Western District of Washington

Seattle – A 39-year-old woman from Seattle was convicted late yesterday of five federal felonies related to the sexual abuse of children, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Shabnam Dawn Pilisuk was convicted following a four-day jury trial. Pilisuk is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Tana Lin on May 31, 2023.

According to records filed in the case, a Seattle Police detective uncovered information about a website that included discussion of incest and child abuse. The investigation revealed that Pilisuk was the founder and operator of the website. The investigation further revealed that Pilisuk had traveled with an 11-year-old and sexually molested the child. The website is no longer functioning.

In March 2019, Seattle Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) served a judicially authorized search warrant on Pilisuk’s West Seattle Home. They seized her electronic devices. The devices were forensically examined and determined to have images of child sexual abuse. In November 2021, a victim disclosed the sexual abuse that began when the child was 11 years old.

The jury convicted Pilisuk of: Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor under 12, punishable by a mandatory minimum 30 years to life in prison; Production of Child Pornography punishable by a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison to 30 years in prison; two counts of Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity punishable by a mandatory minimum ten years to life in prison; and Possession of Child Pornography, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The actual sentence will be determined by U.S. District Judge Tana Lin after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Pilisuk remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matt Hampton and Special Assistant United States Attorney Laura Harmon. Ms. Harmon is a Senior King County Deputy Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.

Seattle – In two separate criminal cases, Western Washington artists pleaded guilty today to violations of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA) by representing themselves as Native American artists, when they have no tribal enrollment or heritage, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. The men, 52-year-old Lewis Anthony Rath, of Maple Falls, Washington, and 67-year-old Jerry Chris Van Dyke aka Jerry Witten, of Seattle, both pleaded guilty today and will be sentenced on May 17, 2023.

“When non-Native artists falsely claim Indian heritage, they can take sales away from true Indian artists working to support themselves with skills and techniques handed down for generations,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Stores and galleries need to partner with artists to ensure those artisans and craftsmen advertised as Indian Artists truly have tribal status.”

The investigation of Jerry Van Dyke began in February 2019, when the Indian Arts and Crafts Board received a complaint that Van Dyke was representing himself as a Nez Perce Indian Artist, when in fact, he is not an enrolled tribal member. Investigators from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made undercover purchases at a gallery in the Pike Place Market area of Seattle that advertised pendants Van Dyke had made as Native American

art. Van Dyke used the name Witten for these sales. When interviewed by agents, Van Dyke admitted knowing about the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, and admitted he was not a tribal member. Through the gallery Van Dyke had sold more than $1,000 worth of carved pendants represented as Native American artwork based on Aleut masks. According to the plea agreement, Van Dyke had worked with the gallery for more than ten years, with the gallery owner providing him with woolly mammoth ivory, antlers, animal bones and fossilized walrus ivory to make the pendants that it sold.

Van Dyke pleaded guilty to Misrepresentation of Indian Produced Goods and Products. The crime is punishable by up to one year in prison.

The investigation of Anthony Rath began in May 2019, after a complaint to the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. The investigation revealed that Rath falsely represented himself to be a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Undercover agents purchased a carved totem pole and necklace from the same Pike Place Market gallery for more than $1,334. Agents noticed the gallery had other carvings by Rath that were represented as Native produced. At another shop on the Seattle waterfront agents purchased

another carved totem pole and a mask, again represented to be Indian produced. The biography of the artist at both shops falsely claimed that Rath was Native American. Internet sites Rath used to sell his artwork also falsely claim he is an enrolled member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

When agents executed a search warrant on Rath’s Whatcom County home and studio, they found he also possessed feathers from protected birds: golden eagles and other migratory birds such as hawks, jays, owls and more. Rath is forfeiting all those feathers to the government.

Rath pleaded guilty to Misrepresentation of Indian Produced Goods and Products, Unlawful Possession of Golden Eagle Parts and Unlawful Possession of Migratory Bird Parts. Misrepresentation of Indian Produced Goods and Products and Unlawful Possession of Golden Eagle Parts are punishable by up to one year in prison, while Unlawful Possession of Migratory Bird Parts is punishable by up to six months in prison.

“The Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) is very pleased that Jerry Chris Van Dyke and Anthony Rath have been brought to justice for their roles in selling fake Indian artwork in violation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act,” said U.S Department of the Interior IACB Director Meridith Stanton. The IACB is responsible by statute for administering the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, an anti-counterfeiting statute adopted by Congress aimed at ridding the Indian arts and crafts market of fakes like those being sold by defendants Van Dyke and Rath. “Cases like these are critical to preserving the integrity and viability of authentic Native American art and craftwork in general, as well as preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Nez Perce Tribe and the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the economic livelihoods of their artists and craftspeople,” Director Stanton added. “The IACB applauds the diligent work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office-Western District of Washington and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service IACA Enforcement Unit in investigating and prosecuting these important cases.” 

“Protecting Native American culture and traditions is a critical part of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act,” said Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's dedicated team of special agents work on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board to uphold the rule of law and ensure that those who choose to misrepresent the marketing of Indian arts and crafts products are brought to justice. Lewis Anthony Rath and Jerry Van Dyke took advantage of Native American artists and U.S. consumers for personal and financial gain and should be held accountable for their actions.” 

Under the terms of the plea agreement Van Dyke and prosecutors will both recommend no prison term. However, the ultimate sentence is up to U.S. District Judge Tana Lin.

There is no agreed sentencing recommendation for Rath.

The cases are being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney and Tribal Liaison J. Tate London.

Seattle – One of the leaders of a violent international drug trafficking organization that distributed heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in the Puget Sound region was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 148 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jose Elias Barbosa, 37, of Kent, Washington, was sentenced to 5 years of supervised release to follow prison. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said Barbosa had a leadership role in a massive drug trafficking organization that used guns and threats of violence to collect debts.

“This cartel connected drug trafficking ring damaged our community with dangerous drugs, and with their guns and threats of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Our focus is on curtailing the flow of dangerous and addictive drugs into western Washington. We need the community to work together to reduce the market for these substances.”

“Every day the men and women of the DEA in Seattle and throughout the US are working tirelessly to stop dangerous drugs from entering our country,” said Jacob D. Galvan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Seattle Field Division. “We will continue with all of our partners in holding those like Mr. Barbosa accountable and protecting our communities from illicit narcotics, guns, and violence.”

According to records filed in the case, Barbosa pleaded guilty in August 2022, admitting he was one of the leaders of a transnational drug trafficking organization. Law enforcement has linked the organization to the CJNG cartel in Mexico. In November 2019, the DTO received a shipment of liquid methamphetamine concealed in candles. Barbosa helped DTO members to extract the methamphetamine and cook it into crystal form at a Port Orchard, Washington location.

While surveilling the Port Orchard residence, law enforcement heard multiple gunshots and later learned Barbosa had been shot in the collarbone. Members of the drug ring grew concerned law enforcement would arrive at the Port Orchard house, so they loaded the meth infused candle wax into a van. The van was later stopped by law enforcement who seized the meth and the processing equipment.

In all, Barbosa was responsible for the distribution of at least 55 pounds of methamphetamine, 600 grams of heroin, and fentanyl throughout Western Washington and elsewhere.

The wiretapped phone calls revealed that Barbosa pursued those who owed drug debts to the organization and possessed firearms during the drug conspiracy. According to the plea agreement, on one occasion, Barbosa took a car from another DTO member to satisfy a drug debt. Barbosa later threatened that same DTO member. The wiretapped calls show Barbosa and others talked frequently about kidnappings, assaults, and even murders as ways to get debtors to pay up.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Tacoma Resident Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET), Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Thurston County Narcotics Team (TNT), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.

Seattle – U.S. Attorney Nick Brown will be joined by more than 30 other U.S. Attorneys from across the country as a delegation to commemorate the 58th Anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the March over Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Over March 4-6, 2023, U.S. Attorneys from across the country will meet with community and civil rights leaders while exploring some of the significant and educational civil rights institutions in Alabama.

“As the leaders of the Department of Justice in our districts, we can never forget the historic events that shaped our history and inform our work today,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “We will be meeting with distinguished Federal Judge Myron Thompson, learning about the important work of the Johnson institute, and exploring the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. As we grapple with hate crimes and civil rights abuses in our own states, these resources bring home what is at stake in our civil rights work.”

In addition to the Selma March scheduled for Sunday March 5, 2023, the U.S. Attorneys will meet with Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, as part of the subcommittee work supporting the Attorney General Advisory Committee (AGAC).

Other meetings and visits during the trip will focus on both historic civil rights conflicts and issues that are still fresh today.

• The group will meet with distinguished jurist Myron Thompson, the first Black Assistant Attorney General for Alabama and the second Black Federal Judge in the state. As the former Chief Judge in the Middle District of Alabama, Judge Thompson was instrumental in preserving the Montgomery bus station where the Freedom Riders were attacked in 1961 and the establishment of the Freedom Rides Museum. Judge Thompson is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall award for his “personal contributions and extraordinary commitment to the advancement of civil rights.”
• The group will also meet with Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons.
• The attorneys will visit The Johnson Institute in the Montgomery federal courthouse where many key civil rights cases were decided. The Johnson Institute demonstrates through its programming the importance of the U.S. Constitution and the independent judiciary.
• They will go to The Legacy Museum, which provides a comprehensive history on the legacy of slavery. Lynching, codified racial segregation, and the emergence of over-incarceration in the 20th century, are examined in depth and brought to life through film, images, and first-person narratives at the museum. 
• At the Memorial for Peace and Justice the group will reflect on America’s History of racial injustice. Set on a six-acre site, the memorial uses sculpture, art, and design to contextualize racial terror. The site includes a memorial square with 800 six-foot monuments to symbolize thousands of racial terror lynching victims in the United States.

The U.S. Attorneys from these districts are attending the Selma and Montgomery events: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, South Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, Western and Middle Districts of Louisiana,  Eastern District of Wisconsin, Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, Middle District of Florida, Northern and Eastern  Districts of California, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Virginia, Western District of North Carolina, Southern District of Ohio, Eastern District of New York, and the Southern District of West Virginia.

U.S. Attorney Brown and Civil Rights Subcommittee Vice-Chair Rachael Rollins are appreciative of the work done by the Middle District of Alabama to host the delegation.

Seattle – The U.S. Attorney’s Office and Lincoln Pharmacy in Tacoma have reached a settlement agreement over inspection findings by the Drug Enforcement Administration that Lincoln had failed to comply with some of the administrative requirements of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Lincoln Pharmacy will pay the United States $80,000 to resolve the claims. The settlement is one in a series of enforcement actions the DEA has taken with providers and pharmacies over administrative violations of the CSA.

“The Controlled Substances Act has requirements for medical professionals and pharmacies so that certain narcotic substances are carefully tracked,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Those requirements are designed to allow DEA to monitor the distribution of these drugs to try to combat abuse and addiction and the harms that follow.”

The settlement with Lincoln Pharmacy states that during an inspection in June 2021, DEA found that in a variety of ways, Lincoln Pharmacy failed to appropriately track controlled substances coming to the pharmacy. For example: Lincoln Pharmacy failed to maintain records on substances such as oxycodone and hydrocodone between March 2020 and June 2021; Lincoln Pharmacy’s inventories of scheduled drugs were inadequate; the pharmacy failed to keep records of when and how much of certain scheduled drugs were delivered to the pharmacy; the pharmacy failed to secure some of the controlled substances; and the pharmacy failed to keep the ‘private key’ secure - something used to sign DEA orders.

Lincoln is paying the $80,000 settlement but does not admit any liability.

This is the third entity to settle administrative claims with the U.S. Attorney’s Office over administrative failure to follow the Controlled Substances Act.

In September 2021, JRK Pharma Inc d/b/a Edmonds Pharmacy settled allegations that between October 2019 and May 2021, it filled 347 prescriptions for controlled substances written by two practitioners who either did not have valid state licensed to practice medicine or did not have an active DEA license to prescribe controlled substances. Edmonds Pharmacy paid $20,000 to resolve the allegations and does not admit liability.

In August 2022, Dr. Akiko Kato, a naturopathic physician, signed a settlement stating that she prescribed controlled substances that were outside her naturopathic license and limitations under the CSA. Between October 2016 and October 2021, she wrote 644 prescriptions for substances such as Dextroamphetamine, Alprazolam, Clonazepam, Ketamine, and Phentermine. Dr. Kato was not authorized to prescribe such prescriptions. Dr. Kato paid a $37,500 settlement.

These cases were a result of a concerted focus of DEA to prevent pharmacies from filling prescriptions written by providers without prescribing authority for those substances. 

“The DEA will hold those medical practitioners accountable who fail to comply with the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) in order to deter pharmaceuticals from being abused,” said Jacob D. Galvan, Acting Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. 

The DEA investigated these matters and the cases were resolved by Assistant United States Attorneys Matt Waldrop and Ashley Burns.

Seattle – A 62-year-old Seattle man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to conspiring to defraud the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of $646,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Joseph M. Freeman used the names of two companies he registered to try to obtain forgivable Paycheck Protection Loans to protect the salaries of non-existent employees. After detecting the fraud, federal investigators froze approximately $220,000 that remained in Freeman’s bank account and returned it to the Small Business Administration. Freemen will be sentenced for the fraud conspiracy on May 16, 2023.

According to the plea agreement, in May 2020, Freeman and his coconspirators used information about a company he formed in 2004 to claim $500,000 in PPP funds. Freeman claimed Special Delivery LLC had 15 employees and a payroll of $200,000 per month, when in fact it had no employees other than Freeman. Freeman used fake Internal Revenue Forms to make it appear the company had employees and sought $500,000 in PPP funds. On May 20, 2020, the loan proceeds were wired to Freeman’s bank. After receiving the funds, Freeman created an account with a payroll service to disburse the funds to individuals who were not employees of the company.

On June 15, 2020, Freeman and his coconspirators submitted a second fake application. Freeman claimed New Jack Trucking LLC had 10 employees and a monthly payroll of $58,400. Freeman and his associates claimed the business had been in operation in February 2020 even though the entity never had any genuine business activity. The coconspirators used fake IRS forms and a falsified bank statement to make it appear New Jack Trucking had employees. On June 16, 2020, Freeman and his coconspirators obtained $146,000 for that fraudulent application.

Freeman supplied some of the loan proceeds to his coconspirators and used some of the funds for his own benefit. In July 2020, after federal investigators detected the fraud and notified Freeman’s bank, approximately $220,000 of the loan proceeds were frozen and returned to the Small Business Administration. The net loss from the scheme is $426,666.

Conspiracy to Commit Theft of Government Funds is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross monetary gain to the defendant or the gross monetary loss to the victims of the offense. Prosecutors have agreed to recommend no more than two years in prison for Freeman.

This case was investigated by the U.S Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cindy Chang.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Seattle – Two Nigerian citizens who currently reside in Toronto, Canada, have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their scheme to steal COVID-19 disaster benefits and U.S. tax refunds, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, 45, was arrested yesterday in Frankfurt, Germany, as he traveled back to Canada from Nigeria.  Fatiu Ismaila Lawal, 45, was arrested in Canada. Each defendant remains in Germany or Canada respectively pending extradition to the U.S.

“These men are accused of using the stolen identities of thousands of Americans to submit over 1,700 claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to over 25 different states, including Washington State,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “My Office is committed to bringing to justice those accused of exploiting a time of crisis to illegally enrich themselves, whether they are in the United States or abroad.”

“These arrests demonstrate the Department’s commitment to bring together our law enforcement partners and pursue these alleged fraudsters around the world,” said Department of Justice Acting Director of COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Michael C. Galdo. “I applaud the hard work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, thank our domestic and international partners for their continued assistance, and look forward to seeing additional results from the data analysis identifying suspected pandemic relief fraud.”

According to the indictment, Lawal and Ambali used the stolen personal information of thousands of U.S. taxpayers and residents to file fraudulent claims for COVID-19 pandemic assistance and false tax returns seeking refunds. In total, the claims sought approximately $25 million, but the conspirators obtained approximately $2.4 million, primarily from pandemic unemployment benefits.  

The co-conspirators allegedly submitted claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to over 25 states including New York, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, California, and Washington. Using 13 Google accounts they filed some 900 claims. The co-conspirators also allegedly established four internet domain names that they then used for fraud – creating some 800 different email addresses that were used for fraud.

Lawal and Ambali allegedly filed some 2300 fraudulent income tax returns seeking over $7.1 million in tax refunds. The IRS caught most of the fraud and paid only about $30,000 in fraudulent refunds.

The co-conspirators also attempted to use the stolen identities for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to defraud the Small Business Administration. 

According to the indictment, the co-conspirators had the proceeds of their fraud sent to cash cards or to “money mules” who transferred the funds according to instructions given by the co-conspirators. They also allegedly used stolen identities to open bank accounts and have the money deposited directly into those accounts for their use.

Lawal and Ambali are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, ten counts of wire fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft.

The conspiracy and wire fraud counts are punishable by up to 30 years in prison.  Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory minimum two years in prison to run consecutive to any other prison time imposed in the case.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The National Unemployment Fraud Task Force provided a lead on this case to the investigative team in Western Washington. The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG). Also contributing to the investigation were Washington State Employment Security Division (ESD), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Small Business Administration (SBA). 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cindy Chang and Seth Wilkinson of the Western District of Washington. DOJ’s Office of International Affairs is assisting. 

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

lawal_and_ambali_indictment.pdf

Seattle – A 31-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to five years in prison for federal crimes related to his distribution of fentanyl pills in downtown Seattle and his armed shoplifting in Bellevue, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Kendall Alston was arrested on March 23, 2022, after Seattle Police Officers noted his hand-to-hand drug sales. The officers had been surveilling the area of 3rd Avenue between Pike and Pine Streets as part of “Operation New Day.” The emphasis patrol was aimed at increasing public safety in the Pike/Pine corridor where drug sales had led the area to become a hot spot for other crimes including assaults and shootings.

“Mr. Alston was armed with a loaded handgun while dealing potentially deadly fentanyl pills in downtown Seattle,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Drugs and guns are a deadly combination and getting both off the street is a priority for the community.”

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, an officer in an observation point above the street witnessed a person in distinctive clothing engaging in what appeared to be a hand-to-hand drug sale. The officer returned to street level and saw the person later identified as Alston make another drug sale. Officers moved in and took Alston into custody. Alston carried 244 blue pills that were later tested and found to contain fentanyl. In his backpack, Alston carried a loaded Hi-Point .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun.

After a 3-day trial in August 2022, the jury deliberated about three hours before finding Alston guilty of knowingly distributing fentanyl, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Following the guilty verdicts, Alston agreed to plead guilty to two additional counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The counts are related to his March arrest in downtown Seattle with the firearm, and a previous January 2022 arrest for shoplifting in Bellevue, where he was found to be carrying a different firearm.

Alston is prohibited from possessing firearms due to two felony convictions, a 2018 residential burglary conviction in Pierce County, and a 2013 residential burglary conviction in King County.

At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Lauren J. King noted Alston was “an intelligent young man engaging in high-risk behavior…. Possessing a firearm while dealing drugs adds to the danger.”

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cecelia Gregson and Casey Conzatti.

Tacoma – A former Staff Sergeant stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 22 years in prison for sex trafficking children, producing images of child sexual abuse, and traveling to sexually abuse children. Moeun Yoeun, 40, of Steilacoom, Washington, pleaded guilty in August 2022, admitting that young girls in the Philippines were threatened with death if they refused his sexual assaults. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle called the crimes “vicious, heinous, and cruel.”

“Mr. Yoeun weaponized his position of trust as a noncommissioned officer in the United States Army, to sexually exploit and cause irreversible trauma to impoverished girls in the Philippines,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “He cruelly threatened their lives if they tried to flee from his violent sexual assaults.  This lengthy sentence is necessary to deter Mr. Yoeun and others who prey on children.”

In his plea agreement, Yoeun admitted to, over the course of several years, using adult and child residents of the Philippines to recruit more than a dozen other children to produce pornography. Yoeun further admitted to travelling to the Philippines and engaging in sexual acts with at least 6 children in exchange for nominal amounts of money.

Prosecutors cited numerous studies showing the long-term damage suffered by child sex abuse victims, concluding, ”[f]urther research only confirmed and expanded upon this emerging understanding of these insidious effects of childhood sexual trauma. Studies now tell us that the numerous child victims in this case, as a direct consequence of the Defendant’s violent sexual attacks, will face an elevated risk of alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, sexual promiscuity, and suicide.”

Yoeun will be required to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison and will be on federal supervision for 15 years.

The FBI and U.S. Army CID, with the assistance of the Philippine National Police, investigated this case as part of the South Sound Child Exploitation Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Grady J. Leupold and Matthew P. Hampton.

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.justice.gov/psc

Seattle – A federal grand jury in Seattle today returned an indictment charging Rangel Ramirez-Manzano with four federal felonies related to his treatment of a victim smuggled into the U.S. at his direction, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Ramirez-Manzano, 55, allegedly paid smugglers $17,000 to bring the female victim to the United States from Mexico. The victim thought that she was moving to Washington to continue a long-distance romantic relationship with Ramirez-Manzano and that she would not be required to repay any costs associated with her travel across the border. Instead, she was abused and forced to work long hours to pay off the smuggling “debt.” Ramirez-Manzano allegedly threatened to kill her children if she did not continue back-breaking work for his landscaping business. Ramirez-Manzano will be arraigned on the indictment on February 23, 2023.

“Mr. Ramirez-Manzano allegedly stripped all human dignity from the victim in this case, forcing her to work long hours while he isolated and abused her,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Human trafficking is often called modern day slavery. I am pleased that our office is a leader in pursuing justice for victims in these difficult cases.”

According to records filed in the case, Ramirez-Manzano had known the victim when she was young in Mexico. He pursued a long-distance relationship with the victim, urging her to move to the U.S. to be his girlfriend. Ramirez-Manzano allegedly paid for her to be smuggled across the border and into southern California. Ramirez-Manzano picked her up from the smugglers and paid them. Almost immediately upon arriving in Washington, he forced her to begin hard labor for his landscaping business and threatened her, assaulted her, and threatened the children she left behind in Mexico.

The case files describe how he isolated her from others, restricted her food, and failed to pay her any wages for months of strenuous work at various landscaping job locations.

The victim was finally able to escape from Ramirez-Manzano’s home and asked a neighbor to call 9-1-1. The Monroe Police responded and took the victim for medical attention for multiple injuries. The FBI joined the Monroe Police in investigating the case. Ramirez-Manzano was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in September 2022. He has remained in federal custody ever since.

The indictment today adds a criminal count for forced labor. Currently trial is scheduled for September of 2023.

Forced labor is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Transporting an alien for financial gain and harboring an alien for financial gain is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain is punishable by a mandatory minimum three years in prison and up to ten years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham. Ms. Crisham is the Western District of Washington coordinator of our efforts to stop human trafficking.

Seattle –A 49-year-old resident of Elk Grove, California, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to Conspiracy to Transport and Harbor Certain Aliens for Profit and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Rajinder Pal Singh, aka Jaspal Gill, admits that he took in more than $500,000 as a key member of a smuggling ring bringing hundreds of Indian Nationals across the border from Canada and then to locations in the mid-west and beyond. Sentencing before U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour is scheduled for May 9, 2023.

According to records filed in the case, as early as July 2018, Singh and his coconspirators used the ride share app Uber to transport people who had illegally crossed the border from Canada to the Seattle area. Those records detail how trips beginning near the border in the early hours of the morning, would be split between different rides. For example, one Uber trip would be from the border to Sea-Tac airport, and then minutes later the second Uber trip would be from a nearby airport hotel to an address in Lacey, Washington, owned by Singh’s spouse. All told, from mid-2018 to May 2022, Singh arranged more than 600 trips involving the transportation of Indian Nationals who had been illegally smuggled into the U.S.

Once the non-citizens had been smuggled into the U.S., Singh coordinated with other coconspirators who, using one-way vehicle rentals, would transport these individuals to their ultimate destinations outside Washington State. The organization’s fee for their smuggling services was as much as $11,000 per person.

Singh and his coconspirators used sophisticated means to launder the organization’s illicit proceeds. For example, on one instance, Singh and his coconspirators arranged for smuggling fees to be sent via Hawala from India to New York. Once the smuggling fee was received in cash from the New York Hawala, these funds were converted into a check, mailed to a coconspirator in Kentucky, and then were washed through multiple financial accounts. In the plea agreement, Singh admitted that the purpose of this money movement was to obscure the illicit nature of these funds, i.e., money laundering.

The smuggling scheme has been underway since at least 2018. It slowed during the pandemic, when Canada was not admitting non-citizens. However as pandemic restrictions were lifted, the smuggling scheme became active again. In all, the investigation estimates that between July 2018, and April 2022, the 17 Uber accounts tied to this smuggling ring ran up more than $80,000 in charges.

In addition to the search of the home in Lacey, law enforcement searched two of Singh’s residences in California. During the search of one of his homes in Elk Grove, California, investigators found about $45,000 in cash as well as counterfeit identity documents. They also found copies of falsified documents that had been submitted to immigration judges in Washington during bond hearings for non-citizens who had been smuggled into the United States by Singh and his coconspirators, but who had been arrested by immigration authorities after illegally crossing the border.

Conspiracy to Transport and Harbor Illegal Aliens for Profit and Conspiracy to Launder Money are both punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Singh has agreed to forfeit cash and other personal property seized during the search of his residences, as well as a money judgement of $500,000 which represents proceeds he obtained from his criminal scheme.

Both sides have agreed to recommend that Singh serve 45 months in prison. Singh is not legally present in the United States and will likely be deported following his prison term. The actual sentence will be determined by Judge Coughenour after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The investigation is being led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joe Silvio.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today 49 awards to states, territories, and the District of Columbia as part of the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program. This investment of over $231 million will fund state crisis intervention court proceedings, including but not limited to, extreme risk protection order (ERPO) programs that work to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others. This investment in community safety is authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, historic legislation to address and reduce gun violence.

“The Justice Department is working relentlessly to protect communities from violent crime and the gun violence that often drives it, and the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program is an important part of that effort,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “These awards will support the kinds of crisis intervention programs that we know save lives and help protect children, families, and communities across the country from senseless acts of gun violence.”

“The Department of Justice’s strategy to reduce violent crime and gun violence includes prioritizing support for successful, evidence-based programs,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “The grants announced today invest in and highlight proven state and local violence prevention and intervention programs, that will make our communities safer.”

These awards, administered by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), provide funding to states for the creation and implementation of extreme risk protection order programs, state crisis intervention court proceedings, and related gun violence reduction initiatives. Extreme risk protection order programs empower family members, health care providers, school officials and law enforcement officers to petition a court to temporarily prevent a person from accessing firearms if they are found to be a danger to themselves or others. Funds can also support interventions like drug, mental health and veterans’ treatment courts, gun violence recovery courts, behavior health deflection and outpatient treatment centers.

“Protecting communities from gun crime is an urgent public safety challenge and a critical part of the Justice Department’s work to ensure that everyone in this country can live free from the fear of violence,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The resources we are announcing today will give communities the tools they need to prevent firearm violence and deliver support to those who are at risk of committing or being victimized by gun crime.”

“Washington state is a leader in the development of Extreme Risk Protection Orders – and this DOJ funding will improve implementation and knowledge of the program in courts and communities across the state,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Just today the shooting at Michigan State brings home to need to keep firearms away from those who are troubled and pose a risk to themselves or others. I’m pleased to see DOJ getting these funds out where they can make an impact.”

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act also seeks to ensure that extreme risk protection order laws and programs are implemented in accordance with the Constitution and provide for adequate due process protections. Projects funded under this program will need to demonstrate that they have taken measures to safeguard the constitutional rights of an individual subject to a crisis intervention program or ERPO initiative. The Justice Department has long supported state efforts to increase the use of ERPOs and in 2021 the Department released model legislation to help states create their own extreme risk protection order systems and provide for intervention before warning signs turn into tragedy.

Signed into law by President Biden in June 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is the most significant piece of federal gun safety legislation in almost three decades and comes as a response to recent mass shootings and to the far more common, but no less tragic, incidents of community gun violence. Including the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program, the law allocates a total of $1.4 billion to OJP over five years to develop, implement, and sustain meaningful investments in safer communities.

“These awards will help meet two monumental public safety challenges — the alarming proliferation of gun violence in our country and the clear need for front-end interventions to slow the cycle of violence and victimization in our most underserved communities,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “The Bureau of Justice Assistance is proud to make these resources available to states as a critical part of its mission to reduce and prevent crime and to promote a fair and effective criminal justice system.”

For a full list of awards, please visit: https://data.ojp.usdoj.gov/stories/s/O-BJA-2023-171458/b5xz-as5z/. These awards are the latest effort from the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs to implement this historic legislation.

Seattle – A 44-year-old Renton, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 11 years in prison for federal drug and gun crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. David Christopher Pitts was arrested in December 2021, following an undercover investigation of his drug trafficking activities. At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones urged Pitts to recognize the damage drug addiction does in our community saying, “Look at all the people you see in our city clutching foil and a straw… You are feeding their addiction every day… They can’t pay their rent, they can’t feed their children… They may have an addiction because of what you put into the community… I want you to develop a conscience beyond the money you put in your pocket.”

“Mr. Pitts has consistently shown that he cannot live in the community without endangering others,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Firearms are destroying countless lives, and Mr. Pitts’ possession of 25 firearms, combined with his extensive drug trafficking activity, is alarming. I hope that this sanction will convince him to change his ways.”

According to records filed in the case, in November and December 2021, a person working with law enforcement purchased fentanyl from Pitts at his residence in Renton. After obtaining a search warrant, Seattle Police officers arrested Pitts without incident and searched his residence. In the main bedroom, officers found three different handguns – one of them stolen. In the closet of the bedroom, there was a hard-shell case containing methamphetamine, fentanyl, and Xanax bars. In a safe, in that same closet, investigators found heroin, cocaine, suboxone, ketamine, fentanyl pills, and medical grade fentanyl. There was also more than $55,000 in cash.

In a second bedroom, which Pitts had been using as a storage space, officers found fifteen handguns, four semiautomatic assault rifles, two bolt action rifles, and a 12-guage shotgun. Throughout the residence, there were numerous items that appeared to be stolen goods, such as power tools, computer equipment, laptops, and camera gear. Many of these items are often traded for drugs.

Pitts is prohibited from possessing guns due to two prior state convictions for possessing firearms while dealing drugs.

In asking for a 12-year prison sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Erin H. Becker wrote to the court, “Looking just at his fentanyl powder and pills, the defendant intended to enrich himself by distributing more than 470,000 lethal doses. Worse, many of the doses were disguised as pharmaceutical pills that would not put the user on notice that he was ingesting such a potentially dangerous substance…. In addition, the defendant possessed 25 firearms. Several of these guns were loaded, at least one was stolen, two had extended magazines, [and] all of them were possessed to facilitate his drug trafficking.”

“One fentanyl dose may be one too many” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Considering the amount of fentanyl found in his residence, as well as the number of weapons and cash, Mr. Pitts posed an immediate and significant threat to the safety and security of our community. This case illustrates how, working with our partners, the FBI is committed to getting fentanyl off our streets.”

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department as part of the FBI’s Violent Crime, Gang and Organized Crime Task Force.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin H. Becker.

Seattle – A 24-year-old former Vancouver, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 21 years in prison for producing images of child sexual abuse, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Kaleb Michael Scott has already been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Clark County Superior Court. The sentences will run concurrently. Scott will be required to register as a sex offender when released from prison. Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo ordered him to be on lifetime supervised release following his prison sentence.

According to records filed in the case, Scott was trusted with the care of an infant in 2021. An investigation revealed that a snapchat user had uploaded images of child molestation. The snapchat account was linked to Scott. By the time the images were traced to Scott, he had relocated to Utah, but had left his phone with relatives in Vancouver. A forensic examination of the phone revealed 34 images of sexual abuse of an infant, and Google search terms related to images of child sexual abuse.

In asking for the 20-year sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Hillary Stuart wrote to the court, “As a trusted caregiver, the defendant horrifically abused his position and preyed upon the infant. Not only did he abuse the infant, he disseminated images of the abuse on the internet, where it will live forever. Further, he detailed his abuse in online chats, discussing details of the pain and suffering of a small, helpless, innocent.”

At the sentencing hearing Chief Judge Estudillo said Scott’s conduct was not only “despicable, it was calculated… He used his personal relationships to foster trust to gain access to particularly vulnerable victims, all exacerbated by having recorded his conduct, sharing images and going so far as to brag about what he was doing.”

The case was investigated by Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit of the Vancouver Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hillary Stuart.

Seattle – An Acworth, Georgia man, who was deeply involved in a bribery scheme to obtain inside information and improper benefits from Amazon employees was sentenced today to 20 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Hadis Nuhanovic, 32, used inside information to break Amazon Marketplace platform rules and increase some sellers’ income to the detriment of others. At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said there need to be significant consequences for commercial bribery. “I cannot find any other reason for your conduct than greed… Enough was not enough,” Judge Jones said.

“This was a long-running global conspiracy that not only harmed businesses selling on Amazon, it also harmed customers who purchased products unaware that they were counterfeit or the subject of customer complaints,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Mr. Nuhanovic and his coconspirators bribed Amazon employees to reinstate banned products, or to remove bad reviews. Even after Amazon fired one of the coconspirators, Mr. Nuhanovic didn’t stop, he just recruited and bribed more employees for his and his coconspirators’ benefit.”

According to records filed in the case, since 2010, Nuhanovic operated an e-commerce business selling things such as DVDs, and smartphone cases. From 2017-18 he paid more than $20,000 in bribes for inside information from an Amazon employee. The inside info gave him a competitive advantage for his own business, and he also made money by selling some of the insider information to others. Nuhanovic communicated with that insider via an encrypted message system. He also recruited other Amazon employees who also accepted bribes.

The bribes assisted Nuhanovic with his scheme to continue selling counterfeit DVDs, by using legitimate invoices provided by insiders as a basis for his forged invoices – ones he used to claim that he was not selling counterfeits. He similarly used other companies’ invoices so he could continue selling dietary supplements from unapproved suppliers – something that put customers at risk.

Nuhanovic also used the inside information to help clients get reinstated, and to gin up false allegations about competitors. One competitor was suspended from the Amazon Marketplace because of a false intellectual property complaint filed by Nuhanovic and coconspirators. The coconspirators also sought confidential information on customers who posted bad reviews so that they could harass them.

"It was not good enough for Mr. Nuhanovic to cheat the public by selling counterfeit goods” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Instead, he and his coconspirators worked to deceive unwitting customers and further enrich themselves by bribing Amazon employees to assist in the scheme. I appreciate the work of our investigators and partners to put an end to this scheme.”

In asking the court to impose a two-year sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Miriam Hinman wrote to the court, “Nuhanovic and the co-conspirators’ crimes hurt Amazon and its users by violating basic principles of secure commerce upon which everyone relies. As our economy’s dependence on digital storefronts, platforms, and data continues to grow, almost every business entrusts its employees with valuable information—from key cards to private customer information—and the law must impose consequences on those who seek to wantonly violate that trust for personal profit.”

Nuhanovic also admits cheating on his taxes. In 2019 he claimed his company had gross receipts of $826,510 for tax year 2018. The actual gross receipts figure was $1,446,540. He failed to pay $125,050 in taxes for 2018 and an additional $35,403 in 2019.

Nuhanovic pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to violate the Travel Act and Filing a False Tax Return on September 28, 2022.

Today Judge Jones ordered him to forfeit $100,000 as proceeds of the conspiracy, and to pay $160,453 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

One defendant in this case, Rohit Kadimisetty, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to ten months in prison and a $50,000 fine. Kristen Leccese and Joseph Nilsen have pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing on June 9, 2023. The remaining defendant, Ephraim Rosenberg, is scheduled for trial on May 15, 2023.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), and the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs.

Seattle – Stephen Baird, the former CEO of S-Ray, Inc., was indicted today by a federal grand jury for ten counts of wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Between 2012 and 2021, Baird, 67, formerly of Bainbridge Island, Washington, allegedly defrauded over 200 investors of more than $10.7 million by making false statements to investors. Baird is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on February 16, 2023.

“Mr. Baird is charged with defrauding investors for over a decade, falsely claiming that his company was on the cusp of making millions of dollars by selling a product that, in fact, never existed,” said United States Attorney Nick Brown. “Instead of developing the device, he is charged with secretly diverting investor funds to his own personal use, such as a private residence and a luxury car. It’s time to hold Mr. Baird accountable.”

Over many years, Baird claimed S-Ray had developed an innovative ultrasound device that would take the place of X-rays, allowing dentists to quickly and safely image patients’ mouths. Baird told investors the device delivered “astonishing results” and that the FDA had granted the company “market clearance” to sell the device. In fact, S-Ray never developed any ultrasound product capable of producing usable dental images; was never close to offering any product for sale; and never received FDA authorization to market any products.

By December 2017, Baird had terminated almost all of S-Ray’s employees. By April 2019, the Chief Technology Officer, the last remaining employee, left the company. Despite the fact that the company was essentially shut down, Baird told investors as late as 2020 that the company was worth $400 million. Baird continued to solicit investments – primarily from dentists and orthodontists – until March 2021.

Despite his representations that the investor money would be used to bring a product to market, at least 62% of the money – some $6.7 million – was used for Baird’s personal expenses or that of his family.

By the end of 2021, S-Ray had only $13,000 in its corporate account. Baird’s investors lost all of their investments.

Five of the counts of wire fraud are for emails sent or approved by Baird that were sent to investors. The other five wire fraud counts relate to deposits of investment funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil securities fraud action against Baird and S-Ray in March, 2022. On January 6, 2023, the Honorable John Chun issued an order that imposed civil penalties against Baird and S-Ray, held them liable for disgorgement of investment funds, and enjoined Baird from serving as an officer or director of certain companies, or from participating in certain types of securities transactions.

Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson.

indictment_baird.pdf

Seattle – A Blaine, Washington, auto broker and the U.S. Department of Justice have settled litigation alleging the auto broker lied about the value of vehicles it imported, in order to pay significantly less import duties, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. By reporting a lower value for the trucks than what it paid at auction, BidBuy avoided paying significantly higher import duties. BidBuy Auctions, LLC, owned by Whitney McElroy, agrees to pay $430,000 to settle allegations it undervalued light trucks purchased in Canada when importing them into the U.S. for sale.

“This conduct doesn’t just cheat the government out of revenue, it gives the business an advantage not enjoyed by other auto brokers who report their vehicle values honestly,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “This is an expensive lesson for BidBuy – one that could have been avoided if it followed the rules.”

 “U.S. Customs and Border Protection trade specialists at the Automotive and Aerospace Center of Excellence and Expertise worked diligently with CBP’s Office of Chief Counsel and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington to identify the loss of revenue to the United States Government associated with the undervaluation of these imported light trucks,” said Director of Field Operations Christopher Perry, who oversees CBP’s Automotive and Aerospace Center, headquartered in Detroit. “The men and women of CBP are committed to facilitating legitimate trade by enforcing the law, which levels the playing field for American businesses and protects our economy,” Director Perry added.

According to the settlement agreement, the discrepancy between what BidBuy paid for vehicles at auction in Canada, and what it reported to U.S. tax authorities, was first brought to the government’s attention by a qui tam lawsuit filed by a former employee.

Under the qui tam statute, the person who brings the fraud to the attention of the government collects a portion of the settlement, in this case 23% of the $430,000.

According to the qui tam litigation, the duties on imported foreign-made light trucks jumped substantially in 2020, when the U.S. exited the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and entered into the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). Effective July 1, 2020, the duty on such vehicles jumped to 25% of their value at the time of import. In one example cited in the litigation, BidBuy purchased a 2011 Dodge Ram truck at auction in Canada for the equivalent of $22,494 in U.S. dollars but told U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that the value of the truck was only $9,638. By underreporting the value of the truck, BidBuy saved approximately $3,214 in owed duties. The former employee claimed that more than 80 vehicles were similarly undervalued.

Under the terms of the settlement BidBuy does not admit any wrongdoing. The settlement allows the company to make the payments over a five-year period. The amount of the settlement was determined after an analysis of the company’s ability to pay.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Automotive and Aerospace Center of Excellence and Expertise jointly investigated the matter. The settlement was negotiated by Assistant United States Attorney Nickolas Bohl.

Seattle – A 26-year-old Everett resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 16 months in prison for possession of a stolen firearm in connection with the theft of a high-powered rifle, taken during a downtown Seattle altercation on May 30, 2020, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jacob D. Little quickly sold the stolen gun online via social media – an action that put the community at risk. “You didn’t care (who you sold it to) as long as you got paid. You sold it to someone with mental health issues,” Judge Richard A. Jones said at the sentencing. Judge Jones said the court needs to protect the community from similar actions.

According to records filed in the case, the theft of the firearm was captured by both Seattle Police surveillance photos and images posted online. Little is seen with the large bag used to store the Colt M4 rifle with a suppressor. The gun was taken from a Seattle Police vehicle parked outside the downtown Nordstrom store. The vehicles were heavily damaged and ultimately burned. 

In the course of the investigation, law enforcement obtained electronic messages sent by Little after the theft in which he appeared to be negotiating the sale of the firearm. Little stated in the messages that he had removed the sling and suppressor and the “red dot” (a type of optical sight) from the rifle. All those accessories were present on the rifle when stolen from the Seattle Police vehicle. 

Speaking at sentencing today, Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham told the court that Little “was one of a handful of people who hijacked the peaceful protest and made it dangerous.” Little then sold the rifle to an acquaintance who he knew had mental health issues. The gun buyer buried the gun on his grandparents’ property in Snohomish County. The buyer went and dug up the rifle after threatening his girlfriend. Police were able to seize the weapon before it was used in a crime.

After the theft and sale of the police gun, but before Little was identified in this case, Little was allegedly involved in the August 30, 2020 shooting in Renton. In that case, it is alleged that Little fired multiple shots when fights broke out at a gathering of over 200 car enthusiasts in the parking lot of the Uwajimaya grocery store. Little was observed firing a gun into the air and into a crowd of people. In January 2021, Little was charged with second degree murder and assault. He will be transferred to state custody to face those charges in King County Superior Court.

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force, the United States Marshals Service, and the Marysville Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham. 

Seattle – The former long-time Commissioner of an East King County drainage district was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release for multiple federal felonies connected to a scheme to steal tax dollars intended for flood control, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Allan Thomas, 70, was convicted of conspiracy; four counts each of wire fraud and mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones noted that Thomas involved his own son in the fraud scheme when he was barely out of high school. “You were a public officer in a position of trust… People trusted you not to enrich yourself,” Judge Jones said. “These funds were ill-gotten gains, they were not earned…. It was a breach of trust.”

“Mr. Thomas and his wife treated taxpayer money as if it was their own,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “And they repeatedly lied, claiming tax dollars for ditch maintenance work that was never performed. They not only cheated taxpayers out of money, they also increased the risk of damage from flooding due to an overgrown drainage ditch network.”

According to records in the case and testimony at trial, Allan B. Thomas served as Commissioner for Drainage District 5 and 5A in King County for more than 35 years. As a Commissioner, Thomas estimated the costs of drainage maintenance for the district so that the county auditor could set and assess the appropriate taxes. The Commissioners then authorized payment to service providers who had supposedly done maintenance work on the drainage system.

Thomas’ wife, Joann, was sentenced to three years in prison last month for her role in the scheme. As early as 2012, Joann Thomas set up a joint bank account with Allan Thomas’ son from a previous marriage. The account was a business account for a company called A C Services. Over the next six years, Allan Thomas had $413,323 of local tax dollars paid to A C Services claiming it was for drainage ditch maintenance. However, Thomas’ son testified that other than two small jobs performed before 2012, he did not perform any drainage ditch work. At trial, a current drainage district Commissioner testified that he saw no work done on the ditches during that time period, and that when he took on the Commissioner job, it was clear that little maintenance work was done on the ditch network for many years.

Financial records admitted at trial show that over those six years (2012-2017), shortly after the tax dollars were deposited into A C Services’ account, the money was quickly transferred to other accounts belonging to the Thomases or was used to pay their expenses for such things as hay, mortgage payments, or property taxes. More than $68,000 was withdrawn as cash.

In 2018, after the couple became aware of an investigation into their conduct, they began funneling the tax dollars through another company: City Biz. The couple submitted warrants for City Biz to be paid for drainage maintenance work and within days of the funds arriving in City Biz bank accounts, nearly all the money was transferred directly to Allan Thomas or the Thomases’ dairy farm. The Thomases’ friend who agreed to help with the City Biz fraud, now also has a federal felony conviction for repeatedly lying to the FBI.

Allan and Joann Thomas worked together on the scheme. Both were involved in submitting false documents by mail and wire (the mail fraud and wire fraud counts). Joann Thomas forged the signatures of Allan Thomas’ son and a second drainage Commissioner on various records and checks. Allan Thomas was convicted of participating in the forgeries related to the second drainage Commissioner. The forgeries constitute Aggravated Identity Theft. This count carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutive to any sentence imposed on the other counts of conviction.

In all, the couple defrauded taxpayers of $468,165. Judge Jones has scheduled a hearing to set the amount of restitution in early April 2023.

“Today, Allan Thomas is being held accountable for his lengthy public corruption scheme, which took the majority of the district’s budget for years for his own gain,” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field Office. “Not only did he betray the public’s trust, but he also stole property tax dollars from taxpayers and involved others in the fraud.”

“Mr. Thomas did not do his job in maintaining critical drainage ditches, but he and his wife still fraudulently paid themselves using taxpayer dollars as if he did,” said Special Agent in Charge Bret Kressin, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Seattle Field Office. “And when the couple realized they were being investigated, the Thomases attempted to cover up their fraud. They were quite literally digging themselves deeper into a ditch of lies.”

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI) and the FBI led the investigation with assistance from the Enumclaw Police Department. The Enumclaw City Attorney initiated the review of the district finances. The Washington State Auditor’s Office also conducted an audit of the district in 2019. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, in consultation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, determined the case was appropriate for federal prosecution.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Arnold and Andrew Friedman.

Seattle – A 46-year-old Marysville, Washington woman, who co-owned a Lake Stevens, Washington restaurant used for drug trafficking, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison for distributing methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Laura Rodriguez-Moreno has been in custody since she and five coconspirators were arrested on September 1, 2020. At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said, Rodriguez-Moreno had a leadership role in a large drug trafficking ring. “But more important than any other factor was that she involved her teen-age son in drug dealing, just days after he had been arrested” with a load of fentanyl pills, Judge Coughenour said.

“Ms. Rodriguez-Moreno was distributing pound quantities of methamphetamine and thousands of fentanyl pills. But what is most shocking is that she had her teen-age son engaging in drug distribution at her direction,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “She and her husband put their restaurant and the security of their five children at risk when they became drug traffickers. Now those children are without their parents for significant time.”

“Ms. Rodriguez-Moreno is being held accountable not only for the distribution of large quantities of illegal and deadly narcotics, but also for utilizing her teenage son to further her drug distribution schemes,” said Jacob D. Galvan, Acting Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “We will continue to work with our partners to protect our communities and save lives by removing these individuals.”  

According to records filed in the case, Rodriguez-Moreno and her husband Jose Morales-Flores, 39, were part of a wide-ranging drug trafficking conspiracy. Members of the conspiracy distributed fentanyl, meth, and heroin in Seattle and North Puget Sound communities. In

her plea agreement, Rodriguez-Moreno admits distributing more than 16 kilos of methamphetamine and nearly a kilo of fentanyl pills. When law enforcement arrested Rodriguez-Moreno and her associates, they seized another 17 kilos of meth, nearly two kilos of heroin, thousands of fentanyl pills, three firearms, and more than $100,000 cash.

Law enforcement observed and listened as Rodriguez-Moreno directed her son to deliver ten pounds of methamphetamine to a customer parked at her restaurant, Fuente de Café, just days after her son had been arrested with a large amount of fentanyl pills. In the months that followed, she and her husband would take their son to drug meetings and have him deliver the drugs for them.

Prosecutors noted in their sentencing memo that Rodriguez-Moreno did not suffer from clouded judgement due to drug addiction. Her motivation was money. “Moreover, Rodriguez-Moreno knew what these drugs would do to other families, other kids. But she was blinded by greed and only focused on how distributing these drugs would help her and her family, not the pain and suffering her actions would cause others, or even her own children if caught,” Assistant United States Attorney C. Andrew Colasurdo wrote in his sentencing memo.

On October 19, 2021, Rodriguez-Moreno’s husband, Jose Morales-Flores, was sentenced to ten years in prison. However, instead of reporting to prison he cut off his GPS monitoring bracelet and became a fugitive. He is still being sought by law enforcement.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, Seattle Police Department, FBI and the Skagit Interlocal Drug Enforcement Unit. The investigation was supported by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys C. Andrew Colasurdo and Stephen Hobbs.

Seattle –A 45-year-old Shoreline, Washington man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Settle to unlawful possession of ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Rustam Yusupov faces up to ten years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on May 2, 2023.

According to records filed in the case, Seattle Police Officers were called to a downtown Seattle hotel room on March 10, 2022, with reports of a distraught man asking the hotel staff for assistance. When the officers went to the hotel room, they noted that furnishings had been over-tuned, with the mattress moved to block the door. Police found two firearms in the room – including a “ghost gun,” -- a firearm without a serial number.

Due to his agitated state, Yusupov was transported for medical attention. As officers were preparing to leave the hotel, a staff member working in the garage alerted them to weapons he had seen in Yusupov’s car. In the car were multiple firearms – including two additional “ghost guns.” In all, police recovered:

• FMK Firearms Model AR-1 Extreme 5.56 NATO caliber rifle.
• Aero Precision Model X15 5.56 caliber pistol.
• Ruger Model 5.7 5.7x28mm caliber pistol.
• Ruger Model 18029 Precision 6.5mm Creedmoor/.308 Winchester Caliber rifle.
• Kel-Tec Model Sub 2000 9x19mm caliber rifle.
• A North American Arms Corp. Derringer .22 revolver.
• Two Polymer80 9mm caliber pistols with no serial number.
• A skeletonized AR-15 5.56 NATO caliber pistol with no serial number.

In the plea agreement Yusupov admits that he is the subject of a domestic violence protection order. He had been ordered by King County Superior Court to surrender all his weapons. In March 2020 and again in May 2021, Yusupov was ordered to surrender his firearms and had signed paperwork and informed law enforcement that he no longer possessed any firearms.

When officers searched Yusupov’s home, they recovered two inert grenades; a container for 120mm rocket projectiles; hundreds of rounds of assorted ammunition (both handgun and rifle caliber), including 600 rounds of Israel Military Industries 5.56mm caliber ammunition; multiple handgun and rifle magazines (some loaded); assorted pistol slides; a ballistic vest with rifle plates; a bolt-action rifle; and assorted firearms accessories and firearms parts.

In the plea agreement Yusupov agrees to forfeit multiple firearms and ammunition to the government.

The case is being investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives (ATF).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.

Seattle – The mid-level leader of a drug distribution cell that was one of the most violent seen in the Western District of Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Jose Daniel Espinoza, 35, was indicted and arrested in July 2020, following an 18-month wiretap investigation. At times during the wiretap, law enforcement had to arrest potential targets of the group, or flood the area with marked patrol cars, to keep people safe. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour noted that Espinoza had a managing role in a drug trafficking group that used guns and distributed fentanyl – a very dangerous drug.

According to records filed in the case, over the course of the investigation, one person was shot outside a residence where the conspirators were converting methamphetamine from liquid to crystal form. On the wiretap, law enforcement heard conversations about kidnapping plots, and other instances of intimidation through use of violence and firearms.

Espinoza was a source for guns as well as drugs and was involved in providing firearms to conspirators who were collecting debts for the group. Espinoza was also tasked by those above him in the trafficking organization with getting firearms that could be taken through California and smuggled into Mexico.

Based on the seizures before and on the date of the takedown, the group was connected to 45 pounds of methamphetamine; 12 pounds of heroin; 3,200 fentanyl pills; 22 firearms; and $566,391.

In their sentencing memo, prosecutors cited the latest data on overdose deaths noting, “an average of 17 overdose deaths occurred each week in King County in 2022, with the surge in overdose deaths driven by fentanyl, which is involved in 70% of all confirmed overdose deaths that occurred by November of 2022.”

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Tacoma Resident Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET), Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Thurston County Narcotics Team (TNT), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.

Seattle – The leader of a violent, prolific drug trafficking ring was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, 36, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering and carrying a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime.   At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said he based the sentence on the “stunning size of the drug trafficking organization, and the amount of fentanyl and the death it is causing in our community.”

“Mr. Valdez-Sanudo led a violent ring of drug traffickers and buried kilos of meth, heroin, and fentanyl on his Arlington property, along with more than $300,000 cash – proceeds from the harm he spread across the community,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “This is a long prison sentence, but given the harm these drugs are doing in our community, it is the appropriate sanction.”

Members of the drug ring were indicted in December 2020, following a lengthy wire-tap investigation.  Law enforcement seized large amounts of drugs during the investigation including a 49-pound load of methamphetamine that was coming to Washington State from California, disguised in boxes. 

 All told, in the course of the investigation law enforcement seized approximately 143 pounds of methamphetamine, 15 pounds of heroin, 35,000 suspected fentanyl pills, 24 firearms, and approximately $ 778,000. 

Valdez-Sanudo was the leader of the ring.   In messages to his coconspirators, he discussed violence against a member of the ring suspected of stealing a drug load.  When he was arrested at the Snoqualmie Casino, Valdez-Sanudo had three firearms in his vehicle, one with a homemade silencer.  Valdez-Sanudo had told others he planned to confront a member of the ring who owed a debt for drugs.

When law enforcement searched Valdez-Sanudo’s Arlington property, they seized more than 27 kilos of meth, nearly 6 kilos of heroin, and nearly 2 kilos of fentanyl pills, much of it buried underground.  On the property, there were 10 firearms.

Law enforcement seized cash, checks, and the contents of bank accounts as proceeds of the drug crime.  Valdez-Sanudo schemed to launder more than $1 million through casinos.  He also purchased property and vehicles to launder drug money.  Conspirators sought to avoid banking transaction reporting requirements by making deposits in amounts below the $10,000 threshold.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Tacoma Residence Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET), Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Tacoma Police Department, Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force (SRDTF), the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.

Tacoma – A 53-year-old resident of Graham, Washington, was sentenced today to two months in custody and three months of home detention in U.S. District Court in Tacoma for tax fraud and aiding and assisting with false tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Philippe Mbowamba filed 29 tax returns for others and for himself with a tax loss of $141,392.  Mbowamba has agreed to make restitution for the full tax loss.

At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said “In the U.S., we have a tax system that depends on individuals paying their taxes voluntarily… Not only did you not report your income fully, you also helped others not report their taxes… When tax fraud is widespread, it means that the honest tax payer ends up paying more than their fair share.”

According to the plea agreement, between 2012 and 2019, Mbowamba operated a tax preparation business.  An analysis of the returns Mbowamba filed, revealed that he had knowingly claimed fraudulent deductions and tax credits on behalf of many of his clients.  Most of the clients were immigrants from Africa who were referred to Mbowamba by other members of the immigrant community. Mbowamba, a naturalized U.S. citizen, had originally immigrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The immigrants trusted Mbowamba and were unaware of the false information on their tax returns. 

In addition to false returns for other people, Mbowamba falsified his own return, failing to report more than $56,000 in income for tax year 2014.  The tax loss on that one return was $26,531. 

Under the terms of the plea agreement, the IRS may still level additional civil tax, penalties, and/or interest.  Mbowamba has accepted a permanent injunction, barring him from preparing tax returns for anyone other than himself.

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service: Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zachery Dillon.

Seattle – A 41-year-old Tacoma woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 27 months in prison for wire fraud for a scheme to defraud various friends and acquaintances of more than $600,000, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Sabrina Taylor lied about her health, her employment status, and her education to steal more than $600,000 from people who had offered to help her. At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez emphasized the serious nature of Taylor’s conduct, remarking that for years, Taylor engaged in a sustained and calculated course of conduct that preyed upon her victims’ best emotions. The Court remanded Taylor into custody at the close of the sentencing hearing.

According to records filed in the case, starting in 2013, and continuing into July 2019 and beyond, Taylor convinced various people to provide her with large amounts of money by claiming that she needed to purchase medicine for multiple sclerosis treatment, pay her tuition for the University of Washington, or bail her brother out of jail. In fact, Taylor did not have multiple sclerosis, was not paying tuition to U.W., and did not have a brother in jail. Rather, Taylor used a substantial portion of the defrauded funds to pay for luxuries such as almost $60,000 for multiple trips to Japan and Korea, nearly $38,000 for online purchases from Amazon and Etsy, more than $29,000 for clothing, and nearly $16,000 for make-up.

Taylor also made false claims about how she was planning to repay loans, lying about her employment, a litigation settlement from her bank, and funds she expected to receive from her parents.

Taylor met some of the people she defrauded online, using shared interests such as Japanese anime, comic books, or video games to establish a relationship. Taylor admitted to stealing over $550,000 from one victim.

In their victim impact statements those who were defrauded by Taylor described how they have suffered:  One person cancelled plans to move to California; another had to put off buying a home; a third said a family member delayed retirement to help pay back what a victim had borrowed.  Some were unable to help others in the community because they had assisted Taylor.

In his sentencing memo the prosecutor noted that Taylor was no novice when it came to fraud. “Taylor carried out an extensive fraud scheme using deceit and deception that preyed upon humankind’s better angels. Several of Taylor’s victims suffered substantial financial hardship—some likely will never be made whole financially. Equally as important, Taylor exploited and betrayed the trust of each of her victims and many of Taylor’s victims will continue to pay an emotional toll for many years to come,” Assistant United States Attorney Joe Silvio wrote in his sentencing memo.

Taylor was ordered to pay $608,975 in restitution to her victims.

The case was investigated by the FBI.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Silvio.

Seattle – Four men who assaulted a Black man because of the man’s actual and perceived race at a bar in Lynnwood, Washington, were sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Jason DeSimas, 45, Jason Stanley, 46, Randy Smith, 42, and Daniel Dorson, 27, had each pleaded guilty to one crime of committing a hate crime, as well as one count of making false statements to investigators about their role in the assault.

Speaking at the sentencing hearings, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said, “Protecting the public is the primary concern of the court… Your crew was nothing more than a modern day, unhooded, KKK taking out hate on a Black man…. What you did demonstrated hate and ignorance.”

DeSimas and Stanley were each sentenced to four years in prison; Randy Smith was sentenced to 42 months in prison; and Dorson was sentenced to 28 months in prison.

“The defendants subjected a Black man to a brutal and racially-motivated assault,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racially-motivated hate crimes terrorize entire communities, and they have no place in our society. The Department of Justice will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals who commit these abhorrent crimes.”

“The myth of white supremacy is alive and well, and can foment dangerous behavior and violence. These particular defendants are deeply steeped in racial hatred, expressed through their Nazi tattoos, white supremacist symbols on their clothing, and their use of racist slurs. They came to our area to honor a man who died leading a racist and violent gang, and thought they could act on their beliefs with impunity,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “But the victims and witnesses of their brutal assault have proved they are far stronger than these four. And today our justice system is holding them accountable for the damage they did not only to the people they assaulted, but to the community that recoils when presented with their despicable hatred.”

“Imagine being attacked by four men purely because of the color of your skin.” said Special Agent in Charge Richard A. Collodi of the FBI Seattle Field Office. “The victim in this case does not have to imagine. Tragically, he lived it.  With today’s sentences, my hope is the victim feels some sense of justice has been served. However, until all citizens are safe from threats and violence based on their race, ethnicity, gender, or beliefs, the FBI’s work protecting victims of hate will continue.”

In their respective plea agreements, DeSimas, Stanley, Smith and Dorson each admitted that, on Dec. 8, 2018, they entered a bar in Lynnwood, with a large group that included fellow members of Crew 38 and the Hammerskins. Crew 38 is a support group for the Hammerskins, which is a white supremacist organization. The majority of the men in the group were similarly dressed in dark jeans or pants, black boots, black “bomber” jackets, and dark-colored t-shirts and had crew-cut hairstyles. Some wore jackets with either Crew 38 patches or other patches aligned with white supremacist beliefs. In addition, many wore shirts with phrases, numbers or logos that expressed white supremacist beliefs and/or memberships, including Crew 38. Many in the group also had visible tattoos, including swastika tattoos, that expressed their views on white race superiority. Members of the group, including defendants Stanley and Smith, repeatedly gave the Nazi salute as they danced.

While in the bar, all four defendants assaulted T.S, a Black man who was serving as the disc jockey at the bar, when T.S. attempted to move defendant Stanley away from his music equipment. All four defendants punched and kicked T.S., even after he fell to the floor, while some in the group called T.S. racial slurs.  Two bystanders attempted to intervene to help T.S. and stop the assault. The defendants and other assaulted both bystanders, causing them to sustain injuries. As a result of the defendants’ actions, T.S. suffered serious physical injuries, including extreme pain, loss of consciousness, bleeding and swelling in his eye and bruising on his back, chest and legs.

In their plea agreements four defendants each admitted that they were members of Crew 38 and/or prospective members of the Hammerskins, and that they had traveled to the Lynnwood area with others to attend events related to “Martyr’s Day,” an annual gathering honoring a white supremacist who died in a shootout with federal agents on Whidbey Island in the 1980s.

In their plea agreements, defendants DeSimas and Stanley each admitted that they knew that the Hammerskins had used a tactic known as “mutual combat” against members of groups whose beliefs they opposed. Members believed that, using this tactic, they could go to bars frequented by groups whose beliefs they opposed and have one or more members initiate a fight. When the fight began, other members of the group could jump in and assault their perceived antagonists, and later claim a defense of “mutual combat” as a way to avoid accountability.

In addition to the hate crime charge, each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to federal agents who were investigating the assault. Specifically, Stanley falsely claimed to the agents that he was not even present in the State of Washington during the weekend of the assault. Stanley made this false claim in order to cover up his participation in the assault of T.S.

DeSimas falsely claimed to the agents that neither he nor anyone else called T.S. a racial slur during the assault, while Smith falsely claimed to the agents that he did not remember anyone calling T.S. a racial slur during the assault. Dorson falsely told agents that he had not traveled to Washington State during the weekend of the assault to attend a white supremacist’s “Martyr’s Day” observance and that he had not owned a jacket associated with a white supremacy hate group prior to the weekend of Dec. 8, 2018. In their respective plea agreements, these defendants each admitted that they made these false statements in order to cover up the motive for the assault, which was the bias that he and others had against T.S.’s race. 

The four defendants were charged in an indictment that was unsealed on Dec. 18, 2020.

Defendant Smith was charged in the District of Oregon in an unrelated case for illegal possession of a firearm.  That charge was resolved today with a concurrent 16-month sentence.

Assistant Attorney General Clarke, and U.S. Attorney Brown, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard A. Collodi made the announcement. 

The FBI investigated the case, with the support of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. The Smith firearms matter was investigated by the FBI Portland Field Office and the Eugene, Oregon, Police Department.

Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Cohen for the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case. The Smith firearms matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William McLaren for the District of Oregon.

Tacoma – A Bremerton, Washington couple was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to lengthy prison terms for possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  David Berryhill, 46, was sentenced to 90 months in prison and his fiancé Jamie Kelly, 50, was sentenced to 72 months in prison. The pair were arrested on June 14, 2022, with eight pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of fentanyl pills in the rental car they were using to transport the drugs from Arizona.  Both have been detained at FDC SeaTac since their arrest.

At sentencing Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo said, “Here we are dealing with significant quantities of narcotics…fentanyl is real and causing real damage in a lot of our communities… there has been a lot of death caused by it. . . I am charged with being the voice of society.” 

According to records filed in the case, in 2021, workers at a UPS store reported to law enforcement that Berryhill was shipping what appeared to be narcotics from their store.  Berryhill  was obtaining drugs from a supplier in Phoenix, Arizona.  Berryhill would fly or drive to Arizona to pick up meth and fentanyl pills. 

On June 10, 2022, Berryhill and Kelly rented a car a Sea-Tac airport and drove to Phoenix to pick-up drugs.  On June 12, 2022, they drove the first leg of the trip to Las Vegas and on June 14, 2022, they crossed from Oregon into Washington where they were ultimately arrested following a traffic stop.

The investigation revealed that Berryhill or Kelly would ship multi-pound quantities of the drugs to contacts in North Dakota.  Berryhill also traveled to North Dakota to distribute the drugs, sometimes in tribal communities.

In asking for a 110-month sentence for Berryhill, Assistant United States Attorney Hillary Stuart wrote to the court, “Mr. Berryhill also chose to traffic in fentanyl, which is incredibly dangerous and deadly. Just one pill can kill someone, and Mr. Berryhill had thousands. Two of his clients were previously arrested in North Dakota and named Mr. Berryhill as their supplier. Mr. Berryhill’s target areas in North Dakota and Montana were near tribal communities and in a rural county. Knowing the hazards of the drugs, Mr. Berryhill still chose to export them to other states and sell to individuals.” 

Both defendants pleaded guilty on October 7, 2022.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bremerton Special Operations Group, and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotic Enforcement Team (OPNET).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hillary Stuart.

Seattle – A 21-year-old French citizen from Epinal, France, will appear tomorrow January 27, 2023, in U.S. District Court in Seattle on a nine-count indictment alleging conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Sebastien Raoult aka Sezyo Kaizen, was arrested last year in Morocco and was extradited to the U.S. this week.  Raoult and two co-conspirators were indicted by a grand jury sitting in the Western District of Washington on June 23, 2021.  Raoult’s initial appearance will be at 2:00 PM in front of Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson

“Too many bad actors believe they can illegally access proprietary information and personal financial information by hiding behind a keyboard,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “FBI Seattle Cyber Task Force and our experienced cyber unit is working diligently to identify, arrest, and prosecute those who seek to victimize people, businesses, and industries in the Western District of Washington and around the world.”

According to the indictment, Raoult was a participant in a hacking group that dubbed itself the “ShinyHunters.”  The conspirators allegedly hacked into protected computers of corporate entities for the theft of proprietary and corporate information.  The group advertised sensitive stolen data for sale and sometimes threatened to leak or sell stolen sensitive files if the victim did not pay a ransom.  Since early 2020, ShinyHunters Group has marketed and promoted data stolen from more than 60 companies in Washington State and elsewhere around the world.

According to the indictment, the conspirators created websites that appeared to be login pages belonging to legitimate businesses.  The conspirators allegedly sent phishing emails to company employees that were designed to look like they came from legitimate businesses and contained links to those login pages.  When victims provided their account sign-on credentials on those login pages, the conspirators obtained the victims’ credentials.  Using the stolen credentials, the conspirators allegedly accessed protected computers with companies’ data. 

The ShinyHunters maintained accounts on various dark web sites where they advertised stolen data for sale, including customer databases with personal and financial information.  The conspirators also used social media accounts to direct potential buyers to the dark web marketplaces to purchase stolen data.  Sometimes the conspirators alerted the media to their hacking or posted images on a victim website claiming credit for hacking the company. 

Some of the victims of the ShinyHunters hacking were located in the Western District of Washington but others were located around the world.  The victims range from tech companies, to an international stock trading company, to an apparel company, and a nutrition and fitness company.  Millions of customer records were included in the stolen data.

In addition to the conspiracy counts, the wire fraud counts correspond to particular malicious emails to entities in the State of Washington and other transmissions involving the State of Washington.  The three identity theft counts are for the use of other people’s log-in credentials to access victim company data.

In addition to Raoult, the indictment charges 23-year-old Gabriel Kimiaie-Asadi Bildstein aka “Kuroi” and “Gnostic Players,” of Tarbes, France, and 22-year-old Abdel-Hakim El Ahmadi aka “Zac” and “Jordan Keso” of Lyon, France.

The conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse charge is punishable by a maximum of ten years in prison.  The conspiracy to commit wire fraud count is punishable by a maximum of 27 years in prison.  Wire fraud is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.  Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory minimum two-year prison term to follow any other prison sentence imposed in the case.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Seattle Cyber Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Miriam Hinman.  DOJ’s Office of International Affairs is providing substantial assistance.  The Department of Justice also appreciates the significant cooperation and assistance provided by Moroccan and French authorities.

raoult_et_al_indictment_flat.pdf

Seattle – A 28-year-old enrolled member of the Swinomish Indian Tribe was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six years in prison for drug dealing while carrying a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Robert Andrew Johnny was indicted in 2022 after being caught with drugs and firearms on two different occasions.  At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Lauren King imposed four years of supervised release to follow prison, and noted the harm of drug dealing, particularly to tribal communities.

According to records filed in the case, Johnny was contacted by police on March 14, 2022, while he was a passenger in a car driven by a coconspirator.  In the car were nearly 90,000 fentanyl pills and two kilos of methamphetamine.  There were four firearms and $10,000 cash in the vehicle.   When police searched Johnny’s home, they found more than 2800 fentanyl pills and additional methamphetamine.

Previously, in June 2021, law enforcement searched a car Johnny had been driving and found it contained fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin.  In the car was a backpack with a firearm and other items bearing Johnny’s name.

In October 2022, Johnny pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

In asking for a six-year prison sentence, prosecutors highlighted the danger of the fentanyl and methamphetamine Johnny distributed on the Swinomish Reservation and elsewhere in Skagit County. “These substances destroy the lives of their users, including leading to death in some cases. Our society also bears an enormous burden for medical treatment, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, law enforcement, and corrections. In addition to the danger that Johnny created for users of the drugs that he distributed, Johnny’s activities also created danger to the public by involving firearms to protect drugs and cash,” Assistant United States Attorney Miriam Hinman wrote in her sentencing memo.

The case was investigated by the Skagit County Interlocal Drug Enforcement Unit, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Swinomish Police Department and the Mount Vernon Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Miriam Hinman.

Seattle – A 56-year-old Paradise Valley, Arizona man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to a seven-year tax fraud scheme that resulted in more than $50 million in illegal tax refunds, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Kirkland pled guilty to three counts of aiding or assisting the filing of fraudulent tax documents.

Charles St. George Kirkland falsely claimed in tax filings that he had lost more than $135 million by investing in solar equipment. Kirkland then ‘sold’ those losses through a network of tax preparers, telling the preparers that their clients could use the losses to claim refunds on their tax returns. In all, the scheme resulted in a loss to the U.S. Treasury of over $50 million. Kirkland collected $45 million from the sale of the fake losses.

“Mr. Kirkland capitalized on our need and drive for clean energy, cloaking his fraud scheme in the solar energy space,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “He vastly inflated his investments in solar, and then sold that fiction to taxpayers. The taxpayers got big refunds, but then paid 90% of the refund back to Mr. Kirkland.” 

According to the plea agreement, Kirkland used a web of limited liability entities he controlled to claim both net operating losses and investment tax credits based on fake investments in solar equipment.

For example, in 2013 alone, Kirkland claimed his businesses lost more than $40 million through investments in solar equipment.  In fact, the businesses spent only about $150,000 on solar equipment that year. From 2012 to 2018, Kirkland’s companies claimed to have lost more than $135 million on investments in solar equipment. The companies spent less than $6 million on solar equipment over that period.

Kirkland reached out to a network of tax preparers and claimed that he could transfer the tax benefits of his losses to their clients. Kirkland provided participating taxpayers with fraudulent tax documents stating that the taxpayers were partners in Kirkland’s business and therefore entitled to the tax benefits of the business’s losses. Under Kirkland’s program, the taxpayers would amend their returns for prior years to claim they were entitled to a refund for those years because the losses from Kirkland’s companies offset their income and reduced their tax obligations. The taxpayers agreed that, upon receiving a refund from the IRS, they would pay 90% of the refund to Kirkland.  Approximately 1,500 taxpayers participated in the program, filing nearly 3,200 tax returns. 

Some of the taxpayers who participated in the program were Washington residents. For example, one Maple Valley, Washington couple claimed to be partners in Kirkland’s Solar Farm entity and amended their 2015 tax return to claim a net operating loss of $347,893. The couple got a tax refund of $17,759. In 2018, a Seattle couple claimed a 2017 tax loss from Solar Farm of $22,870 so that they could claim a refund of $28,180. In 2019, Grapeview, Washington resident claimed a 2018 solar energy credit of $10,341 so she could claim a refund of $10,704.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Kirkland owes $51,615,484 in restitution. Sentencing in front of U.S. District Judge John H. Chun is scheduled for April 17, 2023.

Each count of aiding and assisting the filing of false tax returns is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the tax gain or loss resulting from the crime. Kirkland pled guilty to three counts. 

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson.

Seattle – A former Seattle resident who defrauded federal COVID-19 benefit programs of more than $1 million pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Bryan Alan Sparks, 42, was indicted for the fraud scheme in November 2021.  Today Sparks pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. His coconspirator Autumn Gail Luna, 23, pleaded guilty in December 2022.  Sparks is scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart on April 18, 2023.

According to records filed in the case, from March 2020 until at least January 2021, Sparks and Luna used stolen personal information of more than 50 Washington residents and businesses to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and unemployment benefits from the Washington Employment Security Department (ESD).  The pair obtained approximately $521,900 from SBA and $519,700 from ESD. Sparks and Luna opened fraudulent bank accounts to receive the benefits and also had unemployment benefit debit cards mailed to a variety of addresses in the Seattle area where they could retrieve them. 

Specifically, Sparks and Luna submitted at least 29 fraudulent loan applications to the Small Business Administration relief program, using the stolen identities of Washington residents and other real people.  The applications sought approximately $1.47 million in aid intended to support small businesses, and the pair successfully obtained $521,900.  Between March 2020 and January 2021, Sparks and Luna used the stolen identities of more than 50 people to claim approximately $519,700 in unemployment benefits. In all Sparks and Luna attempted to obtain at least $1.98 million in federally funded payments.

Sparks and Luna used the identities of real people and, in some instances, actual small businesses to open bank and credit accounts.  The victims suffered significant harm.  One person saw his credit score drop 200 points because of the seven credit and bank accounts the pair opened in his name.

In September 2020, law enforcement linked Sparks and Luna to lock boxes seized in Portland, Oregon.  When the safes were searched, officers seized more than $65,000 in cash and a number of debit cards.  In the plea agreement, Sparks admits that the cash and prepaid debit cards are all proceeds of the fraud scheme. The cash and debit cards are being forfeited to the government.  In all, Sparks agrees to pay $1,041,661 in restitution to the government programs.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend no more than 100 months in prison.  The defense will recommend no less than five years in prison (60 months).  U.S. District Judge James L. Robart is not bound by the recommendation and can impose any sentence allowed by statute.

Wire fraud that relates to a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.  Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory minimum two years in prison to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed in the case.

The investigation of this case is led by the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG) and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with partners: Colusa County Sheriff’s Office (CA); Washington State Employment Security Department; Small Business Administration, Office of the Inspector General;  Amtrak Police Department (D.C.); FBI (Sacramento, CA office); FBI Cyber Task Force (D.C.); Washington State Department of Licensing, Driver and Vehicle Investigations; and the Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cindy Chang and Seth Wilkinson. 

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Seattle – A 42-year-old Las Vegas man, who previously lived in Bellevue, Washington, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to securities fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Justin Costello admits in his plea agreement that he victimized marijuana business owners, private investors and investors who purchased stock in the public market.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, both the prosecutors and the defense will recommend a ten-year prison sentence when Costello is sentenced on April 21, 2023. U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez is not bound by the recommendation and can impose any sentence allowed by statute.

While Costello pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud, the plea agreement specifies that the court can take into account all of Costello criminal conduct as relevant conduct for sentencing purposes. Costello not only defrauded investors, he stole from three marijuana business who trusted him for banking services.

As part of his securities fraud scheme, Costello purchased two companies that were trading for pennies on the over-the-counter market and renamed them GRN Holding Corporation and Hempstract Inc.  Costello recruited investors in these companies, allegedly making numerous false statements. Costello told potential private investors that he had an MBA from Harvard, that his personal wealth was significantly larger than it was, and that GRN Funds LLC, a private equity and hedge fund he owned, had over $1 billion in assets under management. None of that is true.

With these falsehoods, Costello convinced various investors across the country to invest in his companies. Costello also had press releases and securities filings made with multiple false representations. Between July 1, 2019, and May 18, 2021, over 7,500 investors purchased and sold GRN Holding Corp. securities while Costello was making, and causing to be made, material misrepresentations concerning GRN Holding Corp. Collectively, these investors lost approximately $25 million. Similarly, with Hempstract Inc., he made false statements and defrauded investors. Between November 2018 and June 2021, 29 private investors lost about $6 million.

Between October 2019, and January 2021, Costello hired an unindicted coconspirator to use Twitter in a pump and dump stock scheme. Costello would acquire the penny stock of a company and then instruct his prolific Twitter user to tweet falsehoods about the company that would drive up the stock price. The coconspirator would tweet about the stock as often as 90 times a day. In one instance Costello didn’t just use Twitter, he also instructed some of his “investors” to purchase stock in the company, driving the share price from a nickel to $2 per share. After driving the share price up, Costello sold the shares for a profit of more than $355,000. The prolific Twitter user was given a share of Costello’s profits from the pump and dump scheme. In all Costello made $625,092 in the pump and dump scheme.

Along with the securities fraud, in 2017 Costello owned and operated a company called Pacific Banking Corp that provided banking services to marijuana businesses in Washington, Colorado, California, Illinois, and Alaska. Costello sent false account statements to the marijuana businesses, so that they were lulled into thinking their money was secure. However, between 2019 and 2021, Costello diverted money from three marijuana business to benefit himself and his other companies. The three marijuana businesses lost about $3.7 million.

Costello was apprehended October 6, 2022, by law enforcement in Southern California. He had fake identification documents, cash and valuables indicating he hoped to flee to Mexico to avoid prosecution.

In the plea agreement Costello agrees to pay at least $35 million in restitution.  He is also forfeiting assets that were seized at the time of his arrest including $60,000 in cash, gold bars, Mexican pesos, two designer watches, and gem encrusted jewelry.

The case was investigated by the FBI. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Arnold and Michael Dion.

Seattle – A 22-year-old Seattle man will appear today in U.S. District Court in Seattle on a seven-count indictment for multiple crimes on November 7, 2022, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Maar Teng Rambang is charged with three counts of carjacking, three counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of attempted robbery. Rambang will appear at 2:00 PM today.

“These alleged crimes stretched from Kent, to Bellevue, to Redmond, to Seattle and ultimately back to Renton.  Along the way Mr. Rambang’s conduct put countless people at risk – not just with the firearm he illegally possessed and used – but with the vehicles he drove at high speed in populated areas,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “It’s important that we use our federal tools to deter this type of conduct.”

According to records filed in King County Superior Court and in federal court, the criminal conduct began on November 7, 2022, outside the Kent Post Office where Rambang allegedly confronted a woman, brandishing a gun and demanding her car. Next, Rambang drove the stolen car to the Bellevue Square Mall garage and fired two shots as he threatened another woman and demanded her vehicle. Next, he drove that stolen BMW to Redmond and attempted to rob Amazon employees working at a delivery locker at a Whole Foods Market. Rambang then allegedly drove the BMW to the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle where he shot a man in the leg and stole his Jeep SUV. Officers tracked the Jeep to Kent and attempted to stop and arrest Rambang but he fled at speeds of 90-100 miles per hour in areas of heavy traffic.  Rambang drove in center turn lanes, through gas station parking lots and ran red lights. Ultimately, a Jeep service provider was able to remotely slow the vehicle to 30 miles an hour so that law enforcement was able to block the car and arrest Rambang.

Rambang was originally charged in King County Superior Court. He was indicted by the grand jury on December 14, 2022. He came into federal custody late yesterday.  He remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac pending further hearings.

Carjacking is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Attempted robbery is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Using a firearm in connection with a crime of violence is punishable by a mandatory minimum ten years in prison and up to life in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the Kent, Bellevue, Redmond, and Seattle Police Departments with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, firearms, Tobacco & Explosives (ATF).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.

Seattle – A Renton, Washington resident who continued to deal drugs and possess firearms after many of his coconspirators were arrested and charged federally, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Gerson Alberto Flores-Rivera, 28, pleaded guilty in May 2022 to distribution of methamphetamine, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl with intent to distribute and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said, “Fentanyl is the worst we’ve seen – meth was the worst before fentanyl came along…. The other tragic thing about fentanyl that really bothers me is that it tends to be focused on younger people. It’s the young people that are dying.”

Fentanyl pills

Flores-Rivera had been heard on the wire-tap involving a drug trafficking organization related to the CJNG cartel.   When members of that group were arrested in July 2020, Flores-Rivera’s identity was not fully known.  His full identity and role in the CJNG related cartel came into focus in the spring of 2021, as Flores-Rivera continued to sell drugs.  On five different dates between February and May 2021, Flores-Rivera sold methamphetamine and fentanyl to a person working with law enforcement.  Following the last drug deal, Flores-Rivera was arrested with 500 fentanyl pills and a loaded stolen Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.

Stolen handgun

  A court authorized search of Flores-Rivera’s apartment turned up 24 kilos of methamphetamine hidden in his couch, 2 kilos of heroin, 16,000 fentanyl pills, another firearm, and more than $45,000 in cash.

Drugs hidden in couch

In asking the court to impose a ten-year sentence prosecutors wrote, “After working alongside members of one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations our District has prosecuted, Flores-Rivera continued to serve as an armed drug trafficker for others…. After many of his coconspirators were arrested in July 2020, and despite widespread publicity about their arrests, Flores-Rivera missed an opportunity to extricate himself from the dangerous and illegal world of drug trafficking. Instead, he doubled down and continued unabated – stealing cars, dealing drugs, and carrying guns.”

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Tacoma Resident Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET), Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Thurston County Narcotics Team (TNT), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.

Seattle – A resident of Astoria, Oregon was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years in prison for five federal felonies connected to his scheme to profit from illegal kickbacks in the medical testing industry, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Richard Reid, 53, was convicted in March 2022, following a six-day jury trial.  At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour denied a defense motion to postpone the prison sentence while Reid appeals his conviction.

“Mr. Reid was the architect of a scheme to illegally profit on toxicology tests that were paid for by government insurance,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “The web of referrals and kick-backs led to significant profits for NWPL and its owners.  Such illegal kick-backs simply inflate medical costs for the rest of us.”

The activities of Bellevue-based Northwest Physicians Laboratory (NWPL) have been the subject of extensive civil and criminal litigation.  Richard Reid was one of the owners and the Vice President of Sales for NWPL.  Reid helped NWPL obtain more than $3.7 million in kickback payments by steering urine drug test specimens to two labs that could bill the government for testing. This resulted in government payments to those two labs of more than $6.5 million.

According to records filed in the case between January 2013 and July 2015, two labs, that were not physician owned, made payments to NWPL in exchange for referrals of Medicare and TRICARE program business, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.  Paying remuneration to medical providers or provider-owned laboratories in exchange for referrals encourages providers to order medically unnecessary services.  The Anti-Kickback Statute functions, in part, to discourage such behavior. NWPL was physician-owned, and for that reason could not test urine samples for patients covered by government health programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE.  In order to conceal the payment of the kickbacks, Reid and other co-conspirators involved described the fees as being for marketing services; however, no marketing services were performed. 

In the sentencing memo asking that Reid receive the same two-year sentence as CEO Jae Lee, prosecutors described his role writing, “Reid hid the truth and kept the cover story in place by lying to his sales force, lying to providers, and sharing fraudulent opinion letters from attorneys.  NWPL grew and the money – including illegal kickbacks – rolled in.  The kickbacks increased as time went on, and totaled almost $5 million.  As the proceeds of the crime rose, so did Reid’s monthly distributions -- from $10,000 in 2013 to $50,000 in 2015.” 

Reid was convicted of one count of conspiracy to solicit and receive kickbacks involving health care programs and four counts of receipt of kickbacks.

The company, NWPL, pleaded guilty in February 2021 and was sentenced to pay $8,114,417 in restitution joint and several with the other criminal defendants.  NWPL has dissolved. To date, the labs and individuals involved in this investigation have paid more than $14 million to settle related civil allegations. 

In addition to Reid, three other defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.  Former NWPL CEO Jae Lee was sentenced to two years in prison in May 2022.  Kevin Puls, the former Executive Director of NWPL was sentenced to 90 days in prison and a year of supervised release.

"Mr. Reid's sentencing culminates his part in a years-long investigation wherein he was convicted last year for actively orchestrating and personally benefiting from a scheme to corrupt and defraud the healthcare system, including the Department of Defense's TRICARE program," said Bryan D. Denny, the Special Agent in Charge of the DoD Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Western Field Office.  "DCIS will continue to work with its partners to root out fraudulent activities, like those in this particular investigation, that weaken TRICARE and inevitably increase costs unnecessarily."

“Mr. Reid let his greed get in the way of doing what was right by taxpayers” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “He solicited and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. Ultimately, frauds like these inflate health care costs for the rest of us. I applaud the work of our investigators and partners to hold Mr. Reid accountable, provide justice to the victims, and bring his crimes to an end.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion and former Assistant United States Attorney Brian Werner.

Tacoma – An unlicensed “investment advisor” from Vancouver, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 75 months in prison for mail fraud in connection with his scheme to defraud investors, including friends and family members, out of more than $4 million, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Charles Richard Burgess, 67, originally tried to blame the COVID-19 pandemic for the loss of victim funds. But in fact, Burgess had lost the bulk of investors’ money many years earlier and had concealed the losses from them. At the sentencing hearing Chief U.S. District Judge David Estudillo noted the “long-lasting effects of the crime on the victims.” Chief Judge Estudillo told Burgess, “To lie, to cheat, to steal seem to be the values you were living by.”

“It is heartbreaking to read the victim statements describing how their lives have been dramatically altered – no retirement, no funds to care for disabled children, in one instance a victim’s home placed at risk of foreclosure,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “From the mid-1990s until 2021, Mr. Burgess led his victims – mostly friends and family members -- to believe that he was successfully investing their funds for retirement. He sent fake statements showing significant gains. In truth, since at least 2013, the investment fund was insolvent and losing value, and Mr. Burgess took more than $1 million in fees for his own benefit.”

According to records filed in the case, in the mid-1990s Burgess began selling investments in an unregistered investment vehicle that Burgess called “the pool.” Burgess never became a registered or licensed investment advisor. But between January 1995 and April 2021, he convinced 64 people to invest $13.4 million in “the pool.” He sought investments from friends, family members, and others with whom he had a trusting relationship. Burgess did nothing to screen the investors to see what type of risk they could tolerate, and often did not provide them with written materials about the nature of the investments.

Burgess told investors he would collect fees only if the fund made money and told some he would personally absorb any trading losses. Burgess provided the investors with statements indicating their account balances had grown substantially over time. However, those statements were false. For example, in 2016 Burgess sent investors statements indicating their investments had grown about 10 percent that year. In fact, the investments lost money.

As early as 2013, Burgess was not able to repay all the investors’ principal, let alone the profits he was falsely telling them they had earned. In December 2013, Burgess told investors that the value of the investor accounts exceeded $4.2 million. In fact, at that time the pool’s assets were only about $711,000. By the end of December 2015, it was even worse: Burgess told investors their accounts totaled over $5.2 million, when the true value was only about $365,000. By the end of 2020, Burgess represented in year-end statements that the collective value of victims’ accounts exceeded $10.3 million. In fact, the Pool’s assets totaled only $113,000. 

As the financial picture worsened, Burgess paid off earlier investors with money from new investors –a classic Ponzi scheme.

Speaking in court today, one victim said Burgess is a “pathological liar.” Another wrote to the court “He is a con, nothing more than that in my eyes.” A 91-year-old victim wrote “He needs to be held accountable for the many lives he has shattered.”

In all, 32 investors lost $4.3 million in principal payments that they had made to Burgess. Burgess was ordered to pay $4,383,617 to the victim investors. 

While I’m glad Mr. Burgess accepted responsibility for his actions, the amount stolen from his victims warrants a lengthy sentence,” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Crimes like these traumatize victims who lose their entire life’s savings. I applaud the work of our investigators and partners with the state who worked to bring this scheme to an end.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson.

Seattle – The wife of the former long-time Commissioner of an East King County drainage district was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to three years in prison and three years of supervised release for multiple federal felonies connected to a scheme to steal tax dollars intended for flood control, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Joann Thomas, 67, was convicted of 15 federal felonies in May 2022:  conspiracy; four counts each of wire fraud and mail fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and four counts of money laundering.   Because the attorney for Allan Thomas, 70, claimed he was unable to adequately represent his client due to illness,  the sentencing  for Allan Thomas  on ten federal felonies was postponed until February 3, 2023.

At sentencing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones noted that the Thomases were involved in a seven-year fraud scheme, “This was not isolated conduct, it involved regular and ongoing requests for funds.” Judge Jones also noted that Joann Thomas had not been truthful saying, “You chose to get on the witness stand and you chose to lie to this court.”

“Allan and Joann Thomas didn’t just defraud their neighbors by stealing tax dollars, they abused a position of public trust, eroding faith in government,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “The Thomas’ theft caused some 700 neighbors in Enumclaw to pay higher property taxes, which many can ill afford, and for which they got no services.   Mr. Thomas also needs to be held accountable at his sentencing next month.”

According to records in the case and testimony at trial, Allan B. Thomas served as Commissioner for Drainage District 5 and 5A in King County for more than 35 years.  As a commissioner, Thomas was involved in estimating the costs of drainage maintenance for the district so that the county auditor could set and assess the appropriate taxes. The Commissioners then authorized payment to service providers who were supposed to do maintenance work on the drainage system.

As early as 2012, Joann Thomas set up a joint bank account with Allan Thomas’ son from a previous marriage.  The account was a business account for a company called A C Services.  Over the next six years, Allan Thomas had $413,323 of local tax dollars paid to A C Services claiming it was for drainage ditch maintenance.  However, Thomas’ son testified that other than two small jobs performed in 2012, he did not perform any drainage ditch work. At trial, a current drainage district commissioner testified that he saw no work done on the ditches during that time period, and that when he took on the commissioner job, it was clear the ditch network had had little maintenance for many years.

Financial records admitted at trial show that over those six years (2012-2017), shortly after the tax dollars were deposited into A C Services’ account, the money was quickly transferred to other accounts belonging to the Thomases or was used to pay their expenses for such things as hay, mortgage payments, or property taxes.  More than $68,000 was withdrawn as cash.

Allan and Joann Thomas worked together on the scheme.  Both were involved in submitting false documents by mail and wire (the mail fraud and wire fraud counts) and the funds that were fraudulently obtained were then moved through various bank accounts (money laundering).  Joann Thomas forged the signatures of Allan Thomas’ son and a second drainage commissioner on various records and checks.  Allan Thomas was convicted of participating in the forgeries.  The forgeries constitute Aggravated Identity Theft.  Those counts carry a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutive to any sentence imposed on the other counts of conviction.

In 2018, after the couple became aware of an investigation into their conduct, they began funneling the tax dollars through another company: City Biz.  The couple submitted warrants for City Biz to be paid for drainage maintenance work and within days of the funds arriving in City Biz bank accounts, nearly all the money was transferred directly to Allan Thomas or the Thomases’ dairy farm.  The Thomases’ friend who agreed to help with the City Biz fraud, now also has a federal felony conviction for repeatedly lying to the FBI.

In all, the couple defrauded taxpayers of $468,165.  Judge Jones has asked for briefing on the amount of restitution and has scheduled a hearing to set the amount in early March 2023.

The IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI) and the FBI led the investigation with assistance from the Enumclaw Police Department.  The Enumclaw City Attorney initiated the review of the district finances.   The Washington State Auditor’s Office also conducted an audit of the district in 2019.    The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, in consultation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, determined the case was appropriate for federal prosecution.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Arnold and Andrew Friedman.

Seattle – A 54-year-old Brooklyn, New York resident was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kilos of processed marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Chee Choong Ng was arrested in October 2020, when eleven people were indicted for a coast-to-coast illegal marijuana trafficking scheme. The jury deliberated about four hours following the two-day trial. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour scheduled sentencing for April 4, 2023.

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, the investigation culminated in October 2020 with the search of more than 35 locations in Washington, Oregon, and New York. Many of the sites searched were illegal marijuana grow houses. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined marijuana was being grown on the west coast and was shipped to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, and Missouri. 

Chee Choong Ng served as a distributor on the east coast, picking up large loads of marijuana that had been shipped from west coast members of the conspiracy. Once received, Ng coordinated with other co-conspirators to further distribute the marijuana—including to Public Storage units in Pennsylvania, a stash house in Staten Island, and various locations in Brooklyn. Prosecutors introduced hundreds of messages—sent using the social media application “WeChat”—between Ng and another co-conspirator that showed Ng’s sustained and knowing involvement in the conspiracy. When arrested, Ng had five different cell phones and a false identification that he began using after he was stopped with a load of marijuana in the summer of 2020. Prosecutors also introduced financial records showing Ng had taken in more than $140,000 in cash over the course of the conspiracy.

The other defendants in the case have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 60 months.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. The case was  investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Seattle and Newark offices and the King County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Silvio and Michelle Jensen.

Seattle – The Department of Justice and attorneys for a Des Moines, Washington man have resolved a $450,000 tort claim against various government agencies because of the arrest and detention of a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  The settlement provides that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will issue 29-year-old Daniel Ramirez Medina a four-year stay of removal from the United States.  Mr. Ramirez Medina may apply for other immigration relief during that four-year period.   ICE will not use any record or statement made before May 15, 2018, in evaluating any of Mr. Ramirez Medina’s applications and specifically will not consider any allegation that he is a gang member or a threat to public safety.

“This settlement essentially gives Mr. Ramirez Medina a clean slate as he works to obtain legal status in the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “I am pleased that this settlement involves no monetary payment and yet goes to the core of what Mr. Ramirez Medina wants: a fair chance to obtain legal status in the U.S.”

On February 10, 2017, ICE agents arrested Mr. Ramirez Medina at the Des Moines, Washington apartment he shared with his father and brother.  Mr. Ramirez Medina was detained at the ICE detention facility in Tacoma until an immigration judge ordered him released on March 29, 2017.  In his tort claims for false arrest and false imprisonment, Mr. Ramirez Medina alleges that he was wrongly arrested and detained.

The settlement agreement states that it is not an admission of liability or fault by any of the parties including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or Mr. Ramirez Medina.

The agreement also states that should Mr. Ramirez Medina violate the law, the grant of deferred action can be terminated.

The resolution of this matter was negotiated by Assistant United States Attorneys Nickolas Bohl and Kristen Vogel.

Tacoma – Two Puyallup, Washington, men will appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma today charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities and possession of an unregistered firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, were arrested Saturday, December 31, 2022, following a fast-moving investigation by the FBI.  Prosecutors will ask that both men remain detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac pending future hearings.

“I commend the work by the FBI to quickly identify these suspects and disrupt any future attacks on the east Pierce County power grid,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “We have seen attacks such as these increase in Western Washington and throughout the country and must treat each incident seriously.  The outages on Christmas left thousands in the dark and cold and put some who need power for medical devices at extreme risk.”

“I am so thankful for how quickly and diligently our investigators and partners worked to bring this to a resolution,” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Seattle field office. “This case took many of them away from their families during the holidays but through their efforts, we have two men in custody we believe to be responsible for all four power station attacks. This demonstrates the commitment by all levels of law enforcement to protect our infrastructure and hold those accountable who put our community in danger.”

According to the criminal complaint filed with the court late Saturday, December 31, 2022, and unsealed today, the two men were identified as possible suspects through the analysis of cell phone records.  At one of the substations, Tacoma Power captured images of one suspect and the image of a pick-up truck that appeared to be connected with the attack.  A similar pick-up truck was connected to the defendants.  When law enforcement served a search warrant on the home of the suspects, they recovered distinctive clothing pictured in the surveillance photos.  Agents also seized two short-barreled firearms that had not been registered as required by law.  One of the firearms was equipped with a make-shift silencer. 

The four substations that were targeted were the Graham and Elk Plain substations operated by Tacoma Power and the Kapowsin and Hemlock substations operated by Puget Sound Energy.  The damage to the Tacoma Power substations alone is estimated to be at least $3 million.

Conspiracy to attack energy facilities is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.  Possession of an unregistered firearm is punishable by up to ten years in prison.

The charges contained in the criminal complaint are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), Tacoma Police Department, the Washington State Department of Corrections and the Federal Protective Service.

Assistant United States Attorneys Will Dreher, Stephen Hobbs, and Todd Greenberg all worked around the clock over the last week to obtain search warrants and arrest warrants to assist the FBI investigation.

 

Seattle – A 50-year-old Washington State man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to seven years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl pills, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Preston Joseph Smith was arrested in December 2021 in Port Angeles, Washington on allegations he distributed pound quantities of illegal drugs. Smith has a 30-year history of drug trafficking crimes.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said, that the drug trafficking organization Smith worked for was trafficking a higher quantity of drugs than most drug trafficking organizations the court has seen.

“This investigation revealed that the drug trafficking organization was distributing large amounts of drugs in the Northeast, Midwest, and the South, as well as in the Western District of Washington,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “I commend our law enforcement partners who shut down a ring aiming to distribute 100 pounds of meth per month in Western Washington.”

According to records filed in the case, law enforcement identified the leaders of the drug trafficking ring as early as February 2020. Smith’s activities as a drug redistributor came into focus in June and July 2021, as he distributed pound quantities of methamphetamine, and hundreds of fentanyl pills. Smith was able to come up with thousands of dollars to pay up front for drugs – in one instance paying $25,000 for a kilo of heroin.

Smith was indicted along with more than a dozen others in the fall of 2021. The drug ring, headed by Jose Alfredo Maldonado-Ramirez and Iris Adrianna Amador-Garcia, distributed drugs widely: in Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Virginia. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized 9 pounds of methamphetamine in a traffic stop on May 16, 2020. Another 30 pounds of meth were seized in a stop on April 2, 2021, and 57 pounds of methamphetamine and 20,000 fentanyl pills were seized in a traffic stop on September 28, 2021.  Additionally, on August 17, 2021, law enforcement seized 19 pounds of methamphetamine that conspirators attempted to mail to Fiji.

Smith pleaded guilty in September 2022.

In asking for an eight-year prison sentence, prosecutors wrote to the court, “While the number of people directly and indirectly impacted by Smith’s conduct is difficult to quantify, it is undeniable that the methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl Smith helped spread through our community undoubtedly fell into the hands of long-time addicts, first-time users, and everyone in between. Their lives, and the lives of those around them, will never be the same.”

Judge Coughenour ordered four years of supervised release to follow the prison term.

This case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. 

The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle Field Division (SFD) Tacoma Resident Office (TRO) and Bremerton Police Department (BPD), with assistance from  Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement (TNET); the Seattle, Puyallup, Auburn, Federal Way, Kent, Bonney Lake, Tacoma,  and Lakewood Police Departments; the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office; Washington State Department of Corrections; Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET): Centralia and Chehalis Police Departments; Valley Narcotics Enforcement Team (VNET); and Washington State Patrol; Thurston Narcotics Team (TNT), Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, and Mason County Sheriff’s Office; United States Postal Inspections Service (USPIS), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) with support from Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas ( HIDTA).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys C. Andrew Colasurdo and Will Dreher.

Seattle – A 27-year-old Bellingham, Washington, man appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle today charged with two federal felonies related to his attempts to sexually assault a child, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Clayton Harker was arrested yesterday when he arrived at a Bellingham hotel believing he was going to sexually assault an 8-year-old girl.  The ‘girl’ in this case was fictitious and Harker had been communicating with undercover Homeland Security Investigation agents.  Harker is being held at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac pending further hearings.

According to the criminal complaint, Harker came to the attention of law enforcement as they were investigating a different snapchat user who was pressuring young people for explicit images, claiming he wanted to pay them as “models.”  Based on the communication between that subject and the person later identified as Harker, law enforcement began investigating his online activity.  In November 2022, Harker began communicating with an undercover agent who claimed to have an 8-year-old niece Harker could molest. Harker not only communicated with that undercover agent, he also communicated with another agent who posed as the 8-year-old girl.  Harker arrived at the hotel yesterday afternoon allegedly with materials to molest the child and video the assault.  Harker was arrested before he even entered the hotel.

Law enforcement continues to investigate Harker’s online activities including allegedly pressuring young girls for sexually explicit photos.  Just this week DOJ, the FBI and HSI issued an alert about strangers extorting children for sexual images.

Attempted enticement of a minor is punishable by a mandatory minimum ten years in prison and up to life in prison. Attempted production of child pornography is punishable by a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison.

The charges contained in the criminal complaint are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) as part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force based at the Seattle Police Department. The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office also assisted.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Hampton.

The FBI, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, is issuing a national public safety alert regarding an explosion in incidents of children and teens being coerced into sending explicit images online and extorted for money—a crime known as financial sextortion.

Over the past year, law enforcement has received over 7,000 reports related to the online financial sextortion of minors, resulting in at least 3,000 victims, primarily boys, and more than a dozen suicides. A large percentage of these sextortion schemes originate outside of the United States, and primarily in West African countries such as Nigeria and Ivory Coast. As many children enter winter break this holiday season, the FBI and our partners implore parents and caregivers to engage with their kids about financial sextortion schemes so we can prevent them in the first place.  

“The FBI has seen a horrific increase in reports of financial sextortion schemes targeting minor boys—and the fact is that the many victims who are afraid to come forward are not even included in those numbers,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI is here for victims, but we also need parents and caregivers to work with us to prevent this crime before it happens and help children come forward if it does. Victims may feel like there is no way out—it is up to all of us to reassure them that they are not in trouble, there is hope, and they are not alone.”

“The protection of children is a society’s most sacred duty,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “It calls on each of us to do everything we can to keep kids from harm, including ensuring the threats they face are brought into the light and confronted. Armed with the information in this alert message, parents, caregivers, and children themselves should feel empowered to detect fake identities, take steps to reject any attempt to obtain private material, and if targeted, have a plan to seek help from a trusted adult.”

Financial sextortion schemes occur in online environments where young people feel most comfortable—using common social media sites, gaming sites, or video chat applications that feel familiar and safe.  On these platforms, online predators often use fake female accounts and target minor males, between 14 to 17 years old but the FBI has interviewed victims as young as 10 years old.

“The sexual exploitation of children is a deplorable crime. HSI special agents will continue to exhaust every resource to identify, locate, and apprehend predators to ensure they face justice,” said Steve K. Francis, HSI Acting Executive Associate Director. “Criminals who lurk in platforms on the internet are not as anonymous as they think. HSI will continue to leverage cutting-edge technology to end these heinous acts.”

Through deception, predators convince the young person to produce an explicit video or photo. Once predators acquire the images, they threaten to release the compromising material unless the victim sends money or gift cards. Often the predators demand payment through a variety of peer-to-peer payment applications. In many cases, however, predators release the images even if payments are made. The shame, fear, and confusion that victims feel when they are caught in this cycle often prevents them from asking for help or reporting the abuse.

“This is a growing crisis and we've seen sextortion completely devastate children and families,” said Michelle DeLaune, CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “As the leading nonprofit focused on child protection, we've seen first-hand the rise in these cases worldwide. The best defense against this crime is to talk to your children about what to do if they're targeted online. We want everyone to know help is out there and they're not alone.”

What if you or your child is a victim?

If young people are being exploited, they are victims of a crime and should report it. Contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has outlined steps parents and young people can take if they or their child are a victim of sextortion, including:

• Remember, the predator is to blame, not your child or you.
• Get help before deciding whether to pay money or otherwise comply with the predator. Cooperating or paying rarely stops the blackmail and continued harassment.
• REPORT the predator’s account via the platform’s safety feature.
• BLOCK the predator and DO NOT DELETE the profile or messages because that can be helpful to law enforcement in identifying and stopping them.
• Let NCMEC help get explicit images of you off the internet.
• Visit org/IsYourExplicitContentOutThere to learn how to notify companies yourself or visit cybertipline.org to report to us for help with the process.
• Ask for help. This can be a very complex problem and may require help from adults or law enforcement.
• If you don’t feel that you have adults in your corner, you can reach out to NCMEC for support at gethelp@ncmec.org or call NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.

Take a moment to learn how sextortion works and how to talk to your children about it. Information, resources, and conversation guides are available at fbi.gov/StopSextortion.

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Seattle – A 37-year-old Lynnwood, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years in prison for making interstate threats and for a hate crime: interference with a Federally Protected Activity, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Joey David George has been in federal custody since his arrest on July 22, 2022.  George made threatening telephone calls from his home in Lynnwood, to grocery stores in Buffalo, New York, restaurants in California and Connecticut, and a marijuana dispensary in Maryland.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said “In today’s day and age, words are the weapons in the arsenal of the bully, the bigot, the racist and the homophobe…These words seep into the psyche of the victims and cause incredible pain that might never go away.”

“While Mr. George suffers from some mental health impairments, his conduct in this case was deliberate and motivated by racial hatred,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “He wanted people to feel the terror that they would be targeted because of the color of their skin. Mr. George used the tragedy of the Buffalo grocery store shooting to make his threats even more searing. We take these matters very seriously.”

According to records in the case, on July 19, 20, and 21, 2022, George telephoned multiple grocery stores in Buffalo, New York and threatened to shoot Black people in the stores.   George told the staff at the store to “take him seriously” and ordered the store to clear out the customers as he was “nearby” and “preparing to shoot all Black customers.” One store closed.  The threats followed a racially motivated shooting at another Buffalo grocery store in May 2022.   Law enforcement traced the phone number and identified George as the person who made the calls.

In addition to the calls to Buffalo, George admits that in May 2022, he called a restaurant in San Bruno, California.  In that call George allegedly threatened to shoot Black and Hispanic patrons in the restaurant.  He told law enforcement that he made the threat to strike fear in the Bay Area Black community.

On September 11, 2021, George called a cannabis dispensary in Rockville, Maryland, and used racial slurs as he threatened to shoot and kill Black people at the business.  George admitted his racial hate to local law enforcement who used caller ID to trace the call.  The dispensary shut down and hired extra security, causing a loss of over $50,000.  On that same day George also called a Denny’s restaurant in Enfield, Connecticut and threatened Black patrons at the restaurant.

In asking for a sentence at the top of the guidelines range prosecutors noted that the calls had an impact beyond just a day of business disruption. “For about a year, George had been calling other businesses around the country and threatening to kill Blacks and others. His calls caused terror. They caused police to rush to respond to the threats, leaving them unavailable to attend to emergencies and other law enforcement matters. And they disrupted business, and left employees shaken about the prospect of returning to work.”

George has agreed to pay $13,088 in restitution to the impacted businesses.  He will be on three years of supervised release when he finishes his prison sentence.

The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of multiple local police departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Woods and Rebecca Cohen in consultation with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. 

Seattle – An employee at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Detention Center (FDC) at SeaTac, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle for two federal felonies related to his conduct outside of his employment, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Joshua Adam Shuemake, 37, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for illegal firearm possession, and obstruction of justice.  Shuemake was convicted in September 2022 following a four-day jury trial. At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said the victim of Shumake’s conduct was the justice system. “It’s not just the illegal possession of a firearm, it’s that you chose to ignore a judge’s order and you encouraged people lie… You can’t have a firearm and can’t come to court and lie,” Judge Jones said.

“Mr. Shuemake made relentless and deliberate efforts to undermine the administration of justice,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “He lied in King County court, to federal investigators, and to his employer.  Mr. Shuemake encouraged witnesses to lie under oath in federal proceedings.  Such conduct by a federal law enforcement officer is particularly egregious.”

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, following a domestic violence incident in April 2021, a King County judge barred Shuemake from possessing dangerous weapons, including firearms, and ordered him to surrender all firearms.  Shuemake signed a statement under oath saying he had no firearms.  However, evidence at trial showed Shuemake working as a restaurant and bar security guard, and despite the court order, he was seen on surveillance video multiple times with a firearm in a holster on his hip. When law enforcement searched the apartment where they observed Shuemake living, they found a handgun in the closet. The gun had Shuemake’s DNA on the grip.  Shuemake tried to claim he lived at a different address, and then pressured friends to lie to investigators about how the gun came to be in the apartment.

At the time of the FBI investigation into Shuemake’s gun possession, the Bureau of Prisons was investigating him for a sexual relationship with a female inmate.  Shumake was also being scrutinized for sharing information about inmates that resulted in assaults on some of those housed at the FDC.

Even after his conviction, Shuemake continued to violate court orders by wearing clothing identifying himself as law enforcement while working private security jobs.  Judge Jones ordered Shuemake to serve 72 hours in King County Jail for violating his bond.

Prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memo Shumake “attempted to exploit the implicit trust within the judicial system that is conferred upon sworn law enforcement officers. And yet, Shuemake not only failed to meet the basic minimum standard of being a law-abiding citizen, but he also fell woefully short of the ethical standards of a federal law enforcement officer by undermining the administration of justice at every turn.”

Shuemake was on unpaid leave from the Bureau of Prisons pending the outcome of this case.  His employment has now been terminated.

The case was investigated by the FBI.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Manca, Cindy Chang, and Ye-Ting Woo.

Seattle – A 44-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison for possession of images of child rape and abuse, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jason Alan Legg was on probation for the rapes of two 13-year-olds when a Washington State Department of Corrections investigation determined he had electronic devices containing images of child rape and abuse.  This was Legg’s third sentencing for sex crimes related to children.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said, “This is not a victimless crime.  These are real people and it has tremendous impact on their lives…  It is a pervasive destruction of their lives taking place at an early age.”

According to records filed in the case, in 1998 Legg was first convicted in the Middle District Georgia of shipping and transporting child pornography.  He was sentenced to 41 months in prison.  In 2004, he was convicted in King County, Washington, of two counts of rape of a child and possession of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Legg admitted he used community chat lines to find minors who he could groom for sexual activity.  Legg was sentenced to ten years in prison.  He was ordered to be on probation for the rest of his life. 

In December 2018, Legg’s Community Corrections Officer learned he had unapproved electronic devices. Legg had been ordered to have monitoring software on all his devices.  A search of his apartment in Seattle turned up a cell phone that did not have monitoring software.  Legg had also hidden a flash drive in a hockey mask in his apartment.  On the phone and the flash drive were some 44 images of child rape and sex abuse. 

Legg pleaded guilty in July 2022.  Both the prosecution and defense recommended the mandatory minimum sentenced of ten years in prison.  Legg will be on federal supervision for 15 years following his prison term.

Judge Robart ordered Legg to pay $6,000 in restitution to the victims in the images he possessed.

The case was investigated by the Washington State Department of Corrections and Homeland Security Investigations.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Laura Harmon.  Ms. Harmon is a Senior King County Deputy Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute child exploitation crimes in federal court.

Seattle – 26-year-old Kent, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 11 years in prison for his role as a drug trafficker and debt collector for a cartel-connected drug distribution ring, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Jorge Mondragon pleaded guilty in July 2022 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said, the sentence was driven by Mondragon’s involvement with “firearms and threats of violence.”

“Not only did Mr. Mondragon deal large amounts of meth and heroin, he also used violence and threats of violence on behalf of the drug ring,” said U.S. Attorney Brown.  “These drugs not only destroy the lives of those who use them, they also destroy the lives of the users’ families and friends who are forced to watch the toll these drugs take on their son, their daughter, their mother, their father, their friend.”

As early as 2020, investigators repeatedly intercepted calls and surveilled Mondragon dealing in large quantities of methamphetamine and heroin. They also intercepted Mondragon in multiple conversations about the possession and sale of firearms and engaging in acts of violent debt collection on behalf of the drug trafficking organization.  At one point, investigators heard Mondragon plotting with others to kidnap another dealer.

“The efforts by all our partners in this investigation show our collective commitment to keep our communities free of illegal controlled substances and safe by preventing violent individuals like Mr. Mondragon from carrying out the acts he planned and conspired to commit,” said Jacob D. Galvan, Acting Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division.

In asking for an eleven-year prison sentence prosecutors wrote to the court, “Mondragon’s extensive involvement in gun possession and violence places him among the most violent individuals in this conspiracy. During the four months that law enforcement intercepted Mondragon’s activities, he engaged in multiple plots to kidnap and otherwise harm debtors, procured a seemingly endless supply of firearms for himself and organization leaders, was arrested three times for crimes (all of which involved gun possession), and agreed to “wheelchair” an individual for money – a plan he appeared intent on executing when he was intercepted by law enforcement with a loaded gun on his way to do the job.”

Mondragon will be on supervised release for five years following his prison term.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Tacoma Resident Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET), Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Thurston County Narcotics Team (TNT), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.

Seattle – A 23-year-old Seattle man, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison for attempted sex trafficking of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Issac Shorack was arrested at Sea-Tac Airport in February 2022 as he drove to the arrivals area to pick up a person he believed to be a 17-year-old minor.  In fact, Shorack had been communicating with an undercover agent about traveling to Seattle to work as a prostitute.  Shorack first came to the attention of law enforcement in November 2021, with a tip to a National Human Trafficking hotline alleging he was trafficking juveniles.  At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin said Shorack preyed on “Young, confused, and impressionable girls…. You were looking for young vulnerable girls, and when they were afraid, you threatened them with violence.”

“Mr. Shorack used threats and violence to control vulnerable juveniles who he sold for sex on Aurora Avenue,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “He made hundreds of thousands of dollars by exploiting and endangering young women and used the money to fund his lavish lifestyle.”

According to records in the case, the investigation began with a call to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in November 2021.  The caller reported information about minors who were being trafficked in the Seattle area – in the location known as “the track” or “the blade” on Aurora Avenue North.  The FBI began an investigation and was able to trace some of the activities of Shorack and the minors he controlled for sex trafficking.  Forensic examination of electronic devices revealed text messages showing Shorack in control of the minors’ activities including pricing, what sex acts they should engage in with sex buyers, the use of condoms and information about whether they were earning enough money for him.  Investigators analyzed Shorack’s texts to the minors about how much money they were making and saw that they correlated with cash deposits made into his bank accounts.  In his text messages, Shorack also bragged about physically assaulting another victim and threatened physical violence if the victims did not follow his orders.  Shorack also admitted that he knew at least three of his victims were minors.

The FBI used an experienced undercover agent based out of state to reach out to Shorack posing as a 17-year-old minor.  Shorack communicated with the “minor” via phone and text messages and attempted to entice her to travel to Seattle and work for him as a prostitute.  Shorack had some of the minors under his control reach out to the undercover officer as well to try to recruit her to work for him.   Shorack used various questions to try to determine whether the undercover was law enforcement.  Ultimately, Shorack purchased a ticket for the “minor” to fly to Seattle and told her he would pick her up outside baggage claim.  Instead, Shorack was arrested by Port of Seattle Police.

“It is deplorable that Mr. Shorack not only recruited minors from across the country, but he also demonstrated zero concern for his victims’ well-being,” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field Office. “The work the FBI and our law enforcement partners are doing to combat modern-day slavery is critical in ending this dehumanizing crime.”

An analysis of Shorack’s bank accounts revealed he deposited more than $360,000 in prostitution proceeds.  Today Judge Lin ordered Shorack to pay $50,000 in restitution to each of his three minor victims for a total of $150,000.

In asking for a 12-year-sentece with ten years of community supervision to follow, Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham wrote to the court, Shorack “is a predatory person who was willing to recruit and live off the prostitution profits of vulnerable juveniles and young women. By virtue of engaging in this conduct, he poses a very real danger to the community and has the potential to continue to sexually exploit women upon his release.”

Shorack will be on ten years of supervised release following prison, and will be required to register as a sex offender.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888

The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Seattle Police Department and the Port of Seattle Police.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham. Ms. Crisham is the Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator for the Western District of Washington. 

Seattle – A 50-year-old Olympia, Washington man was indicted late yesterday by a federal grand jury for three arsons that damaged or destroyed Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Halls, announce U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Mikey Diamond Starrett, aka Michael Jason Layes, was charged in a superseding indictment with three counts of damage to religious property, including the use of fire, and three counts of using fire to commit a federal felony.  Layes will be arraigned on the indictment next week.

“As DOJ noted this week, we are putting a priority on prosecuting hate crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “We continue to work closely with our faith communities so that they have the most current information on how to protect places of worship.”

According to the superseding indictment, the defendant allegedly set fire to Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Halls on three occasions: the Kingdom Hall of Tumwater, Washington on March 19, 2018; the Kingdom Hall of Olympia, Washington on March 19, 2018; and the Kingdom Hall of Olympia, Washington on July 3, 2018.  The superseding indictment alleges the defendant defaced, damaged, and destroyed religious real property at the Kingdom Halls because of the religious character of the properties.

Fire destroys Olympia Jehovah's Witness Hall on July 3, 2018

“Our criminal investigators have been working tirelessly on these attacks since they began in 2018,” said ATF Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson. “We hope this indictment helps calm the fears of those in the Pierce and Thurston county areas through the knowledge that Layes is being prosecuted for his alleged crimes.”

Layes was previously charged with one count of damage to religious property, including the use of a dangerous weapon, and one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in connection with a shooting that damaged a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Yelm, Washington, on May 15, 2018.  The defendant was also previously charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm. Layes has been in federal custody since his arrest on September 8, 2021.

If convicted, the defendant faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison on each charge of damage to religious property.  The defendant faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm charge. If convicted, the defendant faces at least 10 years in prison to run consecutive to any sentence imposed for each of the remaining offenses.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) Seattle Field Division, the FBI, the Tumwater, Washington Police Department, and the Olympia, Washington Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca S. Cohen for the Western District of Washington and Trial Attorney Matthew Tannenbaum for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  Ms. Cohen serves as the Civil Rights Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division.

For more information and resources about DOJ’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

Seattle – The owner of a wholesale fish processor, Native American Fisheries, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to three years of probation for violating the Lacey Act by taking more than 7,000 pounds of illegally caught Columbia River salmon and selling it commercially.   Scott Kinley is a member of the Lummi Nation and knew the spring Chinook Columbia fishery was only open to Yakama Nation enrollees who were limited to fishing for subsistence and ceremonial purposes.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Lauren King noted that Kinley lied when he was stopped and questioned by fisheries officers. “You lied and told them that the fish was for tribal elders. Instead of giving all of that fish to elders or providing it for a funeral or ceremonial purposes… you sold the vast majority of it and made tens of thousands of dollars.”

“These fish were taken at a critical time, when the Yakama Nation and its fisheries partners were trying to boost spring Chinook salmon returns to the Columbia Basin,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “The high levels taken during this fishery prompted an emergency closure which hurt those tribal members who wanted fish for subsistence or ceremonial purposes.”

Boxes of illegally taken salmon

According to records filed in the case, Kinley knowingly purchased and sold thousands of pounds of protected salmon that was not available to his competitors.  The investigation revealed that Kinley sold the fish for about $11.75 per pound wholesale, while the retail price was $19.99 retail.  That places the full retail value of the salmon at $143,088.  Judge King ordered that $143,088 in restitution be paid to the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) to fund habitat protection and restoration projects.

“The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Police Department and NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement work collaboratively to protect these endangered species on the Columbia River,” said Greg Busch, Assistant Director of NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement, West Coast Division. “The tribes and the entire region work too hard to protect and restore native salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin to see them harvested and sold illegally.”

The program manager for the Yakama Nation Fisheries Program described the impact of the illegal sale of the poached fish as stealing from future generations.  “Illegal commercial sales encourage overharvest which in turn is detrimental to salmon recovery and rebuilding efforts underway. These activities destroy our attempts at a fair system of allocation and can limit legal harvest in a given year. Lastly, the entire reason for limiting harvest is conservation and recovery, that is, to allow enough fish to make it to either spawning grounds or back to the hatcheries to ensure future generations of fish,” Donella Miller wrote in the Yakama victim impact statement.

The case was investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Police Department, with assistance from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James Oesterle.