Western District of Washington

Seattle – A 23-year-old Seattle man,  appeared in federal court this week charged with two felonies related to human trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Issac Shorack, was arrested at Sea-Tac Airport Wednesday evening as he drove to the arrivals area to pickup a person he believed to be a 17-year-old minor.  In fact, Shorack had been communicating with an undercover agent out of state about traveling to Seattle to work as a prostitute.

“Just this week, Attorney General Garland highlighted DOJ’s efforts to protect the victims of human trafficking.  Those who prey on our youth to enrich themselves must be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “This case began with a tip from a concerned citizen. Then law enforcement uncovered how Mr. Shorack used money and promises to lure young women into prostitution so that he could line his own pockets.”

According to the criminal complaint, 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.

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.

Shorack appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday February 3, 2022.  He was detained pending a further hearing on Tuesday February 8, 2022.

Attempted enticement of a minor and attempted transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution are punishable by a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison to life in prison.

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

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

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

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh joins the law enforcement community across the Commonwealth of Virginia in mourning the loss of Bridgewater College Police Officer John Painter and Campus Security Officer J.J. Jefferson, who died in the line of duty Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

“Every day, brave men and women put their lives at risk when they put on a uniform and a badge, and protect our communities,” U.S. Attorney Kavanaugh said today. “These two men are examples of what we should all aspire to be — courageous in the face of danger and willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others. The Department of Justice and our community mourns the loss of these two heroes, and we will honor their legacy.”

Seattle – U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has released the Justice Department’s new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

Rooted in the foundational pillars and priorities of the interagency National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, which President Biden released on Dec. 3, 2021, the Justice Department's National Strategy is expansive in scope.  It aims to enhance the department's capacity to prevent human trafficking; to prosecute human trafficking cases; and to support and protect human trafficking victims and survivors.

“Human trafficking is an insidious crime,” said Attorney General Garland. “Traffickers exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society and cause their victims unimaginable harm.  The Justice Department’s new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking will bring the full force of the Department to this fight.”

“The Western District of Washington has been at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking since 2004, when the U.S. Attorney’s Office convened the Washington Advisory Committee on Trafficking (WashACT) in partnership with the Seattle Police Department and the International Rescue Committee of Seattle,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “Thanks to grants made to our partners by the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime and Bureau of Justice Assistance, WashACT has served as a model of a multi-disciplinary, collaborative, victim-centered task force.  WashACT remains focused on its mission of ensuring that victims of trafficking receive all resources available to them and that human traffickers are identified, investigated, and prosecuted to the utmost extent of the law.  We will continue advancing the goals set forth in the Attorney General’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking.”

Among other things, the Justice Department’s multi-year strategy to combat all forms of human trafficking will:

• Strengthen engagement, coordination, and joint efforts to combat human trafficking by prosecutors in all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and by federal law enforcement agents nationwide.
• Establish federally-funded, locally-led anti-human trafficking task forces that support sustained state law enforcement leadership and comprehensive victim assistance.
• Step up departmental efforts to end forced labor by increasing attention, resources and coordination in labor trafficking investigations and prosecutions.
• Enhance initiatives to reduce vulnerability of American Indians and Alaska Natives to violent crime, including human trafficking, and to locate missing children.
• Develop and implement new victim screening protocols to identify potential human trafficking victims during law enforcement operations and encourage victims to share important information.
• Increase capacity to provide victim-centered assistance to trafficking survivors, including by supporting efforts to deliver financial restoration to victims.
• Expand dissemination of federal human trafficking training, guidance and expertise.
• Advance innovative demand-reduction strategies.

The department’s strategy will be implemented under the direction of the National Human Trafficking Coordinator designated by the Attorney General in accordance with the Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017.

If you believe that you or someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, please contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at   1-888-373-7888, or Text 233733.

To read the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking click here.

 

Seattle – A 46- year-old Auburn, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 6 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release for trafficking in stolen goods and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Aleksandr Pavlovskiy pleaded guilty in October 2021, following a lengthy investigation by the FBI and Auburn Police Department.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said, the sentence was driven in part by “the stunning amount of stolen material.”

“This case highlights the tremendous value we place in state and federal law enforcement teamwork. The investigation began through the patient, dedicated work of an Auburn Police detective, who reached out to the FBI. It is through this sort of teamwork that we can root out all manner of crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “While the stolen property case is what brought us here, the possession of child pornography demonstrates the damage Mr. Pavlovskiy inflicted on the larger community.”

 

According to records filed in the case, between 2013 and 2016, Pavlovskiy operated two pawn shops: Thrift Electro in Renton, Washington and Innovation Best in Kent, Washington.  At the shops, Pavlovskiy directed employees to purchase stolen retail goods from shoplifters and others.  Employees paid the shoplifters cash for the items. Some of the items came from delivery drivers for online retailers who stole the packages and sold them to the pawn shops.

In 2016, Pavlovskiy established a warehouse in Kent where the stolen goods would be stored and repackaged for re-sale.  At the warehouse employees would use heat guns and scrapers to remove any tags from the items. Employees photographed the items and listed them for sale on eBay and Amazon.  Between January 2017 and July 2019, Pavlovskiy and his employees at the warehouse shipped hundreds of thousands of stolen items to purchasers across the United States.  The business generated between $1.5 million and $3.5 million on the sale of stolen goods.

The law enforcement investigation began in the summer of 2018, when an alert Auburn police detective noticed the large number of stolen goods being sold at pawn shops owned and operated by Mr. Pavlovskiy. In July 2019, state and federal law enforcement served search warrants on Pavlovskiy’s home, cars, and business locations.  At the warehouse they documented racks of stolen goods being processed for resale.  They took a number of electronic devices for analysis.  On Pavlovskiy’s devices, forensic analysis revealed more than 20,000 images or videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Pavlovskiy used file sharing software to obtain and share the images.

In imposing the sentence, Judge Coughenour directed Pavlovskiy serve 24 months on the child pornography count and 48 months on the trafficking in stolen property count, with the sentences to run consecutively.  Pavlovskiy is required to register as a sex offender.  He was ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution.  Of the 65 known sexual abuse victims identified during the investigation, six victims requested restitution to help defray costs of their ongoing mental health treatment, and for other crime-related expenses. Each victim will receive at least $2,000 in restitution.  The stolen property recovered in the investigation is being returned to the victim retailers.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Auburn Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mike Lang.

Seattle – A 75-year-old woman from Lynnwood, Washington, who worked as a contract accountant, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 6 months in prison and one year of home detention, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Over seven years, Judith Wright stole nearly $300,000 from Transportation Demand Management LLC (“TDM”), a Washington State passenger transportation company.  This is Wrights second conviction for embezzling.  In 1994 she was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for embezzling from the bank where she served as Chief Financial Officer.

At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones noted Wright’s prior conviction saying, “Even with the passage of time, you have little respect for the law.” Judge Jones said Wright had violated the trust of her employer and deprived others of money that could have changed their lives.

According to records filed in the case, between February 2010 and January 2017, Wright wrote some 120 fraudulent checks to herself and then disguised the payments in company books as if they were made to legitimate vendors.  The fraud came to light when a new Chief Financial Officer at the company began questioning some of the entries.  An FBI analysis of the accounts revealed that much of the money was clearly used for non-business expenses such as more than $78,000 in payments to Nordstrom, more than $17,000 spent with QVC (the home shopping network) and more than $20,000 spent at Costco.

This is the second time Wright has been sentenced for a similar embezzlement scheme.  In 1994 she wrote unauthorized checks at the bank where she worked to pay her credit card bills.  In that case the total theft was $45,000. 

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Wright will pay $298,737 in restitution to her former employer.

The case was investigated by the FBI.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Arnold.

Tacoma – A 48– year-old Mason County, Washington resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 30 days in custody for three federal felonies related to a smuggling scheme and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.   In September 2021, Christopher M. Cox pleaded guilty to: smuggling goods into the U.S.; making false statements related to the Clean Air Act; and possession of child pornography.  At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan ordered Cox to register as a sex offender and placed him on five years of supervised release following his incarceration.

Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence Mr. Cox to two years in prison.

“Mr. Cox was a danger to the community on multiple fronts. He abused a position of trust and endangered his colleagues by selling unsafe vehicles and ignoring air pollution control efforts,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “The vehicles he imported and sold did not meet safety or air quality standards.  These crimes, along with his possession of images of child rape and abuse, demonstrate he poses serious safety concerns. We advocated for a lengthier punishment for Mr. Cox to best protect the community and are disappointed by today’s sentence.”

According to records filed in the case, between approximately 2015 and January 2019, Cox falsified the required paperwork on two dozen vehicles he imported from overseas.  Many of the vehicles were extremely light vehicles imported from Japan that did not meet U.S. safety standards.  Cox sold some of the vehicles to contract mail carriers he knew from his job.  Cox falsified the forms that claimed the vehicles met both safety standards and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Air Act standards.  Cox used his identification as a contract mail carrier to circumvent inspections at the Port of Tacoma and took the vehicles from the Port without proper inspections.  The total value of the imported vehicles exceeds $55,000.  Those who bought the vehicles were not told that they failed to meet federal safety and pollution standards.

“The defendant’s intentional disregard for the law included an attempt to deceive law enforcement” said Scot Adair, Special Agent in Charge of the EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Washington. “The American public relies on accurate information on products being imported into this country to help protect the environment and the consumer.” 

When law enforcement officers served search warrants on Cox’s electronic accounts, they observed images of child pornography.  Some of the images are known series of images of child rape and abuse manufactured outside the State of Washington.  When officers executed search warrants on Cox’s residence and obtained his electronic devices, they located 142 images and 2 videos of child molestation, rape and abuse.

“Mr. Cox thrived through deceitful actions. He prioritized personal profit over the environment all while taking gratitude in the sexual exploitation of children,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest.   “We’re thankful to our partners at the EPA, CBP and U.S. Attorney’s Office for investigating and prosecuting the case.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID), the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Transportation, and Homeland Security Investigations with critical assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson

Seattle – The plant manager of Seattle Barrel and Cooperage Company, a barrel cleaning and reconditioning operation, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to conspiracy and making a false statement to the Environmental Protection Agency, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  John Sanft, 51, formerly of Issaquah, Washington, was the company’s plant manager during a conspiracy to illegally dump caustic waste into the King County sewer system, which ultimately empties into Puget Sound.  The company used a hidden drain, and, over ten years, lied to regulators to carry out their illegal dumping.   Last month, the company and its owner, Louie Sanft, were found guilty by a jury of participating in the dumping scheme.  John Sanft will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones on April 22, 2022.

Seattle Barrel’s business involves collecting used industrial and commercial drums and reconditioning and reselling them.  Between 2009 and March of 2019, part of the reconditioning process involved washing the barrels in a highly-corrosive chemical solution.  The caustic solution had a very high pH level. Since at least 2009, Seattle Barrel operated under a discharge permit that prohibits it from dumping effluent with a pH exceeding 12 to the sewer system.  Effluent above pH 12 will corrode the sewer system and treatment plant, and potentially cause pass-through pollution to Elliott Bay and Puget Sound.

In 2013, King County conducted covert monitoring of Seattle Barrel, and discovered the company was illegally dumping effluent with a pH above 12 in violation of its permit.  King County fined the company $55,250, but later agreed to reduce the fine when Seattle Barrel installed a pretreatment system for its wastewater.

However, in 2018 and 2019, additional covert monitoring by the EPA inspectors revealed that Seattle Barrel was continuing to routinely dump wastewater with a pH above 12 into the sewer system despite telling local regulators that no industrial wastewater was being discharged.  Agents then installed real-time monitoring equipment that allowed them to determine when the dumping was taking place and obtained a search warrant. 

Early on the morning of March 8, 2019, the covert monitors indicated Seattle Barrel was dumping high-pH material into the sewer.  Agents immediately executed the warrant and entered the building.  Inside, they discovered a portable pump on the floor near the tank of caustic solution.  They then discovered that the pump was being used to pump the caustic solution to a nearby hidden drain that had never been disclosed to King County.  The drain led directly to the sewer system.  According to the company, since mid-2019, following the criminal conduct in this case, it no longer uses the caustic solution for barrel cleaning.

As noted in the plea agreement, John Sanft knew of the existence of the hidden drain, and further knew that Seattle Barrel was regularly discharging the contents of the caustic tank through the hidden drain. John Sanft did not personally engage in the discharges or tell the employee to cause the discharges. However, Sanft admits he was part of the conspiracy to hide the conduct from the King County inspectors and the EPA.  John Sanft admitted to lying to federal agents about the dumping during a March 8, 2019 interview.  John Sant faces up to five years in prison for each of the two charges to which he pled guilty. 

“The defendant’s intentional disregard for the environment included an attempt to deceive law enforcement and conceal other crimes” said Scot Adair, Special Agent in Charge of the EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Washington. “EPA and the Department of Justice continue to hold accountable companies and individuals that place communities and the environment at risk.”

 

In December 2021, John Sanft’s cousin, Louie Sanft, the owner and operator of Seattle Barrel, was convicted following a three-week trial of: conspiracy; 29 violations of the Clean Water Act for discharging pollutants to the sewer; four counts of submission of False Clean Water Act Certifications; and making a false statement to special agents of the EPA.  Louie Sanft faces up to 5 years in prison on the conspiracy and false statement counts, and up to three years in prison for each violation of the Clean Water Act. 

Under the terms of the plea agreement with John Sanft, prosecutors will recommend he be sentenced to no more than a year and a day in prison.  However, the ultimate sentence is up to U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones.  Judge Jones will determine the sentence for both John and Louie Sanft and the company, after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID) with significant assistance from King County Industrial Waste. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Wilkinson and Jim Oesterle, and Special Assistant United States Attorneys Karla Perrin and Gwendolyn Russell, Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel with the Environmental Protection Agency.

Seattle – A 29-year-old Seattle-area resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 10 years in prison for four federal felonies, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Steve Godina Ochoa was arrested in February 2020, after a 13-year-old runaway disclosed to counselors, that Godina Ochoa repeatedly sexually assaulted her. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour imposed a 10-year term of supervised release to follow the prison sentence.

According to records filed in the case, in November 2019, the Bellevue Police Department Sexual Assault Unit began investigating Godina Ochoa after disclosures from a young victim.  When Godina Ochoa and his vehicles were located, law enforcement seized quantities of methamphetamine and heroin and three firearms.  Two of the firearms had been reported stolen – one from Federal Way and the other from Snohomish County.  Godina Ochoa had more than $4,500 cash in the car – the proceeds from his drug dealing.  Godina Ochoa was prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior convictions for arson and unlawful possession of a firearm.

When law enforcement seized and analyzed Godina Ochoa’s electronic devices they found images of the sexual assault on the young victim.  The images constitute child pornography.

In asking for the 10-year sentence prosecutors wrote to the court, “There are very few crimes that are more serious than those involving the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and narcotics trafficking is an undeniable blight on our community which robs our citizens of quality and longevity of life. As a convicted felon, the defendant elected to use firearms to protect his wares again putting himself and others are risk of harm or death all in an effort to support his lifestyle.”

The case was investigated by the Bellevue Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Department of Homeland Security (HSI).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.

Seattle – An Edmonds, Washington, business owner was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to five years of probation, with one year of house arrest, for wire fraud related to the April 30, 2018, fire at her business, CJN Miniatures & More, a dollhouse, miniatures, collectibles, and antiques shop, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Connie L. Bigelow, 54, set the fire to try to collect insurance money to solve her financial troubles.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said he was opting for home confinement because of the COVID pandemic. 

According to records filed in the case, Bigelow set fire to her business to collect insurance money as the store was struggling to make enough money to pay the rent.  Bigelow moved her business, CJN Miniatures LLC, into the building at 23030 Highway 99, in Edmonds in September 2017.  The store maintained an inventory of miniatures and collectables for sale, consigned items on behalf of other individuals, and rented out space to other vendors.  Between October 2017 and April 2018, the business fell behind in rental payments and payments to consigners. 

Bigelow carried an insurance policy with State Farm Fire and Casualty Company that covered up to $100,000 in loss of business personal property, as well as loss of income.  The policy did not cover loss arising from arson.

Bigelow set the fire underneath three Thomas Kinkade paintings worth thousands of dollars.  In May 2018, Bigelow initiated a claim to State Farm for the losses arising from the fire.  On May 3, 2018, Bigelow communicated with the insurance agent via email as part of the wire fraud scheme.  Bigelow made false statements to law enforcement, as well as representatives of State Farm as part of the scheme to defraud.

Prosecutors had asked for a year in prison, citing the inherent danger of the fire and the losses to the community. In pleading guilty, Bigelow agreed to make full restitution.  Currently the restitution is over $200,000 to the building owners and some 50 victims who lost consigned items in the fire.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), along with the Snohomish County Fire Marshals’ Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amy Jaquette.

Seattle – A 58-year-old resident of Pacific, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle, to a year and a day in prison for 14 counts of aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Jean Mpouli worked for 25 years as an aviation inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), while on the side he ran a tax preparation business with hundreds of clients, offering his services primarily to African immigrants.  At the 3-day trial in September 2021, prosecutors showed how Mpouli falsely increased deductions for unreimbursed business expenses and educational expenses to boost his clients’ tax refunds.  Mpouli took a percentage of the refund as his fee, so the higher the refund, the larger the fee.  Further, on his personal tax returns, Mpouli hid over $200,000 of revenue generated from his illegal side business. 

At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ordered Mpouli to pay $31,296 in restitution, and imposed one year of supervised release following the prison term.

“Motivated purely by greed, Mr. Mpouli took advantage of the trust placed in him by his community – African immigrants and their descendants,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “His clients were particularly vulnerable to being used in this way, as they were unfamiliar with U.S. tax law. Mr. Mpouli placed his clients in harm’s way, exposing them to audit, fines and penalties, and potential criminal investigation.”

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, in late 2016 an analyst with the IRS noted that an unusually large number of returns prepared by Mpouli claimed deductions for unreimbursed business expenses.  In 2017, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division sent an undercover officer into the business to get an up-close look at how Mpouli prepared tax returns.  Using the W-2 information the undercover officer supplied, Mpouli rightly determined the agent owed approximately $800 in taxes.  However, Mpouli then offered to enter in approximately $34,000 in fraudulent expenses in order to boost the undercover officer’s refund to more than $5,600.  Mpouli explained that the undercover officer should consider the refund as a “loan” in the event the officer was audited by the IRS.  Mpouli then accepted $250 in cash as his fee for preparing the fraudulent return.

When agents executed court authorized search warrants on the business in September 2017, they found more than 1,200 personal tax returns on Mpouli’s computers.  Hundreds of the tax returns show suspiciously high amounts of unreimbursed business expenses and education expenses.  In one example, Mpouli claimed a client had driven more than 33,000 miles for business in one year.  However, the client did not own a vehicle, did not have a driver’s license, and had never driven a vehicle in the U.S.

When investigators contacted a random sampling of the clients who had used Mpouli’s services, they said they were not aware of the extent of the deductions he had claimed on their behalf.  Many did not own vehicles even though Mpouli listed unreimbursed car expenses.  Others never attended the educational institution listed on the returns.  In some instances, he claimed children were attending the secondary education institution, even though the children were actually enrolled in daycare or elementary school.  The clients said Mpouli did not discuss the returns with them before filing, and when they were notified that they were being audited, he refused to assist them.

According to financial records, during the time period of the fraud, Mpouli was sending more than $300,000 to his native Cameroon to pay for the construction of an apartment building.

In all, the government estimated the tax loss to be nearly $3.5 million.

“When those we trust to prepare our taxes take advantage of their clients for their own greed, everybody is harmed. We rely on our tax system to provide resources to fund critical services that we all rely on,” said Bret Kressin, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI) Special Agent in Charge, Seattle Field Office. “Mr. Mpouli knew on a personal level how critical tax revenue is to public safety, as his prior career as a government employee was funded by taxpayer dollars. However, Mr. Mpouli chose to abuse the system in spite of this for his own illicit gain. Today’s sentence is a reminder that IRS:CI takes attacks on our tax system seriously, because the safety and well-being of our communities are what is at stake.”

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service: Criminal Investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndsie Schmalz and Frances Franze-Nakamura.

Seattle – A 33-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to three years in prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Kevin Antoine Jones used information from a bank insider so that he and his underlings could impersonate customers and drain their bank accounts, causing actual and attempted loss of more than $299,000.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour imposed three years of supervised release to follow prison.

According to records filed in the case, Jones has spent the last dozen years in and out of prison for a number of criminal convictions.  In 2007, he was convicted of promoting prostitution when a 16-year-old girl told police Jones would not let her go home to her family until she earned $25,000 for him.  That same year he was convicted of illegally possessing a firearm.  In 2011, he was convicted in federal court of bank robbery-related charges.  In 2017, while on supervised release for that crime, he was convicted of illegally possessing ammunition.  Following a 30-month prison term, Jones was again on supervised release.  During 2019 he was arrested for stealing from a casino and assaulting a blackjack dealer and a few months later police were called when he assaulted his domestic partner. 

The investigation revealed that from March 2019, to October 2019, Jones got information from a BECU insider so that he could victimize some 20 customers of the credit union.  Jones used the inside information so that he (and others acting at his direction) could impersonate the customers and obtain new debit cards for their accounts.  Jones recruited others, including his father, to impersonate the customers and drain the bank accounts.  Jones was ordered to pay $231,000 in restitution.

The bank insider was sentenced to 24 months in prison.  Jones’ father has pleaded guilty and is awaiting federal sentencing.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Kirkland Police Department.

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

Seattle – The former owner and co-CEO of an electronics recycling firm was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 6 months in prison for tax fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Jeffrey Zirkle, 58, of Gig Harbor, Washington, was the owner and co-CEO of Total Reclaim, the Northwest’s largest recycler of electronic waste.  In 2019, Zirkle was sentenced to 28 months in prison for defrauding clients by secretly exporting electronic waste to Hong Kong, despite presenting his business as an environmentally-friendly recycling service.  Today’s second criminal case stems from Zirkle using company funds to pay for his personal expenses and failing to report the transactions on his income tax returns.

At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said, “He’s been defrauding the company and defrauding the government for years…. He has no respect for the law whatsoever.” Judge Robart ordered Zirkle to pay $125,549 in restitution to the government.

“Those who fail to pay their taxes are not just cheating the government, they are also stealing from taxpayers who are following the rules. But despite earning nearly $1 million a year in salary, Mr. Zirkle refused to pay his fair share,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “At the same time that he was misleading customers about his company’s business practices, he was also lying to the IRS by mischaracterizing his personal expenses as business expenses. No one is above the law.”

According to records filed in the case, following the prosecution of Zirkle and his partner for fraud, a new CEO took over Total Reclaim.  That executive discovered Zirkle had embezzled from the company by charging hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses on company credit cards.  An investigation by the FBI and IRS:CI determined that as much as $480,000 were for personal items and that Zirkle never reported those benefits on his income tax returns.  Many of the charges involved the purchase of luxury goods: more than $4,000 at Louie Vuitton Las Vegas, $4,000 as a down payment on a motocross bike, and over $15,000 for the partial payment of a vintage 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle.  Zirkle also spent over $17,000 in corporate funds on a single day to purchase home appliances, and over $15,000 on a home irrigation system.  Even after his sentencing on the fraud charges in April 2019, Zirkle continued to use the corporate credit card for his own expenses charging over $5,000 for septic work on his home.

In October 2021, Zirkle pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns from 2008 to 2017.  Zirkle negotiated a settlement with Total Reclaim regarding the expenses.  Zirkle was ordered to pay $125,549 in restitution for the tax loss.

“Mr. Zirkle not only defrauded the Government and endangered the environment,  Mr. Zirkle also had the audacity to further line his pockets by stealing from his own company,” said Special Agent in Charge Bret Kressin, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI), Seattle Field Office. “IRS:CI is committed to investigating financial and tax crimes, and we will not let these crimes go unnoticed. Today’s sentence is proof of this commitment, and the sentence represents further justice for Mr. Zirkle’s schemes.”

In the earlier criminal case, an EPA investigation concluded that Total Reclaim had secretly exported over eight million pounds of monitors containing toxic materials such as mercury. The investigation revealed that Zirkle and his co-defendant had concealed this practice by submitting fraudulent documents to auditors and customers, and had falsified more documents when the practice was discovered.

Due to concern about the pandemic, Judge Robart ordered Zirkle to begin serving his sentence in early August.  Over the objections of the prosecutor, Zirkle asked for the delay in serving his time, so he could attend two family weddings.  Zirkle will be on 18 months of supervised release for the tax crimes following his prison term.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson.

Seattle – The U.S. Department of Justice and a Federal Way, Washington general-practice doctor have settled allegations that the doctor billed government health programs for urine drug tests that were never performed or performed too late to be useful, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Dr. Vuthy Leng is the sole owner and operator of Family Medicine Clinic of Federal Way LLC.  Dr. Leng will pay state and federal health programs $228,000 to resolve allegations that Dr. Leng billed government health programs for useless urine drug tests.

According to the settlement agreement, the Federal Way clinic had a certified lab, capable of performing urine drug tests so that patients could be screened for appropriate prescribing of medications including substance use disorder treatment.  Between January 1, 2019 and July 30, 2019, Dr. Leng submitted bills to Medicare and Medicaid for urine drug tests.  In fact, for long periods during this timeframe, the medical equipment for testing urine was broken, the samples were simply frozen for testing at a later date.  Some were never tested at all.

While not admitting the allegations in the settlement, Leng will pay $76,000 in restitution to the government medical programs.  Under the False Claims Act, the government can seek treble damages resulting in an additional $152,000 to be paid by Dr. Leng over the next 12 months.  The amount will be split between the state and federal programs based on the share each paid of the false bills.

Under the terms of the settlement each party will pay their own legal fees.

The matter was investigated by the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the Washington State Health Care Authority and Washington Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Division.

Assistant United States Attorney Nickolas Bohl negotiated the settlement for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Seattle – A leader of a scheme to cheat Washington State out of more than $10 million in tobacco excise taxes was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 26 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Hyung Il Kwon, 48, of Henderson, Nevada, was the secret owner of TK Mac, a company that owned and operated two smoke shops in Federal Way and Lynnwood, Washington. Kwon conspired with others to cheat the state out of tobacco excise taxes; he also evaded more than $850,000 in federal income taxes. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart noted that Kwon has a prior state conviction from a similar tobacco fraud scheme, and said, “You [Kwon] have almost no respect for the law whatsoever when it gets in the way of making money.”

“For years, Mr. Kwon repeatedly laundered cash and created false invoices to avoid paying tobacco excise taxes. This didn’t just hurt the state coffers, it gave his business a competitive advantage over other small stores,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “Now Mr. Kwon has a substantial restitution obligation, which will follow him even after he serves his prison term.”

According to records filed in the case, between 2009 and 2017, Kwon engaged in two schemes to defraud the state of tobacco excise taxes. The schemes involved two tribal smoke shops on the Puyallup reservation which sold significant quantities of tobacco products to TK Mac, the non-tribal tobacco distributor. Most of the sales were in cash, and TK Mac failed to report the purchases to the state, thus avoiding millions of dollars in excise taxes. When TK Mac then resold the products for cash, the company had a problem, since large deposits of cash would have triggered state scrutiny of its tobacco business. So, beginning in 2013 and continuing until 2017, Kwon and his coconspirators engaged in a money-laundering scheme: the two tribal smoke shops wrote checks to TK Mac as if the tribal smoke shops had purchased tobacco products from the non-tribal store. In fact, TK Mac simply provided the tribal smoke shops with large amounts of cash equal to the checks. No tobacco products changed hands, but TK Mac received an excise tax credit. As a result of these schemes, Washington State suffered losses of more than $10 million.

The president of the company that owns the tribal smoke shops, Anthony Edwin Paul, was sentenced last month to 14 months in prison, a $5,000 fine, and $1,764,818 in restitution. Paul’s subordinate, Theodore Kai Silva, who operated the scheme on behalf of the tribal smoke shops, was sentenced today to four years of probation with six months of home confinement, plus $25,000 in restitution. Kwon’s coconspirator and business partner Tae Young Kim will be sentenced in February 2022.

“Taxes, whether state or federal, are levied for the benefit of the public. When individuals like Mr. Silva, Mr. Kwon, Mr. Paul, and Mr. Kim scheme in a flagrant attempt to evade taxes, they are hurting the communities they purport to serve with their businesses,” said Bret Kressin, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI) Special Agent in Charge, Seattle Field Office. “Today’s sentence is a reminder that those who willfully dodge their duty to pay federal and state taxes will be held accountable for their actions. IRS:CI is committed to investigating those who choose their own greed over paying their fair share of taxes for the good of the public.”

Following the indictment of various coconspirators, the government seized more than $5 million from Kwon and Kim. Today, Judge Robart imposed a $10,000 fine on Kwon and ordered him to pay $5,098,249 in restitution to the Washington State Department of Revenue, plus restitution to the IRS.

The case was investigated by IRS-CI, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James Oesterle and Jonas Lerman.

Seattle - Kaleb Cole, 26, a leader of the Neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, was sentenced today in Seattle to 7 years in prison for his role in a plot to threaten and intimidate journalists and advocates who worked to expose anti-Semitism. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said, “We cannot tolerate his threats to silence others…  To function as a democratic society, we need reliable and truthful journalists.”

In September 2021, a jury in the Western District of Washington convicted Cole of one count of interfering with a federally protected activity because of religion, three counts of mailing threatening communications, and one count of conspiring with other Atomwaffen members to commit three offenses against the United States––interference with federally-protected activities because of religion, mailing threatening communications, and cyberstalking.

“Kaleb Cole helped lead a violent, nationwide neo-Nazi group.  He repeatedly promoted violence, stockpiled weapons, and organized ‘hate camps,’” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “Today the community and those Mr. Cole and his co-conspirators targeted stand-up to say hate has no place here.  He tried to intimidate journalists and advocates with hate-filled and threatening posters, tried to amplify their fear.  Instead, they faced him in court and their courage has resulted in the federal prison sentence imposed today.”

Evidence introduced at trial showed that Cole and other members of Atomwaffen plotted to intimidate journalists and others by mailing threatening posters or gluing the posters to victims’ homes.  The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color.  Cole created the posters, which warned the recipients that “you have been visited by your local Nazis.”  The posters contained threatening images, such as a hooded figure preparing to throw a Molotov cocktail at a house.  The threatening posters were delivered to homes in late January 2020.

At trial, the victims described how receiving the posters impacted them.  Some moved from their homes for a time or installed security systems.  One purchased a firearm and took a firearms safety class.  Another started opening her mailbox with a stick due to fear of what might be inside.  One left her job as a journalist.

“Threats motivated by religious intolerance are antithetical to American values, even more so when they aim to intimidate journalists and others who are working to expose bigotry in our society.” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant led a multi-state plot by a neo-Nazi group to threaten and intimidate journalists and advocates who were doing important work to expose anti-Semitism around the country. The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute these hateful acts.”

“The defendant sought to intimidate journalists and advocates working to expose anti-Semitism, but that effort failed,” said Assistant Director Timothy Langan of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “Cole’s intended victims fought back but not with threats of violence; they fought back in a court of law. The FBI will continue to do our part by aggressively investigating cases involving threats or acts of violence.”

“Mr. Cole displayed through his actions that his beliefs were more than just rhetoric. No doubt, the exemplary work of our investigators and partners prevented Cole’s targets from becoming victims of violence,” said Donald Voiret, Special Agent in Charge FBI- Seattle.

Three other co-conspirators––Cameron Shea, Johnny Roman Garza, and Taylor Ashley Parker-Dipeppe––previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Seattle, Tampa, Houston, and Phoenix, with assistance from the Seattle Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Woods and Seth Wilkinson for the Western District of Washington, and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer, with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorney David Smith of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Texas, District of Arizona, and Central District of California.

A Washington man was sentenced today to 84 months, or seven years, in prison for his role in a plot to threaten and intimidate journalists and advocates who worked to expose anti-Semitism.

Kaleb Cole, 25, a leader of the Neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, was convicted by a federal jury in the Western District of Washington of one count of interfering with a federally protected activity because of religion, three counts of mailing threatening communications, and one count of conspiring with other Atomwaffen members to commit three offenses against the United States – interference with federally-protected activities because of religion, mailing threatening communications, and cyberstalking.

“Threats motivated by religious intolerance are antithetical to American values, even more so when they aim to intimidate journalists and others who are working to expose bigotry in our society.” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant led a multi-state plot by a neo-Nazi group to threaten and intimidate journalists and advocates who were doing important work to expose anti-Semitism around the country. The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute these hateful acts.”

“Kaleb Cole helped lead a violent, nationwide neo-Nazi group,’” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown for the Western District of Washington. “He repeatedly promoted violence, stockpiled weapons, and organized ‘hate camps’. Today the community and those Mr. Cole and his co-conspirators targeted, stand-up to say hate has no place here. He tried to intimidate journalists and advocates with hate-filled and threatening posters, tried to amplify their fear. Instead they faced him in court and their courage has resulted in the federal prison sentence imposed today.”

“The defendant sought to intimidate journalists and advocates working to expose anti-Semitism, but that effort failed,” said Assistant Director Timothy Langan of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “Cole’s intended victims fought back but not with threats of violence; they fought back in a court of law. The FBI will continue to do our part by aggressively investigating cases involving threats or acts of violence.”

“Mr. Cole displayed through his actions that his beliefs were more than just rhetoric,” said Special Agent in Charge Donald Voiret of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office. “No doubt, the exemplary work of our investigators and partners prevented Cole’s targets from becoming victims of violence.”

Evidence introduced at trial showed that Cole and other members of Atomwaffen plotted to intimidate journalists and others by mailing threatening posters or gluing the posters to victims’ homes. The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color. Cole created the posters, which warned the recipients that “you have been visited by your local Nazis.”  The posters contained threatening images, such as a hooded figure preparing to throw a Molotov cocktail at a house. The threatening posters were delivered to homes in late January 2020.

At trial, the victims described how receiving the posters impacted them. Some moved from their homes for a time or installed security systems. One purchased a firearm and took a firearms safety class. Another started opening her mailbox with a stick due to fear of what might be inside. One left her job as a journalist.

Three other co-conspirators – Cameron Shea, Johnny Roman Garza, and Taylor Ashley Parker-Dipeppe – previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Seattle, Tampa, Houston, and Phoenix, with assistance from the Seattle Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Woods and Seth Wilkinson for the Western District of Washington, and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer, with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorney David Smith of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Texas, District of Arizona, and Central District of California.

Seattle – A 23-year-old Seattle man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Nicholas Marshall, resided in Puyallup, Washington during most of the criminal conduct, pressuring young girls he met via the internet to send him sexually explicit images.  Yesterday, Marshall was sentenced to 87 months in prison in Pierce County Superior Court for the exploitation of a Texas 12-year-old.  The report from that victim brought the criminal conduct to the attention of law enforcement.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, both sides will recommend 9 years in prison and 15-years of supervised release when Marshall is sentenced on April 1, 2022.

According to the plea agreement, between October 2018 and September 2019, Marshall communicated with various minor girls via the internet apps ‘Discord’ and ‘Snapchat.’  Homeland Security Investigations in Houston, Texas, began an investigation after the mother of a 12-year-old reported her daughter communicating with Marshall via text message and Discord, and the sexual nature of the contact.  Puyallup Police investigated the case and Marshall was charged in Pierce County Superior Court for that conduct.

The investigation revealed there were at least four other victims who had been pressured or threatened into sending Marshall sexually explicit images: A 13-year-old girl residing in Washington State; a 16-year-old residing in Wisconsin; a 14-year-old residing in Texas; and a 15-year-old residing in Canada.  In some cases, Marshall promised the victims money or gift cards, in others he threatened the girls or their families to get the images he wanted.

On September 10, 2019, investigators searched Marshall’s new residence in Seattle.  On his electronic devices they discovered 38 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Marshall was arrested at his job as a security guard in Seattle.

Marshall has been out of custody on the Pierce County charges.  He was taken into state custody following the sentencing yesterday.  Marshall was turned over to federal custody for today’s court proceeding.   Ultimately the state and federal sentences will run concurrently.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Puyallup Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Angelica Williams in coordination with the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office.

Seattle – A 24-year-old member of the Tulalip Tribes was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 3 years in prison for drug and gun crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Deion Kurtis Fryberg was initially charged in Tulalip Tribal Court in 2019 before the case was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for federal prosecution.  Fryberg was charged federally in February 2021, and pleaded guilty to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and possession of a stolen firearm in October 2021. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart imposed three years of supervised release to follow the prison term.

According to records filed in the case, in August 2019, Fryberg and an associate were arrested on the Tulalip reservation with significant quantities of methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl pills, and with supplies to help them package and distribute the drugs, including a scale and plastic baggies.  At the time of his arrest officers found that Fryberg had a loaded, stolen gun in his vehicle along with ammunition.  The car had been followed and stopped by Tulalip Tribes Police officers who knew Fryberg and his associate had warrants out for their arrest.  Fryberg and his associate refused to exit when ordered to do so, resulting in a brief stand-off before they were arrested. 

The case was investigated by the Tulalip Police Department and the FBI’s Northwestern Washington Safe Trails Task Force.

The case was prosecuted by the Task Force’s Special Assistant United States Attorney, Stacey Fernandez.

Seattle – The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded more than $8.5 million to Western Washington Indian Tribes for improvements to their criminal justice systems and youth development programs, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  The awards, to eight different tribes, are targeted for specific needs identified by each tribal community.

“It is an impressive list of projects and goals that each of these tribes outlined in their grant applications,” said U.S. Attorney Brown.  “From developing programs to connect tribal youth with their culture and heritage, to upgrading facilities for tribal courts and treatment facilities, these projects strengthen our communities.”

Four tribes are receiving grants to enhance services to teens:

Quinault Indian Nation - $600,000 for a juvenile healing and wellness court program.

Squaxin Island Tribe - $508,242 for a teen development and mentoring program.

Puyallup Tribe - $508,254 for tribal youth development and justice programs.

Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation - $508,245 for tribal youth programs.

Three tribes are receiving grants to improve the physical spaces involved in tribal justice and wellness programs:

Tulalip Tribes – grants totaling $1,339,961 to expand and improve the Healing Lodge for drug treatment and expand and assess services under the Path to Wellness program.

Skokomish Tribe – $1,200,000 to assist with construction of a public safety building that provides police and court services.

Nooksack Tribe -$1,186,249 to assist with renovations to the Tribal Justice Center.

Finally, three tribes received grants to enhance their court systems and criminal justice related programs:

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe - $900,000 to enhance reentry services for previously incarcerated tribal members.

Nooksack Tribe -$891,544 to hire a tribal prosecutor, bailiff, and staff to provide court services.

Quinault Indian Nation -$900,000 to expand the adult wellness court and develop a family wellness court.

In its grant application for the wellness courts the Quinault Indian Nation noted that it “has been working to build a stronger restorative justice model. Part of this model serves to help nonviolent offenders and their families work through substance abuse issues through a variety of social services such as Chemical Dependency, behavioral health, and family services…. Establishing these courts will promote the restorative justice model and be better suited to reduced recidivism, lesson the burden on community policing, reduce jail capacity, and build stronger communities.”

Copies of the grant awards are available on request to Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov

Additional information about these and other FY 2021 grant awards made by OJP can be found online at the OJP Grant Awards Page.

Seattle – A barrel cleaning and reconditioning operation, Seattle Barrel and Cooperage Company, and its owner, Louie Sanft, 55, were convicted late yesterday of conspiracy, making false statements, and 33 Clean Water Act violations following a three-week jury trial, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Investigators with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) documented a conspiracy to illegally dump caustic waste into the King County sewer system, which ultimately empties into Puget Sound.  The company used a hidden drain, and over ten years, lied to regulators to carry out their illegal dumping.  Sentencing for Sanft and the company is scheduled in front of U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones on March 25, 2022.

“While publicly claiming to follow environmental best practices, in private the company was illegally sending thousands of gallons of caustic wastewater into the sewer system,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “The highly corrosive wastewater can damage equipment that cleans wastewater, and further pollutes our fragile Puget Sound.  I commend the investigators with EPA and King County, who uncovered this conspiracy and our team who successfully held Mr. Sanft and the company accountable.”

Seattle Barrel’s business involves collecting used industrial and commercial drums and reconditioning and reselling them.  Part of the reconditioning process involved washing the barrels in a highly-corrosive chemical solution.  The caustic solution had a very high pH level.  According to the indictment, since at least 2009, Seattle Barrel has operated under a discharge permit that prohibits it from dumping effluent with a pH exceeding 12 to the sewer system.  Effluent above pH 12 will corrode the sewer system and treatment plant, and potentially cause pass-through pollution to Elliott Bay and Puget Sound.

In 2013, King County conducted covert monitoring of Seattle Barrel, and discovered the company was illegally dumping effluent with a pH above 12 in violation of its permit.  King County fined the company $55,250, but later agreed to reduce the fine when Seattle Barrel installed a pretreatment system for its wastewater.  Beginning in 2016, Louie Sanft represented to King County in written monthly certifications that the company had become a “zero discharge” facility and was not discharging any industrial wastewater to the sewer.

In fact, in 2018 and 2019, additional covert monitoring by the EPA inspectors revealed that Seattle Barrel was continuing to routinely dump wastewater with a pH above 12 into the sewer system despite telling local regulators that no industrial wastewater was being discharged.  Agents then installed real-time monitoring equipment that allowed them to determine when the dumping was taking place and obtained a search warrant. 

Early on the morning of March 8, 2019, the covert monitors indicated Seattle Barrel was dumping high-pH material into the sewer.  Agents immediately  executed the warrant and entered the building.  Inside, they discovered a portable pump on the floor near the tank of caustic solution.  They then discovered that the pump was being used to pump solution to a nearby hidden drain that had never been disclosed to King County.  The drain led directly to the sewer system.  The company claims that since mid-2019, following the criminal conduct in this case, it no longer uses the caustic solution.

Louie Sanft, the owner and operator of Seattle Barrel, was convicted of conspiracy, 29 violations of the Clean Water Act for discharging pollutants to the sewer, four counts of submission of False Clean Water Act Certifications, and making a false statement to special agents of the EPA.  Louie Sanft faces up to 5 years in prison on the conspiracy and false statement counts, and up to three years in prison for each violation of the Clean Water Act.  His cousin, John Sanft, 53, of Issaquah, WA, the plant manager, is scheduled for a separate trial on the charges in March 2022.  

U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID) with significant assistance from King County Industrial Waste. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Wilkinson and Jim Oesterle, and Special Assistant United States Attorneys Karla Perrin and Gwendolyn Russell, Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel with the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to court documents, Devlyn Thompson, 28, of Seattle, was among individuals in a crowd on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol who were pushing against and assaulting
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers in the tunnel leading into the U.S. Capitol. Thompson and others in the tunnel yelled obscenities at police and encouraged the continued assault. Thompson was part of a group that threw objects and projectiles at the officers, including flag poles, and grabbed and stole the officers’ riot shields to prevent them from defending themselves against the violence.

At approximately 2:21 p.m., Thompson personally observed police order rioters to stop, physically push the crowd back, and deploy pepper spray in an effort to try to stop the ongoing assault. Later, Thompson entered a tunnel on the West Front Terrace that led to an entrance to the
U.S. Capitol, where members of Congress were sheltering in place. Thompson joined rioters in that tunnel and assisted other rioters in their assault of officers by helping them seize and use stolen law enforcement shields for approximately 13 minutes. Thompson also helped throw a large speaker at the front line of officers, and he later picked up a metal baton from the floor of the tunnel and swung it overhead and downward against the police line in an apparent effort to knock a can of pepper spray from an officer’s hand and stop the officer from pepper-spraying the rioters. After more pepper spray was deployed by the rioters and the officers, Thompson retreated from the archway area.
Thompson pleaded guilty on Aug. 6, in the District of Columbia, to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon. Thompson was arrested on that same date and has been in custody ever since. Judge Royce C. Lamberth also ordered him today to pay $2,000 in restitution. He also must serve a period of three years of supervised release following completion of his prison term.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the
Justice Department's National Security Division. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

The FBI’s Washington Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance from the
FBI’s Seattle Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department. The FBI’s
Washington Field Office identified Thompson as #67 in its seeking information photos.
In the 11 months since Jan. 6, more than 700 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 220 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

Seattle – A 53-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison with 15 years of supervised release for three federal felonies connected to his creation and possession of sexually explicit images of children, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Cameron Bennett Scott, pleaded guilty in May 2021, to enticement of a minor, possession of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered Scott to serve ten years in prison with 15 years of supervised release. 

“This case demonstrates how critical it is for tech companies to report images of child sexual abuse that pass through their networks,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “Thanks to the quick work of Seattle Police and Homeland Security Investigation, children both here and in Canada were rescued from abuse.”

According to the plea agreement, Scott came to the attention of law enforcement in December 2018 when an internet service provider reported an internet address to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for uploading suspected images of child pornography.  An investigation by the Seattle Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force traced the images to Scott.  The investigation revealed that he had been communicating with a woman in British Columbia, Canada, about sexually molesting her children—both under the age of ten and he received files depicting their abuse. 

Law enforcement served a search warrant at Scott’s residence in August 2019, seizing two computers and his mobile devices.  An examination of his mobile device revealed that he had taken sexually explicit photos of a minor child in his residence in July 2019.

“Creating and disseminating images of children being harmed is the worst kind of crime,” Seattle Police Department Chief Adrian Diaz said after Scott’s sentencing. “The sexual exploitation of children not only destroys lives as the images are recorded, but those images continue to victimize children every time they are viewed. I am grateful the dedicated members of SPD’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit were able to help investigate this case and help send this defendant to prison.”

 

“The online nature of these heinous crimes adheres to no border,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “We are proud of the collaborative relationship with our Canadian and local partners which resulted in two individuals being prosecuted and hopefully the end of the victimization for these two young children.”

 

The woman in British Columbia is being prosecuted in Canada for the sexual abuse and exploitation of two minor children, as a result of the Seattle Police Department and Homeland Security investigation. Her case will be resolved in Canada following today’s proceeding.

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) as part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.

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 Attorney’s 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 28-year-old Bellingham, Washington, woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release for committing an act of violence against a railroad carrier, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Ellen Brennan Reiche, was one of two people arrested on the BNSF Railway tracks near Bellingham, near midnight on November 28, 2020.  Reiche was convicted September 9, 2021, of placing a ‘shunt’ – a device that interferes with train signals – on the tracks.  At the sentencing hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez called her offense  “extremely serious.”  In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered that Reiche must complete 100 hours of community service while on federal supervision.

“Placing a shunt on active railroad tracks puts lives in danger – to drivers preparing to cross the tracks who may not get any warning lights of an approaching train, and to the homeowners in the area who could be endangered by a train derailment,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “In this case the shunt was placed just prior to the arrival of a train with 97 tanker cars loaded with crude oil.  Thankfully, the device was discovered and removed before it could cause a tragedy.”

According to records in the case and testimony at trial, on the night of November 28, 2020, Reiche and co-defendant Samantha Frances Brooks, 24, were observed on video surveillance walking on the tracks near a crossing in Bellingham.  Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene.  The defendants were detained for trespassing, and a shunt was found on the tracks near where the deputies had first encountered them.  Reiche was carrying a paper bag containing wire, a drill with a brush head, a magnetic adhesive and gloves.  The wire was similar to the wire used in the shunting incidents.  The shunt that was placed on the tracks could have interfered with the railroad crossing warnings at Cliffside Drive in Bellingham.  A train carrying crude oil, among other cargo, was scheduled to come through that area soon after this incident.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force worked with BNSF police to investigate the placement of 41 shunts on the BNSF tracks since January 19, 2020.  A shunt is comprised of wire that is stretched between the rails and often fastened with magnets, disrupting the systems that indicate a train is on the tracks.  On ten occasions, shunts were placed in areas that disrupt the crossing guards where the tracks cross streets, so vehicles could have tried to cross the tracks unaware of the oncoming train.  On the night of October 11, 2020, multiple shunts were placed in three different locations in Whatcom and Skagit Counties.  The shunts triggered an automatic braking system on a train that was transporting hazardous and combustible material.  The emergency braking then caused a portion of the train to decouple from the engine.  Decoupling has the potential to cause a derailment—in this case—of tanker cars of flammable gas in a residential area. 

In asking for a 27-month sentence, prosecutors wrote to the court about the danger of shunts, including the potential to cause derailments, which can be deadly and cause extensive environmental damage. “There have been at least two examples just within the past year that hit close to home. In one, an oil train derailed near Custer, Washington, causing massive fires and other damage, and in the other, a passenger train bound for Seattle derailed in Montana, killing three people and injuring dozens. Here, if a train had derailed where Reiche placed the shunt, numerous nearby homes and the train crew would have been badly affected. And even setting aside the risk of a derailment, the shunt endangered anyone crossing the tracks at Cliffside Drive. There might have been no warning from the crossing system at all.”

 

Co-defendant Brooks pleaded guilty July 9, 2021, to interference with a railroad signaling system.  Brooks was sentenced in October to 6 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release, with Brooks ordered to complete four months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service while on supervision.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in connection with the BNSF Railway Police.  Critical investigative assistance is being provided by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Philip Kopczynski, Sok Tea Jiang, and Thomas Woods.

Seattle – A 22-year-old member of the Nooksack Indian Tribe was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 42 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release, for sexual abuse of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Kamron Dylan Duane Cooper, was indicted in February 2020, and pleaded guilty in June 2121.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said that the young girls Cooper victimized will continue to suffer emotionally from their sexual abuse and that the sentence imposed recognizes the harm he has caused.

According to records filed in the case, between March 2018 and January 2019, Cooper engaged in sex acts with a 13-year-old on the Lummi Reservation.  Cooper groomed the teen, persuading her to engage in sexual activity.  Cooper was on supervised release at the time for juvenile offenses involving sexual assaults on two 14-year-old girls.  Those assaults also occurred on the Lummi Reservation. 

Cooper will be required to register as a sex offender following his prison term.  As part of his 15-years of supervised release, Cooper will undergo sex offender treatment.

The case was investigated by the Lummi Nation Police Department and the FBI.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Tate London.  Mr. London serves as a Tribal Liaison for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington.

 

Seattle – A 43-year-old President of three Puyallup tribal smoke shops was sentenced late Friday, December 10, 2021, in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 14 months in prison for a sophisticated money-laundering scheme designed to evade state taxes on smokeless tobacco products, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Anthony Edwin Paul was ordered to pay $1,764,818 in restitution to the Washington State Department of Revenue, plus a $5,000 fine. U.S. District Judge James L. Robart told Paul, “Money laundering is an integral part of criminal activity…. You turned the key that starts this conspiracy.”

“This sophisticated scheme to avoid state tobacco taxes harms all our residents by cutting into state funds used to pay for healthcare and treatment for tobacco related illnesses,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “The scheme allowed non-tribal tobacco vendors to have a sales advantage over other retailers—encouraging tobacco use, and boosting their profit while they avoided paying state taxes.”

“Mr. Paul conspired to defraud the state for his own greed, cheating Washington State residents out of millions of dollars that otherwise would have been invested into services for the community,” said Bret Kressin, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Seattle Field Office. “Financial fraud and tax evasion are not victimless crimes, and IRS-CI will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who choose to commit these offenses.”

According to records filed in the case, between 2009 and 2017, Paul was President of three smoke shops on the Puyallup reservation that sold significant quantities of tobacco products to TK Mac, a non-tribal tobacco distributor. Most of the sales were in cash, and TK Mac failed to report the purchases to the state, thus avoiding millions of dollars in excise taxes. When TK Mac then resold the products for cash, the company had a problem, since large deposits of cash would have triggered state scrutiny of its tobacco business. So beginning in 2013 and continuing until 2017, Paul and his coconspirators engaged in a money-laundering scheme: The tribal smoke shops wrote checks to TK Mac as if the tribal smoke shops had purchased tobacco products from the non-tribal store. In fact, TK Mac simply provided the tribal smoke shops with large amounts of cash equal to the checks. No tobacco products changed hands, but TK Mac received an excise tax credit. As a result of this cash-for-check scheme, Washington State suffered losses of roughly $3.86 million. The overall scheme caused the state to incur several more million dollars’ worth of losses.

Paul had an interest in the success of TK Mac, as he had made loans to the owners of the non-tribal retail business, TK Mac, of nearly $2 million. The owners of TK Mac, Hyung Il Kwon and Tae Young Kim, have also entered guilty pleas for their roles in the scheme. One of the employees in the tribal smoke shops, Theodore Kai Silva, has also pleaded guilty. Judge Robart will sentence Kwon, Kim, and Silva in January 2022.

Following the indictment of Paul’s coconspirators, the government seized more than $5 million from Kwon and Kim. The amount of restitution left owing from the cash-for-check scheme is $1,764,818. Judge Robart ordered Paul to pay that amount as restitution (joint and several with Kim and Kwon), along with the $5,000 fine.

The case was investigated by IRS-CI, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James Oesterle and Jonas Lerman.

Seattle – In two separate criminal cases, Western Washington artists are charged with violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA) by representing themselves as Native American artists, when they have no tribal membership 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, will make their initial appearance on the complaints in U.S. District Court in Seattle at 2:00 PM today.

“Our special agents investigate crimes that violate the Indian Arts and Crafts Act on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board,” said Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. “By flooding the market with counterfeit Native American art and craftwork, these crimes cheat the consumer, undermine the economic livelihood of Native American artists, and impairs Indian culture. We thank the Indian Arts and Crafts Board and the U.S. Department of Justice for their assistance with these investigations.”

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.

Van Dyke is charged with two counts of Misrepresentation of Indian Produced Goods and Products,

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 charged with four counts of Misrepresentation of Indian Produced Goods and Products, one misdemeanor count of Unlawful Possession of Golden Eagles Parts and one misdemeanor count of Unlawful Possession of Migratory Bird Parts.

Misrepresentation of Indian Produced Goods and Products is punishable by up to 5 years in prison.  The misdemeanor counts related to bird parts are punishable by up to 1 year in prison.

The charges contained in the complaints 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 cases are being investigated by the National Fish and Wildlife Service.  The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Tate London.

Seattle– A 27-year-old Kent, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 12 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Al-Penyo Brooks, was charged federally in November 2020, in coordination with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.  Brooks was identified as a suspect in May 2020, when Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies and Seattle Police Department officers worked urgently to recover a 17-year-old girl who had run away from her Pierce County, Washington home.  Brooks recruited the girl online, and then encouraged her to leave home and groomed her to work as a prostitute.  Brooks pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor in June 2021.

At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said “Outside of murder, this is the most despicable thing you can do…particularly given the age of the victims.  The conduct is simply not acceptable… it is someone who does not belong in society.”

“Mr. Brooks has spent most of his adult life exploiting the most vulnerable, living off the prostitution profits of juveniles and young women,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “This lengthy prison sentence, with 10 years of supervised release to follow prison, are necessary to protect the public.”

According to records in the case, the girl has developmental delays, and unbeknownst to her guardian, had set up a Facebook account.  Using Facebook Messenger, Brooks communicated with the girl about her interest in music and writing songs.  Brooks’ communications led the girl to believe he could promote her in the music business.  Even after the girl told Brooks she was seventeen, Brooks made arrangements to pick her up near her home and told her how to evade her guardian.  He picked her up and had an associate change her hair and clothing.  He provided her with drugs and alcohol and sexually assaulted her while she was impaired.  Brooks then instructed the girl to walk the “track” on Aurora Avenue North, telling her to perform sex acts for money.  The girl was ultimately taken to an apartment in north Seattle were police located her when she signed into Facebook on the IP address listed for the apartment.

In his plea agreement, Brooks also acknowledged previously recruiting a teenage runaway to work for him as a prostitute when she was fifteen years old.  Brooks also acknowledged threatening to kill the girl if she did not work for him as a prostitute and to assaulting and controlling her.  Brooks also acknowledged assaulting an adult female who was working for him in prostitution.  In that case Brooks pushed the woman from a moving car when she told him she no longer wanted to work for him as a prostitute.  A neighborhood doorbell camera captured images of the woman being pushed from the moving car and dragged under its wheels.  She was treated at Harborview for significant lower body injuries.

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department.  The King County Prosecutors Office worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on this case.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham.

Tacoma – A 44-year-old Battle Ground, Washington man pleaded guilty late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to being a felon in possession of firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Lynn Manley Cargile was arrested on December 26, 2019, following a six-hour stand-off with police.  Cargile was indicted federally in August 2021.  He faces up to ten years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan on March 18, 2022.

According to the plea agreement and other records in the case, police were called to Cargile’s home by a 9-1-1 call from his ex-wife who had been assaulted.  After a lengthy wait, officers used ‘flash-bang’ devices to get Cargile to leave the house and he was taken into custody.  When officers entered the home to secure it for officer safety, they noted numerous firearms.  After obtaining a court authorized search warrant, law enforcement discovered a Smith and Wesson AR-15 style rifle with a swastika on the rifle butt and a Black Rain Ordinance short-barreled rifle.  Investigators also found two silencers.  Cargile is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions in Clark County Washington for attempting to elude (2002 and 2003) and illegal firearms possession (1999 and 2002).

Cargile was in state custody until August 2021 serving a 29-month prison sentence for domestic violence stemming from the same incident. 

The case was investigated by the Battle Ground Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Angelica Williams.

Seattle – A 34-year-old Renton, Washington, man was arrested today in connection with the plot to burn the Seattle Police Officers Guild building in downtown Seattle in September 2020, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Justin Christopher Moore will make his initial appearance on the criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Seattle at 2:00 PM tomorrow.

According to the criminal complaint, Moore was identified as the person carrying a box of 12 Molotov cocktails in a protest march to the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) building on Labor Day, September 7, 2020.  Ultimately the marchers were moved away from the building in downtown Seattle when police smelled gasoline and grew concerned about the intentions of protestors.  The box containing the 12 gasoline devices was found in the parking lot next to the SPOG building.  Using video from that day and from other protests, as well as information from the electronic devices of other co-conspirators, Moore was confirmed as the person seen carrying the box of destructive devices.  Moore was later arrested January 6, 2021, for breaking into the original Starbucks store in Pike Place Market. 

In June 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Moore’s residence.  They seized clothing that is consistent with the images of what Moore was wearing when he carried the Molotov cocktails.  From the basement storage area they also recovered numerous items that are consistent with manufacturing explosive devices such as a four-pound bag of bulk potassium nitrate, and Goex FFFFg black powder, consumer fireworks, chemical heaters for Meal Ready to Eat (MRE), and a 50-pack of Diamond Deluxe matchbooks.  Officers also recovered a large assortment of gas masks, wrist rockets, bolt cutters, and climbing harnesses.

Unlawful possession of a destructive device is punishable by up to 10 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 the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fireworks & Explosives (ATF), and the Seattle Police Department.

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

moore_justin_c_complaint.pdf

Seattle – The Department of Justice announced today that it has awarded more than $17.5 million in grants to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. Funding will support efforts across the country to address violent crime, including the gun violeence that is often at its core. In the Western District of Washington, community-based organizations serving youth in South King County will be awarded funding totaling $271,101.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will administer the 88 grant awards, which are being made to designated fiscal agents to support local PSN projects that work in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

“This latest Project Safe Neighborhoods grant is critical to addressing the violent crime threatening cities and towns all across our country,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Ensuring the safety of all Americans is the highest priority for the Department of Justice, but when it comes to violent crime, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. We have to work closely with local public safety agencies as well as community organizations to craft individual strategies unique to each community’s needs. Programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the funding it provides allow us to do just that.”

“Gun violence is a persistent public safety issue in our communities, and particularly concerning when it involves teens and young adults,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “There is a path forward, but we cannot tackle these issues without the community having a voice and being involved in the solutions.   This grant will support non-profit organizations already working in Kent, Burien, and South Seattle to expand their existing programs and engage our youth in positive activities, provide mentors and connections, and show them a path away from gun violence.”

“Investing in our communities, supporting victims and building a justice system that both keeps people safe and earns their trust – these are mutually reinforcing goals that stand at the heart of Project Safe Neighborhoods,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon for OJP. “The Office of Justice Programs is pleased to join with our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and with jurisdictions across the country, as we work together to meet the challenges of crime and violence and achieve our shared aspirations of public safety and community trust.”

In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. Integral to that effort was the reinvigoration of PSN, a two-decade old evidence-based and community-oriented program focused on reducing violent crime. The updated PSN approach, outlined in the department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime issued by Deputy Attorney General Monaco, is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.

This fall, U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country have enhanced their violent crime reduction efforts to ensure alignment with the department’s comprehensive violent crime reduction strategy. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices have engaged in outreach to law enforcement and other agencies and organizations serving communities to identify the most significant drivers of violence in their districts. Working together with a broad coalition of stakeholders, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are addressing the most pressing violent crime issues in their district to make our neighborhoods safer for all.

PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies, community stakeholders and other agencies and organizations that work to reduce violent crime.  In the Western District of Washington the U.S. Attorney’s Office partnered with the Kent Police Department, Burien Police Department, Seattle Police Department and the King County Prosecutor’s Office to identify the locations and the non-profit organizations for PSN support.

 

For a list of all grantees, please visit: https://www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh241/files/media/document/FY21-Project-Safe-Neighborhoods-Awards.pdf  

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The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at  www.ojp.gov.

Seattle – A 70-year-old Bellevue, Washington, Certified Public Accountant pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to attempt to evade or defeat tax, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Steven G. Shimizu, owned and operated a tax preparation business, S&S CPA Corporation (“S&S Corp.”).  In tax years 2013, 2014 and 2015, Shimizu admits he hid income from his business by attributing it to other entities.  In this way he underpaid his taxes by more than $884,000.  Shimizu faces up to 5 years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on March 15, 2022.

According to the plea agreement, Shimizu admits he used two business entities, Shimizu & Shimizu (“S&S Partnership”) and CS Medical Consultants (“CS Partnership”) to evade taxes.  In the years at issue, the entities had no business activity and thus no income or expenses.  However, for tax years 2013 and 2014, Shimizu attributed income that he earned from his CPA corporation, as income to S&S Partnership.  He then created phony business expenses attributable to S&S Partnership.  Those expenses reduced the amount of income taxes owed.  In tax years 2013-15 Shimizu used the same scheme with the CS Partnership.  The scheme hid income from the CPA firm, and then the creation of phony business expenses reduced the income taxes owed.

Additionally, in tax years 2013-15, Shimizu sought to record personal expenses as business expenses on the tax returns for the CPA business.  Shimizu characterized withdrawals from business accounts as business expenses, but they were actually cash withdrawals for his personal benefit, personal insurance, personal legal expenses, and payments to family members. 

“Tax professionals are essential to the operation of our tax system, and the public puts their utmost trust in these professionals to prepare tax returns truthfully,” said Special Agent in Charge Bret Kressin, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Seattle Field Office. “When individuals like Mr. Shimizu break that trust by fraudulently filing false tax returns out of greed, they put their clients and the public at risk by undermining that trust. IRS-CI is continually committed to investigating those who think they are above paying their fair share.”

Attempting to evade or defeat tax is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.  The actual sentence will be determined by Judge Coughenour after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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

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

Seattle - A 58-year-old Snohomish, Washington, insurance agent was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 2 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for wire fraud for her theft of premium payments from various insurance clients, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Vicki Boser, owned and operated InsuranceTek, Inc., and pocketed premium payments from insurance clients and provided fake certificates of insurance to some of those companies.  Boser used the money to support her gambling habit at area casinos.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart likened the conduct to a Ponzi scheme saying, “The conduct is classic in terms of embezzling from clients.”

Boser pleaded guilty to wire fraud in August 2021.  Boser founded InsuranceTek, Inc., in 2003, and specialized in assisting small businesses that work in high-risk fields in securing insurance policies to cover their business operations.  The clients included private investigators, process servers, mortgage and field service companies, and security guard companies.  Between 2014 and 2016, Boser defrauded various clients. Boser would find companies willing to insure the high-risk companies, and if necessary, find a company to finance the premium payments.  Boser was required by law to collect the premium payments from the clients and pay them over to the insurance companies.  Instead, she pocketed some of the payments, created false insurance certificates, and led the high-risk companies to believe they were insured.  In some instances, the insurance companies cancelled the insurance for lack of payment, but Boser received the notices and hid them from the insured.  The insurance premiums were tens of thousands of dollars‑‑in one case more than $100,000. 

Today, Boser was ordered to pay restitution of $273,137 to 8 different companies or insurance brokers who she defrauded.

Boser had clients across the country including many small family-owned businesses that placed a great deal of trust in Boser.  Court records detail the frauds regarding an Illinois-based property inspection business, and Ohio-, Tennessee-, and Texas-based businesses that maintain foreclosed homes.  Some of the clients only learned their insurance policies had been cancelled when they contacted the companies directly about renewing the policies.  The investigation was triggered when the Washington State Insurance Commissioner’s Office received complaints from the customers.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Criminal Investigative Division of the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lyndsie Schmalz.

Tacoma – A 30-year-old member of the Quileute Tribe was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 8 years in prison and 30 years of supervised release for abusive sexual contact, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Tyron Jackson has been in tribal, state, or federal custody since his arrest in June 2019.  At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan said he felt it is imperative to “protect the public from any further acts of this defendant.”

“Sexual abuse and sexual assault against native children and women is pervasive, and continues to plague Native American tribes,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “This case should send a message of deterrence: there will be serious consequences for the sexual abuse of Native American children.”

According to records filed in the case, the assaults occurred against two different minor victims.  Between 2013 and 2015 one child was molested on Quileute Tribal land.  In 2018, a second minor victim was sexually assaulted on Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal land.   The two victims disclosed the abuse. In June 2019, Jackson was taken into custody.  He pleaded guilty in September 2021.

The assaults were investigated by the Lower Elwha Tribal Police, the La Push Police, and the FBI.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Cohen, in consultation with prosecutors from the Quileute and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribes.

Seattle – A former Netflix software engineer, and his best friend and co-conspirator were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle for securities fraud for their roles in an insider trading ring that generated more than $3 million in illegal proceeds, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Sung Mo Jun, 49, of Bellevue, Washington, was sentenced to 2 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.  His friend and co-conspirator Junwoo Chon, 50, of Bellevue, Washington, was sentenced to 14 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.  At the sentencing hearings U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said he hoped the prison time would deter others. “For people in the high tech industry, they will clearly know that there are consequences – including prison time – for this activity,” Judge Jones said.

“Insider trading is a serious offense,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Such conduct damages our financial markets and erodes public trust because the investing public needs to have faith that the markets provide an even playing field to all participants. Mr. Jun and Mr. Chon were both financially secure with good jobs and good salaries when greed drove them to break the law to increase their own wealth, at the expense of others. Such conduct, will not be tolerated.”

“Insider trading undermines our capital markets, harms companies by misusing their confidential information, and causes investors to lose faith in the fairness of the system,” said Donald M. Voiret, Special Agent in Charge, Seattle Field Office. “The actions of this trusted employee and his friend were calculated and ongoing to reap a huge profit.”

According to records filed in the case, from July 2016 to February 2017, Sung Mo Jun was employed by Netflix as a software engineer.  He had access to subscriber data and had been trained by the company that such data was material, non-public information.   Nevertheless, Jun disclosed that information to his brother Joon Jun, 45, of Issaquah, Washington, and his close friend, Junwoo Chon, knowing that the two intended to use the information to profit on the purchase and sale of Netflix securities.  After Chon made significant profits on the securities, Sung Mo Jun asked Chon to provide Sung Mo Jun with $60,000 in cash as Sung Mo Jun’s share of the profits.

After Sung Mo Jun left Netflix, he obtained additional non-public information about subscriber data from another Netflix employee, software engineer Ayden Lee, 33, of San Jose, California.  Jun not only passed that information on to his brother and Chon, he also used it to make his own trades.  Between April 2017, and July 2019, Sung Mo Jun made a profit of $434,086 by trading in Netflix stock and options with this inside information.  Between July 2016 and April 2017, Jun’s brother, Joon Jun, made $215,419 and co-conspirator Junwon Chon made $521,400.  All told, the insider trading attributable to Sun Mo Jun in Netflix securities resulted in an illicit gain of $1,170,905.  Chon is responsible for illicit profits of $1,642,855

Sung Mo Jun also obtained insider information from a “tipper” he knew at another tech company and shared this information with his brother and Chon.  Their profits from trading on that inside information was less than $2,000.

In addition to the prison sentences, both men will be on one year of supervised release following prison and must complete 50 hours of community service. 

As Judge Jones imposed the sentence, he told Jun “You had no reason to pursue this additional wealth, and yet you chose to engage your brother and best friend in this scheme.  There is just one reason: greed.”

Jun told the court, “What I did was foolish, wrong, illegal…. I have no excuse.  I disappointed many people.”

Jun is forfeiting $495,188 to the U.S. and Chon is forfeiting $1,582,885 to the U.S. The forfeiture amounts are based on the illegal gain by each defendant. 

The two remaining conspirators will be sentenced next year.  Joon Jun is responsible for illicit profits totaling $1,106,208. Lee is connected to illicit profits totaling $453,465.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a separate civil enforcement action against the defendants who have each entered into settlements with the SEC. Both men still face potential penalties from the SEC.

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Arnold.

Seattle – Three men who were convicted at trial in August 2021, of multiple federal felonies for distributing fentanyl pills in Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom Counties, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  The leader of the drug ring, Bradley Woolard, 42, of Arlington, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for his conviction on 28 counts involving conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, illegal gun possession, and possessing drugs with the intent to distribute them.  Last week, co-defendants, Anthony Pelayo, 34, of Marysville, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and a $150,000 fine and Jerome Isham, 40, of Everett, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour also sentenced all three men to 5 years of supervised release following their prison terms.

“Mr. Woolard ignored the destruction his drug trafficking caused in our community, instead being driven by the enormous profits he could generate off the addiction and misery of others,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “Even after his arrest he tried to impose his will, threatening violence against others in the case, and acting as if he is above the law.”

“This complex investigation, which involved aspects of the mysterious dark web, is an example of the innovation and cooperative law enforcement effort necessary to effectively reduce violent crime and overdoses in our cities,” said Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent-in-Charge DEA Seattle Field Division. “This new digital age of trafficking fake pills, potentially laced with fentanyl, signals a renewed sense of urgency and analytical approach to bring to bear all the resources of government and community to tackle the scourge of drug trafficking and gun violence.”

According to testimony and exhibits during trial, the case began in the summer of 2018, when law enforcement officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force obtained multiple court-authorized search warrants for Woolard’s home.  On July 28, 2018, they found more than 12,000 fentanyl pills designed to look like 30 mg oxycodone prescription narcotic.  The pills ultimately tested positive for furanyl fentanyl, an analogue of fentanyl and a controlled substance. 

The pills were pale blue in color and had “M” printed on one side and “30” on the other side.  Over the course of multiple searches, law enforcement seized more than $1 million in cash and gold from Woolard’s five-acre compound, including cash hidden behind drywall, in the ceilings of outbuildings, and in a hole beneath a dishwasher. Investigators also discovered a hidden room containing 29 firearms ranging from handguns to assault rifles, including four firearm silencers and several thousand rounds of ammunition.

Testimony at trial revealed that in 2015 and 2016, Woolard began buying fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl powder from China after researching how to do so on the Dark Web. He bought a pill press and mixing materials from websites such as Amazon and eBay, and taught himself how to make homemade pills. Testimony at trial established that Woolard’s pill making operation was capable of producing more than 2.5 million pills containing fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl, and that he regularly provided thousands of pills to other conspirators for distribution. In 2017, Woolard turned the pill press operation over to Pelayo, who continued the manufacturing at a rural compound in Snohomish County.  Woolard retained the role of ordering the fentanyl from China and continued to help Pelayo make and distribute the pills. Woolard continued to distribute the pills while seeking treatment for his own drug addictions at spa-like resorts in Costa Rica and Mexico, which cost him between $30,000 and $50,000 per month, which he paid for with the profits of his illicit pill operation.

Woolard was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and will be on 5 years of supervised release following his prison term.

Jerome Isham was one of the conspiracy’s top distributors. Evidence at trial established that he was responsible for re-distributing close to 100,000 illegal fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl pills over a one-year period between July 2017, and June 2018. Isham also recruited people to receive the shipments of powdered fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl from China. Woolard and Pelayo paid for the drugs by recruiting co-conspirators to wire money to China or by paying with bitcoin.

Pelayo was also convicted of two money laundering conspiracies and multiple counts of money laundering, including using $100,000 of his cash drug proceeds to purchase a luxury RV. He was also convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking.  Woolard was convicted of being a drug user and drug addict in possession of firearms. Isham was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

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 https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. 

The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with assistance from U.S Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force (SRDGTF) and the Whatcom County Drug and Gang Task Force.

A total of eleven defendants were charged in this case. Eight pleaded guilty.  All but two of the defendants have now been sentenced.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Karyn Johnson and Mike Lang. 

Seattle – A Seattle woman who was employed as a contract bookkeeper and accountant for a high-end mountain bike company was sentenced November 19, 2021, in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 28 months in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Joan C. Trower, 51, pleaded guilty in August 2021.  At the sentencing hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said that it is part of the Court’s “job to protect the community, especially small businesses such as the victim in this case.”

According to records filed in the case, Trower worked as a contract bookkeeper and accountant for the mountain bike company from July 2015 to May 2018.  Her contract was terminated when the embezzlement was discovered.  Trower used a variety of schemes to steal over $150,000 from company accounts: creating checks using the company software system, forging signatures, claiming expenses and compensation she did not earn, and making transfers from company accounts to accounts she controlled in the names of phony tax accounting businesses.  For example, while most employees received at most three checks per month (two for salary and one for expenses), Trower wrote as many as thirteen checks to herself in one month.  Trower put false descriptions in the memo line, sometimes falsely claiming the funds were to reimburse her for an outside tax accounting firm she claimed to have hired.  Trower also transferred money from company accounts to accounts she controlled—transferring more than $26,000 to her account in the span of just a few months in 2018.  Trower and her boyfriend used the money to, among other things, gamble at area casinos.

Trower committed aggravated identity theft when she forged the signature of company executives on fraudulent checks and when she submitted false invoices in the name of a third-party tax accountant to justify reimbursements to Trower.

Writing to the court, prosecutors noted that the scheme was difficult to detect.  Trower’s “scheme was elaborate, sophisticated, and longstanding. She created fake business entities and fake bank accounts for those entities in order to conceal the nature of her transfers of funds from the company. Ms. Trower even went so far as to create at least one alter ego email account: a fake email account that she would correspond with, apparently in an attempt to justify certain expenses or accounting maneuvers,” Assistant United States Attorney William Dreher wrote in the sentencing memo.

Trower is obligated to pay $168,597 in restitution to the mountain bike company.

The case was investigated by the FBI.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William Dreher.

Seattle – a 40-year-old Tacoma woman appeared today in U.S. District Court in Seattle on a criminal complaint charging four counts of wire fraud for her scheme to defraud various friends and acquaintances, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Sabrina Taylor allegedly lied about her health, her employment status, and her education to steal more than $550,000 from people who had offered to help her. 

According to records filed in the case, between November 2016, and July 2019, Taylor convinced various people to provide her with large amounts of money by claiming she needed the money to purchase medicine for multiple sclerosis, or to pay her tuition for college.  She also claimed to need the funds to bail her brother out of jail.  In fact, Taylor was not ill with multiple sclerosis, was not paying tuition to the University of Washington as claimed, and her brother was not in jail.  Taylor told other stories about how she planned to repay the loans, lying about her employment, a litigation settlement with a local bank, and funds she expected to receive from her parents.

Some of the people she defrauded she met online through shared interests such as Japanese anime, comic books, or video games. 

The charges contained in the 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.

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

The case was investigated by the FBI.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Natalie Walton-Anderson.

WASHINGTON – A federal jury convicted a Seattle doctor yesterday of fraudulently seeking over $3.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Eric R. Shibley, 41, of Seattle, submitted several fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications to federally insured financial institutions, other Small Business Administration (SBA)-approved lenders, and the SBA, in the names of businesses with no actual operations or by otherwise misrepresenting the business’s eligibility. In the applications, Shibley falsified the number of employees and payroll expenses and concealed his own criminal history. To support the fraudulent applications, Shibley submitted fake tax documents and the names of purported employees who did not, in fact, work for the businesses for which Shibley claimed they worked. Shibley received over $2.8 million in COVID-19 relief funds as a result of the fraud. 

Shibley was convicted of multiple counts of wire fraud, multiple counts of bank fraud, and money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22, 2022, and faces 20 years for each count of wire fraud, 30 years for each count of bank fraud, and 10 years for money laundering. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown for the Western District of Washington; Special Agent in Charge Weston King of SBA’s Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Western Region; Acting Assistant Director Jay Greenberg of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey D. Pittano of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), San Francisco Regional Office; Inspector General J. Russell George of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); Special Agent in Charge Bret Kressin of IRS–Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer of Homeland Securities Investigations (HSI) Seattle; and Special Agent in Charge Steven J. Ryan of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), San Francisco Regional Office made the announcement.

SBA-OIG, the FBI’s Seattle Field Office, FDIC-OIG, TIGTA, IRS-CI, HSI, and HHS-OIG investigated the case. 

Trial Attorney Laura Connelly of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Werner of the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

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.

Tacoma – A 68-year-old member of the Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribe was indicted this week on multiple counts of sexual abuse of minors, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Joseph Anthony Turrey, of Port Angeles, Washington, was arrested November 10, 2021 and will be arraigned on the federal charges on November 26, 2021. He remains in federal custody.

According to records filed in the case, one young victim recently disclosed the abuse to the Lower Elwha S’Klallam child welfare authorities. The Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribal Police and the FBI immediately began investigating. Special forensic investigators from the National Park Service assisted with the interview of the victim. The investigation determined that another victim was sexually assaulted by Turrey as early as 2008. Both victims were as young as 6 and 7-years-old when the assaults began. The assaults occurred on tribal land, triggering federal jurisdiction.

Turrey is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor and one count of sexual abuse of a minor.

Aggravated sexual abuse of a minor is punishable by a mandatory minimum 30 years in prison. Sexual abuse of a minor is punishable by up to 15 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 and Lower Elwha S’Klallam Police Department, with assistance from the National Park Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Angelica Williams.

Seattle – A Sedro-Woolley area man will make his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Seattle, charged with the February 24, 2020 arson at Queer/Bar, a nightclub and event space in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Kalvinn Jay Garcia, 24, was transferred to federal custody today from Whatcom County where he served a jail sentence for theft. The grand jury returned the arson indictment on January 21, 2021.

According to filings in the case, Garcia was seen on surveillance video in the alley behind Queer/Bar on the night the blaze was set in a dumpster next to the building.  The nightclub is across the alley from the Seattle Police East Precinct and the fire attracted immediate attention.  Video from both the precinct and the neighboring businesses capture Garcia near the dumpster just as the flames caught and surged up the side of the building.  Officers observed Garcia a short distance away.  Garcia tried to run from officers but was apprehended.

There were more than 50 people in the club and its event room at the time of the fire.  The blaze scorched the brick exterior and forced the cancelation of events planned at the nightclub over subsequent days.

Garcia was originally charged in King County Superior Court with arson and a hate crime.  He was released from jail due to COVID-19.

Arson is punishable by a minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of twenty years, and a maximum fine of $250,000.00

The charge contained in the indictment is only an allegation.  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 and the Seattle Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca Cohen and  Trial Attorney AeJean Cha of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

Seattle – A Seattle area pair was indicted today in the Western District of Washington, for more than $1 million in fraud on COVID-19 relief programs, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Bryan Alan Sparks, 40, and Autumn Gail Luna, 22, are charged in a 16-count indictment with defrauding Washington State Employment Security Division (ESD) of more than $500,000 in benefits and defrauding the Small Business Administration of approximately $520,000.  The two are currently in federal custody in Washington, D.C. after being arrested at Union Station with cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

According to the indictment, from March 2020 until at least January 2021, the two used stolen personal information of more than 50 Washington residents to apply for unemployment benefits.  The pair had benefits loaded onto debit cards and mailed to a variety of addresses in the Seattle area where they or their co-conspirators could retrieve them.  They also opened fraudulent bank accounts and had benefits paid directly to those accounts.  They also used many of those same stolen identities to apply for loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Small Business Administration paid approximately $520,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) proceeds to the pair.  The total unemployment benefits the two fraudulently obtained is more than $500,000.

In furtherance of their scheme, Sparks and Luna used the stolen personal information to create counterfeit driver’s licenses and obtain fraudulent driver’s licenses from the Washington State Department of Licensing.  They maintained over a dozen phone numbers on as many cell phones, each of which were labeled with the phone number and names of stolen identities.  The defendants also maintained detailed ledgers and electronic files of stolen personal information, credit card numbers, and financial transactions associated with each stolen identity. 

The pair are charged with conspiracy, 5 counts of mail fraud, 6 counts of wire fraud and 4 counts of aggravated identity theft.

Conspiracy is punishable by 5 years in prison. Wire fraud and mail fraud that relate 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 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 investigation of this case is led by the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General 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.

sparks-luna_indictment.pdf

Seattle – A 44–year-old member of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison for three federal felonies in connection with a February 6, 2019, shooting on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Joseph Sam a/k/a William Earlystar Clark was convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury following a four-day jury trial.  U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour imposed 3 years of supervised release to follow the prison term.

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, Sam participated in a conspiracy to rob the victim of an ounce of heroin.  The co-conspirators’ plan was for one of them to pose as a buyer of the heroin and for Sam to then show up and rob the victim. Sam arrived at a residence where the other two co-conspirators were waiting with the victim.  His face was covered to hide his identity and he had a gun. When the victim fought back, Sam shot him in the back, paralyzing him from the waist down.  Following the robbery and shooting, law enforcement was able to piece together the gunman’s identity by reviewing social media posts and obtaining warrants for Facebook accounts and other electronic information.  Sam was arrested on May 15, 2019, and has been in custody since his arrest.

In asking for the 15-year sentence, prosecutors noted the suffering of the victim in this case. “He is no longer self-sufficient and is forced to rely on family to assist with his basic needs…. He is in constant and severe pain. The pain medication impacts his memory and focus, making it hard to participate in classes or perform even the most routine tasks,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

The case was investigated by the Tulalip Tribal Police Department and the FBI. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca Cohen and Cecelia Gregson.

Tacoma — The lead defendant in a scheme to unlawfully harvest maple trees from the Olympic National Forest that resulted in a massive 2018 forest fire was sentenced late yesterday to 20 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Justin Andrew Wilke, 39, was convicted in July 2021 of conspiracy, theft of public property, depredation of public property, trafficking in unlawfully harvested timber, and attempting to traffic in unlawfully harvested timber.

According to records filed in the case, between April and August 2018, Wilke conducted an illegal logging operation in the Elk Lake area of the Olympic National Forest, near Hood Canal.  Wilke and a crew of associates removed maple trees from the National Forest and transported it to a mill in Tumwater, Washington.  Wilke used forged permits to sell the wood.  The type of maple harvested by the defendants is highly prized and used to produce musical instruments. 

This prosecution was the first use of tree DNA evidence in a federal criminal trial.  At the trial, a Research Geneticist for the USDA Forest Service, testified that the wood Wilke sold was a genetic match to the remains of three poached maple trees investigators had discovered in the Elk Lake area.  The DNA analysis was so precise that it found the probability of the match being coincidental was approximately one in one undecillion (one followed by 36 zeroes).  Based on this evidence, the jury concluded that the wood Wilke sold the mill had been stolen.   The DNA evidence also concluded that Wilke had unlawfully harvested and sold wood from seven additional maple trees – but the precise locations of those trees have not been determined.

On August 3, 2018, Wilke led a group of two other individuals in deciding to cut a maple tree that contained a wasp’s nest near the base of the tree.  To remove the nest, the group sprayed insecticide and likely gasoline on the nest and then lit the nest on fire.  The group failed to extinguish the fire, which developed into a wildfire later named the “Maple Fire.”  The Maple Fire consumed more than 3,300 acres between August and November 2018 and cost approximately $4.2 million to contain.  The other two members of the poaching group testified at trial that Wilke was standing next to the nest when it was lit on fire, and therefore appeared to have set the fire.  However, because the fire was set at night, they were not able to see his exact actions, and testified that they did not know exactly how the fire started.  The jury did not convict Wilke of the two federal counts related to the forest fire: setting timber afire and using fire in furtherance of a felony.  The jury did convict Wilke of attempting to cut down the tree where the fire was set on the night of the fire. 

Prosecutors recommended a 36-month sentence, noting that Wilke led the three-person tree-poaching ring that indisputably started the fire, and that Wilke likely set the fire himself based on the testimony at trial.  At sentencing, Judge Benjamin H. Settle concluded that the evidence was clear and convincing that Wilke was present when the fire was set, that a member of Wilke’s poaching crew set the fire, and that Wilke more likely than not personally set or directed one of his crew to set the fire.  But Judge Settle noted that Wilke had made positive strides while on pretrial release, and that prison time is more difficult during the COVID pandemic.  Judge Settle therefore imposed the 20-month sentence.

Wilke was also ordered to forfeit the proceeds of his illegal poaching.  He will be required to pay restitution to the United States Forest Service.  The exact amount will be determined at a later hearing.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Wilkinson and Will Dreher.

Tacoma – The former Director of Metallurgy at Bradken Inc. pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to defrauding the United States by falsifying test results that measure the strength and toughness of steel used in U.S. Navy submarines, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Elaine Thomas, 67, of Auburn, Washington, pleaded guilty to major fraud on the United States.  She faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle on February 14, 2022.

According to records filed in the case, Bradken is the U.S. Navy’s leading supplier of cast high-yield steel for naval submarines.  Bradken’s Tacoma foundry produces castings that prime contractors use to fabricate submarine hulls.  The Navy requires that the steel meets certain standards for strength and toughness to ensure that it does not fail under certain circumstances, such as a collision.  For 30 years, the Tacoma foundry (which was acquired by Bradken in 2008), produced castings, many of which had failed lab tests and did not meet the Navy’s standards.  Elaine Thomas, as Director of Metallurgy, falsified test results to hide the fact that the steel had failed the tests.  Thomas falsified results for over 240 productions of steel, which represent a substantial percentage of the castings Bradken produced for the Navy. 

Court filings indicate there is no evidence that Bradken’s management was aware of the fraud until May 2017.  At that time, a lab employee discovered that test cards had been altered and that other discrepancies existed in Bradken’s records.  In June 2020, Bradken entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, accepting responsibility for the offense and agreeing to take remedial measures.  Bradken also entered into a civil settlement, paying $10,896,924 to resolve allegations that the foundry produced and sold substandard steel components for installation on U.S. Navy submarines.

The Navy has taken extensive steps to ensure the safe operation of the affected submarines.  Those measures will result in increased costs and maintenance as the substandard parts are monitored.  

The criminal case against Thomas, deferred prosecution agreement, and civil settlement with Bradken are the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency. 

The criminal prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson.

Seattle – A 33-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 8 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release for three federal felonies involving sexual exploitation of children. Gary Stensland was arrested August 5, 2020, and on February 18, 2021, pleaded guilty to interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.  At the sentencing hearing Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said, “This is a disturbing and troubling case, and a very sad case…. One of the evils of the internet is how it has substantially increased the exploitation of children all around the world.”

According to records filed in the case, in September 2018, Stensland traveled to Portland to meet a 13-year-old whom he had contacted via an internet app.  Stensland returned to Seattle with the minor and paid the minor for sex.  Stensland then drove the youth back to Portland.  The youth disclosed the abuse in summer 2020.

On August 5, 2020, the FBI, as part of the Seattle Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, executed a search warrant at Stensland’s residence and seized his electronic devices.  The investigation revealed Stensland sexually assaulted other minors as well as trafficked in images and videos of child sexual abuse.

Chief Judge Martinez agreed to recommend a federal prison in Texas which has a highly regarded program for treating sex offenders. “I think he is serious about wanting to make changes,” Chief Judge Martinez said.  Addressing Stensland the Chief Judge said, “I hope you utilize the time (in prison) to work on these issues.”

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.

The case is being investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Internet Crimes against Children Task Force.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Hampton.

Seattle – A series of arrests over the last ten days has disrupted a multi-state methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution ring.  The drugs were coming up from California and were being distributed in King, Pierce, Thurston, Lewis, Mason and Kitsap counties.  The 18-month investigation revealed the drug trafficking organization was also distributing drugs to locations in the Southeastern United States including Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee.

“This drug organization trafficked two of the deadliest substances we are seeing in our community – fentanyl and methamphetamine,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “Members of the ring tried to trade drugs for firearms – ones they could transport to Mexico – contributing to terrible violence south of the border.  These arrests are a significant step for community safety.”

According to records filed in the case, the investigation began in February 2020.  Various people working with law enforcement provided information regarding the drug distribution activities.  Aware of some of the group’s trafficking, law enforcement seized 10 pounds of methamphetamine in a traffic stop on May 16, 2020.  Another 44 pounds of meth were seized in a stop on April 2, 2021, and 83 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 22 pounds of methamphetamine that conspirators attempted to mail to Fiji.

The alleged leaders of the drug distribution ring, Jose Maldonado-Ramirez, 33, and his fiancé, Iris Amador-Garcia, 30, of Bellflower, California, were arrested October 28, 2021.  During a search of the residence where Iris Amador-Garcia was living with her brother and co-conspirator, Mario Amador-Garcia, 31, and co-conspirator, Bayron Eberto Garcia-Perez, 33, agents seized a kilogram of fentanyl or heroin, 80,000 pills of suspected fentanyl, and 2 firearms.   Eight additional firearms were seized at search locations in Washington and California. Four other conspirators were taken into custody last week including:

Amado Pedro Castillo, 59, Brooklyn, New York

Jose Nolberto Bernal, 28, Kent, WA

Fernando Alcides Lopez-Mendez, 37, Los Angeles, CA

Justino Cruz-Victorio, 34, Joshua Tree, CA

Today, law enforcement made additional arrests of the distribution network:

Joseph Troy Easton, 42, Bremerton, WA

Angelique Marie Easton, 51, Bremerton, WA

Curtis Robert Griffin, 42, Belfair, WA

Dwayne Douglas George, 60, Spanaway, WA

Douglas Bryan Healer, 47, Port Orchard, WA

Jerry Wayne Kohl, 59, Tacoma, WA

One additional defendant was arrested today with 2 pounds of methamphetamine, three rifles, and a shotgun. An additional four guns were recovered at other search locations. Defendant Healer engaged in an armed stand-off with law enforcement today.  This afternoon he was taken into custody at his Port Orchard residence without incident.

“The objectives of this operation were to hold those accountable for the menace of illegal narcotics trafficking, and the violence associated with it, which has plagued our communities for far too long in the state of Washington and throughout the Pacific Northwest,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge, Frank Tarentino.  “The DEA and our partners are focused on the most dangerous criminals in Washington. Today’s successful operation should give members of the community a level of comfort in knowing these violent offenders, who live and walk among us, won’t be putting their lives in danger any longer.”

“These warrants represent the continued efforts of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI) to ensure the safety of our communities,” said IRS:CI acting Special Agent in Charge Adam Jobes. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to stop the widespread harm these illicit substances cause our friends, families, and neighbors.”

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.

These indictments are 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 Benjamin Diggs and C. Andrew Colasurdo.

 

Seattle – A federal grand jury in Seattle returned an indictment this week charging Ryan Cajimat, 21, of Kapolei, Hawaii with two federal crimes for his disruptive and violent conduct on December 24, 2020, on a flight from Honolulu to Seattle.  Cajimat is scheduled to appear for arraignment on November 18, 2021. 

According to records filed in the case and public reports, Cajimat was on a Delta Airlines flight from Honolulu to Seattle when he became disruptive. About two hours before landing in Seattle, Cajimat attempted to open the cockpit door and struggled with flight attendants attempting to restrain him.  One flight attendant was punched in the face twice.  Cajimat was restrained for the rest of the flight and was removed from the plane on arrival in Seattle.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a $52,500 fine. Delta Airlines banned him from further travel on that airline.

Cajimat is charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants and assault within a special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.  Interference is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  Assault on an aircraft is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

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 FBI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Natalie Walton-Anderson.

Seattle – Two brothers were arraigned on an indictment today in connection with the September 30, 2020, firebombing of a coffee shop on Aurora Avenue in Shoreline, Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Taylor Lemay Rice, 23 and Daniel Lemay Rice 21, pleaded “Not Guilty” and were released on personal appearance bonds.  Trial is set before U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones on January 3, 2022.

The two men are charged with unlawful possession of a destructive device – in this case four Molotov cocktails.  The destructive devices darkened the sides of the building, but did not extensively damage the structure.  The men were identified as suspects in the early morning firebombing, after extensive work by law enforcement involving review of surveillance video and cell phone records.  Both men have been interviewed by law enforcement and agreed to turn themselves in.

Information in the public record indicates the coffee shop shares the building with Bethany Community Church.  The coffee shop was closed and was scheduled to reopen under new operators.  The signs for the old ownership remained on the building.  Speaking in court at the detention hearing, prosecutors indicated the firebombing may have been motivated by a dispute over one of the brother’s cars being towed from the area around the coffee stand a few months earlier. 

Unlawful possession of a destructive device is punishable by 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 FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosive (ATF) and the King County Sheriff’s Office are all working on the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.

Tacoma– A 57-year-old Sequim, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 70 months in prison.  Kenneth Francis Simmons came to the attention of law enforcement in early 2019, as a prolific methamphetamine dealer in the Sequim area, as well as on the Lower Elwha and Jamestown S’Klallam Indian Reservations. U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle noted that the sentence was aimed at protecting the community since methamphetamine is a poison that ruins lives.

“Methamphetamine not only destroys the lives of those who use it, but it also destroys the lives of the families and friends who witness the toll this drug takes on their loved ones,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “As a long-time dealer, this defendant touched the lives of long-time addicts, first-time users, and everyone in between. For community safety this sentence is an important first step.”

According to records filed in the case, the FBI and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET) began investigating Simmons in 2019.  On four occasions in July 2019, a person working with law enforcement purchased methamphetamine from Simmons.  On August 16, 2019, a Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped Simmons for speeding.  Ultimately, Simmons’ car was impounded, and a court authorized search revealed that he had methamphetamine packaged for resale, as well as a firearm.  Due to his prior felony convictions Simmons is prohibited from possessing firearms.

On September 1, 2021, Simmons pleaded guilty to being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, and Distribution of Methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Tate London.  Mr. London serves as Tribal Liaison for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Tacoma, WA – A 63-year-old Port Townsend, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 102 months in prison and ten years of supervised release for raping a 6-year-old child while on a vacation in Canada.  John Timothy Whicher pleaded guilty to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place in February 2021.  At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said, the victim “has a life sentence…. He’ll live with this.  This kind of horrendous assault follows a victim through their entire life.”

“Child sexual abuse has been linked to long-term trauma, health and social problems for victims, including addiction and suicide risk,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “The conduct in this case was a shocking betrayal to the child and the child’s family.  Law enforcement both here and in Canada worked collaboratively seeking justice in this case.”

According to records filed in the case and the plea agreement, in August 2017, Whicher took the 6-year-old child to Canada to stay at a family cabin in Ontario.  When the child returned from the trip, the child disclosed to a parent the sexual molestation, saying Whicher said to keep it a secret.  The parent confronted Whicher and reported the conduct to the Port Townsend Police.

Port Townsend Police contacted authorities in Canada.  When Canada filed to extradite Whicher to face charges and forwarded the request to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle, federal prosecutors first learned of the criminal conduct.  Assistant United States Attorneys worked with local and Canadian law enforcement to bring appropriate charges in the Western District of Washington.

Speaking to the court today, the mother of the victim said Whicher, “turned out to be the biggest threat in both of our lives.”

Whicher will be required to register as a sex offender following his release from prison. 

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Port Townsend Police Department. Canadian law enforcement provided critical assistance. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Hampton.