sailor’s life.  The overdose victim was without a detectable pulse until medical personnel were able to resuscitate the sailor.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and Timothy R. Quick, Special Agent in Charge of NCIS’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

This case was investigated by NCIS’s Norfolk Field Office, and was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alyssa Nichol and John F. Butler, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Bosse.

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. 2:15-cr-109.

NORFOLK, Va. – Eduardo Bueno, 41, of Portsmouth, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of distribution and possession of child pornography.

According to the indictment and other court documents, law enforcement authorities were alerted when a customer attempted to save images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct on their internet cloud account.  Homeland Security Investigations and the Portsmouth Police Department identified the user of the account as Eduardo Bueno.  Further investigation revealed that Bueno is a registered sex offender, previously having been convicted of child sexual abuse in Massachusetts.  Bueno initially was arrested on January 5, 2016, pursuant to a criminal complaint and remains incarcerated pending trial. 

Bueno faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.  The minimum and 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 Michael Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Norfolk Office, made the announcement after the grand jury returned the indictment.  This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the Portsmouth Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi 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-8.

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. – James William Hill III, 34, of Chester, was charged today with a federal hate crime under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act for a May 2015 assault on a victim known as C.T. in the indictment.

According to the indictment, on or about May 22, 2015, Hill did willfully cause bodily injury to C.T by assaulting C.T., including by punching the victim, because of C.T.’s actual and perceived sexual orientation.

Hill 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 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; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta; and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the indictment was returned. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. David Schiller, and Trial Attorney Ryan Murguía of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal 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 the defendant’s name.

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.

James William Hill III, 34, of Chester, Virginia, was charged today with a federal hate crime under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act for a May 2015 assault on a victim known as C.T. in the indictment.

The indictment was announced by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division, and U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to the indictment, on or about May 22, 2015, Hill did willfully cause bodily injury to C.T by assaulting C.T., including by punching the victim, because of C.T.’s actual and perceived sexual orientation.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney S. David Schiller of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Ryan Murguía of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

Hill Indictment

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Joseph Hassan Farrokh, 28, and Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan, 25, both of Woodbridge, were charged today for criminal activity relating to Farrokh’s attempt to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Farrokh was arrested yesterday afternoon at the Richmond International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Chicago, where he intended to board a flight to Amman, Jordan, with an ultimate destination of Syria.  Elhassan was arrested yesterday evening in Woodbridge after returning from driving Farrokh to Richmond and being interviewed by FBI agents.    

Farrokh, who is a U.S. citizen originally from Pennsylvania, has been charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Elhassan, who is a legal permanent U.S. resident originally from Sudan, has been charged with aiding and abetting Farrokh’s attempt to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to the criminal complaints, since at least Nov. 20, 2015, Farrokh has been engaged in efforts to leave the United States and join ISIL in Syria. Farrokh purchased an airline ticket on Dec. 21, 2015, for flights departing yesterday from Richmond with an ultimate arrival destination of Jordan, and would then travel to Syria.

According to the criminal complaints, Elhassan introduced Farrokh to a person who Elhassan believed maintained connections to individuals engaged in jihad overseas. Elhassan also knew of Farrokh’s plans to travel to Syria to join ISIL, and Elhassan acknowledged to others that Farrokh was falsely telling his family that he intended to travel to Saudi Arabia to study.

According to the criminal complaints, Elhassan picked up Farrokh yesterday morning and drove him to Richmond to a location approximately one mile from the airport. Farrokh then took a cab to the airport, checked in for his flight, cleared security and was arrested as he was approaching his departure gate. After driving Farrokh to Richmond, Elhassan returned to Woodbridge yesterday afternoon and voluntarily consented to an interview by FBI agents. Elhassan acknowledged to the interviewing agents several times that he knew it was illegal to knowingly lie to federal agents, then proceeded to make a number of false statements in response to the agents’ questions. For example, when asked when he had last seen Farrokh, Elhassan told the agents it had been earlier in the day in Woodbridge. Elhassan also stated that Farrokh was going to the Dulles International Airport to fly to California to attend a funeral and would be gone for two weeks.      

Farrokh and Elhassan each face a maximum penalty of 20 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 defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The initial appearance for both men is scheduled for Jan. 19, 2016, in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa C. Buchanan at the federal courthouse in Alexandria.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Dennis Fitzpatrick, along with Trial Attorney D. Andrew Sigler of the Justice Department’s National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

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-24 (Farrokh) and 1:16-cr-25 (Elhassan).

The 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.

Joseph Hassan Farrokh, 28, and Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan, 25, both of Woodbridge, Virginia, were charged today for criminal activity relating to Farrokh’s attempt to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. 

Farrokh was arrested yesterday afternoon at the Richmond, Virginia, International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Chicago, where he intended to board a flight to Amman, Jordan, with an ultimate destination of Syria.  Elhassan was arrested yesterday evening in Woodbridge after returning from driving Farrokh to Richmond and being interviewed by FBI agents.

Farrokh, who is a U.S. citizen originally from Pennsylvania, has been charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIL, a designated foreign terrorist organization.  Elhassan, who is a legal permanent U.S. resident originally from Sudan, has been charged with aiding and abetting Farrokh’s attempt to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to the criminal complaints, since at least Nov. 20, 2015, Farrokh has been engaged in efforts to leave the United States and join ISIL in Syria.  Farrokh met several times with confidential human sources in attempts to work out the details of how and when he could travel to Syria to join ISIL.  Farrokh purchased airline tickets on Dec. 21, 2015, for flights departing yesterday from Richmond with an ultimate arrival destination of Jordan.  He planned to thereafter travel to Syria to join ISIL.  According to the criminal complaints, Elhassan introduced Farrokh to a person who Elhassan believed maintained connections to individuals engaged in jihad overseas, Elhassan knew of Farrokh’s plans to travel to Syria to join ISIL and he acknowledged to others that Farrokh was falsely telling his family that he intended to travel to Saudi Arabia to study.

According to the criminal complaints, Elhassan picked up Farrokh yesterday morning and drove him to Richmond, to a location approximately one mile from the airport.  Farrokh subsequently took a cab to the airport, checked in for his flight, cleared security and was arrested.  After driving Farrokh to Richmond, Elhassan returned to Woodbridge yesterday afternoon and voluntarily consented to an interview by FBI agents.  Elhassan acknowledged to the interviewing agents several times that he knew it was illegal to knowingly lie to federal agents, then proceeded to make a number of false statements in response to the agents’ questions, according to the criminal complaints.      

The initial appearance for both defendants is scheduled for Jan. 19, 2016, at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.

If convicted, Farrokh and Elhassan each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress, and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Dennis Fitzpatrick of the Eastern District of Virginia, along with Trial Attorney D. Andrew Sigler of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Farrokh Complaint

Elhassan Complaint

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – David Patrick Diaz, 36, of Poughkeepsie, New York, pleaded guilty today to the charge of interference with flight crew members and attendants.

At his court appearance today, Diaz admitted to shouting threatening statements as he charged the cockpit of a United Airlines flight shortly after it took off from Dulles International Airport in March 2015.  After being tackled by a group of passengers, Diaz said the word, “Jihad,” and he also said that there was something in the belly of the plane.  The passengers and flight attendants were able to restrain Diaz until the plane returned safely to Dulles.

Diaz was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 19, 2015.  Diaz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 1, 2016. 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 Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler McGaughey and 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. 1:15-cr-324.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jorge Enrique Mendez-Limon, 34, of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for leading a multi-state cocaine distribution conspiracy. Mendez-Limon was also ordered to forfeit $540,000.

According to court documents, Mendez-Limon ran an organization that imported multiple kilograms of cocaine from Mexico for distribution to customers primarily located in Maryland and Virginia. Mendez-Limon utilized a stash house in Maryland to store and prepare cocaine, and to store drug proceeds. A handgun with an obliterated serial number was seized from the stash house in June 2015.

Name

Age

Hometown

Sentencing Details

Jorge Enrique Mendez-Limon

34

Berwyn Heights, Maryland

Sentenced to 180 months today.

Roberto Carlos Esparza-Suarez

26

Dale City

Sentenced to 120 months on Dec. 18, 2015.

Marco Valdez-Hernandez

35

Denver, Colorado

Sentenced to 120 months on Dec. 18, 2015.

Lisette Natalie Cordova

24

Dale City

Sentenced to 24 months today.

Jose Komairo Hernandez-Lopez

34

Woodbridge

Sentenced to 14 months on Dec. 11, 2015.

Joaquin Santana Rivera Mejia

37

Unknown

Sentencing scheduled for Feb. 19, 2016.

Laura Shepherd

38

Berwyn Heights, Maryland

Sentenced to 30 months on Jan. 8, 2016.

Alexander Lorenzo

33

Hyattsville, Maryland

Sentencing scheduled for Jan. 22, 2016.

Christopher Flores

36

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Sentencing scheduled for March 4, 2016.

Josue Emmanuel Rivera-Lemus

32

Riverdale, Maryland

Sentencing scheduled for Jan. 22, 2016.

Fredy Armando Pereira

36

Adelphi, Maryland

Sentenced to 48 months on Dec. 4, 2015.

Jeovany Francisco Andrade

29

Rockville, Maryland

Sentenced to 40 months on Dec. 17, 2015.

Luis Manuel Villa Castelan

34

Bronx, New York

Sentenced to 84 months on Dec. 17, 2015.

Juan Delao

41

Triangle

Sentencing scheduled for Feb. 19, 2016.

 

This case arose out of a year-long investigation led by a task force of federal and local law enforcement officers into connected cocaine distribution networks in Virginia and Maryland. The defendants represent various components in a criminal enterprise responsible for obtaining and distributing cocaine throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The defendants include alleged street level dealers with ties to the transnational 18th Street gang. During the course of arrests in June 2015, agents recovered multiple firearms, distribution quantities of cocaine, and over $45,000 in U.S. currency.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Stephan M. Hudson, Chief of Prince William County Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Clarke and Andrea Duvall 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. 1:15-cr-183.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Amin al-Baroudi, 50, a Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen formerly of Irvine, California, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiring to export U.S.-origin goods from the United States to Syria in violation of sanctions imposed on Syria by the U.S. government.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Baroudi admitted that from at least December 2011 through March 2013, he and his co-conspirators exported U.S. tactical equipment to Syria for the purpose of supplying and arming Ahrar al-Sham and other insurgent groups in Syria whose stated goal is to overthrow the Assad government and install an Islamic state in Syria.  Ahrar al-Sham frequently fights alongside Jabhat al-Nusrah, which has been designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and operates as al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria. 

According to court documents, Baroudi and his co-conspirators purchased tens of thousands of dollars of goods from companies and vendors in the United States, consisting largely of tactical equipment such as sniper rifle scopes, night vision rifle scopes, night vision goggles, laser bore sighters, speed loaders, and bullet proof vests.  Baroudi and his co-conspirators traveled with the goods aboard commercial flights to Turkey and then transported the goods into Syria or provided them to others for transport.  Baroudi made two such trips in February and March of 2013.

Baroudi was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 9, 2015.  He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 6, 2016. 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; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; David Bowdich, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; and Douglas Hassebrock, Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia K. Martinez is prosecuting the case.  The FBI’s Washington and Los Angeles Field Offices and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement are investigating the case.  The DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations, California Highway Patrol, the Irvine Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in Orange County, California, have provided significant assistance. 

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. 1:15-cr-102.

Amin al-Baroudi, 50, a Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen formerly of Irvine, California, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiring to export U.S.-origin goods from the United States to Syria in violation of sanctions imposed on Syria by the U.S. government.  The guilty plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady of the Eastern District of Virginia.

The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Assistant Director in Charge David Bowdich of the FBI’s Los Angeles Division and Director Douglas Hassebrock of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Baroudi admitted that from at least December 2011 through March 2013, he and his co-conspirators exported U.S. tactical equipment to Syria for the purpose of supplying and arming Ahrar al-Sham and other insurgent groups in Syria whose stated goal is to overthrow the Assad government and install an Islamic state.  Ahrar al-Sham frequently fights alongside Jabhat al-Nusrah, which has been designated by the U.S. State Department as a foreign terrorist organization and operates as al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria.

According to court documents, Baroudi and his co-conspirators purchased tens of thousands of dollars of goods from companies and vendors in the United States, consisting largely of tactical equipment such as sniper rifle scopes, night vision rifle scopes, night vision goggles, laser bore sighters, speed loaders and bullet proof vests.  Baroudi and his co-conspirators traveled with the goods aboard commercial flights to Turkey and then transported the goods into Syria or provided them to others for transport.  Baroudi made two such trips in February and March of 2013.

Baroudi was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 9, 2015.  He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 6, 2016.  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.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, FBI’s Los Angeles Division and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; California Highway Patrol; the Irvine, California, Police Department; the Orange County, California, Sheriff’s Department; and the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in Orange County provided significant assistance.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia K. Martinez of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorneys Christian Ford and Robert Wallace of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Baroudi Statement of Facts

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Just minutes before jury selection was set to begin, Nader Elnegery, 41, of Norfolk, pleaded guilty today to charges of mail and wire fraud based on a scheme to defraud Canon, U.S.A. (Canon) and other companies of professional cameras and lenses.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Elnegery admitted to falsely certifying his eligibility for membership in a program offered by Canon to professional photographers and filmmakers.  Specifically, in 2013 and 2014, Elnegery applied for memberships in his own name and in the names of five aliases, falsely claiming to own several items of professional camera equipment that he had rented from a second company, ATS Rentals.  Ownership of such equipment is the primary condition of membership in the Canon program.  Elnegery then used the Canon memberships to obtain loans of high-end, professional cameras and lenses from Canon.  Elnegery failed to return these items, as well as several items he had rented from ATS Rentals, resulting in significant losses to both companies.  In March and April 2014, Elnegery sold the majority of these items in eBay auctions, collecting the proceeds from these sales through a PayPal account.  Elnegery transferred the majority of the money he earned from these sales to his own checking account.  The items not sold were recovered from Elnegery’s home. 

Elnegery was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 14, 2015, and the trial was set to begin today.  Elnegery faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 28, 2016. 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 Maria Kelokates, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington Division, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin C. Gratton and Brian J. Samuels 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. 4:15c48.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Dae Hyuck Ko, aka James Ko, aka Minghua Hong, 59, was convicted yesterday evening by a federal jury on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, 19 counts of bank fraud, and four counts of aggravated identity theft.

Ko was indicted on June 24, 2015, and a superseding indictment was returned on Dec. 22, 2015.  According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Ko was the leader and organizer of a sophisticated bank fraud and identity theft scheme that targeted banks and individual victims throughout the nation.  The victims, like Ko and the co-conspirators he recruited, were of Korean ethnicity.  Ko directed his co-conspirators to open numerous checking accounts, credit accounts, and personal lines of credit using the stolen identities of these victims.  Ko then directed the complicated movement of money between these accounts to build up a banking history, which ultimately enabled him to deposit bad checks and cash out those accounts before the checks failed to clear.  Ko enforced his control of the conspiracy through violence when necessary, including by having one co-conspirator beaten and sent to the emergency room with a broken nose and fractured eye socket.  Three of Ko’s co-conspirators—Jaejoon Song, Jungtaek Kim, and Minho Yang—have previously pleaded guilty in the case and have been sentenced to 66, 40, and 33 months, respectively.

Ko will be sentenced on April 29, 2016, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the bank fraud and conspiracy charges, as well as a mandatory consecutive two years in prison on at least one of the aggravated identity theft charges.   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 Maria Kelokates, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington Division, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Grace L. Hill and Kosta S. Stojilkovic 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. 1:15-cr-109.

RICHMOND, Va. – Zebulon Resolve Wendt, 34, of Chesterfield County, a former U.S. Navy sailor and Chesterfield County school bus driver, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for producing child pornography of a local juvenile whom he had babysat and sexually abused and exploited on numerous occasions. Wendt was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.

Wendt pleaded guilty on Oct. 14, 2015.  According to court documents, Canadian law enforcement detected Wendt after he uploaded several images of a juvenile female engaged in sexually explicit conduct from his Chesterfield residence to an Internet website.  Federal agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), subsequently executed a search warrant at Wendt’s residence where they recovered several computers, external hard drives, and other computer equipment.  A subsequent forensic examination of the seized items revealed thousands of images and videos of a juvenile female engaged in sexually explicit conduct that Wendt himself had taken with a digital camera and saved onto his computer equipment.  Evidence showed that he then distributed these images and videos to other individuals over the Internet. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stacey E. Rohrs and Samuel E. Fishel 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. 3:15-CR-095.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today a compliance agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Vornado/Charles E. Smith related to the Crystal City Shops and City Underground, which is an interior pedestrian concourse located in Arlington County, to improve accessibility to persons with disabilities through the removal of architectural barriers.

“This significant compliance agreement exemplifies our commitment to protect the rights of people with disabilities,” said U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente.  “The corrective measures agreed to will allow people with mobility disabilities and impaired vision to have an improved opportunity to enjoy the Crystal City Shops and Underground.”

The investigation began with a complaint from the public alleging that the Crystal City Shops and Underground violated the ADA by failing to ensure the accessibility of the interior pedestrian concourse which connects underground and grade level retail shops, service establishments, restaurants, theaters, hotels, office buildings, residential buildings and the Crystal City Metro Station.  The pedestrian concourse spans from 12th Street South to 23rd Street South in Arlington, and is composed of five sections connected by tunnels.  The Crystal City neighborhood is home to a high density of hotel rooms, residences, offices, and multiple federal agencies.

In addition to remedial measures that Vornado/Charles E. Smith took during the course of the investigation, the compliance agreement requires that Vornado/Charles E. Smith make a number of changes to increase accessibility, including:

• Performing alterations to Section D of the Crystal City Shops and Underground to ensure that retail space that is currently accessible only by stairs will be made accessible to individuals with disabilities who use mobility devices.

• Installing ADA compliant handrails in various tunnels that connect multiple sections of the Crystal City Underground.

• Installing a lift at the stairs in front of the Crystal City Marriott lower level lobby entrance in order to provide an accessible route from the accessible plaza level.

• Creating new accessible parking spaces and relocating others.

• Installing signage that will direct the public to accessible entrances and routes of travel.

• Modifying restrooms to have the appropriate accessible features.

• Updating the maps throughout the pedestrian concourse and on its website showing accessible entrances and routes.

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

The Department of Justice has a number of publications available to assist entities in complying with the ADA on its web site, including Maintaining Accessible Features in Retail Establishments.  For more information on the ADA and to access this publication, visit 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 for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

NORFOLK, Va. – Luis Perdomo, 27, of New York, New York, was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 1 kilogram or more of heroin. 

Perdomo pleaded guilty on Sept. 23, 2015. According to court documents, Perdomo and others obtained kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin from a source of supply in the New York City area and transported the cocaine and heroin to a stash house in Norfolk prior to its distribution.  Proceeds from the drug distributions were then transported back to New York City in various automobiles equipped with secret compartments.  A traffic stop in Maryland on March 31, 2015, resulted in a search of Perdomo’s car and the discovery of $280,000 cash in three secret compartments inside the car. Police also found a drug ledger and several phones belonging to Perdomo.  One of the phones contained a video recording of Perdomo handling several kilogram sized packages of a white powdery substance.  Another video on the same phone contained GPS data for a residence in Norfolk, which police later determined was a stash house.  Surveillance in April and May 2015 showed that Perdomo frequented the stash house in Norfolk.  GPS tracking devices were put in place on the vehicles at the stash house to track their drive to New York.  When police stopped the vehicles, more drugs and secret compartments were discovered. 

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 Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl Mitchell 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. 2:15-cr-82.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Benjamin Frank Barrett, Jr., 47, of Hampton, was sentenced today to 264 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl, as well as distribution of fentanyl which resulted in death. 

Barrett pleaded guilty on Oct. 5, 2015. According to court documents, from April 2010 toJune 11, 2015, Barrett was the organizer and leader of a heroin drug trafficking organization that operated in Newport News, Hampton and other nearby cities. In addition to distributing heroin directly to customers, Barrett also utilized “runners,” such as co-conspirators Cecil Edwards and Esstease Bellamy, who sold heroin to users in the community.  In June 2014, Barrett sold fentanyl, also known as “China White,” in addition to heroin.  Robert Shedd, 49, of Newport News, died on June 12, 2014, of a drug overdose and the fentanyl he ingested was distributed by Barrett. 

Bellamy pleaded guilty on Oct. 6, 2015, and will be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2016.  Edwards pleaded guilty on July 22, 2015, and was sentenced on Oct. 21, 2015, to 40 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Gregory J. Cherundolo, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Richmond Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

This case was investigated by DEA’s Richmond Field Division. Yvonne Garcia and Ivana Nizich from the Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division 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. 4:15cr47.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Preston Frazier, 22, and Keandre Williams, 25, of Newport News, were sentenced today to 64 and 75 months in prison, respectively, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  They were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $103,463.11.

Frazier and Williams pleaded guilty on Sept. 28, 2015.  According to court documents, beginning in August 2014, Frazier and Williams, along with co-conspirators Shameek Owens, Kendall Anderson, and others, undertook a scheme to defraud financial institutions in Hampton and Newport News, including Wells Fargo, Langley Federal Credit Union, Bayport Credit Union and Navy Federal Credit Union. All four individuals recruited account holders of these financial institutions to provide their debit cards and personal identification numbers (PIN), for a period of time in exchange for monetary payment. Members of the conspiracy would then deposit worthless and stolen checks, and altered money orders into the compromised accounts using various ATM’s located throughout Hampton Roads. Policies of the targeted financial institutions authorized immediate access to funds deposited by check in this manner. Following the deposits, members of the conspiracy would withdraw the maximum allowable amount from the ATM’s during the initial transaction and then conduct additional withdrawals at other ATM’s in order to obtain the maximum daily withdrawal amount.  They would also use the compromised debit cards to conduct large purchases at local retailers and later return the items for cash.  Frazier and Williams were identified, alone and with others, conducting the fraudulent deposits and withdrawals through video recordings captured by the targeted financial institutions.

Owens pleaded guilty on Oct. 5, 2015, and will be sentenced on Jan. 25, 2016.  Anderson pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2015, and will be sentenced on Feb. 10, 2016.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.  This investigation was coordinated by the Newport News Financial Crimes Task Force, an interagency partnership between Federal, State and local investigators to investigate and prosecute financial fraud cases in Virginia.  The task force is comprised of several agencies, including the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service,  U.S. State Department, Newport News Police Department, Hampton Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office.   Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin C. Gratton and Brian J. Samuels 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. 4:15cr43.

RICHMOND, Va. – Wayne Lewis, 30, of Richmond, was sentenced today to 71 months in prison for his role as the getaway driver in a November 2014 robbery of the Woods Edge Exxon located in Chesterfield County.

Lewis plead guilty on October 8, 2015.  According to court documents, on Nov. 23, 2014, Lewis drove his accomplice Spencer Harris to the Woods Edge Road Exxon.  While Lewis waited in the getaway vehicle, Harris entered the store armed with an antique firearm and demanded money.  After a brief struggle over the weapon, Harris obtained approximately $300 and fled the scene.  Shortly thereafter, the robber’s vehicle driven by Lewis was located by police and a high speed pursuit ensued.  Due to Lewis’s reckless driving and dangerous road conditions, police were forced to cut off the pursuit and the robbers escaped.  Based on investigative leads, the robbers were identified and apprehended several weeks later.  

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Charles E. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert prosecuted the case.  The Chesterfield County Police Department assisted in the investigation of this 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. 3:15-cr-144.

NORFOLK, Va. – Anthony L. Burfoot, 48, of Norfolk, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to obtain property under color of official right, obtaining property under color of official right, and perjury. Burfoot is a former Vice Mayor of Norfolk and City Councilman.  

According to the indictment, from 2005 through in or about Feb. 15, 2011, Burfoot engaged in a scheme to defraud the citizens of Norfolk of their right to the honest services of a Norfolk Councilman, Vice Mayor, and Chief Deputy Treasurer.  Specifically, the indictment alleges that over a period of years, Burfoot solicited things of value including money, car payments, and home appliances from individuals with matters before council and, in exchange, promised to perform specific official acts as well as other actions on an as needed basis on their behalf.  The indictment provides detailed allegations of Burfoot’s illicit relationships with the managers of Tivest Development company as well as TA, another developer and local restaurant owner.  The managers of Tivest paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Burfoot and, in exchange, Burfoot voted in favor of City ordinances that provided City-owned land to Tivest for nominal cost and additional City funds for infrastructure improvements.  At Burfoot’s request, TA paid $25,000 to the mother of two of Burfoot’s children after Burfoot promised to obtain the necessary votes for TA to open a gentlemen’s club on Granby Street in Norfolk.  Finally, the indictment alleges that Burfoot committed perjury, in numerous ways, by claiming under oath during a federal trial that he had never accepted nor solicited a thing of value in exchange for performing an official act.                     

The statutes under which Burfoot was charged carry maximum penalties ranging from 5 to 20 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 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 John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after the indictment was unsealed. Burfoot is scheduled to appear today for his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa E. O’Boyle, Uzo E. Asonye, and Katherine Lee Martin are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-6.

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. – James Edward Addas, 55, of Stafford, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in a bribery scheme involving U.S. government contracts in Iraq.

Addas pleaded guilty on Feb. 20, 2015. According to court documents, in August 2004, Addas was a contracting official at the Iraq/Afghanistan Joint Contracting Command in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad when the owner and CEO of a contracting company based in Jordan offered to pay him a total of $1 million in return for assistance in obtaining U.S. government contracts for major electrical construction projects and related services in Iraq.  The contractor made an initial cash payment of $50,000 in a paper sack, which was handed to Addas inside the “Green Zone” of the U.S. Embassy compound. With Addas’s assistance, the contractor’s companies subsequently received at least 15 contracts, with a total value of more than $28 million awarded to the companies.  In addition to the initial payment, the contractor later sent funds to Addas via wire transfers that totaled more than $455,000 and paid for other items valued at more than $70,000.  Addas did not declare any of this income on his filed federal tax returns.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit; Robert E. Craig Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Darrell Gilliard, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Washington D.C. Field Office; and John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye and Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud 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. 1:15-cr-33.

A former U.S. Department of Defense contracting official was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in a bribery scheme involving U.S. government contracts in Iraq.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Darrell Gilliard of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Washington, D.C., Field Office and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko made the announcement.

James Edward Addas, 55, of Stafford, Virginia, previously pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and tax evasion.  Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia handed down Addas’ sentence today.     

According to admissions made in the plea agreement, in August 2004, Addas was a contracting official at the Iraq/Afghanistan Joint Contracting Command in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad when the owner and CEO of a contracting company based in Jordan offered to pay him a total of $1 million in return for assistance in obtaining U.S. government contracts for major electrical construction projects and related services in Iraq.  The contractor made an initial cash payment of $50,000 in a paper sack, which was handed to Addas inside the “Green Zone” of the U.S. Embassy compound.  With Addas’ assistance, the contractor’s companies subsequently received at least 15 contracts, with a total value of more than $28 million awarded to the companies.  In addition to the initial payment, the contractor later sent funds to Addas via wire transfers that totaled more than $455,000 and paid for other items valued at more than $70,000.  Addas did not declare any of this income on his filed federal tax returns.   

Special Agents of CID, DCIS, NCIS, SIGAR and the Internal Revenue Service investigated the case.  Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.   

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brian K. Hendrix, 42, of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, was convicted today by a federal jury on child pornography charges relating to his participation in two websites that were operated for the purpose of coercing and enticing minors, as young as eight years old, to engage in sexually explicit conduct on web camera. 

An estimated 1,600 minors were lured to the websites. During the investigation, named Operation Subterfuge, the FBI identified more than 300 minor victims in the United States, and the RCMP National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre identified 43 minor victims in Canada.

Hendrix was charged by superseding indictment on July 23, 2015.  Eight co-conspirators were charged in the Eastern District of Virginia, while two other co-conspirators were charged in foreign countries.

According to court records and evidence at trial, co-conspirators created false profiles on social networking sites, such as YouTube, that portrayed them as young teenagers.  They used these profiles to lure children to the websites they controlled.  Once on the conspirators’ websites, the conspirators played 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.  Using these videos, conspirators coerced and enticed children to engage in sexually explicit activity on their own web cameras which the website automatically recorded.   Based on their contribution to the success of website objectives, conspirators earned points, which allowed them access to the sexually exploitative videos of children.  Law enforcement agencies have disabled both websites.

In addition to Hendrix, the conspirators have been convicted and sentenced as follows:

Name, Age, Hometown

Status

Anthony Evans, 54, Grahamstown, South Africa

Pleaded guilty in South Africa and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on May 29, 2015.  An extradition request remains pending.

William J. Morgan, 36, Essex, New York

Pleaded guilty June 26, 2015. Sentenced to 21 years in prison on Sept. 18, 2015.

Milton Smith, Jr., 34, Lorton, Virginia

Pleaded guilty Aug. 14, 2015. Sentencing scheduled for Jan. 22, 2016.

James E. Hancock, 45, Thomasville, Georgia

Pleaded guilty Dec. 29, 2015. Sentencing scheduled for April 1, 2016.

Christopher McNevin, 37, Carlisle, Ohio

Pleaded guilty Aug. 21, 2015. Sentenced to 19 years in prison on Dec. 4, 2015.

Brian K. Hendrix, 42, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee

Convicted by jury on Jan. 8, 2016.  Sentencing scheduled for April 8, 2016.

Carl Zwengel, 51, Princeton, Illinois

Pleaded guilty on July 10, 2015. Sentenced to 18 years in prison on Oct. 2, 2015.

Karlo Hitosis, 32, Bronx, New York

Pleaded guilty on October 30, 2015.  Sentencing scheduled for Feb. 5, 2016.

Stephen Funk, 35, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, 2015.  Sentencing scheduled for March 25, 2016.

 

Hendrix faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on April 8, 2016.  The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided 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; Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Calvin Shivers, Section Chief, FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Section, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick and Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice prosecuted the case. Trial Attorney Ravi Sinha, with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, assisted with the prosecution. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.

Violent Crimes Against Children Section special agents led the investigation with the assistance of other VCACS special agents, the FBI’s Operation Rescue Me, the 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 all worked closely with VCACS and were active partners in Operation Subterfuge, a multinational investigation coordinated by members of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force.  The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre, identified 43 victims as part of the operation.  The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and FBI offices in the Middle District of Georgia, Southern District of New York, Northern District of New York, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Middle District of Tennessee, Central District of Illinois and Southern District of Ohio, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also contributed to the investigation and prosecution.

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.

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. 1:15-cr-172; 1:15-cr-42.

A Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, man was convicted today by a federal jury on child pornography charges relating to his participation in two websites that were operated for the purpose of coercing and enticing minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct on web camera.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Section Chief Calvin Shivers of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section (VCACS) made the announcement.   

Brain K. Hendrix, 42, was charged by superseding indictment on July 23, 2015.  Eight co-conspirators were charged in the Eastern District of Virginia and two co-conspirators have been charged in foreign countries.  The investigation, Operation Subterfuge, identified more than 300 minor victims and an estimated 1,600 minors were lured to the websites.  U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis of the Eastern District of Virginia presided over the trial.

According to court records and evidence at trial, co-conspirators created false profiles on social networking sites, such as YouTube, that portrayed them as young teenagers.  They used these profiles to lure children to the websites they controlled.  Once on the conspirators’ websites, the conspirators played 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.  Using these videos, conspirators coerced and enticed children to engage in sexually explicit activity on their own web cameras which the website automatically recorded.   Based on their contribution to the success of website objectives, conspirators earned points, which allowed them access to the sexually exploitative videos of children.  Law enforcement agencies have disabled both websites.

In addition to Hendrix, the conspirators have been convicted and sentenced as follows:

Name, Age, Hometown

Status

Anthony Evans, 54, of Grahamstown, South Africa

Pleaded guilty in South Africa and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on May 29, 2015.  An extradition request remains pending.

William J. Morgan, 36, of Essex, New York

Pleaded guilty on June 26, 2015. Sentenced to 21 years in prison on Sept. 18, 2015.

Milton Smith Jr., 34, of Lorton, Virginia

Pleaded guilty on Aug. 14, 2015.  Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2016.

James E. Hancock, 45, of Thomasville, Georgia

Pleaded guilty on Dec. 29, 2015.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 1, 2016.

Christopher McNevin, 37, of Carlisle, Ohio

Pleaded guilty on Aug. 21, 2015.  Sentenced to 19 years in prison on Dec. 4, 2015

Carl Zwengel, 51, of Princeton, Illinois

Pleaded guilty on July 10, 2015.  Sentenced to 18 years in prison on Oct. 2, 2015.

Karlo Hitosis, 32, of Bronx, New York

Pleaded guilty on Oct. 30, 2015.  Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2016.

Stephen Funk, 35, Milwaukee

Pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, 2015.  Sentencing is scheduled for March 25, 2016.

VCACS special agents led the investigation with the assistance of FBI’s Operation Rescue Me, 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 all worked closely with VCACS and were active partners in Operation Subterfuge, a multinational investigation coordinated by members of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force.  The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre, identified 43 victims as part of the operation.  The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and FBI offices in the Middle District of Georgia, Southern District of New York, Northern District of New York, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Middle District of Tennessee, Central District of Illinois and Southern District of Ohio, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also contributed to the investigation and prosecution.  Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick prosecuted the case.  CEOS Trial Attorney Ravi Sinha assisted with the prosecution.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.

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.

RICHMOND, Va. – Ronald Tucker, 46, of Lawrenceville, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud for submitting false and fraudulent claims for reimbursement to the Virginia Medicaid program.  Tucker was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $442,148 to the Virginia Medicaid Program. 

Tucker pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2015. According to court documents, Tucker owned and operated Quality Healthcare Inc. (Quality), a Richmond-based Medicaid provider of Intensive In-Home and Mental Health Support services.   Intensive In-Home Therapy services, one of the many mental health services offered by Medicaid in Virginia, are designed to assist youth and adolescents who are at risk of being removed from their homes or are being returned to their homes after removal because of significant mental health, behavioral, or emotional issues.  Mental Health Support services are designed to enable individuals with significant psychiatric functional limitations to achieve and maintain community stability and independence. 

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Tucker acknowledged that, through Quality, he billed Medicaid for services that were never performed and falsified patient eligibility criteria that was submitted to Medicaid’s prior-authorization service, falsely representing Medicaid recipients’ mental health statuses to qualify them for services they did not need. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General 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 James R. Spencer. 

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Virginia Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Virginia Assistant Attorney General Joseph E.H. Atkinson, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber.

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. 3:15-cr-150.

NORFOLK, Va. – Phillip Jerome Murphy, 41, of Franklin, was sentenced today to 300 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.

Murphy pleaded guilty on Sept. 23, 2015. According to court documents, Murphy, who is a convicted felon, and a co-conspirator, Collie Sanks, 37, of Emporia, were leaders of a Bloods street gang known as the Red Stone Rydahs, which operated in the Franklin area.  Murphy and Sanks began distributing significant quantities of heroin in Franklin, Smithfield, and Emporia in approximately 2012.  As frequently as twice per month, Murphy and Sanks would travel to New York to purchase bulk quantities of heroin and then travel back to southeastern Virginia to distribute the drug.  Both men sold heroin themselves, and also employed other individuals to assist them in their distribution activities.  On several occasions, Murphy completed heroin sales within extremely close proximity to an elementary school that was in session.  In addition to numerous undercover heroin purchases from both Murphy and Sanks, search warrants executed at residences associated with each man yielded heroin, cocaine, narcotics packaging materials, and firearms. At one point during the investigation, Murphy sold an assault rifle with a 30-round magazine to an undercover source.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Phillip Hardison, Chief of the Franklin Police Department, made the announcement after Murphy’s plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Muhr and V. Kathleen Dougherty 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 Nos. 2:15cr103 (Murphy) and 2:15cr115 (Sanks).

NORFOLK, Va. – Charles Gibbons, 48, of Chesapeake, was sentenced today to 132 months in prison for receipt of child pornography.  Gibbons was also sentenced to 20 years of supervised release and fined $35,000.

Gibbons pleaded guilty on Sept. 9, 2015.  According to court documents, in May 2014, the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office was conducting an undercover investigation into people using peer to peer file sharing programs to distribute child pornography on the Internet.  The investigation led to the residence of Gibbons, after law enforcement downloaded numerous images of child pornography from his computer.  Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Gibbons’ residence and seized numerous items of computer media. A subsequent forensic analysis of the computer media revealed that Gibbons had over 6,400 images and 1,000 video files of child pornography. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington; and Col. K.L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi and Trial Attorney Leslie Williams Fisher with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice 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 the Criminal Division’s 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. 2:15cr59.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) announced today a compliance agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the Burke Professional Center Condominium Association (BPCCA) related to an office complex that houses professional offices of health care providers located in Fairfax County. The agreement is to improve accessibility to persons with disabilities through the removal of architectural barriers.

“This settlement exemplifies our unwavering commitment to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to health care providers,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for EDVA. “The corrective measures agreed to will improve the access to this office complex for individuals with mobility disabilities.”

The investigation into the office complex began with a complaint from the public alleging that BPCCA violated the ADA by failing to ensure the accessibility of an office complex that houses a health care provider due to a variety of architectural barriers.  The compliance agreement requires BPCCA to, among other things, create accessible parking spaces, install curb ramps from the parking area to the sidewalk, and install ramps to certain offices suites.

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Gordon, who is the Civil Rights Enforcement Coordinator for EDVA.

This case is a part of the Department of Justice’s Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, which seeks to enforce the ADA’s prohibition of discrimination against disabled individuals by health care providers, including hospitals.  Through the Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the nation and the Department’s Civil Rights Division target their enforcement efforts on a critical area for individuals with disabilities—access to medical services and facilities.  The Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative is a multi-phase initiative that includes effective communication for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, physical access to medical care for people with mobility disabilities, and equal access to treatment for people who have HIV/AIDS.

The Department of Justice has a number of publications available to assist entities in complying with the ADA, including Access to Medical Care for Individuals with Mobility Disabilities. For more information on the ADA and to access these publications, visit ADA.gov or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).  ADA complaints may be filed by email to ada.complaint@usdoj.gov.

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.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Genesis HealthCare LLC, whose headquarters is located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay $600,000 to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the federal government in connection with its operation of a skilled nursing facility known as the Potomac Center, located Arlington.

“Nursing home residents rely upon Medicare and Medicaid programs to receive life sustaining, and other essential medical services,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “It is my hope that nursing homes residents will receive improved care as a result of this settlement.”

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that from Aug. 21, 2008, to Sept. 24, 2008, employees of Potomac/Genesis failed to provide patient care activities as recorded in the resident medical record of a patient and failed to provide certain care activities consistent with standing physician orders. In addition to the monetary settlement, Genesis has agreed to pay for a one-year transition consultant who has been assisting the new operator of the skilled nursing facility to identify risks and opportunities for improvement in providing skilled nursing services to residents at the facility.

The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Virginia Office of Attorney General.

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Gordon.  The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

If you know someone who is the victim of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation in a nursing home, you can report it to the Virginia Long-Term-Care Ombudsman, (800) 552-3402, the Virginia Office of Licensure and Certification, (800) 955-1819, your local adult protective services office, and/or your local police department.

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.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Victor R. DeAnthony, Jr., 47, of Leesburg, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud for embezzling up to $3.5 million from a business based in Herndon.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, DeAnthony admitted to stealing between $1.5 million and $3.5 million from Insequence, Inc., a systems engineering and integration company headquartered in Herndon, where he served as president until his termination in 2013.  From 2004 through 2013, DeAnthony used corporate funds to make personal purchases and paid himself additional salary and bonus without approval.  For instance, DeAnthony caused approximately $556,000 to be paid from Insequence’s corporate bank account to his mortgage lender to pay his monthly mortgage.  DeAnthony used the embezzled funds to, among other things, purchase real estate, an automobile, personal watercraft, and a recreational vehicle. 

According to court records, in order to conceal the fraud DeAnthony made false entries into the company’s accounting software.  For example, in January 2012, DeAnthony wire transferred $59,612.83 from Insequence’s bank account to a title company in order to pay for expenses related to the sale of his personal residence in Leesburg.  Later, in accounting records, DeAnthony falsely represented the transaction as a corporate “Facilities: Moving Expense.”  Moreover, in May 2012, DeAnthony wire transferred $38,241.62 from Insequence to an account belonging to a law firm in South Carolina that assisted DeAnthony with a personal real estate purchase.  In order to disguise the payment, DeAnthony falsely identified the payee as a northern Virginia law firm that the company had hired to negotiate a corporate income tax issue.

DeAnthony faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on March 10, 2016.  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 Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye 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. 1:15-cr-364.

RICHMOND, Va. – Steven (Yinhau) Chen, 34, of Fredericksburg, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for conspiring to commit money laundering to promote his cigarette trafficking operation.  Chen was also sentenced to a three-year term of supervised release, and forfeited $1.21 million as proceeds of his criminal offense.

Chen was charged by criminal information on Sept. 10, 2015, and pled guilty on Sept. 15. According to court documents, between March 2014 and June 2015, Chen, the owner of several Fredericksburg-area small businesses, purchased at least $13.8 million in cigarettes from area wholesale stores for the express purpose of re-selling those same cigarettes to individuals trafficking the cigarettes for eventual re-sale in, among other northern destinations, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  Chen would subsequently launder the cash proceeds of these cigarettes sales through at least 20 different bank accounts that Chen and others maintained with at least 10 different banks.  Chen maintained these bank accounts in the names of both his legitimate businesses and another business entity that existed only to receive and subsequently transfer the cash proceeds of Chen’s cigarette trafficking conspiracy.  During the 15 months at issue, at least $12.18 million of cigarette trafficking proceeds flowed into and through Chen’s bank accounts before being repurposed to pay off the credit card bills Chen incurred purchasing bulk cigarettes.  The vast majority of Chen’s deposits were made in amounts just under the $10,000 Cash Transaction Report threshold established by Congress.  As part of the plea agreement, Chen had agreed to forfeit $1.21 million as proceeds of the offense.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. The case was investigated by officers of the Washington – Baltimore HIDTA task force’s Northern Virginia Financial Initiative.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Garnett 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. 3:15cr153.

RICHMOND, Va. – Michael P. Johnson, 49, of Stafford County, was sentenced today to 360 months in prison for production of child pornography.  The court also ordered that Johnson remain on supervised release for life, following his release from incarceration.

“For approximately three years, Michael P. Johnson repeatedly raped and sodomized a child and produced hundreds of images and videos memorializing the abuse,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The physical, emotional, and psychological harm a child suffers from sexual abuse and sexual exploitation through molestation and the production of child pornography is well known. This case is no different. The harm the victim has suffered at the hands of Johnson will significantly impact the victim for the rest of their life. The sentence Johnson earned today provides just punishment for this egregious offense and addresses the substantial needs of deterrence, protection of the community, and promotion of respect for the law.”

”By his own admission, Mr. Johnson violated a young child, stripping them of their innocence and forever tarnishing their childhood,” said Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office. “A tremendous amount of time and energy was invested by investigators in this case, sorting through massive amounts of evidence; demonstrating the FBI's commitment to expose and hold accountable those who prey on our youth, and offer justice for the victims left in their wake.”

Johnson pleaded guilty on July 8, 2015.  According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Johnson was identified after the FBI learned that a computer located within his residence was using a website to upload and download files containing child pornography.  Based on this information, the FBI obtained and executed a search warrant for Johnson’s residence on April 22, 2015.  During the search, Johnson agreed to be interviewed and admitted that he would use the Internet to search for, download, and distribute child pornography.  Johnson also admitted sexually abusing a four- or five-year-old female for approximately three years and to photographing and recording the abuse.

At the conclusion of the search, the FBI seized numerous pieces of computer equipment.  A forensic examination of the seized items revealed the video to which Johnson pled guilty, as well as an additional 260 images and 102 videos of the victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  In addition, the FBI recovered more than 146,000 images and 22,000 videos of child pornography from Johnson’s computers.  

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Virginia Attorney General; 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.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas K. Johnstone IV 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. 3:15-cr-84.

NORFOLK, Va. – Larry Carl Homan, 71, of Norfolk, pleaded guilty today to charges of production of child pornography.

According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in May 2015, a concerned parent complained to her daughter’s school that Homan, a school bus driver in Chesapeake, had acted inappropriately towards her daughter.  A review of the surveillance footage from Homan’s school bus resulted in Homan being suspended without pay.  The Chesapeake Police Department (CPD) became involved and executed a search warrant at Homan’s residence in Norfolk.  A number of electronic devices were seized from Homan’s apartment, including a flash drive that was hidden inside a clock on Homan’s wall.  The CPD analyzed the electronic devices and found that Homan had been producing child pornography inside his apartment in Norfolk.  

Homan was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 5, 2015, and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on March 21, 2016. 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 Goldsmith, Chief of Norfolk Police; and Col. K.L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi 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. 2:15-cr-129.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Donna L. Jennings, 44, of Winchester, pleaded guilty today to charges relating to embezzling over $1 million from Winchester Community Federal Credit Union.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Jennings admitted to stealing $1,059,767.52 in funds from Winchester Community Federal Credit Union where she was employed as its manager.  From 2001 through 2014, Jennings took cash from teller drawers, fraudulently opened financial accounts, conducted financial transactions without customers’ knowledge, made false entries into accounting records, and approved loans without authority.  Jennings funneled the proceeds of her fraud into accounts she controlled and used the stolen funds to purchase gifts for herself and pay credit card bills.  When federal bank examiners questioned Jennings about suspicious transactions, she made false statements and altered Board of Director meeting minutes to support her lies.  As a result of Jennings’ conduct, the National Credit Union Administration placed Winchester Community Federal Credit Union into a restricted status and invited another financial institution to merge with it for the protection of its membership and the National Credit Union Administration insurance fund.

Jennings faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on April 8, 2015.  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 Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye 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. 1:15-cr-358.

NORFOLK, Va. – Gregory Hatt, 28, of Virginia Beach, was charged today through a superseding indictment with conspiracy to distribute heroin, distribution of heroin resulting in death, distribution of heroin, possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, and the possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, Hatt allegedly sold heroin, cocaine, and other narcotics to local residents out of a house he rented in Virginia Beach from December 2014 through July 2015. On Dec. 26, 2014, Hatt distributed heroin at his house to Monica Beaudry, a 23-year-old Virginia Beach woman, who later overdosed.  Hatt’s roommate implored him to call 911, but Hatt refused. After some delay, Hatt drove her to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.  Hatt was aware of Beaudry’s death, but continued to distribute heroin from his residence and from other Virginia Beach locations through July 2015. On July 24, 2015, law enforcement agents with NCIS and Virginia Beach Police Department executed a search warrant on Hatt’s residence.  The agents found over 36 grams of heroin, 17 grams of cocaine, various drug paraphernalia, and multiple firearms including a fully loaded sawed-off shotgun. 

Hatt faces 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, made the announcement after the grand jury returned the indictment. The case is being investigated by NCIS and the Virginia Beach Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alyssa Nichol and John Butler are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15-cr-140.

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. – Kenneth Apple, 65, of Beaverton, Oregon, was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on charges related to his role in awarding $2 million in micro-dairy contracts from the U.S. government for use in Iraq.

According to the indictment, Apple, a former employee with the U.S. Department of State, helped to steer the sole-sourcing of $2 million in micro-dairy contracts to a company in which his son, Jonathan Apple, owned a 50 percent interest.  However, Jonathan Apple and his partner had no technical experience in the industry.  Kenneth Apple conspired to use his official position to pass on non-public information to his son in order to fraudulently award and administer government contracts.  The conspirators further provided false information to, and concealed material details from the U.S. government.

According to the indictment, Kenneth Apple provided templates and technical specifications used in the proposal submitted by Jonathan Apple and his partner to the U.S. government.  In addition, Kenneth Apple caused false and misleading statements to be made to the U.S. government regarding his experience, ownership interest, and the status of the projects.  For example, Kenneth Apple directed a conspirator to keep Jonathan Apple’s name off the company’s website and any ownership documents.  When federal law enforcement agents confronted Kenneth Apple about the scheme, he made false statements, including that he could not recall the owner of the company that won the micro-dairy contracts and that he did not receive any money from the contracts.

Kenneth Apple faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted of wire fraud or obstruction of an official proceeding, and five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy or false statements.  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; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU); and Robert E. Craig, Special Agent in Charge for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, made the announcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Uzo Asonye and Katherine Wong 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. 1:15-cr-363.

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

NORFOLK, Va. – Jerald Outten, 26, of Portsmouth, was sentenced today to 264 months in prison for his involvement in a heroin trafficking operation that was responsible for the distribution of between 30 and 90 kilograms of heroin with an estimated street value between $1.5 and $4.5 million dollars.

“The excellent coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies was critical in dismantling this group and so many others like them in 2015,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This case, and the resources and collaborative efforts used to investigate and prosecute it, is a prime example of the level of commitment and determination we have to combat the heroin crisis in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

“This case demonstrates the severity and degree to which sophisticated drug operations try to profit off of the addiction, despair, and pain of others and threaten the safety of the communities where they operate,” said Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia. “This outcome demonstrates the power of collaboration and our combined resolve to fight the heroin epidemic that has affected so many people in our Commonwealth and throughout the country.”

Outten, along with six co-conspirators, were collectively sentenced to over 136 years in prison for their crimes. According to court documents, in the early morning hours of July 14, 2015, search warrants were executed simultaneously on 14 properties in Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Suffolk, by more than 250 law enforcement officials from three states and the District of Columbia. When Jerald Outten was arrested, police recovered a loaded handgun with a bullet in the chamber, $1,700 in cash, 135 grams of raw heroin, marijuana, and a cutting agent used to increase the volume and profitability of heroin.

According to court documents, Jerald Outten, brother of ring-leader Alonzo Outten, personally managed the wholesale distribution of over 24 kilograms of heroin during the course of the conspiracy.  He was often observed with a firearm during drug transactions.  Jerald and Alonzo were responsible for supplying drugs to two violent Bloods gangs, Gorilla Mafira Piru and Imperial Gangsta Bloods (IGB), both of which have been dismantled, prosecuted, and sentenced.  The IGB in particular was responsible for a number of violent acts in Portsmouth in 2014, including at least two shooting incidents with a rival drug trafficking organization that left homes of innocent citizens riddled with bullets.  The IGB’s leader, Chris Smith, aka Killa, was sentenced to life in prison plus five years on Oct. 30, 2015. Gorilla Mafia Piru’s leader, Theodore Vann, aka Flatline, was sentenced to 16 years in prison Nov. 16, 2015.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and the Chesapeake Police Department with the assistance of the Portsmouth Police Department, the Virginia State Police, and NCIS.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla and Andrew C. Bosse 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. 2:15-cr-80 (Outten, et. al.); 2:15-cr-93 (Jackson); 2:15cr7 (Smith); and 2:15cr60 (Vann).                                                          

Name

Age, Hometown

Charges

Status

Alonzo Outten

35, Portsmouth

Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Over One Kilogram of Heroin

Pleaded guilty July 30, 2015. Sentenced to 30 years on Nov. 4, 2015.

Jerald Outten

26, Portsmouth

Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Over One Kilogram of Heroin

Pleaded guilty August 10, 2015. Sentenced to 22 years today.

Sherita Nicks

41, Brooklyn, New York

Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Over One Hundred Grams of Heroin

Pleaded guilty Aug. 10, 2015. Sentenced to 18 years on Nov. 17, 2015.

Deyonta Hinton

31, Portsmouth

Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Over One Kilogram of Heroin

Pleaded guilty Sept. 4, 2015. Sentenced to 22 years on Dec. 10, 2015.

Jermaine Jones

38, Portsmouth

Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Over One Kilogram of Heroin

Pleaded guilty July 29, 2015. Sentenced to 22 years on Oct. 29, 2015.

Garnett Brown

34, Portsmouth

Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Over One Kilogram of Heroin

Pleaded guilty July 29, 2015. Sentenced to 14 years on Nov. 10, 2015.

Latina Jackson

27, Portsmouth

Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises

Pleaded guilty on July 27, 2015. Sentenced to 70 months on Nov. 5, 2015.

Troy Gay

24, Portsmouth

Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Over One Hundred Grams of Heroin

Pleaded guilty on Aug. 6, 2015. Sentenced to 68 months on Nov. 5, 2015.

NORFOLK, Va. – Alonzo Diangelo Bell, 32, of Virginia Beach, was sentenced today to 126 months in prison for manufacturing marijuana and maintaining drug-involved premises.

Bell pleaded guilty on Sept. 17, 2015. According to court documents, in February of 2015, Virginia Beach Police conducted surveillance of a storage facility located at the corner of Maxey Drive and Virginia Beach Boulevard after an officer who had been patrolling the area detected a strong odor of marijuana.  Bell who had been observed exiting one of the units of the storage facility was stopped for speeding.  During the stop, officers detected the odor of marijuana and searched Bell’s vehicle, but no contraband was found.  Later, when the police contacted the manager of the storage facility to inquire about Bell, they were informed that several complaints had been made about the smell of marijuana coming from the units that Bell was renting.  The manager consented to a search of units adjacent to the units Bell was renting.  When police determined that the marijuana odor was coming from the two storage units being rented by Bell, search warrants were executed.  In one unit, the police found approximately 1883 grams of marijuana.  In the second unit, police discovered a marijuana grow operation consisting of approximately 30 mature plants, a carbon dioxide generator and grow lights. The total weight of the marijuana seized was approximately 4.665 kilograms.  Latent fingerprints belonging to Bell were found on various items in both units.

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 Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl Mitchell 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. 2:15-cr-99.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Thomas Anthony George, 65, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 384 months in prison for two counts of using a firearm during the commission of armed bank robberies. George was also ordered to pay full restitution in the amount of $182,104.48.

“Thomas George has been robbing banks for most of his adult life,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “I want to thank our prosecutors and investigative partners for their efforts on this case and for bringing this violent serial bank robber to justice.”    

George pleaded guilty on Sept. 24, 2015.  According to court documents, in approximately January 2015, George entered a conspiracy to commit armed bank robberies within the Eastern District of Virginia, and elsewhere.  Over the course of the ensuing two months, George and his co-conspirators, who were known as the Black Hat Bandits, robbed nine banks, including six banks in the Eastern District of Virginia, two banks in the District of Maryland, and one bank in the District of Columbia.  In each of these robberies, George brandished a firearm at bank customers or employees of the bank.  In total, George and his co-conspirators stole approximately $182,104 during the nine bank robberies.        

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Channing D. Phillips, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Cathy Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tobias D. Tobler and Jonathan L. Fahey prosecuted the case.

The investigation was worked jointly by the FBI's Washington and Baltimore Field Offices, Anne Arundel County Police Department, Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Fairfax County Police Department, Falls Church Police Department, Loudoun County Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, Vienna Police Department and Virginia State Police.  Additional assistance was provided by Arlington County Police Department, Maryland State Police and the Montgomery County Police Department.

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. 1:15-CR-87.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Dana J. Boente was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate yesterday as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA).

“I am honored by the confidence of the President, and Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine,” said Boente. “It is a privilege to serve the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia and United States.”

Boente, who has served as Acting U.S. Attorney for EDVA since September 2013, will serve a four year term as the chief law enforcement officer in the district, which has offices in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News.  From its early days and throughout its history, EDVA has been a national leader in investigating and aggressively prosecuting terrorism and espionage cases, in addition to battling economic espionage, piracy, theft of intellectual property, trafficking of weapons and narcotics, child exploitation, gangs and international criminal organizations, cybercrime, and public corruption.

Boente is a 31-year veteran of the Department of Justice (DOJ), joining DOJ in 1984 at the conclusion of a clerkship with the Honorable J. Waldo Ackerman of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.  From 1984 to 1999, Boente was a Trial Attorney with DOJ’s Tax Division, and in January 2000, Boente became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Fraud Unit of EDVA.  In August 2005, Boente was detailed back to the Tax Division to serve as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and returned to EDVA in May 2007, when he was selected as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney.  In December 2012, Boente was selected to serve as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and later returned to EDVA in September 2013. Boente was nominated by President Obama as U.S. Attorney for EDVA on Oct. 8, 2015.

Boente, of Carlinville, Illinois, received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1982 from St. Louis University School of Law, and his M.B.A in 1977 and B.S.B.A. cum laude in 1976, both from St. Louis University.

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.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Timothy Paul Morgan, 51, of Newport News, was sentenced today to 75 months in prison and five years of supervised release for receipt of child pornography.

Morgan pleaded guilty on Aug. 17, 2015.  According to court documents, Morgan was identified by law enforcement investigating the trading of child pornography over peer-to-peer networks.

Beginning in August 2014, law enforcement download 13 complete files of suspected child pornography from an IP address registered to Morgan. A search warrant was executed at Morgan’s residence on Jan. 22, 2015, and his computer and external hard drive were recovered. Morgan admitted he had only one computer, he was the only person with access to it, and that he had downloaded child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing program found on the computer. A forensic exam of the computer and external hard drive revealed a total of 118 images and 55 videos depicting child pornography. The files dated back to 2004 and included images of young female minors engaging in sexual acts with an adult male.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton 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. 4:15cr17.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Thomas A. Kopec, 48, of New Lenox, Illinois, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud for cheating a Panamanian investor out of $500,000.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Kopec admitted to soliciting $500,000 from the victim for a purported investment vehicle for purchasing securities and acquiring a bank.  Kopec took steps in pursuing the purported investment in order to lull the victim into thinking the investment was proceeding as planned.  In truth, Kopec misappropriated the moneys and spent them on personal and other expenses at retail establishments including Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and the Apple Store.  Kopec started the scheme in Illinois, but relocated it to the Eastern District of Virginia, and caused the issuance of interstate wires originating in the Eastern District of Virginia in order to obtain and misappropriate the victim’s money. 

Kopec was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 5, 2014.  The indictment was placed under seal until Kopec’s arrest earlier this year.  Kopec faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on March 4, 2016. 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 Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kosta S. Stojilkovic 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. 1:14-cr-204.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Michael Ryan Martin, 32, of Fairfax Station, was sentenced today to 144 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute heroin and oxycodone.

According to court documents, from approximately Aug. 14, 2014, until June 1, 2015, Martin illegally distributed oxycodone tablets and utilized the proceeds from these sales to purchase heroin, a portion of which he sold to other individuals.  On Dec. 3, 2014, Martin distributed heroin to Christopher Ritchie, a 30-year old resident of Aldie. Ritchie injected himself with a portion of the heroin that Martin provided and subsequently died the same day.  The cause of Ritchie’s death was later determined to be heroin poisoning. 

Martin pleaded guilty on Sept. 17, 2015. Today the court determined Martin significantly impeded law enforcement officials’ investigation of Ritchie’s death by providing false statements to detectives from the Loudoun County Sherriff’s Office.  The court also ordered Martin to forfeit $71,840, which represented the illegal proceeds that Martin obtained from the offense.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Michael L. Chapman, Loudoun County Sheriff; and Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. 

Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neal Christiansen and Joshua Champagne, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kosta Stojilkovic 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. 1:15-cr-257.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Harold Bailey Gallison II, 58, of Valley Center, California, pleaded guilty today to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering in connection with an international “pump and dump” scheme involving stocks traded on the over-the-counter (OTC) market. 

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Gallison admitted that he conspired to artificially “pump” or inflate the trading volume and price of the shares of Warrior Girl Corp., quoted on the OTC market under the ticker symbol WRGL, and Everock Inc., quoted on the OTC market under the ticker symbol EVRN, by touting business activities and deceptive revenue forecasts and by engaging in coordinated trading activity to create the appearance of increasing market demand.  Gallison admitted that he and others then “dumped” or sold the shares at the inflated prices and laundered proceeds through bank accounts in the United States and overseas.  Gallison further admitted that he facilitated the schemes through an offshore brokerage and money laundering platform that went by various names, including Sandias Azucaradas, Moneyline Brokers and Trinity Asset Services (collectively Moneyline).  Through Moneyline, Gallison created nominee accounts in the names of shell companies to conceal both the true source and ownership of the securities and the flow of funds.  In addition, Gallison pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to launder the proceeds of a number of securities fraud schemes, including Warrior Girl and Everock, totaling more than $25 million. 

Gallison was charged in an indictment unsealed on July 14, 2015, and will be sentenced on March 18, 2016. Several of Gallison’s co-defendants are scheduled to proceed to trial on Jan. 25, 2016, and are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Anthony J Trenga.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kosta Stojilkovic, Senior Trial Attorney N. Nathan Dimock and Trial Attorney Michael O’Neill of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James P. Gillis and G. Zachary Terwilliger assisted in the prosecution. The FBI’s Washington Field Office is investigating the case, while the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs have also provided significant assistance. 

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. 1:15-cr-178.