Eastern District of Virginia

Defendants filed false insurance claims for over $100,000 after 2009 fire destroyed business

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Suzanne DeLyon, 65, of McLean, Virginia, and Byoung Kyung Kim, 53, of Centreville, Virginia were convicted yesterday by a federal jury on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

DeLyon and Kimface a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when they are sentenced on Oct. 3, 2014.

DeLyon and Kim were indicted on Jan. 30, 2014 by a federal grand jury.  According to court records and evidence at trial, DeLyon and Kim were partners in an international grocery store in Falls Church, Virginia that was destroyed by a fire on Jan. 19, 2009.  In the course of claiming insurance reimbursements from Travelers Insurance, DeLyon and Kim conspired to falsify payroll documents and records, and they made false representations to Travelers to get over $100,000 more than what they were legally owed.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and IRS-CI.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song and Gene Rossi and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison L. Anderson 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. 1:14-cr-32.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Kevin L. Ashby, 25, of Newport News, Virginia, was sentenced today to life in prison for participating in a May 2009 murder, along with a concurrent sentence of 40 years for participating in the Thug Relations gang, which engaged in narcotics distribution, weapons violations and multiple acts of violence, including several murders, in the Newport News area.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

According to court documents, Ashby, and his co-defendant Antonio Fuller, were part of a criminal organization known locally as “Thug Relations.”  Ashby pleaded guilty on March 12, 2014, and admitted to participating in a criminal enterprise that engaged in murders, attempted murder, witness intimidation, robberies and narcotics distribution.  Specifically, Ashby admitted to participating in the murders of Andre Horton and Andre Julius Johnson on May 17, 2009, the murder and robbery of Lafayette Bailey on Dec. 15, 2009, and the murder and robbery of Lloyd Robinson on Jan. 8, 2010.

The Thug Relations gang is alternatively known as “the Duct,” “Warwick Lawnz,” “TR,” and “from the Duct to the Lawnz,” and it operates as a neighborhood gang in the Aqueduct Apartments, St. Michael’s Apartments, Mariner’s Landing Apartments and Heritage Trace Apartments, as well as the Warwick Lawns, Warwick Town Home, Sharon Drive and Savage Drive areas of Newport News.

Ashby’s co-defendant, Antonio Fuller, is set to begin trial on July 1, 2014.  Ashby’s conviction raises to 44 the total number of Thug Relations gang members convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for gang-related murder, narcotics distribution and other violence.

This investigation was led by FBI and the Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the Newport News Police and the Virginia State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Howard J. Zlotnick and Lisa R. McKeel, and Trial Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt of the Organized Crime and Gang Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:13-cr-72.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Timothy J. Coughlin, 63, of Indianapolis, Indiana, pleaded guilty today to committing wire fraud and impersonating an Internal Revenue Service official while operating the Oxford International Credit Union (OICU), which Coughlin used to solicit online investments.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Andrew Ceresney, Director, Division of Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); and J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from around 2006 through March 2014, Coughlin operated OICU and anotheronline investment vehicle known as the Oxford International Cooperative Union.  Investors paid annual dues to participate in the Oxford entities and made investments in OICU through online payment processors.  As part of the scheme, Coughlin created a website through which he posted false information to investors’ online accounts indicating that their deposits were earning significant daily returns, which averaged 0.471% each trading day from January 2007 through December 2009 (equivalent to a 356%  approximate  rate of return over that time period).  To further the fraud, Coughlin posted a fake certificate stating that OICU was an insured credit union, and he also made audio recordings in which he falsely claimed that members were earning significant returns on their investments.

By the end of 2009, Coughlin had ceased approving requests for account withdrawals from investors, claiming that taxing authorities in the United States and Canada were freezing Oxford’s assets abroad.  In January 2012, Coughlin falsely announced to investors that he had reached an agreement to resolve the tax issues, and he created a fictitious agreement on which he forged the signatures of an actual IRS employee in Washington, DC and a lawyer based in New York.

During the course of this fraudulent scheme, Coughlin received nearly $15 million from almost 5,000 people for investments and members’ annual dues.  Before December 2009, Coughlin approved about $4.4 million in withdrawal requests by investors.
Coughlin faces a maximum penalty of 23 years in prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 26, 2014.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, SEC, and TIGTA.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Hanly 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-221.

RICHMOND, Va. – Mustafa Muhammad, 36, of Clinton, Maryland, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury of transportation of a minor across state lines for the purpose of prostitution.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Richmond Field Office; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne.
Muhammad faces a maximum penalty of life in prison with a mandatory-minimum term of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on September 11, 2014.

Muhammad was indicted on April 15, 2014, by a federal grand jury fortransportation of a minor in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution.  According to evidence at trial, Muhammad met a 16-year old runaway online in February 2014, and then began communicating with her via text message.  Later that month, Muhammad and the juvenile met in person in Maryland, and Muhammad posted an advertisement on backpage.com featuring the juvenile and offering her for prostitution.  The juvenile provided Muhammad some of the money she made from prostitution.  In March 2014,

Muhammad suggested that they travel to Virginia for the juvenile to work in prostitution, and, so, on March 14, 2014, Muhammad drove the juvenile from Maryland to a Holiday Inn in Fredericksburg, Virginia.   Muhammad then posted another advertisement on backpage.com in Fredericksburg, advertising the juvenile for prostitution.  A Stafford Sheriff’s deputy was looking for possible prostitution activity on backpage.com and discovered the juvenile’s ad.  He then arranged to meet the juvenile and discovered that she was a 16-year old runaway.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, and Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather L. Hart is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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. 3:14-cr-055.

WASHINGTON– Roderic J. Smith, 50, the co-founder and former president of a government contracting company, was sentenced yesterday to 48 months in prison, followed by 1 year of supervised release, for conspiracy to bribe public officials.  Smith was ordered to forfeit $175,000.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Dana J. Boente, for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Acting Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May, Jr., of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Atlantic Operations Royce E. Curtin and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after sentencing by Senior United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. of the Eastern District of Virginia.

On March 5, 2014, Smith pleaded guilty to a criminal information.  According to court documents, Smith was the co-founder and the president of a contracting company located in Chesapeake, Virginia, that sought contracting business from the United States Navy Military Sealift Command.  In approximately November 2004, Smith joined an extensive bribery conspiracy that spanned four years, involved multiple co-conspirators, including two different companies, and resulted in the payment of more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things of value, to two public officials performing work for the Military Sealift Command, Kenny E. Toy and Scott B. Miserendino, Sr.  In exchange for the bribe payments, Smith’s business, referred to as Company A in court documents, received lucrative business from the Military Sealift Command that amounted to approximately $3 million in task orders during the time period of the conspiracy.

As part of his guilty plea, Smith also admitted to engaging in a scheme to conceal his criminal activity that involved Smith and others paying a co-conspirator money.  According to the plea agreement, Smith admitted to paying more than $85,000 to his business partner, Dwayne A. Hardman, in an attempt to prevent Hardman from reporting the bribery scheme to law enforcement authorities.

Earlier this year, four other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme.  On Feb. 12, 2014, Kenny Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the Military Sealift Command’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Smith and others.  On Feb. 18, 2014, Smith’s business partner, Dwayne A. Hardman, pleaded guilty to bribery.  On Feb. 19, 2014, Smith’s associate, Michael P. McPhail, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.  On April 4, 2014, Smith’s associate, Adam C. White, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.
On May 23, 2014, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted two defendants in connection with the bribery scheme, Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., a former government contractor who performed work for the Military Sealift Command and Timothy S. Miller, a businessman whose company sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command.  The indictment charges Miserendino with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of criminal investigations and to commit tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of criminal investigations.  The indictment charges Miller with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery.  Trial is set for Sept. 30, 2014, before Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.
The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS and DCIS.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

RICHMOND, Va. – Cameron Scot Bivins-Breeden, 21, of King George County, Va., pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography and enticement of a minor.

            Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge John A. Gibney.

            Bivins-Breeden was indicted on April 15, 2014, by a federal grand jury on production of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251, and enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422.  He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment when he is sentenced on September 22, 2014.

            In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Bivins-Breeden admitted to enticing 38 juvenile females located across the country, ranging from 11 to 17 years old, to produce child pornography.  As part of the scheme, Bivins-Breeden contacted the victims via Facebook on his iPhone posing as a juvenile female and enticed them to produce child pornography.  After the juvenile victims produced the pornographic images, they sent them to Bivins-Breeden over the internet.  When the victims refused to produce additional child pornography images, Bivins-Breeden threatened to send the previously obtained images to the victims’ friends, family, and schoolmates on Facebook.  In total, Bivins-Breeden admitted to sending 95 child pornography images in an effort to convince victims he was, in fact, a juvenile female and causing victims to produce 45 child pornography images.

            This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Siebert and Commonwealth of Virginia, Office of the Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General and Special United States Attorney Samuel Fishel are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

            A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Dominique Avery, 20, of Portsmouth, Va., was sentenced today to eight-seven months in prison and ordered to pay in excess of $197,000 in restitution, for his participation in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

            Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Arenda Wright Allen.

            According to court documents, Avery was involved in a yearlong conspiracy targeting at least five financial institutions, including ABNB Federal Credit Union and Navy Federal Credit Union, and over two dozen individuals and businesses. The defendant and others stole and/or purchased identities and applied for checking and savings accounts via online portals with minimal amounts.  The conspirators then caused a third party check issuing service to send dozens of fraudulent checks to various vendors and individuals. Avery was arrested in August, 2012, while attempting to purchase two vehicles with fraudulent ABNB checks. The total intended losses exceed $737,000. 

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the United States Postal Inspectors Service. Assistant United States Attorney Brian J. Samuels prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, VA. – Rameesha Smith, 30, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced today to 38 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for her role in a wide-ranging credit card fraud conspiracy that victimized credit card holders nationwide, as well as various retailers in northern Virginia and elsewhere.  Smith also was ordered to pay $143,832.51 in restitution.

United States Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

Smith pleaded guilty on March 10, 2014.  According to court documents, from at least as early as September 2010 through at least October 2012, Smith conspired with others to purchase stolen credit card data on the Internet or through other means.  This stolen data was then unlawfully loaded onto gift cards or unlawfully encoded onto other credit or debit cards through the use of device-making equipment, such as credit card encoders.  The counterfeit credit cards often were embossed with aliases belonging to the members of the conspiracy.

Smith and her co-conspirators then took trips, sometimes together, to use the re-encoded gift, credit or debit cards to buy gift cards and other merchandise at legitimate merchant locations like Giant, Rite-Aid and Nordstrom.  Smith often presented counterfeit driver’s licenses displaying various aliases when requested by store clerks.  Smith and the conspirators then returned the merchandise they purchased in order to convert the stolen data to cash.  The actions of Smith and her co-conspirators involved more than 250 victims, and resulted in at least $200,000 in actual and intended losses.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jasmine H. Yoon and Trial Attorney William A. Hall, Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) prosecuted the case.

RICHMOND, Va. – Robert Cole Johnson, 55, of Richmond, Virginia, was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment on June 18, 2014, in U.S. District Court for distributing child pornography.  Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Mark Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, made the announcement after the defendant was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Gibney. 

The defendant pled guilty on March 10, 2014, to distributing child pornography.   According to court documents, the defendant was identified during an undercover investigation by law-enforcement officers into the trading of child pornography over the Internet.  In April 2013, an officer downloaded four files depicting child pornography from a computer that was later tracked to the defendant’s residence in Richmond, Virginia.  Based on this information, officers obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s residence, which was executed in May 2013.  During the execution of the warrant, the defendant admitted searching for and downloading child pornography from the Internet.  He also admitted allowing other users to download files from his computer.  The defendant has prior convictions for rape, sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery of a ten-year-old female in 1985 and for failing to register properly with the Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry in 2013.

The case was investigated by the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Special Assistant United States Attorney Tommy Johnstone of the Virginia Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former service contractor for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pleaded guilty today for his role in accepting over $350,000 in connection with the awarding of a $24 million contract by CBP.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John Roth, Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); Robert C. Erickson, Jr., Acting Inspector General, General Services Administration (GSA); Peggy E. Gustafson, Small Business Administration (SBA) Inspector General; and Richard J. Griffin, Acting Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

Chancellor Ellis, 37, of Manassas, Virginia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obtain illegal gratuities and to violate the procurement integrity act.  Ellis faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on September, 12, 2014.  He will also pay restitution and forfeiture in the amount of $351,176.60, representing the total amount of illicit payments sought and accepted by Ellis in connection with the procurement fraud scheme.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Ellis admitted that, throughout the conspiracy, he worked for CBP as a service contractor.  Among other duties and responsibilities at CBP, Ellis worked as a technical advisor on a procurement for a Wide Area Network (WAN) optimization project.  The procurement resulted in an award to a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, identified in the statement of facts as Company T, at a contract price of approximately $24 million.

Prior to the award to Company T, Ellis—who was actively working for CBP on the procurement—requested that Company T agree to pay ten percent of any profits from the WAN optimization contract to a company co-owned by Ellis.  Shortly after reaching this agreement with Company T, Ellis provided nonpublic source selection information related to the WAN optimization procurement, including independent government cost estimates, to Company T employee Anthony Bilby.  Bilby and other co-conspirators used the source selection information in crafting the winning bid on behalf of Company T.  Bilby and other conspirators also caused nominal competitors of Company T to submit rigged bids on the contract in excess of the amount of Company T’s bid.  After Company T won the contract, it paid $351,176.60—approximately ten percent of its profits—to Ellis’s company.

As part of his plea agreement, Ellis has agreed to cooperate in the investigation of others involved in the conspiracy.  Two other co-conspirators, Anthony Bilby and Thomas Flynn, have previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.

This case was investigated by the Offices of the Inspector General for DHS, GSA, SBA, and the VA, with assistance from DHS’s Office of the Chief Security Officer, Cyber Forensic Branch.  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-205.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Ashley Strum-Smith, age 29, of Gloucester, Va., pleaded guilty yesterday to Making a False Distress Call.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Rear Admiral Stephen Metruck, District Commander of the Fifth Coast Guard District, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Robert G. Doumar.

Strum-Smith pleaded guilty to a criminal information filed in United States District Court on May 27, 2014. Strum-Smith faces a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 and $82,764 in restitution when she is sentenced on October 20, 2014 in Norfolk, Va..

According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, on August 13, 2012, Strum-Smith called in a false report of a ship taking on water in the Severn River. Multiple rescue vehicles from the Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad, Gloucester Fire Department, York County Fire Department, Mathews Fire Department and the United States Coast Guard were dispatched to locate and aid the foundering vehicle.  After a two hour search costing over $82,000 it was determined that the call was a hoax.  Strum-Smith admitted making the false report.

This case was investigated by the Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service and the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Department Assistant United States Attorney Eric M. Hurt is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Vahid Hosseini, 62, of Reston, Virginia, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for exporting various high-tech unlicensed goods to Iran, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and for laundering money wired to him from multiple overseas accounts.  Hosseini agreed to forfeit $50,000 as part of his guilty plea in this case.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.

Hosseini pleaded guilty on March 6, 2014.  According to court documents, from at least as early as January 2008 to July 2013, Hosseini operated a business known as Sabern Instruments from his residence in Reston.  Through this business, Hosseini procured over $250,000 worth of goods from over 60 American manufacturers, which he then repackaged and shipped to entities in Iran.  The list of high-tech goods included tachometers, power supply instruments, high-temperature probes, ammonia test tubes, valves and machinery parts, all of which are used in a variety of commercial applications, including power plants.  Some of the items Hosseini sent to Iran were found to be capable of adding value to a nuclear weapons program and to other nuclear related applications and research areas.

Hosseini routed his shipments through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an attempt to disguise the fact that the items were destined for Iran.  Such exports are prohibited without a license issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.  In a related money laundering scheme, Hosseini had over $700,000 wired into his company business account from entities in Iran and the UAE, much of which was derived from his illegal export business.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Hammerstrom 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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A registered sex offender, who previously was convicted in North Carolina of taking indecent liberties with a minor child, was sentenced today in federal court to 40months in prison to be followed by 2 years of supervised release for returning to the United States after he was ordered removed in immigration proceedings.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and M. Yvonne Evans, Field Office Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Jose Santiago Hernandez-Lopez, 36, of Gainesville, Virginia, was found guilty after a federal bench trial on March 24, 2014 for illegally re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony.  According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Hernandez-Lopez first entered the United States as an immigrant on Sept. 8, 1991.  While in the United States, Hernandez-Lopez was convicted in 1998 by the Superior Court of Alamance County, North Carolina for taking indecent liberties with a minor child. 

Hernandez-Lopez was registered as a convicted sex offender and was placed into immigration proceedings after he finished serving his North Carolina sentence.  Hernandez-Lopez was removed from the United States on Nov. 23, 1999, but he later returned without the permission of the U.S. Attorney General or the Department of Homeland Security.

This case was investigated by ICE ERO.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Jones and Catherine Ahn 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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Jamal Greene, 27, of Newport News, Va. was sentenced on June 11, 2014, to forty eight months in prison, following his guilty plea for his participation, with others, in a scheme to defraud Unirush, LLC, a provider of prepaid stored value cards.  Greene was ordered to pay restitution in excess of $817,000.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, William G. Frantzen, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, and, Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

Greene, along with three others, Almira Dobson, Sam McGill, and Knhesha Strickland, pled guilty to their participation in the scheme to defraud. According to the statements of facts entered in support of the guilty pleas and other publicly filed documents, from in or about at least October 2010, and continuing until in or about at least March 2012, the defendants and others engaged in a fraudulent scheme to obtain funds from UniRush, LLC, doing business as UniRush Financial Services (“UniRush”).  Unirush provided prepaid Visa debit cards in the United States (referred to as Visa “RushCards”).  Its prepaid debit cards were used to deposit money, withdraw cash, make purchases, shop online, and pay bills.   Through its RushCard program, UniRush allowed customers to “reload” the RushCards in a number of ways, including direct deposit, through MoneyGram locations and through various online means.  Individuals could obtain a maximum of four RushCard accounts.  These accounts were tracked according to individuals’ Social Security Numbers.

Green Dot Corporation (“Green Dot”) was a business that offered prepaid debit or credit cards that worked similarly to a RushCard.  Green Dot also offered a product called a “MoneyPak” that could be purchased for a set amount (ranging from $20 to $500 at most retailers and up to $1,000 at Walmart stores).  Individuals who purchased RushCards could use Green Dot MoneyPaks to “reload”  Money onto their RushCard.  In or about March 2012, the Peninsula area of the Eastern District of Virginia experienced a surge in the purchase of Green Dot MoneyPaks from local retailers, including Walgreen’s, Rite Aids and 7-Eleven stores. 

In or about April 2012, UniRush detected an error in its computer accounting system that allowed customers to make multiple fraudulent loads to their RushCard using the same MoneyPak.  In this way, certain customers obtained double the value of their MoneyPak.  The total loss to UniRush resulting from the fraudulent conduct was approximately $5.5 million from 2010 through March 2012, with the majority of the losses occurring from December 2011 through March 2012.  In this time period, approximately $4.5 million in losses resulted from fraudulent uploading associated with account holders residing in the Peninsula area of the Eastern District of Virginia.

In or about October 2010, defendant Greene learned of the aforementioned fraudulent uploading scheme through an internet website.  Greene began to engage the fraudulent uploading activity and demonstrated such activity to other conspirators.  Greene recruited and instructed others how to execute the Unirush scheme, provided startup money for their participation, obtained identities (including that of his mentally disabled sister) to use in opening additional accounts and transferred funds between various accounts to further and conceal the scheme.

The four individuals named here, join four others who were all previously convicted in connection with the Unirush scheme (Andre Banks, Steven Banks, Erika Greene, Javon Whitaker).

This case is being investigated by special agents and officers of the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Newport News Police Department. Assistant U.S Attorney Brian Samuels is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

Drug traffickers used hidden compartments in trucks and shipping containers, bribed customs officials and worked with Mexican drug cartels

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Manuel Salas, 62, of Barranquilla, Colombia, pleaded guilty today to charges relating to his participation in a large-scale Colombian cocaine trafficking organization that bought, stored and transported several tons of cocaine for importation into the United States.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Derek S. Maltz, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.  Salas is the sixteenth defendant to plead guilty in this case.

Salaswas indicted on Aug. 24, 2011, by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for unlawful importation into the United States, along with four counts of distributing five kilograms or more of cocaine for unlawful importation into the United States.  Salasfaces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on September, 19, 2014.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, along with other court records, Salas admitted that he was part of a large-scale Colombian cocaine trafficking organization that purchased cocaine in Colombia for eventual sale in the United States.  The group bought several tons of cocaine from a lab in Colombia’s interior.  From there, the group controlled trucks with hidden compartments to transport the cocaine to Colombian ports, including Cartagena and Barranquilla, where the group controlled warehouses.  In those warehouses, the cocaine was offloaded from the trucks and loaded into hidden compartments that members of the group constructed in 40-foot maritime shipping containers.

Once the cocaine shipments, consisting of 1,000 to 3,000 kilograms, were loaded into the hidden shipping compartments, those containers were taken to the port, where members of the conspiracy bribed customs officials to allow the containers to pass inspection.  Other conspirators created shell companies in Colombia and Honduras, along with falsified export documents, to make the shipments appear legitimate.  Once the cocaine arrived in Honduras, other members of the conspiracy worked with Mexican drug cartels to transport the cocaine over land to the United States, where it was sold for huge profits.

Law enforcement in Colombia seized approximately 7,000 kilograms of cocaine associated with this organization.  Salas controlled a warehouse in Barranquilla and hired members to construct the hidden compartments and guard the warehouse while the cocaine was being loaded into the shipping containers.

This case was investigated by the DEA’s Special Operations Division, with assistance from the Colombian National Police and the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Ben’Ary and Lynn E. Haaland are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Marcel Lehel Lazar, 42, of Arad, Romania, also known as the hacker “Guccifer,” was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of wire fraud, unauthorized access to a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, cyberstalking and obstruction of justice

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Edward Lowery of the United States Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division, Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bill A. Miller of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security made the announcement.

According to the indictment, from December 2012 to January 2014, Lazar hacked into the email and social media accounts of high-profile victims, including a family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former U.S. Cabinet member, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor.  After gaining unauthorized access to their email and social media accounts, Lazar publicly released his victims’ private email correspondence, medical and financial information, and personal photographs.  The indictment also alleges that in July and August 2013, Lazar impersonated a victim after compromising the victim’s account.

If convicted of wire fraud or obstruction of justice, Lazar faces a maximum of 20 years of incarceration, and if convicted of unauthorized access of a protected computer or cyberstalking, he faces a maximum of 5 years of incarceration.  He also faces a mandatory additional 2 years of incarceration if convicted of aggravated identity theft.

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

This case was investigated by United States Secret Service, the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, with assistance from the Romanian National Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Dickey of the Eastern District of Virginia.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Marcel Lehel Lazar, 42, of Arad, Romania, also known as the hacker “Guccifer,” was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of wire fraud, unauthorized access to a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, cyberstalking and obstruction of justice

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Edward Lowery of the United States Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division, Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bill A. Miller of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security made the announcement.

According to the indictment, from December 2012 to January 2014, Lazar hacked into the email and social media accounts of high-profile victims, including a family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former U.S. Cabinet member, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor.  After gaining unauthorized access to their email and social media accounts, Lazar publicly released his victims’ private email correspondence, medical and financial information, and personal photographs.  The indictment also alleges that in July and August 2013, Lazar impersonated a victim after compromising the victim’s account.

If convicted of wire fraud or obstruction of justice, Lazar faces a maximum of 20 years of incarceration, and if convicted of unauthorized access of a protected computer or cyberstalking, he faces a maximum of 5 years of incarceration.  He also faces a mandatory additional 2 years of incarceration if convicted of aggravated identity theft.

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

This case was investigated by United States Secret Service, the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, with assistance from the Romanian National Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Dickey of the Eastern District of Virginia.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

NORFOLK, Va. – Irfan M. Jameel, 51, of Virginia Beach, Va., was convicted today by a federal jury on charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and use of a false social security number.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after the jury returned its verdict.  Senior United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr., presided over the trial.

Jameel faces a maximum penalty of thirty years on each of counts one through three, and a maximum penalty of five years on count four, when he is sentenced on October 16, 2014.

Jameel was indicted on July 25, 2013 by a federal grand jury on one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, two counts of financial institution fraud, and one count of using a false social security number.  According to court records and evidence at trial, Jameel defrauded several lenders by misrepresenting the status and nature of his business and income in the US and Canada and by misrepresenting his medical career and accomplishments.  Among other things, Jameel claimed to be the chief scientist of an international biotechnology company, Biocer, and reported that it paid him approximately $8,000,000 in 2005 and 2006.  As a result of these and other misrepresentations, Jameel obtained $3 million in loans from SunTrust to buy an 8 acre waterfront estate, $2.375 million in loans from Gateway Bank, and a $46,000 car loan from a local credit union.  Although he used a portion of the loan proceeds to extinguish some of this debt, Jameel later defaulted upon all of these loans.  After obtaining such loans, Jameel also used a false social security number when seeking the preparation of three years of federal income tax returns by an accounting firm. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Norfolk Field Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Krask and Stephen Haynie are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Corey Schock, 44, of Charlottesville, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to a federal crime relating to his participation in sexually explicit online chats with a 15-year-old girl.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police; Chief Timothy J. Longo, Charlottesville Police Department and Stephan M. Hudson, Prince William County Chief of Police made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Schock was indicted on May 29, 2014, by a federal grand jury for online coercion and enticement of a minor.  Schock faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on August 29, 2014.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Schock admitted that he engaged in sexually explicit online chats with a 15-year-old girl who lived in Woodbridge, Virginia.  In those online chats, Schock sent the victim several sexually explicit pictures of himself, and he requested that the victim send him sexually explicit pictures.  In response, the female sent Schock pictures and videos of herself engaging in sexually explicit behavior.  Based on information in other court documents, Schock engaged in similar conduct with numerous other minors over a two-year period.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Fairfax County Police Department, Charlottesville Police Department and Prince William County Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt J. Gardner is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

WASHINGTON – William P. Danielczyk Jr., formerly of Oakton, Virginia, pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to collect and pay over employment taxes for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2010, and one count of theft or embezzlement from an employee benefit plan for the calendar year 2010, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. 

            According to court documents, from March 2009 until December 2011, Danielczyk was the executive chairman of Innolog Holdings Corporation, a company that acquired Innovative Logistics Technology Inc. in March 2009.  Innovative operated in the government services industry and provided technology-supported logistics services to the U.S. military and various defense organizations.  The principal offices for Innovative and Innolog were located in McLean, Virginia, and later in Fairfax, Virginia.

            For the third calendar quarter of 2009 through the last calendar quarter of 2011, Danielczyk was the person responsible for collecting, accounting for and paying appropriate payroll tax amounts to the IRS.  Although payroll taxes were withheld from the wages of Innovative’s employees, Danielczyk failed to pay both the employee withholdings amounts and the employer’s matching portions to the IRS.  The total tax loss for all quarters is $2,232,781.

            According to court documents, Innovative employees were permitted to contribute to a qualified pension plan that was administered by an asset custodian, and pursuant to this plan, Innovative withheld participants’ elected contribution amounts from their regular paychecks.  The total sum of employee withholdings was to be sent to the asset custodian on a bi-weekly basis.  Although Danielczyk was the person responsible for authorizing payments to the asset custodian, he failed to send these payments.  The total loss amount associated with this conduct, for 2009 through 2011, is $186,263.

            Instead of paying Innovative’s employment taxes and remitting employee withholdings to the asset custodian of the company’s qualified pension plan, Danielczyk made purchases that included $505,871 for the use of a Washington, D.C., football stadium executive suite and $40,000 for the sponsorship of a horse race in Virginia.

            Sentencing in this case has been set forSept. 11, 2014.  For the employment tax charge, Danielczyk faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.  Danielczyk faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the theft from employee benefit plan charge.

            The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Philadelphia Regional Office.  Trial Attorney Tracy L. Gostyla of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark D. Lytle for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

RICHMOND, Va. – Kensey Lamonte Wright, 42, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Joseph D. Morrison, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by Magistrate Judge David J. Novak.
Wright was indicted on May 6, 2014, by a federal grand jury on a superseding indictment charging eight counts of wire fraud.  He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, full restitution, and a fine of $250,000 when he is sentenced on September 9, 2014, by Senior United States District Judge James R. Spencer.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, between January 2007 and December 2013, Wright acted as a representative of Fifth Degree Tours #1, Inc., Fifth Degree Records, Inc., and Turnwright Enterprises, Inc.  In that capacity, Wright solicited investors in Virginia and elsewhere to invest in concerts, tours, and similar entertainment events to be held at various locations throughout the United States.  Wright represented to investors that the investment funds would be used to produce, promote, or otherwise administer proposed entertainment events, to include events featuring the artists Prince, Beyoncé, Jay Z, R Kelly, and TLC. To solicit investments, Wright promised returns as high as 100% within time periods as short as two weeks to two months.  Wright admitted that he knowingly and intentionally misrepresented to investors that their funds would be used to produce or promote the proposed entertainment events, and that he used the vast majority of the funds for his own personal use and benefit, including for gambling and other expenses at various casinos.

As a result of Wright’s ongoing scheme to defraud, investors lost between $750,000 and $1,000,000.  The final loss amount will be determined at sentencing and Wright will be ordered to pay that same amount to investors for restitution. 

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.  Assistant United States Attorneys Dominick S. Gerace and Michael Gill are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Francisco Samayoa Hernandez (“Samayoa”), 33, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for receiving bribes in connection with his work as a tax assessor supervisor at the Arlington County Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Select office.  Samayoa also was ordered to pay approximately $21,000 in restitution to the DMV and to forfeit $11,480 in bribe payments to the government.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Samayoa pleaded guilty on March 18, 2014.  According to court documents, from July 2012 through November 2013, Samayoa received $11,480 in bribes from a vehicle exporter in exchange for providing vehicle titles and falsifying DMV paperwork that allowed the exporter to avoid paying state motor vehicle sales and use tax in connection with the registration and titling of various luxury automobiles.  In exchange for the bribes, Samayoa enabled the exporter to avoid paying approximately $25,000 due to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the registration and titling of a Lamborghini and multiple Ferraris, Porsches and Mercedes.  Samayoa also enabled another individual to avoid paying approximately $16,536 in state motor vehicle sales and use tax in connection with the registration and titling of twoLamborghinis.

Samayoa was an Arlington County employee, and the Arlington County Commissioner of Revenue contracts with the DMV to provide vehicle-related services at its local office.

Samayoa also served as a straw buyer for the exporter and purchased three BMWs in his name.  In connection with these transactions, Samayoa falsely certified to a dealership that he was not purchasing the vehicle for export, and the dealership relied on that certification in making the sale.

This case was investigated jointly by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Virginia DMV Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Law Enforcement Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Nathanson prosecuted the case.

Any person who believes they may have information regarding public corruption in the northern Virginia area is encouraged to call the FBI’s Northern Virginia Public Corruption Hotline at 703-686-6225 or send an email to NOVAPC@ic.fbi.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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Mirwaiss Aminzada, 44, of Montreal, Quebec, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), was sentenced today to 15 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release and restitution of $586,798.  On Dec. 19, 2013, Aminzada pleaded guilty to introducing misbranded drugs into the United States.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; Clark Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington; Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and M. Douglas Scott, Arlington County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

According to court documents, Aminzada, a U.S. citizen, was the owner and operator of several companies based in Canada, the UAE and Afghanistan.  Through these companies, Aminzada obtained chemotherapy and cosmetic drugs intended for Middle Eastern markets and sold those drugs to Gallant Pharma, an unlicensed wholesale drug distributor based in Arlington, Virginia, for resale in the United States.  Aminzada used an employee in Pakistan to alter the drugs’ packaging and hide evidence of their foreign source.  In one e-mail exchange with Aminzada, the employee complained he was unable to keep “cold chain” chemotherapy drugs refrigerated—which is required to protect drug efficacy and patient health and safety—because the electricity in Peshawar, Pakistan kept going out.

Aminzada also was the source of vials of tampered Botox that were missing safety caps, contained an unusual jelly-like substance and bore mismatched lot numbers and expiration dates.  The tampered Botox entered the U.S. supply chain through Gallant Pharma, and some was administered to patients in New England.

To date, twelve defendants associated with Gallant Pharma have been convicted.  Two additional defendants named in the indictment, Robert Wachna and Munajj Rochelle, remain fugitives and are believed to be in Canada.

This case was investigated by FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, DEA’s Group 33 Diversion Task Force, ICE-HSI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Arlington County Police Department and Interpol.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Kelly, Maya Song and Jay Prabhu 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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Erick Estrada Reyes, 31, of Guatemala, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute pseudoephedrine for unlawful importation into the United States and to aiding and abetting the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Derek Maltz, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III.

In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Estrada Reyes admitted to being involved in the sale of nearly 5,000 pseudoephedrine pills to a person he believed was involved in a methamphetamine production operation based in Houston, Texas.  This individual was, in reality, a DEA cooperating witness.  Estrada Reyes, along with his father, Edgar Estrada Morales, and his cousin, Victor Estrada Paredes, negotiated the sale of equipment used to extract pseudoephedrine from pill form for use in the manufacture of methamphetamine.  They also discussed working for the DEA cooperator’s fictitious U.S.-based methamphetamine trafficking organization.  According to the indictment, Estrada Reyes worked for his father’s operation, which sold pseudoephedrine to groups that sold methamphetamine in the United States, including the “La Familia” Mexican drug cartel.

Estrada Reyes, along with his father and cousin, were indicted on Feb. 3, 2011 by a federal grand jury for their involvement in this operation.  Edgar Estrada Morales was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Aug. 2, 2013, and Victor Estrada Paredes was sentenced to 11 years in prison on July 19, 2013.  Erick Estrada Reyes faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on September 5, 2014.

This case was investigated by the DEA’s Special Operations Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary 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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

RICHMOND, Va. – Billy Gene Jefferson, Jr., 52, of Richmond, Va., pleaded guilty today to Unlawful Transfer of a False Identification Document and to Aggravated Identity Theft.  He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment on the Unlawful Transfer charge, to be followed by a mandatory 2 year consecutive sentence for the Aggravated Identity Theft.  He also faces a fine of up to $500,000 and 3 years of supervised release at the time of sentencing.  In the plea documents, the United States also reserved the right to argue for an upward variance or departure at sentencing based on the defendant’s obstruction of justice and related conduct that formed the basis for the allegations in Count One of the indictment. 

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Washington, D.C. Division; and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. 

At this time, Jefferson is also awaiting sentencing on Case No. 3:13CR221.  In that case on December 19, 2013, Jefferson pleaded guilty to Major Fraud Against the United States and Engaging in Unlawful Monetary Transactions.  For those charges, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, restitution to the victims, a fine of up to $500,000, and three years of supervised release when he is sentenced on September 9, 2014.  In supplemental plea documents filed in that case today, the parties removed a previous provision that called for an agreed sentencing recommendation to the Court.  The United States also reserved the right to argue for an upward departure or variance for the defendant’s conduct that formed the basis for the United States’ Motion for Hearing Regarding Defendant’s Breach of Plea Agreement.  The parties revised procedures to determine the final restitution amount depending on the final resolution of an IRS audit on a portion of the federal losses.

In the Statement of Facts filed in connection with today’s guilty plea, Jefferson admitted that on October 26, 2013, he created and transferred a false identification document, namely an Arkansas Driver’s License in the name of “Actual Person” (the individual referenced in the pending indictment is Jefferson’s brother, J.W.J.) with the defendant’s photograph, knowing that the document was produced without lawful authority.  The defendant agreed that the Arkansas Driver’s License was of the type intended and commonly accepted for identifying an individual that was not issued under the authority of the State of Arkansas.  Jefferson, posing as the “Actual Person” (referring to J.W.J.) on the fraudulent Arkansas Driver’s License, caused the email transfer of the identification and other documents to representatives from Aircraft Management Group, Inc. (AMG Jets).  The transfer was in relation to the defendant’s attempt to charter a one-way flight to Cranfield, England, with a scheduled departure date of November 2, 2013.  In connection with the Aggravated Identity Theft portion of the plea, the defendant admitted that he transferred, possessed, and used “Actual Person’s” (referring to J.W.J.) name and date of birth in connection with attempting to secure the charger flight.  The defendant admitted that he did not have the “Actual Person’s” authority or permission to use the name and date of birth for these purposes.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation Richmond Office, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Virginia State Police.  The Virginia Department of Historic Resources also assisted law enforcement in the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Gill and Wingate Grant and Special Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Dorgan are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

This investigation has been coordinated by the Virginia Financial and Securities Fraud Task Force, an unprecedented partnership between criminal investigators and civil regulators to investigate and prosecute complex financial fraud cases in the nation and in Virginia.  The task force is comprised of several federal and state agencies, including the Virginia Attorney General’s Office.  The task force is an investigative arm of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), an interagency national task force.

The FFETF was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

RICHMOND, Va. – Junior Jean Merilia, 33, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service, Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.

Merilia was indicted on June 4, 2014 by a federal grand jury on a single count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.  He faces a maximum penalty of twenty-two years in prison when he is sentenced on November 21, 2014.

According to the statement of facts in support of the plea and other court documents, Merilia is a co-conspirator of Ramoth Jean, who has already been prosecuted in connection with this matter.  Jean was stopped by Henrico County Police in August 2012 as he removed items from a storage unit that had been rented in the name of a Florida resident without that person’s knowledge or authorization.   A search of the unit yielded hundreds of cards bearing the personal identifying information of persons around the United States, pre-paid debit cards, and laptop computers used in this scheme.  The pre-paid debit cards were issued in connection with tax refunds from tax returns filed on-line using stolen personal identifying information.  Many of those returns were filed from hotels in the Richmond area.

Papers linked with Merilia were found in the storage unit.  Merilia acknowledged in the statement of facts that he hired a website designer who created websites through which personal identifying information was stolen, via sham employment postings, for use in connection with the scheme.   In addition, Merilia made ATM withdrawals in the Miami area using debit cards connected with some fraudulently filed tax returns.

On January 9, 2014, Judge Hudson sentenced Ramoth Jean to a 114 month term of incarceration following his guilty pleas to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Social Security Administration—Office of Inspector General, and the Henrico County Police Department as members of the Metro-Richmond Identity Theft Task Force.  Prosecutions for the Task Force are handled by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Moore is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:14-cr-73.

Defendant sold drugs outside Dumfries day care center that was owned and operated by his wife

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Ralph Caldwell, 38, of Locust Grove, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute oxycodone.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Valerie Parlave, 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.

Caldwell was indicted on May 8, 2014, by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and distribution of oxycodone.  Caldwell faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on September 5, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.

According to court records, from January 2011 to March 2014, Caldwell distributed oxycodone to customers throughout Prince William County, Virginia.  As part of the conspiracy, Caldwell and others used the area near the Little Angels Day Care, a children’s day care center in Dumfries, Virginia, to sell oxycodone and arrange transactions.  Caldwell told one of his co-conspirators—who was both the parent of a child being supervised at the day care and one of Caldwell’s suppliers—that payment for childcare services could be rendered in the form of a negotiated amount of oxycodone.  Caldwell’s wife owned and operated the day care.

As part of the statement of facts entered with the plea, Caldwell admitted that he conspired to distribute oxycodone and that he sold oxycodone to a confidential informant on three separate occasions in February 2014 at locations within Dumfries and Triangle, Virginia.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the Prince William County Police Department.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Lowell and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi 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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Detrius Elliott, 43, of Clinton, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to identity theft for stealing at least 78 identities belonging to financial guarantors of patients at a Washington, D.C. hospital, as part of a large identity theft ring operating in the area.

            Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kathy A. Michalko, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

            In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Elliott admitted to stealing names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers from the billing database of the Washington hospital where she worked as a credit and collections representative.  Elliott provided the identities to co-conspirator Jenaro Blalock and another member of the identity theft ring, who used the identities to obtain fraudulent driver’s licenses and open instant lines of credit and rent vehicles under the victims’ names.  The victims whose identities were stolen from the hospital database suffered approximately $102,000 in losses.

            Elliott is the tenth member of the identity theft ring to plead guilty.  Co-leaders Christopher Bush, 40, of District Heights, Maryland, and Blalock, 31, of Clinton, Maryland, were previously sentenced to 10 and 12 years in prison, respectively, for leading the ring, which resulted in approximately $1 million in total losses to victims.

            Elliott faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison when she is sentenced on July 25, 2014.
            This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Kelly 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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

RICHMOND, Va. – Troy Parker, 41, was sentenced today to 188 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for child sex trafficking.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Richmond Field Office; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Robert E. Payne.

Parker pleaded guilty on February 12, 2014, to one count of child sex trafficking. According to court documents, Parker met a minor in Richmond, Virginia and took her to the Travel Inn.  He then used his cellular telephone to post an advertisement on Backpage.com containing pictures of the minor and offering her for sexual acts in exchange for money.  Parker also provided transportation and a hotel room for the minor to perform those sexual acts.  The minor then provided Parker with money she was paid by her customers.  On May 28, 2013, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, acting in an undercover capacity, spoke to Parker and arranged through him to meet the minor for purported sexual activities.  At the time of the meeting, agents were able to secure the minor and take Parker into custody.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Richmond Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Heather L. Hart prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

RICHMOND, Va. – Freddy David Santos Campuzano, 32, a Mexican National who resided in Cincinnati, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to Conspiracy to Engage in Racketeering and Conspiracy to Launder Money.  Santos Campuzano faces a maximum of 40 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $750,000, and three years of supervised release when he is sentenced on September 10, 2014, by United States District Court Judge James R. Spencer.  Further, the defendant is illegally within the United States and faces deportation following the service of his prison sentences.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement after the guilty plea was accepted by Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck.

According to court papers, this defendant is connected to a Fraudulent Document Enterprise (FDE) previously prosecuted in the Eastern District of Virginia in United States v. Israel Cruz Millan, Case No. 3:10CR308.  The FDE, which originally operated in the United States beginning prior to 2008 and continuing through November 18, 2010, had cells in Richmond, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Manassas, Virginia; Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas; New Haven, Connecticut; Mishawaka, Indiana; Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky; Chelsea, Massachusetts; St. Louis, Missouri; Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Wilmington, North Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio; Providence, Rhode Island; and, Nashville, Tennessee.   The criminal enterprise was dismantled within the United States on November 18, 2010.  In the prior case and connected prosecutions, a total of 30 defendants were convicted.  On February 16, 2012, United States District Judge James R. Spencer sentenced the overall leader, Israel Cruz Millan to 300 months’ imprisonment.   On March 2, 2012, United States District Judge Henry E. Hudson sentenced Oliverez-Jiminez to two consecutive life terms in prison, after his conviction by a jury for racketeering, murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to produce and transfer false identification documents. 

According to court filings, the FDE restarted its operations while the Israel Cruz Millan, et al. case was still pending.  Beginning at some point prior to February 2012, Manuel Hidalgo Flores, also known as “Chino,” “Chimuelo” and “Julio,” began managing the organization’s operations in the United States, supervising operations in Richmond, Virginia; Springdale, Arkansas; Boston, Massachusetts; Raleigh, North Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Pawtucket, Rhode Island.  As in the previous case, the FDE produced high-quality false identification cards for distribution to illegal aliens.  In most cities where the organization operated, Hidalgo Flores placed a cell manager to supervise a number of “runners,” the lower level members of the organization who distributed business cards advertising the organization’s services and helped facilitate transactions with customers. 

In his sworn Statement of Facts, Freddy David Santos Campuzano, also known as “Chaparro,” admitted that, he operated in the Cincinnati, Ohio cell under the supervision of Hidalgo Flores.  Within that cell, Santos Campuzano, along with others, were responsible for distributing the fraudulent documents using information obtained from clients by “runners.”  The runners would recruit illegal alien clients who wished to obtain false identification documents, including counterfeit Permanent Resident Alien Cards (also known as “Green Cards”), Social Security Cards, out-of-state identification cards, and various international documents.  Upon identifying a specific client, a runner would relay identifying information and photographs from the client to the printer via cellular telephone or other method.  The printer would, in turn, use a computer and printer to create fraudulent identification documents for the client, depending on the nature of the order received from the client.  Once the documents were complete, the runner would usually provide the documents to the client in exchange for United States currency.  A client would generally pay approximately $150 for a set of fraudulent identification documents (such as a Permanent Resident Alien Card and Social Security Card).  Each cell maintained detailed sales records and divided the proceeds between the runner, the cell manager, and the upper level managers in Mexico.  In addition, the FDE used Western Union and MoneyGram to funnel criminal proceeds to Mexico.

The evidence during the Oliverez-Jiminez trial detailed how members of the organization sought to drive competitors from their territory by posing as customers in search of fraudulent documents and then attacking the competitors when they arrived to make a sale.  According to court filings, the FDE continued those tactics in 2013.  The First Superseding Indictment charges four FDE members, including Manuel Hidalgo Flores, with targeting a competitor in the Richmond, Virginia area on October 6, 2013.  That planned attack was thwarted, however, by law enforcement intervention. 

Counting this guilty plea, 42 members of this organization charged in the Richmond, Virginia federal cases have been convicted.  Santos Campuzano is the final defendant to plead guilty in the case. 

The case was investigated by the Richmond and Norfolk offices of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which falls under the Washington, D.C., office.  ICE HSI received assistance from the Virginia State Police, Chesterfield County Police Department, and Henrico County Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Michael Gill and Trial Attorney Maria Gonzalez Calvet, of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jose Marinay, 52, of Annandale, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his involvement in a short sale mortgage fraud conspiracy.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Washington D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Marinay was indicted on April 15, 2014 by a federal grand jury on multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Marinay faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Sept.26, 2014.

According to court documents, Marinay operated a settlement company in Annandale named Virginia Smart Choice Settlements (which is now SCS Title & Escrow).  Marinay helped prepare settlement statements that contained false information relating to liens, realtor commissions, title search fees, attorneys’ fees, title insurance, recording fees and taxes.  Marinay caused the settlement statements to be sent to mortgage lenders, and in some instances, he shredded the statements to conceal evidence of the fraudulent transactions.

According to the statement of facts filed with Marinay’s plea agreement, a co-conspirator used the settlement statements to fraudulently induce mortgage lenders to execute short sales—real estate transactions in which the mortgage lender agrees to accept a price less than the amount owed on the property—on at least seven occasions.  Immediately after the short sale, the co-conspirator sold the property to a new buyer in violation of representations and agreements made with the short sale mortgage lender.  As a result of this scheme, the affected financial institutions suffered losses of over $2 million.

This case was investigated by theFBI’s Washington Field Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye and Trial Attorney Todd Ellinwood of the Justice Department’s Tax Division 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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Ryan Fultz, 33, of Newport News, Va., was sentenced yesterday to a total of 30 years in prison following his convictions for possessing and discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and felon in possession of a firearm.

            Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Charles E. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and, Terry L. Sult Hampton Police Chief, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Henry C. Morgan, Jr.

            Fultz was indicted on March 13, 2013, on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, commonly known as “crack” cocaine, possession, brandishing and discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and felon in possession of a firearm. On February 7, 2014, a jury convicted him on all charges following a four day jury trial.

            According to court records, and evidence at trial, on December 27, 2011, Fultz was present during a planned drug deal in the Wal Mart parking lot located at Cunningham Drive, Hampton, Va.  Fultz provided back-up to a drug dealer and when a dispute arose, he participated in a shootout with two other individuals. Fultz discharged a Bushmaster AR-15 high powered rifle during the shooting in which more than 30 shots were exchanged as evidenced by shell casings recovered at the scene.  Fultz is the third participant federally prosecuted as a result of this incident.

            This case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, Hampton Police Division and ATF’s Washington Field Division. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy R. Murphy prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

Norfolk, Va. – Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., 55, of Stafford, Va., and Timothy S. Miller, 57, of Chesapeake, Va., were charged today with conspiracy, bribery, and obstruction of criminal investigations.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Mid-Atlantic Field Office (DCIS); Acting Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May Jr. of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Atlantic Operations; and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office.

A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment that charges Miserendino with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of criminal investigations and to commit tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of criminal investigations.  The indictment charges Miller with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery of a public official.

According to the indictment, Miserendino was a government contractor at MSC, the leading provider of transportation for the United States Navy.  The indictment alleges that Miserendino worked closely with another MSC public official, Kenny E. Toy, in managing MSC’s telecommunications projects and in influencing the award of United States government contracts, subcontracts, and task orders. 

The indictment alleges that Miserendino solicited and accepted bribes, in the form of cash payments and other things of value, in exchange for providing favorable treatment to two defense contractors in connection with United States government contracts. 

Between March 2005 and 2007, Miserendino allegedly accepted cash payments of approximately $3,000 per month from agents of Company A, a corporation that sought contracting business from MSC.

In addition, the indictment alleges that, in February 2009, Miller and his business partner Dwayne A. Hardman established Company B, a government contracting corporation located in Chesapeake, Va., to provide support to MSC on various telecommunications projects.  Shortly thereafter, in May 2009, Miller and Hardman paid cash bribes to Miserendino and Toy, another MSC public official with whom Miserendino worked, in exchange for favorable treatment in connection with U.S. government contracts, subcontracts, and task orders.  Miserendino allegedly accepted approximately $25,000 in cash from Miller and Hardman.   According to the indictment, Miller provided the $25,000 cash bribe to Miserendino at Company B’s offices and also provided a $25,000 cash bribe to Toy, the MSC public official with whom Miserendino worked.

In addition, according to the indictment, Miserendino obstructed justice and tampered with a witness by causing $85,000 to be paid to a businessman who had provided bribes, Dwayne A. Hardman, in an attempt to prevent or delay Hardman from reporting the bribery scheme to law enforcement authorities.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods, of the Public Integrity Section, Criminal Division, of the Department of Justice.  The case was investigated by the FBI, the NCIS, and the DCIS.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt.  Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

One of the Seriously Wounded Victims Was Pregnant

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Edgar Benitez Hernandez, also known as “Shadow,” 26, of the District of San Miguel, El Salvador, was sentenced today to 35 years in prison on two counts of using and discharging a firearm during or in relation to an attempted murder in aid of racketeering.  Benitez Hernandez was extradited from El Salvador to the United States on Dec. 18, 2013, and had been indicted previously by an Eastern District of Virginia grand jury on June 13, 2010, on multiple racketeering charges, including attempted murder.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Michael L. Chapman, Loudoun County Sheriff; and Maggie DeBoard, Town of Herndon Chief of Police, made the announcement after the sentencing before U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Benitez Hernandez pleaded guilty on Feb. 12, 2014.  According to court documents, Benitez Hernandez, a soldier in the notoriously violent transnational street gang Mara Salvatrucha 13 (“MS-13”), attempted to murder two individuals on Sept. 13, 2008, in Loudoun County, Va.  On that date, Benitez Hernandez concealed himself behind some shrubs and when the male and pregnant female victims were within range, he fired multiple shots while yelling “Mara Salvatrucha Cabrones.”  Both of the victims were critically injured and likely would have died were it not for immediate surgical intervention.  The unborn baby also survived the wounding.  Benitez Hernandez committed the double shooting to increase his position within MS-13’s criminal enterprise.

On May 22, 2013, Benitez Hernandez was apprehended in El Salvador by an elite Salvadoran investigative unit known as the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Task Force.  This extradition marks the first time in recent history that a Salvadoran citizen has been extradited to the United States to be held accountable for gang-related crimes committed in the United States.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force, with assistance from the Town of Herndon Police Department.  The U.S. law enforcement partners involved in the investigation and prosecution of Benitez Hernandez would like to thank the Salvadoran National Police for their outstanding assistance in bringing this fugitive to justice.  U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente also thanked the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in El Salvador, the Government of El Salvador and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, each of which were critical in securing the custody and extradition of Benitez Hernandez.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys  Zach Terwilliger and Patricia Haynes prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

RICHMOND, Va. – William A. Coles, Jr., 49, of Pamplin, Va., was convicted by a federal jury today on seven counts involving conspiracy with his wife, Sybil Coles, to defraud the United States, assisting in the preparation and filing of false tax returns, and bank fraud.  Coles faces a maximum penalty of 48 years of incarceration when he is sentenced by United States District Judge Henry E. Hudson on August 21, 2014.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office; and Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Tax Division, made the announcement after the verdict was announced.  

The indictment alleged that William Coles and his wife, who was sentenced on May 12, 2014, in a related case to five years’ imprisonment, engaged in a false tax return conspiracy from at least 2008 through 2012.  At trial, several of William Coles’ co-workers at the Piedmont Regional Jail testified that Coles claimed his wife knew of secret law enforcement loopholes to get larger tax refunds and took their tax documents and collected fees for his wife to prepare false tax returns unbeknownst to his co-workers. 

The evidence at trial also showed that William and Sybil Coles electronically deposited checks generated from fraudulent federal and State of Virginia returns filed on their behalf and on behalf of numerous other individuals, along with thousands of dollars in United States currency, into student bank accounts in the name of their college-age daughter.  The Coles spent this money on personal living expenses, including mortgage and car loan payments and family vacations.  William Coles was interviewed by Special Agents with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and failed to disclose the use of the multiple bank accounts where tax refunds and cash were deposited, but admitted that he knew his wife was filing false tax returns and that he had solicited clients from the Jail. 

In addition, the trial evidence included multiple sworn claims by William Coles of inflated income and corroborating false documents, including false W-2s and paystubs for him and his wife, that were submitted to the Bank of America and finance companies to obtain a home refinance loan and two car loans.    

The case is being prosecuted by Department of Justice, Tax Division Trial Attorney and Special Assistant United States Attorney, Rebecca Perlmutter, and Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Jagels. IRS-Criminal Investigation in Richmond, Virginia investigated the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

Bank Admits to Helping U.S. Taxpayers Hide Offshore Accounts from IRS; Agrees to Pay $2.6 Billion, Highest Ever Payment in a Criminal Tax Case

Investigation Has Also Led To Indictment of Eight Credit Suisse Employees Since 2011

WASHINGTON – Credit Suisse AG pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers in filing false income tax returns and other documents with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  The guilty plea by the Swiss corporation is the result of a years-long investigation by U.S. law enforcement authorities that has also produced indictments of eight Credit Suisse executives since 2011; two of those individuals have pleaded guilty so far.

The plea agreement, along with agreements made with state and federal partners, provides that Credit Suisse will pay a total of $2.6 billion - $1.8 billion to the Department of Justice for the U.S. Treasury, $100 million to the Federal Reserve, and $715 million to the New York State Department of Financial Services.  The plea agreement was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia today.  Earlier this year, Credit Suisse paid approximately $196 million in disgorgement, interest and penalties to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violating the federal securities laws by providing cross-border brokerage and investment advisory services to U.S. clients without first registering with the SEC.  That settlement with the SEC is also reflected in today’s plea agreement.  Together, these actions by U.S. law enforcement and state and federal partners appropriately punish Credit Suisse for its past behavior in these matters.

The announcement was made by Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Commissioner John Koskinen of the IRS.

“This case shows that no financial institution, no matter its size or global reach, is above the law,” said Attorney General Holder.  “Credit Suisse conspired to help U.S. citizens hide assets in offshore accounts in order to evade paying taxes.  When a bank engages in misconduct this brazen, it should expect that the Justice Department will pursue criminal prosecution to the fullest extent possible, as has happened here.”

As part of the plea agreement, Credit Suisse acknowledged that, for decades prior to and through 2009, it operated an illegal cross-border banking business that knowingly and willfully aided and assisted thousands of U.S. clients in opening and maintaining undeclared accounts and concealing their offshore assets and income from the IRS.

“Credit Suisse’s guilty plea is just the latest effort by the department to slam the door shut on undeclared bank accounts, phony trusts and other foreign schemes used by U.S. taxpayers to evade taxes,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole.  “We will continue to hold to account the bankers, the brokers and other professionals in Switzerland and around the world as well as the institutions that trained and directed them to use bank secrecy laws to protect U.S. tax cheats.”

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Credit Suisse employed a variety of means to assist U.S. clients in concealing their undeclared accounts, including by:

• assisting clients in using sham entities to hide undeclared accounts;
• soliciting IRS forms that falsely stated, under penalties of perjury, that the sham entities were the beneficial owners of the assets in the accounts;
• failing to maintain in the United States records related to the accounts;
• destroying account records sent to the United States for client review;
• using Credit Suisse managers and employees as unregistered investment advisors on undeclared accounts;
• facilitating withdrawals of funds from the undeclared accounts by either providing hand-delivered cash in the United States or using Credit Suisse’s correspondent bank accounts in the United States;
• structuring transfers of funds to evade currency transaction reporting requirements; and
• providing offshore credit and debit cards to repatriate funds in the undeclared accounts.

As part of the plea agreement, Credit Suisse further agreed to make a complete disclosure of its cross-border activities, cooperate in treaty requests for account information, provide detailed information as to other banks that transferred funds into secret accounts or that accepted funds when secret accounts were closed, and to close accounts of account holders who fail to come into compliance with U.S. reporting obligations.  Credit Suisse has also agreed to implement programs to ensure its compliance with U.S. laws, including its reporting obligations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and relevant tax treaties, in all its current and future dealings with U.S. customers.

“Today’s plea by Credit Suisse is a significant step in our global enforcement against those who would avoid their tax obligations by hiding their assets in foreign bank accounts, and those financial institutions, bankers, and other professionals who facilitate this conduct,” said Assistant Attorney General Keneally for the Tax Division. “Credit Suisse has also changed its business operations to ensure that U.S. taxpayers will no longer be able to hide their assets at Credit Suisse, and provided the government with valuable information that will further our investigations.” 

“This prosecution and plea should serve notice that secret accounts and assisting the evasion of income taxes has a high cost,” said U.S. Attorney Boente.  “Concealing financial accounts from the U.S. government is not a legitimate part of wealth management or private banking services.” 

“Pursuing international tax evasion is a priority area for IRS Criminal Investigation, and we will continue to follow the money here in the United States and around the world” said IRS Commissioner Koskinen.  “I want to commend the special agents in IRS-Criminal Investigation for all of their hard work in this area and the close cooperation with the Department of Justice.  Today's guilty plea is another important milestone in ongoing law enforcement efforts to investigate the use of offshore accounts to evade taxes.  People should no longer feel comfortable hiding their assets and income from the IRS.”

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is also announcing today that it has reached a resolution with Credit Suisse, by which Credit Suisse has agreed to a cease and desist order, certain remedial steps to ensure its compliance with U.S. law in its ongoing operations, and a civil monetary penalty of $100 million.  Additionally, the New York State Department of Financial Services is announcing a similar resolution by which Credit Suisse has agreed to a cease and desist order and a monetary penalty of $715 million.

On Feb. 23, 2011, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returned an indictment charging four Credit Suisse employees - Marco Parenti Adami, a former Credit Suisse manager; Emanuel Agustino, a former Credit Suisse banker; Michele Bergantino. a former Credit Suisse banker; and Roger Schaerer, Credit Suisse’s former Representative Officer in its Representative Office in New York - with conspiring with other Swiss bankers and U.S. taxpayers to defraud the United States.  On July 21, 2011, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment adding four additional defendants charged with the conspiracy to defraud the United States.  The four new defendants were: Markus Walder, the former head of North America Offshore Banking at Credit Suisse; Süsanne D. Rüegg Meier, a former Credit Suisse manager; Andreas Bachmann, a former banker at Credit Suisse Fides, a subsidiary of Credit Suisse; and Josef Dörig, a former Credit Suisse Fides employee and owner/operator of a trust company.  On March 12, 2014, Bachmann pleaded guilty to the superseding indictment in connection with his work as a banker at Credit Suisse Fides.  On April 30, 2014, Dörig pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the IRS in connection with his role managing offshore entities used by U.S. taxpayers to conceal their accounts at Credit Suisse.  Those pleas were accepted by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.  Bachmann and Dörig each face maximum penalties of five years in prison when they are sentenced on Aug. 8, 2014.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark D. Lytle and Trial Attorneys Mark F. Daly and Nanette L. Davis of the Tax Division.  The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation. 

The Department of Justice expressed gratitude to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the New York State Department of Financial Services for their significant and valuable assistance.

RICHMOND Va.  – Clyde Maurice Neblett, III, 23, of Richmond, Virginia, a member of the Nine Trey Gangsters, was sentenced today on three firearms offenses.  A jury convicted Neblett in January of possession of three firearms by a felon and also, in a separate incident, of possessing a fourth gun while a felon.  He was sentenced today to ten years on each of those two counts, with the sentences to run consecutively.  In addition, Neblett pled guilty today to discharging a firearm during an attempted robbery in April 2013, and received an additional ten year sentence, consecutive to the earlier firearms charges, for a total sentence of 30 years.   In the Statement of Facts filed with the Court in conjunction with his plea today, Neblett admitted that he also engaged in two additional home-invasion style robberies in Richmond and Chesterfield County between December 2012 and January 2013.        

            Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Richmond Field Office; Charles E. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; and Chief Douglas A. Middleton, Henrico County Police Division, made the announcement today after the sentence was imposed by United States District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson. 

            Neblett was a high-ranking officer in the Nine Trey Gangsters (“NTG”) and is one of nearly four dozen members of that gang to be convicted on federal charges since 2012.  NTG is part of the United Blood Nation (UBN), the first unified Blood gang alliance on the East Coast.  The gang started on Riker’s Island in the New York City jail system.  Since its inception, NTG has been one of the most active East Coast Blood gang sets, and has spread across the eastern United States. The FBI and numerous dedicated gang task forces have undertaken a long-term investigation of NTG activities in Virginia and neighboring states. 

            This case was initiated and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of its Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, dubbed Full Blooded Ink. Assistant United States Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

NORFOLK, Va. – Stephen Kohout, 56, of Williamsburg, Virginia, pleaded guilty yesterday to wire fraud and concealment money laundering.

            Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U. S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.

            Kohout was charged in a criminal indictment returned on March 11, 2014, with thirteen counts of wire fraud and eight counts of concealment money laundering. Kohout faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge and a $250,000 fine, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the money laundering charge and a fine of $500,000 when he is sentenced on July 10, 2014, in Norfolk.

            According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Kohout was given power of attorney by his parents, R. K. and J.K., on July 15, 2003. The power of attorney provided Kohout with full authority to act on behalf of both of his parents with respect to their property, assets and income.  In 2006, Kohout began handling the financial affairs of his parents, whose assets were in excess of $1 million and were held in bank and investment accounts to which Kohout had gained full access and control.  By 2007, his parents had lost the medical capacity to make financial decisions and Kohout assumed full control over their assets.  R. K. died in July, 2011 and his entire estate was left to his wife J.K., who currently resides at a nursing home in Tyrone, Pennsylvania.

            In  2007, Kohout, in connection with day trading activities, formed two business entities, ITM Traders, LLC and Nychi, Inc., and opened bank accounts for each of the companies. Thereafter he transferred $55,000 from his parents’ bank account into his account with ITM Traders, LLC.  Subsequent to that transfer, he continued to transfer various funds between the ITM Traders, LLC account and the Nychi, Inc. account, all in an effort to support his trading activities. 

            Kohout did not return any gains made from these trades to his parents’ accounts. Instead, from 2008 through July 2011, Kohout wired approximately $465,000 from his parents’ investment account to his parents’ bank trust accounts.  He then misappropriated money from the bank trust accounts in the amount of $386,000 by writing 86 checks, all but one of which were transferred to an account in Kohout’s name.

            Kohout spent the misappropriated money on his personal living expenses, repayment of personal loans, credit card bills and dining, entertainment and retail expenditures.  In addition to the disbursements Kohout made for his day trading and personal expenses, from 2007 through 2011, Kohout made various disbursements from his parents’ accounts in the form of gifts, loans to his siblings and for the medical care and living expenses of his parents. 

            Around December 2012, the nursing home caring for J.K. threatened eviction proceedings against her due to her account being in financial arrears.  In January 2013, Kohout filed for bankruptcy and despite admitting that he acted contrary to his fiduciary duty and misappropriated his parents’ assets, he did not reveal the full extent of his misappropriation. Kohout’s sister was appointed emergency guardian of their parents’ estate by a Pennsylvania court.  J.K. continues to reside at the nursing home where her care is being paid for in whole or in part by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. The funds in the parents’ investment accounts had been liquidated and the balance in J.K.’s bank account is approximately $2,000.

            This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.  Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian Samuels is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

NORFOLK, Va. – Marcus Warrick, 29, of Virginia Beach, Va., was sentenced today to 180 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Katrina W. Berger, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis. 

Warrick was found guilty by a federal jury on February 4, 2014.  According to court records and evidence at trial, HSI executed a search warrant and seized his computer on November 8, 2013.  HSI found more than 400 videos and images of child pornography on his computer.  The investigation revealed that he installed numerous file-sharing programs on his computer and, using search terms, actively sought out images of child pornography.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorneys Randy Stoker and Elizabeth Yusi prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

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 United States 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

NORFOLK, Va. – Linda Marie Delarosa, 31, of Norfolk, Va., was sentenced today to 240 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief United States District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.

Delarosa pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on December 17, 2013.  According to the statement of facts filed with her plea agreement, beginning in 2012, Delarosa, an Asheville, NC area based methamphetamine supplier, conspired with others to transport methamphetamine to the Eastern District of Virginia.  Delarosa later moved to Norfolk, Virginia, but continued to transport methamphetamine from the Asheville, NC area for repackaging and distributing in the Eastern District of Virginia.  Delarosa distributed large quantities of methamphetamine to various conspirators until August of 2013. 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Virginia Beach Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Darryl Mitchell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

Gang members engaged in sex trafficking, robberies, drug distribution and violent crimes

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Thaddaeus Snow, a/k/a “Storm,” 34, of Manassas, Va., was sentenced today to 40 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release and registration as a sex offender.  William Sykes, a/k/a “Black,” 29, of Bealeton, Va., was sentenced to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and registration as a sex offender.

Both men were convicted on Feb. 21, 2014, by a federal jury of charges that included conspiracy to commit racketeering, violence in aid of racketeering, robbery, conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force and coercion and multiple firearms offenses.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler, Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

“These defendants and their fellow gang members threatened the safety of our communities by committing acts of violence, dealing drugs, and dehumanizing women through prostitution by force and coercion,” said U.S. Attorney Boente.  “I want to commend our federal, state and local law enforcement partners for their commitment to dismantling this dangerous gang and combatting these pernicious crimes.”

“The sentences handed down today send a clear message to members of these violent criminal enterprises: we will not tolerate your illegal activities,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave.  “The FBI, through the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force and our partners in local law enforcement, will continue to systematically target, investigate and prosecute gang members who use violence to threaten our communities.”

Snow and Sykes were indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 26, 2013, along with twenty-two other members and associates of the Nine Trey Gangsters street gang, on charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering, violence in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine and multiple counts related to the possession and use of firearms.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, the Nine Trey Gangsters are a Bloods street gang set of the United Blood Nation, which was founded in New York City in the early 1970’s.  Thaddaeus Snow led a “line-up” of the Nine Trey Gangsters that operated as a criminal enterprise in Virginia and committed criminal activity in multiple states.  From 2008 until the date of the indictment, Snow’s line-ups of Nine Trey gangsters engaged in racketeering activity involving the sex trafficking of women using force and coercion in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, New York and elsewhere; the commission of robberies; and the distribution of cocaine, crack, marijuana, heroin, ecstasy and prescription painkillers.  The evidence at trial also showed that Snow, Sykes and other Nine Trey Gangsters dealt in counterfeit U.S. currency and used counterfeit currency to finance wholesale drug purchases.

In addition, the evidence at trial showed that Snow and his subordinate gang members undertook several acts of violence.  On or about April 1, 2010, Snow directed Nine Trey Gangsters to give a female victim a “buck-fifty,” consisting of slashing the woman’s face with a knife from mouth to ear with the aim of requiring 150 stiches to close the wound, because the woman had stolen proceeds of Snow’s drug sales and used some of Snow’s drug supply.  The slashing was carried out by Sykes.  Sykes and other gang members beat a man unconscious who may have stolen drugs from a gang member, and Sykes also committed a shooting on April 12, 2010, after the shooting victims became involved in a dispute with one of the gang members.  Additionally, Sykes slapped and choked a prostitute when she concealed money she earned from him.

Snow and Sykes were convicted following a trial that began on Feb. 11, 2014.  All twenty-four individuals named in the Sept. 26, 2013 indictment have been convicted, bringing to 37 the total number of Nine Trey Gangsters members and associates who have been convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia since 2013.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Fairfax County Police Department, with assistance from the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force, Hampton Police Department, Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office, Manassas City Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam B. Schwartz and Dennis M. Fitzpatrick prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

This case is part of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed Operation “Ruby Red,” which has been focusing on the illegal distribution of narcotics by alleged organized crime members.

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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Gallant Pharma International Inc. (Gallant Pharma), an unlicensed wholesale drug distributor headquartered in Arlington, Va., that distributed more than 17,000 units of non-FDA-approved cancer and cosmetic drugs to doctors across the United States, was sentenced today to pay $3.4 million in forfeiture and restitution.  On Dec. 2, 2013, Gallant Pharma pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal importation, five counts of introducing misbranded drugs and five counts of unlicensed prescription drug wholesaling.

Syed “Farhan” Huda, 39, formerly of Arlington, Va., co-founder and co-owner of Gallant Pharma, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.  Huda also was ordered to pay $3.4 million in forfeiture and restitution to victims.  On Dec. 2, 2013, Huda pleaded guilty to illegal importation, introducing misbranded drugs, unlicensed medical wholesaling and wire fraud.

Also sentenced today was Gallant Pharma office manager Deeba Mallick, 37, the wife of co-owner Huda.  Mallick was sentenced to nine months in prison, one year of supervised release and a $75,000 fine.  Mallick pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2013 to misprision of a felony.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations; Katrina W. Berger, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington; Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and M. Douglas Scott, Arlington County Chief of Police, made the announcement after the sentencings by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

According to information made public in court, between August 2009 and August 2013, Gallant Pharma smuggled into the United States and sold more than $12.4 million in non-FDA-approved chemotherapy drugs and injectable cosmetic drugs and devices, generating profits of $3.4 million.  Many of these drugs were subject to strict temperature controls to protect drug potency.  Gallant Pharma shipped and received such drugs with ice packs, not dry ice as used by legitimate distributors, and on at least one occasion, a shipment containing such drugs took more than two weeks to arrive in Virginia from overseas during a July 2012 heat wave.  Many drugs sold by Gallant Pharma were also required to carry a FDA “black box” warning, which indicates that a drug carries a significant risk of serious or life-threatening adverse effects.  The versions sold by Gallant Pharma did not meet this or other FDA labeling requirements.

On Tuesday, co-conspirators Anoushirvan Sarraf, 48, and Eva Montejo Pritchard, 48, both of Rockville, Maryland, were convicted by a federal jury for their involvement in the scheme.  Sarraf, a licensed doctor and the owner of Aphrodite Skin Care & Esthetic Clinic in McLean, Virginia, and Pritchard, Aphrodite’s office manager, received hundreds of shipments addressed to Aphrodite, containing illegal importations intended for Gallant Pharma, in exchange for a deeply discounted price on non-FDA-approved drugs and devices.  While cancer drugs were always handed off to Gallant Pharma, the defendants kept many of the non-FDA-approved cosmetic drugs and devices, which were used on Aphrodite patients without the patients’ knowledge or consent.

To date, twelve defendants associated with Gallant Pharma have been convicted.  Two additional defendants named in the indictment, Robert Wachna and Munajj Rochelle, remain fugitives and are believed to be in Canada.

This case was investigated by FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, DEA’s Group 33 Diversion Task Force, ICE-HSI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from INTERPOL and the Arlington County Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Kelly, Maya Song and Jay Prabhu are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

Aphrodite Advanced Esthetic & Skin Care Clinic received illegal imports for Gallant Pharma, which sold over $10 million of non-FDA-approved chemotherapy and cosmetic drugs in the U.S.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Anoushirvan Sarraf, 48, and Eva Montejo Pritchard, 48, both of Rockville, Maryland, were convicted yesterday by a federal jury on charges of conspiracy related to their roles in a scheme to illegally import non-FDA-approved chemotherapy and cosmetic drugs into the United States.

Sarraf, a physician who owns Aphrodite Advanced Esthetic & Skin Care Clinic in McLean, Virginia, was also convicted on charges of illegal importation, receiving and delivering non-FDA-approved drugs and devices, and engaging in the unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs.  In all, Sarraf was convicted of nine felonies and four associated misdemeanors, while Pritchard, who was the office manager of the clinic, was convicted of a single felony count of conspiracy.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations; Katrina W. Berger, Acting Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington; Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and M. Douglas Scott, Arlington County Chief of Police, made the announcement after the jury’s verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Sarraf and Pritchard were indicted on Jan. 30, 2014, by a federal grand jury.  According to court records and evidence at trial, Sarraf partnered with Gallant Pharma, an unlicensed wholesale prescription drug distributor, in exchange for a deeply discounted price on non-FDA-approved cosmetic drugs and devices.  Sarraf used those cosmetic drugs and devices on patients at his McLean, Virginia practice, Aphrodite Advanced Esthetic & Skin Care Clinic, without the patients’ knowledge or consent.

Sarraf provided Gallant Pharma with his medical license to enable Gallant Pharma to order non-FDA-approved chemotherapy and cosmetic drugs from around the world, and allowed those drugs to be smuggled into the United States, addressed to Aphrodite.  When the drugs arrived, a member of the conspiracy would open the boxes, take what they wanted for Aphrodite, and call individuals from Gallant Pharma to retrieve the remainder.  Many of the shipments involved “cold-chain” drugs subject to strict temperature controls (which were not followed by the conspirators), and the use of these drugs posed serious potential harm to chemotherapy and cosmetic patients throughout the United States.  During the three years that the partnership lasted, more than 17,000 vials of pharmaceuticals passed through Aphrodite and were sold by Gallant Pharma for more than $10.3 million.

Sarraf faces a total maximum penalty of 87 years in prison, while Pritchard faces a maximum penalty of five years, when each is sentenced on July 18, 2014.  Eleven other defendants, including the co-founders of Gallant Pharma, previously have been convicted for their involvement in the partnership.

This case was investigated by FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the DEA’s Group 33 Diversion Task Force, ICE-HSI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Arlington County Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Kelly, Maya Song and Jay Prabhu are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Richard Deng, 68, of Silver Spring, Md., pleaded guilty today to introducing into interstate commerce misbranded foods and drugs, in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.  In particular, Deng admitted unlawfully selling various male sexual enhancement dietary supplements that contained the active ingredients in the prescription drugs Viagra and Cialis, and dispensing the products without a prescription and in packaging that failed to disclose the existence of these substances.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.

Deng faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison when he is sentenced on August 1, 2014.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Deng admitted operating a business known as InterTradeCorp or InterTradeMart, which sold various imported items through its Beltsville, Md. storefront and over the Internet.  These products included sports apparel, DVDs and male sexual enhancement dietary supplements, many of which contained sildenafil, the active ingredient in prescription drug Viagra, and/or tadalafil, the active ingredient in prescription drug Cialis.  Deng admitted that after his Beltsville facility was searched in 2011 and the unlawful products were seized, he continued to sell the products.  After a second search warrant was executed at Deng’s business in 2013, authorities discovered additional male sexual enhancement dietary supplements unlawfully containing sildenafil.  Deng admitted that during the period 2011-2013, he received approximately $333,070 from the sale of these products.

The products seized and found to unlawfully contain prescription drugs include products known as the following: Vivid, LuRong Sheng Jing Wan, Good Man, Stree Overlord, Zhong Hua Niu Bien, Hard Ten Days, Africa Black Ant, Tiger King, Stiff Nights, Vegetal Vigra, Titan, Libigrow, Weekend Prince, Black Ant, Plant Vigra, Man King, Tibet Babao, Zhang Sheng Wei Ge Caho Yue Xi Li Shi, Mojo Risen, Clalis, Sensual Sensuel, and God of War Veyron.

These products were dispensed without a prescription and in packaging that failed to disclose the existence of prescription drugs.  Some of the products also contained dosages of sildenafil and tadalafil beyond those approved for Viagra and Cialis or contained combinations of those substances that have not been approved by the FDA.  Moreover, if the substances were to contraindicate with a user’s medical condition or prescription drugs, serious harm to the user could result.

This case was investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Nathanson is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Department of Justice announced today that Abdelkader and Hnia Amal pleaded guilty to one count of alien harboring in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.  The guilty plea stemmed from evidence that Abdelkader and Hnia Amal unlawfully brought a woman into the United States from Morocco and then kept the woman in their home as a domestic servant for three years.

According to court records, the defendants, who are husband and wife, concealed, harbored and shielded from detection a Moroccan national, identified in court records as F.H., in their home in Alexandria, Virginia, from December 2007 until December 2010.  F.H. served as a domestic servant within the home of the defendants.  Hnia Amal also had F.H. work for her commercial cleaning company, cleaning various residential and commercial properties.

The Amals unlawfully brought F.H. into the United States on a visa they procured based on false representations that F.H. would be employed as a domestic servant for a different employer.  After the defendants unlawfully smuggled F.H. into the United States in December 2007, they did not pay her a salary.  Instead, the defendants made two down payments towards an apartment in Morocco on F.H.’s behalf.  The two payments, made in October 2010 and January 2011, were roughly equivalent to $8,500, and represented only about a quarter of the total apartment cost.  Moreover, while Hnia Amal’s cleaning company received money for the work that F.H. performed, F.H. did not receive any pay for her work on behalf of Hnia Amal’s cleaning company.

According to the statement of facts entered with Abdelkader Amal’s plea agreement, Amal previously held an A-1 diplomatic visa as a military official in the Moroccan embassy in Washington, D.C.  After Amal retired in 2003 as the defense supply attaché, he was no longer eligible to sponsor individuals for domestic employment under an A-3 visa.

The defendants face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when they are sentenced on July 11, 2014.  As part of the plea agreement, the defendants also agreed to pay at least $52,700 in restitution to F.H.  In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.  The case was jointly prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Alexandria Bogle of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Matthew T. Grady of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

NORFOLK, Va. – Shawn H. Spencer, 33, of Virginia Beach, Va., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess controlled substances.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and Police Chief Jim A. Cervera, Virginia Beach Police Department, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard.

Spencer was indicted on April 9, 2014 by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracyand maintaining drug-involved premises. Spencer faces a maximum penalty of 40 years when he is sentenced on August 7, 2014.

According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from approximately June of 2012 to November 2013, Spencer and others manufactured, distributed and possessed heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana and alprazolam.  The drugs that were sold by Spencer resulted in several overdoses among several individuals, including students of Cox and First Colonial High Schools in Virginia Beach.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Virginia Beach Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Comstock is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

WASHINGTON – Josef Dörig, 72, of Switzerland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in connection with his work as the owner of a trust company in Switzerland.  Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia and IRS-Criminal Investigation Chief Richard Weber made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.  Dörig was charged in a one count superseding indictment on July 21, 2011.  Sentencing is set for Aug. 8, 2014, and Dörig faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.

“Today’s plea further pulls back the curtain on efforts by Swiss banks to help U.S. taxpayers evade taxes through the use of sham trusts and foundations,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole.  “Rest assured, the days of bank secrecy for U.S. tax cheats in Switzerland – and around the world – are numbered.”

“This plea sends a strong message to those who use or help others use offshore bank accounts to evade U.S. taxes,” said Assistant Attorney General Keneally.  “We are receiving information from a variety of sources and are committed to investigating and prosecuting this wrongdoing.”

“We will continue to investigate and prosecute banks and individuals who assist U.S. citizens in the evasion of income taxes with overseas accounts,” said U.S. Attorney Boente.  “The doors are quickly closing on this illegal activity.”

“Assisting American taxpayers to evade their tax obligations with the use of secret bank accounts held in sham entities violates the law, and we will find those who are doing it,” said Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber.  “IRS-CI will pursue those who use anonymous offshore accounts to avoid paying their fair share.  IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to have shared our hallmark expertise in following the money trail in this and other increasingly sophisticated criminal schemes.” .

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Dörig admitted that between 1997 and 2011, while owning and operating a trust company, he engaged in a wide-ranging conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. customers in evading their income taxes by concealing assets and income in secret bank accounts held in the names of sham entities at a financial institution referred to in the superseding indictment as International Bank (IB), one of the biggest banks in Switzerland and one of the largest wealth managers in the world.

According to the statement of facts, from 1972 to 1996, Dörig worked for a subsidiary of IB.  The subsidiary formed, managed and maintained nominee tax haven entities.  Individuals concealed their assets by holding their accounts at IB in the names of these tax haven entities.  During this time, the subsidiary managed and maintained over 100 sham entities for U.S. taxpayers committing tax evasion.

Also included in the statement of facts, in 1997, executives at the subsidiary devised a plan to spin off all of these sham entities into a new trust company, Dörig Partner AG, to be owned and operated by Dörig, who was then an employee of the subsidiary.  Dörig was required to make his best efforts to keep the existing accounts at IB open and to ensure that any clients referred to him by IB would open new accounts at that institution. 

According to the statement of facts, IB promoted Dörig Partner as a provider of various entity structures.  The phone list used in IB’s New York representative office identified Dörig Partner as an external trust expert.  Dörig Partner also sublet space from IB in an office tower where a private bank owned by IB was the major tenant. 

As part of the conspiracy, Dörig traveled to the United States to introduce himself to new clients he had obtained as part of the spin-off.  In the following years, he traveled to the United States with bankers from IB, including his co-defendants Markus Walder, Marco Parenti-Adami and Michele Bergantino, to meet with existing and prospective clients who already had undeclared accounts at IB but had been identified by the IB’s bankers as potential candidates for the use of a structure.

According to the statement of facts, although Dörig ostensibly controlled both the structure and the account at IB, in practice, many of the U.S. taxpayers with undeclared accounts controlled the assets in those accounts by dealing directly with IB bankers, often without either the knowledge or consent of Dörig.

According to the statement of facts, in 2008, IB ordered Dörig Partner to close accounts for the structures they managed.  Dörig turned to an asset manager at a financial services firm in Zurich for assistance.  The financial services firm maintained a master account in its own name at a private bank in Gibraltar, and then opened sub-accounts for Dörig’s clients at that bank to which Dörig transferred the funds from the clients’ undeclared accounts at IB.  The financial services firm provided the Gibraltar bank only with the number associated with each sub-account and did not inform the bank of any information regarding the owners of the assets in the sub-accounts. 

This case is being investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark D. Lytle and Trial Attorneys Mark F. Daly and Nanette L. Davis of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.  

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

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today that they had reached an agreement with Penske Truck Leasing Co. resolving claims that Penske violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by failing to properly reemploy and then terminating U.S. Air Force Reserve Member William Mann following his return from required military training with his reserve unit.

According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Mann was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant in 2011 from the U.S. Air Force after serving with the 512 Mortuary Affairs Squadron at Dover Air Force Base.  During his service, Mann suffered a service-related injury.  Immediately upon his discharge, Mann notified Penske of his ability to return to work with some medical limitations.  The complaint alleged that Penske refused to reemploy Mann, instead placing him on short term leave.  In October 2011, while Mann was on short-term leave, he informed Penske that he would need more time to fully recover from his injuries.  Two months later, Penske terminated Mann’s employment.

USERRA protects the rights of members of the uniformed services to retain their civilian employment following absences due to military service obligations, and expressly requires employers to accommodate injured servicemembers when they return from military service.

“Congress enacted USERRA to protect our men and women in uniform from experiencing the kind of injustice experienced by Mr. Mann,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing federal laws that protect the employment rights of our servicemembers.”

Under the terms of the settlement, which was filed as a consent decree simultaneously with the complaint, Penske has agreed to pay $85,000 in lost wages to Mann. 

“Members of the Air Force Reserve sacrifice time away from their jobs to serve their country,” said U.S. Attorney Boente.  “When servicemembers are injured in relation to their service, USERRA ensures that they are not discriminated against and that their employment rights are protected.”

This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) following an investigation by the DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.  The case is being handled by the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, who work collaboratively with the DOL to protect the jobs and benefits of National Guard and Reserve servicemembers upon their return to civilian life.

Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department website and the division website, as well as on the DOL’s website.

NORFOLK, Va. – Todd Jackson, 25, of Newport News, Va., was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to pass counterfeit money.    

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; William Frantzen, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office; and Police Chief Jim A. Cervera, Virginia Beach Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr.

Jackson pleaded guilty on January 28, 2014.  According to court documents, Jackson was stopped by Virginia Beach Police Department in July 2013.  Jackson was with a 17 year old girl who was listed as a runaway.  The girl stated that she had been working as a prostitute for Jackson for the past 10 days in the Hampton Roads area.  She stated that Jackson bought her new clothes to make her look older and told her to tell everyone she was actually 19 or 20 years old. Jackson took all of the money she made and he advertised her services on backpage.com. 

In addition, Jackson was also indicted and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pass counterfeit currency.  Todd Jackson, along with Alicia McDuffie and Curtis Crumity who were also convicted, passed thousands of dollars of counterfeit currency to various Target stores in the Hampton Roads areas.  The defendants would purchase high-dollar gift cards or toys, and then return the toys to the same or different Target stores in exchange for genuine currency.

The sex trafficking case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Virginia Beach Police Department.  The counterfeit case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.  Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

RICHMOND, Va. – Jacquis Depree Nelson, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today to 51 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  Nelson was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $261,552.00 to Wells Fargo Bank.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and William G. Frantzen, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior United States District Judge Robert E. Payne.

Nelson pleaded guilty on February 3, 2014.  According to court documents, he participated in a conspiracy involving the unauthorized withdrawal of over $260,000 from accounts held at Wells Fargo Bank.  Members of the conspiracy created false forms of identification for several real Wells Fargo accountholders, using personal identifying information obtained without lawful authority.  Nelson and his co-conspirators traveled from Georgia and other locations to bank branches in Virginia and South Carolina, where they posed as the individual accountholders.  Using customer account information and the false forms of identification, Nelson and his co-conspirators withdrew the funds from numerous Wells Fargo accounts between November 2012 and January 2013.  The co-conspirators divided the stolen proceeds among themselves following the withdrawals.

Nelson’s co-conspirator, Anthony Romey Carter, of Elk Grove, California, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced on August 8, 2013, to 61 months’ imprisonment for his role in the scheme. 

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.  Assistant United States Attorneys Dominick S. Gerace and Michael Gill prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.