Southern District of West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Nicholas County man was sentenced today to one year and one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, a deputy with the Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the Mount Lookout residence of Brian Jacob Taylor, 35, in February 2021 to serve Taylor with a warrant for his arrest concerning an unrelated charge. Taylor asked the deputy if he could put a shirt on and secure his dog before being transported to the police station. While inside Taylor’s residence, the deputy observed a loaded shotgun and marijuana in plain view. Later that same day, the Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department obtained and executed a search warrant for Taylor’s residence and located two loaded firearms as well as several controlled substances, including methamphetamine, a heroin-fentanyl mixture and marijuana. Taylor was prohibited from possessing firearms by virtue of two prior felony convictions in Nicholas County Circuit Court for the delivery of a controlled substance.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement.  The Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the sentencing.  Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Tessman is handling the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00019.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A New York man pleaded guilty today to his role in a wire fraud scheme that involved the use of stolen identities to purchase two new trucks together worth more $100,000 from a pair of Charleston dealerships.

According to statements made in court, Julio Hisael Almonte, 31, of the Bronx, traveled to West Virginia in June 2018 and worked with a co-conspirator to fraudulently purchase the Ford F-150 Raptor and Toyota Tacoma using fraudulent identification cards and the stolen identities of other people. Almonte was arrested by the West Virginia State Police on June 30, 2018, in Braxton County, as he attempted to drive the Ford F-150 back to the New York area.

Almonte pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 20, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and West Virginia State Police conducted the investigation. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service also provided assistance with the investigation.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Nowles Heinrich is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00160.

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BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – A McDowell County woman and a Virginia man were each sentenced to federal prison today for child pornography offenses.

Lacosta Steele, 25, of Iaeger, was sentenced to 15 years while Nicholas Aaron Icenhour, 25, of Tazewell, Va., was sentenced to 22 and one-half years during separate hearings. The prison sentences are to be followed by supervised release terms of 30 years for Icenhour and 20 years for Steele. Both are required to register as sex offenders upon their release from prison.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in October and November 2020 Icenhour directed Steele, his then-girlfriend, to persuade a 12-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct, including masturbation and the lascivious exhibition of her genitals, for the purpose of creating videos of this conduct. Steele then sent those videos to Icenhour. Steele also transported the same 12-year-old girl, at Icenhour’s direction, to R.D. Bailey Lake where he engaged in sexual intercourse with the minor.

Icenhour pleaded guilty to production of child pornography in January 2022. Steele pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography in December 2021.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

“It is vital that we do all we can to stop such predators,” Thompson said. “The harm they cause our children, and our communities, is as far-reaching as it is tragic.”

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber imposed the sentences. The court called Icenhour’s conduct “outrageous and inexcusable” during the sentencing hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-00187.

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BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – A Mercer County man was sentenced to five years in federal prison today for retaliating against a federal law enforcement officer by filing a fraudulent lien and attempting to interfere with the administration of Internal Revenue laws.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber sentenced Jeffrey Reed, 62, of Flat Top to five years for the retaliation offense and to a concurrent three years for the attempted interference offense. The sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. 

A federal jury previously convicted Reed of both offenses following a two-day trial in August 2021. According to court records and evidence at trial, Mr. Reed owed a significant tax debt to the Department of Treasury and was employed by a hotel in the Oak Hill area.  In 2015, after letters sent to Reed from the IRS were either sent back or ignored, an IRS revenue officer took steps to garnish a portion of Reed’s wages.  When Reed learned of these efforts, he met with managers of the hotel and requested that they not comply with the IRS’ attempts to garnish his wages.  In retaliation for a single wage garnishment of $598, Reed filed a $4.95 million lien with the Mercer County Clerk directed against the revenue officer and the owner of the hotel.  Reed’s lien claimed 165 constitutional violations, including illegal search and seizure, war, treason and slavery.  Reed also sought to attach any real and personal property owned by the revenue officer and the owner of the hotel.  

Reed further claimed that the revenue officer owed him an additional $9 million because his name had been copyrighted.

Department of Treasury Special Agents testified at trial that they spoke to Reed in February 2020 at which time Reed admitted to filing the lien against the revenue officer. Reed further indicated that he filed the lien to obstruct the collection of his wages.

The court called Reed a “paper terrorist,” concluding his misconduct was “despicable” and “inexcusable” while citing deterrence as a factor in his sentencing

United States Attorney William Thompson commended the excellent work of the revenue officer and the Department of Treasury agents that worked on the case.  The United States Department of Treasury, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administrations (TIGTA) Office of Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  The prosecution was specifically authorized by the United States Department of Justice, Tax Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Erik S. Goes and Ryan Blackwell prosecuted the case.

“The defendant tried to illegally and illogically manipulate the legal process for his own personal gain, which will not be tolerated by this office,” Thompson said. “Criminals cannot be allowed to target others, in this case a federal employee and a business owner, for following the law.”

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-cr-66.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of firearms.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Marshall Lee Graves II, 37, admitted he illegally possessed three loaded firearms recovered by law enforcement officers while executing a search warrant of his residence in November 2019. Graves had previously been convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia of possession with intent to distribute cocaine in 2014.

Graves is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement. The Huntington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney L. Cremeans is prosecuting the case. Former Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Jeffrey also handled the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00181.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Michigan man pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, Terrell Jerome Greenlee, also known as Julian Johnson, 34, of Detroit, admitted that on October 17, 2021, officers responded to a call for emergency assistance in Huntington. The caller stated Greenlee brandished and pointed a firearm at her. Officers responded and located Greenlee, who was in possession of a loaded firearm that had previously been reported as stolen. Greenlee admitted that at the time he possessed the firearm, he knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had been convicted in the Circuit Court of Cabell County, West Virginia of first-degree robbery in May 2014.

Greenlee is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement. The Huntington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney L. Cremeans is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00224.

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BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – A Bluefield man pleaded guilty today to possessing child pornography.

According to statements made in court, Christopher Paul Knight, 56, possessed computer image and video files depicting prepubescent minors engaged in sexual intercourse and other sexually explicit conduct.

Knight pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the investigation.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-00262. 

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BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Nicholas County man was sentenced today to one year in prison, to be served on home confinement, for fraudulently obtaining a line of credit.

According to court documents, James Woods, Jr., 48, of Craigsville, was sentenced to the one year to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Woods pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud in December 2021, admitting he applied for the line of credit under the name of a construction business he did not own. Woods admitted to the court that he did not have permission from the owner of the business to apply for the line of credit at this store to lease commercial construction equipment.  The credit application was transmitted to Cross Lanes and eventually out of West Virginia where it was approved for $10,000.  Woods then used the line of credit to lease a CASE Model 850 bulldozer and it was delivered to a jobsite that Woods controlled. 

Once the owner of the business learned about the fraudulent line of credit, the equipment rental store was contacted and the bulldozer was recovered by the West Virginia State Police and the equipment provider.   

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and credited the investigative work of the Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General, which uncovered the fraud in conjunction with a larger fraud investigation.  The West Virginia State Police also helped with the equipment recovery.

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the plea hearing.  Assistant United States Attorneys Erik S. Goes and Kathleen Robeson handled the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00001.

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* * * NOTE: On April 6, 2022, the Court vacated the one-year sentence imposed on April 1, 2022. U.S. District Judge Frank W. Volk resentenced Woods on May 27, 2022, to four years of probation and one year of home detention. * * * 

HUNTINGTON W.Va. – A Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge based on his involvement with a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in Huntington.

According to court documents, Ricky Lee Taylor, also known as “RT,” 57, admitted that he arranged a cocaine base transaction on May 11, 2021, during a telephone call with an individual who was located in Huntington. After the transaction was arranged, Taylor traveled from Charleston to Huntington, met with the individual, and received the drugs.  Taylor was then stopped by officers with the Hurricane Police Department on Interstate 64 returning to the Charleston area.  Officers seized the cocaine base which Taylor admitted he intended to distribute.  Officers also seized a loaded .40 caliber pistol Taylor possessed during the stop.  

Taylor pleaded guilty to using a telephone to facilitate a felony controlled substance offense. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2022, and faces up to four years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Southern West Virginia TOC-West Task Force consisting of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Hurricane Police Department, and the Marshall University Police Department, with support from the West Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West.  The Ohio Highway Patrol, the Kentucky State Police, and the FBI and DEA in Columbus also assisted in the investigation.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph F. Adams and Courtney L. Cremeans are prosecuting the case.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00109-16.

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BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Beckley man was sentenced today to one year and nine months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Kaine William Durham, 25, possessed a Ruger P90 .45-caliber handgun recovered from inside his vehicle by law enforcement during a November 2020 traffic stop.  Durham had been previously convicted in Raleigh County Circuit Court of felony wanton endangerment in 2017.

Durham pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in November 2021.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the excellent investigative work of the Beckley Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence.  Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Isabell and former Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Jeffrey prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00123.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Chesapeake, Ohio, woman was ordered to pay more than $4.65 million today for stealing federal funds from River Valley Child Development Services (“RVCDS”), a non-profit organization located in Huntington. RVCDS provides programs, services, and support to children and families in the region.

Ruth Marie Phillips, also known as Marie Phillips, 69, previously pleaded guilty in September 2021 to stealing approximately $4,721,731 from RVCDS between December 2013 and August 2020. Phillips worked at RVCDS from December 1986 until September 2020, and held various positions at the non-profit organization, including Director of  Business and Finance.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers ordered the restitution, offsetting the $4.7 million figure by more than $71,000 already returned to RVCDS. To assist with restitution, Phillips also previously agreed to forfeit substantial assets, including: $601,638.77 in proceeds from the sale of six airplanes; $304,576.49 in proceeds from the sale of a lake house at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia that she bought during her scheme to defraud the non-profit; and $169,954.58 in proceeds from the sale of property in Randolph County. Phillips has also agreed to forfeit proceeds from the sale of her residence in Chesapeake, Ohio, and several vehicles, including a Lexus RX and a Chevrolet Corvette.

Chambers sentenced Phillips in January 2022 to seven years in federal prison. The court departed upward from the sentencing guidelines, noting that the guideline range failed to account for the substantial harm Phillips caused the non-profit in the community and the impact Phillips’ theft had on taxpayers. Phillips pleaded guilty to theft of federal funds in September 2021.

While Director of Business and Finance at RVCDS, Philips was responsible for all financial operations, including monitoring accounts receivable, creating and submitting invoices, reconciling bank accounts and issuing checks. From July 1, 2016, to on or about June 30, 2017, RVCDS received approximately $7,131,756 in federal funding and Phillips used her position of trust and authority to steal approximately $964,012 during that period.

Phillips further admitted that between December 2013 and August 2020, she stole approximately $4,721,731 from RVCDS.  During that period, she sent $1,142,500 to her personal checking account and sent another $3,395,500 to Attitude Aviation’s bank account.  Attitude Aviation has offices at Lawrence County Airpark in South Point, Ohio, and Tri-State Airport in Huntington and provides aeronautical services, including fueling, rental of hangar space, aircraft rental, flight instruction and maintenance.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson announced the restitution order.

“Phillips did great harm to the children and families she should have been supporting,” Thompson said. “I commend our law enforcement partners and my staff for their pursuit of justice in this case.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the West Virginia State Police, the Central West Virginia Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, the Lawrence County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office, and the Litigation Financial Analyst with the U.S. Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Kristin F. Scott prosecuted the case. Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Robeson is handling the forfeiture of Phillips’ many assets. Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Nathan of the United States Attorney’s Financial Litigation Unit organized restitution in this case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00135.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Parkersburg man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana.

According to court documents and statements made in court, John Michael Wells II, 33, admitted to paying and arranging for methamphetamine and marijuana to be shipped through the mail from outside West Virginia to the Parkersburg area. The methamphetamine and marijuana would then be sold by another individual who would return to Wells to provide him with the cash proceeds from those sales.  Wells would then use this cash to order more methamphetamine and marijuana from his suppliers. 

Wells admitted to conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in the Southern District of West Virginia during a conspiracy that lasted from at least October 2021 to November 2021.  

Wells is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29, 2022, and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement, and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Parkersburg Police Department, and the Parkersburg Violent Crimes and Narcotics Task Force. 

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00266.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Hurricane man was sentenced today to more than three years in federal prison for possessing child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Shea Owen Marsh, 33, was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release. Marsh will also ordered to pay restitution to victims at a later date.

Marsh pleaded guilty in April 2021 to downloading videos and images of child pornography onto his cell phone several times while at his residence in Hurricane.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made today’s announcement. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted the investigation.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin F. Scott prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 3:20-cr-00126 and 3:21-cr-00043.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Virginia man pleaded guilty today to traveling in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual activity with a minor.

According to statements made in court, Austin James Quesenberry, 27, of  Dublin, Va., traveled from Virginia in December 2021 to St. Albans, W.Va, in order to meet a minor he believed to be a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity, including sexual intercourse. He also sent the purported minor videos of himself masturbating.

Quesenberry is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement. The FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the investigation.

Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-00011.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – An Ashland, Kentucky woman was sentenced today to one year and three months in prison for her role in a $4.3 million fraud scheme against Toyota Motor Corporation.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Tammy Newsome, 55, was ordered to serve 15 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $4,335,663 in restitution.

Newsome was employed as an administrative assistant for Kentucky used car dealership Big Blue Motor Sales, which bought trucks at wholesale prices at auction, obtained hundreds of copies of Kentucky and West Virginia residents’ driver’s licenses, and fraudulently titled the trucks in the name of those residents.

Newsome helped induce Toyota to repurchase hundreds of fraudulently titled trucks at 150% of value between 2013 and 2015, as part of a scheme to misuse its warranty extension program. The scheme relied on Newsome to make false representations to the Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain false vehicle titles in the names of false owners. The titles obtained by Newsome were then used by other scheme participants to induce Toyota to repurchase the vehicles.

Newsome admitted that she made false representations to the DMV, delivered cash bribes to other scheme participants, and forged signatures of false owners so that checks issued by Toyota in the name of a false owner could be deposited into Big Blue Motor Sales’ bank account.

Newsome pleaded guilty to mail fraud in July 2020. Three other individuals were sentenced to prison earlier this year for their roles in the scheme: James Pinson, 46, of Wayne County, the owner of Big Blue Motor Sales, to six years; Frank Russo, 69, of North Carolina, a Toyota dealership service manager, to two years; and Stanley Clark, 68, of Poca, a transfer agent, to one year and three months. All three were also ordered to pay restitution.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement. The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the West Virginia State Police and the West Virginia Office of the Insurance Commissioner investigated the case.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Former Assistant United States Attorney Stefan Hasselblad and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew J. Tessman and Steven I. Loew prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:19-CR-00250, 2:19-cr-00222, and 2:20-cr-00028.  

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – After two days of trial, a federal jury convicted Timothy Wayne Dodd, 46, of South Charleston, of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. 

Evidence at trial revealed that Dodd was part of a large volume methamphetamine conspiracy operating in and around St. Albans and South Charleston during the summer of 2021.  Trial testimony revealed that Shane Kelly Fulkerson traveled to Kentucky approximately once per week to obtain 20 or more pounds of methamphetamine at a time.  Dodd was one of his lower level customers who on occasion helped to divide the shipments into pound and half-pound quantities to be distributed to other local dealers. 

Fulkerson was arrested on August 11, 2021 in Putnam County after leading deputy sheriffs on a high-speed motorcycle chase.  Upon being arrested, the deputies found 95 grams of methamphetamine, a pistol, and more than $70,000 in a backpack Fulkerson had strapped to the motorcycle.  The FBI, along with local drug task force officers and the ATF, executed a search warrant at Fulkerson’s residence on August 12, 2021 and seized in excess of eight pounds of methamphetamine and more than 20 firearms. 

Fulkerson pleaded guilty last Tuesday to two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  He faces a minimum mandatory of 10 years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 16, 2022.

Dodd had previously been convicted in federal court in 2002 of attempting to manufacture methamphetamine for which he was sentenced to 151 months imprisonment.  In 2014, Dodd was convicted in Roane County Circuit Court of attempted possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine for which he was sentenced to one to three years imprisonment.  In 2018, he was convicted in Kanawha County Circuit Court of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and was sentenced to one to five years imprisonment. Dodd was also convicted in Kanawha County Circuit Court later in 2018 of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.  Dodd was on parole at the time he committed the offense of conviction in this case.

“I commend the FBI, the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha and Putnam County Sheriffs’ Departments, ATF, and MDENT for their excellent work in this case and for their steadfast commitment to keeping our communities safe,” said U.S. Attorney Will Thompson.  “I congratulate Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Hanks and Alex Hamner, and the rest of the trial team for bringing this repeat offender to justice.”

Dodd faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 16, 2022.

This case is part of a long-term investigation of a methamphetamine distribution network that resulted in 17 individuals being charged with various drug and firearms offenses in three separate indictments in 2021.

James Edward Bennett, III, Denise Marie Cottrill, Angie Lane Harbour, Michael Antonio Smith, and Jason Robert Oxley have already pleaded guilty.  The remaining defendants are scheduled for trial on May 3, 2022. 

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the trial. 

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:21-cr-00172, 2:21-cr-00171, and 2:21-cr-00211.

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BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Beckley man was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison for distributing fentanyl.

According to court documents, Rashad Lewis Morris, 30, admitted to selling fentanyl to an undercover informant on four occasions in June 2021. On June 24, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Morris’ residence on Foster Avenue in Beckley. Morris admitted to possessing $2,900 in drug proceeds and a loaded firearm that was recovered from his bedroom.  Morris previously pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit, and the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department.

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney L. Cremeans prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00238.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Beckley man pleaded guilty today to a federal gun crime.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Zachary Ryan Allen, 28, admitted to using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  Allen admitted that on July 22, 2020, he was stopped by a police officer while driving on Robert C. Byrd Drive in Beckley.  During the traffic stop, Allen admitted that he had a quantity of heroin and a firearm in his car.  Police officers then recovered a quantity of heroin and fentanyl, a set of digital scales which are frequently used during drug trafficking, a small amount of money, and a Springfield Armory, model 911, 9mm semi-automatic pistol.  Allen further admitted that he intended to distribute the drugs found in his car and that the money consisted of the proceeds of drug trafficking activity. 

Allen pleaded guilty to using and carrying a firearm in relation to drug trafficking activity and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life in prison when he is sentenced on July 8, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit.  The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit is comprised of officers from the West Virginia State Police, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, and the Beckley Police Department.

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is handling the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00209.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A McDowell County man pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge relating to an arson and insurance fraud scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Douglas Vineyard, 52, of Welch, admitted that on July 1, 2019, he bought a house on Princeton Street in Bluefield, West Virginia for $5,000.  On July 31, 2019, Vineyard bought an insurance policy on the house.  The coverage included for $285,500 for the dwelling, $142,750 for the contents and $14,275 for other structures.  On the insurance application, Vineyard stated that the purchase price for the house was $50,000.  In early August, Vineyard made an agreement with other individuals to burn the house down and collect the insurance proceeds.  On August 6, 2019, the individuals set the house on fire. The house was a total loss. On August 16, 2019, Vineyard faxed a Sworn Statement of Proof of Loss seeking $285,500 in insurance proceeds for the house.  The insurance company spent over $13,000 investigating Vineyard’s false claim, ultimately denying it.

Vineyard pleaded guilty to wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 18, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Gregory McVey is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-00131.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Makel Elboghdady, 37, an Egyptian national living in Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for traveling in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual activity with a minor. Elboghdady was also ordered to serve 20 years on supervised release after completing his prison sentence.

Elboghdady was previously convicted after a jury trial in May 2021. Evidence at trial revealed that Elboghdady traveled on February 28, 2020 from Columbus, Ohio to Huntington to meet a woman in order to engage in sexual activity with her purported minor daughters. Elboghdady believed the girls were 11 and 13 years old.  When he arrived in Huntington and met with the person he believed to be the mother of the girls, Elboghdady was placed under arrest.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Rada Herrald and Julie White prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:20-cr-00069.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –  A Huntington man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.

According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, Scott Lee Midkiff, 35, admitted that he participated in the conspiracy from the summer of 2020 to July 2021.  During the conspiracy, Midkiff frequently obtained quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl to distribute to various customers in the Huntington area.  Midkiff provided the drugs to customers on consignment and was aware his customers intended to redistribute the drugs.  Midkiff also admitted that he participated in arranging drug transactions by steering customers to certain drug dealers when customers would contact Midkiff. 

On April 5, 2021, investigators seized over 1.2 pounds of methamphetamine, 130 grams of fentanyl and $84,000 in cash that Midkiff had arranged to be hidden in a vehicle parked in Huntington.  When arrest and search warrants were executed in the investigation on July 29, 2021, agents seized an additional 133 grams of fentanyl and $11,600 from a residence Midkiff shared with another individual. 

Midkiff faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 27, 2022.   

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Southern West Virginia TOC-West Task Force. The Southern West Virginia TOC-West Task Force  is comprised of officers with the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Hurricane Police Department, and the Marshall University Police Department, with support from the West Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West.  The Ohio Highway Patrol, the Kentucky State Police, and the FBI and DEA in Columbus, Ohio also assisted in the investigation.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph F. Adams and Courtney L. Cremeans are handling the prosecution.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00109.

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BECKLEY, W.Va. – Eric Dale Mills, 45, of Beckley, pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 26, 2021, a Raleigh County Deputy Sheriff conducted a traffic stop on the car Mills was driving.  Law enforcement officers searched the car and found over 50 grams of fentanyl and a small amount of methamphetamine.  Officers also found small bags for packaging and scales. Mills admitted that he possessed the fentanyl and that he intended to distribute it. 

Mills pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl and faces not less than five and up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 1, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department. 

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Isabell is handling the prosecution. 

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00252.

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BECKLEY, W.Va. – Jack Michael Smith, 35, of Alderson, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for production of child pornography. Smith was also ordered to serve the remainder of his life on federal supervised release after completion of his prison term and will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Smith uploaded child pornography from a computer in West Virginia to Kik Messenger and shared it with others in March 2019. Additional child pornography was shared from Smith’s account in October 2019. A conversation with another Kik user revealed Smith engaged in ongoing sexual abuse of a minor female. Smith admitted that he traveled from West Virginia to Oregon on a regular basis to engage in sexual activity with the minor female and took photographs of the minor female engaged in sexual activity with him. Smith also encouraged his girlfriend, Kimberly Crookshanks, to sexually abuse a toddler and take photographs of the abuse.  Crookshanks is awaiting trial in the District of Oregon.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  Local law enforcement in Oregon assisted in the investigation.

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence, finding Smith to be “an extreme danger to society.”  Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie White prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00193.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A St. Albans man was sentenced today to two years in prison for a federal drug crime.

According to court documents, on September 23, 2020, a trooper with the West Virginia State Police attempted to stop Joshua James Lambert, 33, who was riding a motorcycle with improperly functioning signal devices on Route 25 near Institute. Lambert tried to flee the scene on the motorcycle, reaching speeds of up to 90mph. When Lambert attempted to make a right-hand turn, he lost control of the motorcycle and wrecked. Lambert then fled on foot with a small black pistol in his hand, which he threw to the ground. The trooper caught Lambert and took him into custody. In searching Lambert, the trooper found several quantities of suspected controlled substances wrapped in small packages which Lambert admitted he intended to sell.  The substances were tested at the West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory and found to contain methamphetamine and fentanyl. The unloaded Raven Arms, MP-25, .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol which Lambert had thrown to the ground was also recovered.

United State Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the West Virginia State Police.

United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory McVey prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00192.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Michigan man was sentenced today to four years and six months in prison for possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

According to court documents, Oji Williams, 42, of Ann Arbor, admitted that on August 1, 2020, law enforcement officers seized over 200 grams of fentanyl from behind the glovebox of a vehicle in which he was a passenger, after conducting a traffic stop in Charleston.  Williams admitted that he possessed and intended to distribute the fentanyl. Law enforcement officers also seized two firearms from Williams’ home after he was arrested. 

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).

Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Negar M. Kordestani prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00025.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Fayette County man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Joshua Lee Parsons, 42, admitted to ordering controlled substances on the dark web and having the controlled substances shipped to him at his residence in Powellton. On February 24, 2021, the United States Customs and Border Protection at the John F. Kennedy International Mail Center in New York seized approximately 49 grams of heroin from an inbound international parcel addressed to Parsons and his residence. On March 8, 2021, several law enforcement agencies conducted a controlled delivery of the parcel and executed a search warrant at the Parsons’ residence. During the search, officers recovered a loaded Hi-Point .380 handgun and multiple controlled substances, including approximately 66 grams of methamphetamine packaged in 103 separate bags. Parsons admitted that he intended to sell the methamphetamine. Parsons told officers that he had another parcel that contained methamphetamine that he ordered and had shipped to him at his residence. On March 15, 2021, law enforcement intercepted that parcel, which contained approximately 223 grams of methamphetamine.

Parsons pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30, 2022, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the work of the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Customs and Border Protection, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the West Virginia State Police, the Central West Virginia Drug Task Force, the Metro Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), and the West Virginia National Guard Reconnaissance and Aerial Interdiction Detachment.

United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney L. Cremeans is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00093.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Shane Kelly Fulkerson, 44, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to federal drug crimes. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, from March 2021 until September 2021, Fulkerson participated in a drug trafficking ring operating in and around St. Albans. Fulkerson admitted he obtained large quantities of methamphetamine from out-of-state and distributed it in and around St. Albans.  Fulkerson admitted selling more than 100 grams of methamphetamine to an informant on three occasions in July and August 2021.  On August 11, 2021, Fulkerson fled on a motorcycle from Putnam County Deputies in Poca.  He was arrested after dropping the motorcycle in a private yard near Winfield and fleeing on foot.  Police recovered 95 grams of methamphetamine, a loaded pistol, and more than $70,000 from Fulkerson’s backpack.  The next morning, FBI and drug task force personnel executed a search warrant at Fulkerson’s St. Albans residence where they seized more than eight pounds of methamphetamine, approximately 22 firearms, and several vehicles which were used to facilitate drug trafficking or were purchased with drug proceeds.   

Fulkerson pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  He faces a minimum mandatory of 10 years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 16, 2022.

This case is part of a long-term investigation of a methamphetamine distribution network that resulted in 17 individuals being charged with various drug and firearms offenses in three separate indictments.

James Edward Bennett, III, Denise Marie Cottrill, Angie Lane Harbour, Michael Antonio Smith, and Jason Robert Oxley have already pleaded guilty.  Timothy Wayne Dodd  is scheduled for trial on March 22, 2022.  The remaining defendants are scheduled for trial on May 3, 2022. 

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the plea hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is handling the prosecution.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:21-cr-00172, 2:21-cr-00171, and 2:21-cr-00211.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man pleaded guilty today to possessing an incendiary bomb.

According to statements made in court, on September 28, 2020, deputies with the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office and firefighters encountered Daniel Justin Watts, 36, at his residence on Green Valley Road in Huntington. Watts had constructed an improvised incendiary device, commonly known as a “Molotov cocktail”, ignited it and threw it on his property which started a fire. Watts admitted to making the device. 

Watts pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Act and faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced on May 9, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office, and the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Keefe is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00119.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man pleaded guilty today to a child pornography crime.

According to court documents, Curtis Ray Pelfrey, Jr., 35, admitted that from November 2018 to December 2019, he used eDonkey, an online file sharing program, to download and share videos and images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Pelfrey further admitted that on October 7, 2019, he received videos, using his computer, containing child pornography.  Pelfrey admitted possessing on his computer 24 videos and five images depicting minors engages in sexually explicit conduct.  Several of the images and videos have been identified as depicting known children.  Pelfrey admitted that he has engaged in this sort of activity since 2014.

Pelfrey pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography and faces a mandatory minimum of five and up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 27, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the West Virginia State Police.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie White is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00244.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Ghanaian national pleaded guilty to his role in a romance fraud scheme.  

According to court documents and statements made during the plea hearing, Banabas Ganidekam, 24, received fraudulent proceeds from a romance fraud scheme in his bank account that was held in Ohio which he later transferred to a bank account in Huntington. Ganidekam lived in Westerville, Ohio at the time.  Ganidekam received the money through wire transfer services including, but not limited to, bank wire transfers, personal checks and cashier’s checks.  Ganidekam admitted that he received the fraudulent money from at least 14 different victims.

Ganidekam pleaded guilty to wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 21, 2022.  As part of  his plea agreement, Ganidekam agreed to pay restitution in an amount to be determined by the court.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), the West Virginia State Police, and the South Charleston Police Department.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorneys R. Gregory McVey and Kathleen Robeson are handling the prosecution.

The public is encouraged to report potential online fraud activity or scams at https://www.ic3.gov/.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-0071.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to court documents, Rance McNeil, 48, sold a confidential informant approximately two ounces of methamphetamine for $1,200 on March 11, 2021.  The transaction took place at  McNeil’s Charleston residence.  An informant conducted additional controlled buys of methamphetamine from McNeil at his residence on March 1, April 8, and May 13, 2021.  Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at McNeil’s residence on May 18, 2021, resulting in the seizure of large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine, as well as over $20,000 in U.S. currency.  McNeil admitted he had been distributing bulk quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin and that the seized cash was drug proceeds.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Negar M. Kordestani prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00203.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Jason Robert Oxley, 38, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to federal drug and gun crimes. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, from March 2020 until June 2021, Oxley participated in a drug trafficking ring operating in and around St. Albans. Oxley admitted that he obtained methamphetamine and other drugs from two of his co-defendants which he then distributed. Oxley admitted that he sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant on March 22, 2021 and April 12, 2021.  The drug transactions took place at Oxley’s St. Albans residence.  Oxley further admitted that on May 21, 2021, he bought a SWD Cobray, Model M11/9, 9mm pistol from a local gun show. Police recovered it the next day after a co-defendant hid it while trying to evade a traffic stop.  Oxley is prohibited from possessing firearms because of his three prior felony convictions. He was on parole at the time he committed the charged offenses.  

Oxley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces a minimum mandatory of 10 years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 6, 2022.

This case is part of a long-term investigation of a methamphetamine distribution network that resulted in 17 individuals being charged with various drug and firearms offenses in three separate indictments.

Brian Dangelo Terry is scheduled to plead guilty on April 7, 2022.  Shane Kelly Fulkerson is scheduled to plead guilty on March 15, 2022.  James Edward Bennett, III, Denise Marie Cottrill, Angie Lane Harbour, and Michael Antonio Smith have already pleaded guilty.  Timothy Wayne Dodd  is scheduled for trial on March 22, 2022.  The remaining defendants are scheduled for trial on May 3, 2022. 

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the plea hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is handling the prosecution.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:21-cr-00172, 2:21-cr-00171, and 2:21-cr-00211.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –  A Huntington man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug offense.   

According to court documents, Marcus Allen Johnson, 37, admitted that on June 5, 2021, he used a telephone to assist a co-conspirator involved in cocaine sales in Huntington.  Johnson admitted that he was contacted and enlisted by the co-conspirator to find purchasers for kilogram quantities of cocaine.  During the calls, Johnson agreed to market the cocaine to prospective purchasers. 

Johnson pleaded guilty to using a communication facility to facilitate a felony drug offense and faces up to four years in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 21, 2022. 

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Southern West Virginia TOC-West Task Force. The TOC-West Task Force is comprised of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Hurricane Police Department, and the Marshall University Police Department.  The West Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West also provide support.  The Ohio Highway Patrol, the Kentucky State Police, the FBI and DEA in Columbus also assisted in the investigation.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph F. Adams and Courtney L. Cremeans are handling the prosecution.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00109.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Columbus, Ohio man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, Donald Ray Jackson, 38, assisted in the sale of what was purported to be heroin to a confidential informant on August 30, 2016 in Huntington.  A forensic chemist who analyzed the substance subsequently found it to contain a mixture of both heroin and fentanyl.   

Jackson pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin and fentanyl and faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 13, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-00183.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –  An Akron, Ohio man who helped lead a multi-state drug conspiracy was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison.  

According to court documents, George Devonte Langford, 29, admitted that he participated in the conspiracy between April and September 2019.  Langford admitted that he frequently acquired methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl in the Akron area which he and others transported to the Southern District of West Virginia.  Langford then distributed the drugs to various customers in multiple locations including Scott Depot, Charleston and Sissonville.  Langford also admitted that customers traveled to locations in Ohio on multiple occasions, including Akron and Canton, where he met with them to provide them with methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.  Langford was aware that these customers traveled from, and intended to return to, West Virginia with the drugs where they would be re-distributed.  Langford previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, 100 grams or more of heroin, and 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force, the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit, the United States Marshals Service, the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Charleston Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Akron, Ohio Police Department, and the Brecksville, Ohio Police Department.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.  Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph F. Adams and Stephanie S. Taylor handled the prosecution.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:19-cr-000246.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Raleigh County man pleaded guilty to damaging a coal mine.

According to court documents, Ricky Sprouse, 46, of Naoma, admitted damaging a coal mine and stealing specialized equipment from the coal mine.

Sprouse pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the destruction of an energy facility and faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 8, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Robeson is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-00045.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Mexican national man pleaded guilty to the felony offense of reentry of a removed alien. Enoc Lopez-Garcia, 29, was found guilty by the Court and sentenced to “time served,” having spent approximately four months in federal custody.  Lopez-Garcia was subsequently remanded to ICE custody for possible removal proceedings from the United States. 

According to court documents and statements made during the hearing, on November 9, 2021, Lopez-Garcia was found in Parkersburg by members of ICE who had identified him during the course of an investigation.  ICE agents spoke to the defendant to confirm his identity. Lopez-Garcia had no identification documents permitting him legal status in the United States, and he was placed under arrest.

Fingerprinting matched Lopez-Garcia to three prior administrative removals from the United States, one in 2014 and two in 2019.  Lopez-Garcia has misdemeanor convictions in Jackson County for battery and brandishing deadly weapons.  Lopez-Garcia never obtained permission to legally enter the United States and had not sought legal status or citizenship.  Lopez-Garcia is a citizen of Mexico.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Street Crimes Unit of the Parkersburg Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service.

United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan A. Keefe and Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00248.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston woman was sentenced today to three years in prison and three years of supervised release for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. 

According to court documents, on August 27, 2020, law enforcement officers stopped Kayla Slater, 29, walking on Beech Avenue in Charleston after a car she was sighted in took off from police.  Officers seized a Beretta Px4 Storm 9mm semi-automatic pistol in plain view in Slater’s handbag and approximately 80 grams of fentanyl from her person.  Slater later admitted to the officers that the gun and drugs were hers, that she had been trafficking large quantities of controlled substances, and that she was addicted to heroin.  Slater is prohibited from possessing firearms due to being an habitual user of a  controlled substance

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Charleston Police Department.

United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Negar M. Kordestani prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. 

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00079.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A South Charleston man was sentenced today to five years in prison for a federal drug crime.

According to statements previously made in court, Marquise Culbreath-Claytor, 26, possessed 134 grams of methamphetamine when a vehicle in which he was a passenger was stopped by a West Virginia State Police Trooper in Boone County on April 1, 2021. Culbreath-Claytor previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine and admitted that he intended to sell the drug.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police.

Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nowles Heinrich prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00190.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Poca man pleaded guilty today to transportation of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Keegan Shane Stanley, 31, uploaded videos of child pornography to Dropbox, an online file sharing website. A search of his residence revealed over 1,600 images of child pornography

Stanley is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, 2022 and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie White is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00208.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –  A Huntington woman pleaded guilty today to a federal methamphetamine and fentanyl charge. 

According to the plea agreements and statements made in court, Erica Antoinette Kirker, 35, admitted that on April 5, 2021 she possessed approximately 1.2 pounds of methamphetamine, 138 grams of fentanyl, and over $84,000 in cash at her residence on 3rd Avenue in Huntington.  Kirker placed the items in a vehicle and parked the vehicle in a parking garage in downtown Huntington.  Investigators conducted a search of the vehicle on that date and seized the methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cash.  Kirker admitted that she intended to sell the drugs and that the currency constituted proceeds from prior drug sales.   

Kirker pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison when she is sentenced on June 21, 2022.   

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Southern West Virginia TOC-West Task Force. The Southern West Virginia TOC-West Task Force  consists of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Hurricane Police Department, and the Marshall University Police Department, with support from the West Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West.  The Ohio Highway Patrol, the Kentucky State Police, and the FBI and DEA in Columbus, Ohio also assisted in the investigation.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph F. Adams and Courtney L. Cremeans are handling the prosecution.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00109.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Augustine Amechi, 24, a Nigerian national, was sentenced today to one year and a day in federal prison for receipt of stolen money.  Amechi pleaded guilty to the charge in November 2021 and as part of  his plea agreement agreed to pay at least $192,762.19 in restitution.

According to court documents and statements, Amechi was involved from at least 2018 to March 11, 2021 with others in a fraud scheme that took place in Huntington and elsewhere.  Amechi lived in Huntington and attended Marshall University during his involvement in the fraud scheme.  Amechi admitted that romance fraud victims were convinced to send money for a variety of false and fraudulent reasons to bank accounts controlled by him in Cabell County.  The money received by Amechi was sent through bank wire transfers, Western Union, MoneyGram, money orders and cashier’s checks.  Amechi admitted to receiving approximately $108,601.92 directly deposited into his bank accounts from victims, over $150,000 in cash mailed in packages to his Huntington residence and over $140,000 in deposits from Zelle. Amechi further admitted that he obtained stolen money from at least 37 different fraud victims, and after he received the money, he would keep some of it for himself and forward some of the stolen money to others. Amechi transferred more than $15,000 to bank accounts in Nigeria. 

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), the West Virginia State Police, and the South Charleston Police Department.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.  Assistant United States Attorneys R. Gregory McVey and Kathleen Robeson handled the prosecution.

The public is encouraged to report potential online fraud activity or scams at https://www.ic3.gov/.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).  This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim, and identifying relevant next steps.  Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis.  Reporting is the first step.  Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses.  The hotline is staffed 10am-6pm Eastern Time, Monday-Friday. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.   

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-0069 

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –  A Huntington man pleaded guilty today to a federal fentanyl charge.

According to court documents and statements made during the hearing, Ian Wyatt Justice, 20, admitted that on March 16, 2021, Huntington Police officers were conducting a drug investigation and observed him enter a residence located on Charleston Avenue in Huntington.  The officers executed a search warrant at the residence on that date and Justice, who was present just prior to the search, was arrested.  During the search, officers seized a number of items including fentanyl, three firearms, and items used to prepare fentanyl for distribution.  Justice admitted that he intended to distribute the fentanyl and that he had been selling fentanyl in Huntington in the months leading up to the search. 

Justice pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and faces five to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 13, 2022. 

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Huntington Police Department. 

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is handling the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-00009.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal gun crime. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, during the summer of 2021, Michael Antonio Smith, 49, kept firearms and drugs in his residence in Rand for a member of a multi-state methamphetamine distribution organization operating in and around Charleston.  On September 29, 2021, police executed a federal search warrant at Smith’s residence on Elaine Drive where they recovered four firearms and approximately 34 grams of methamphetamine.  Smith is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his two prior felony convictions in Kanawha County Circuit Court for wanton endangerment with a firearm and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.   

Smith is one of seventeen defendants charged as a result of this investigation. Angie Lane Harbour and Denise Marie Cottrill pleaded guilty to methamphetamine charges in February.  James Edward Bennett pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on March 2, 2021.  Brian Dangelo Terry and Jason Robert Oxley are scheduled to plead guilty on March 14, 2022.  

Smith pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 9, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the plea hearing.  Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Hanks and Alex Hamner are handling the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:21-cr-211, 2:21-cr-172, and 2:21-cr-171.

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BECKLEY, W.Va. –  James David Morris, Jr., 43, of Beckley, was sentenced today to two years and 11 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and violating his supervised release that was imposed as a result of his 2018 federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Morris had been out of prison for less than one year and was serving a term of supervised release when he committed the 2021 offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Morris admitted to being in possession of a Winchester 12 gauge shotgun found by law enforcement officers in his home on June 10, 2021.  Morris was not legally permitted to possess firearms due to  two prior convictions for federal firearms offenses.  In addition to the 2018 conviction, Morris has a 2013 federal conviction for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. That conviction resulted from an incident in which Morris and an associate pointed firearms at West Virginia State Troopers, and Morris’ associate fired at least one shot at the troopers.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the excellent investigative work of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). 

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is handling the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 5:18-cr-00071 and 5:21-cr-00158.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – James Pinson, 46, of Wayne County, and Frank Russo, 69, of North Carolina, were sentenced today for their roles in defrauding Toyota of over $4.3 million in connection with a Toyota Customer Support Program.  Both men also will be required to pay restitution of up to $4.3 million to Toyota.

Pinson was sentenced to six years in federal prison. A federal jury convicted Pinson in December 2021 of three counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of conspiring to commit money laundering. Pinson was the owner of Big Blue Motor Sales, a Kentucky used car dealership.  Evidence at trial revealed that to carry out his scheme, Pinson bought Toyota trucks at wholesale prices at auction, obtained hundreds of copies of Kentucky and West Virginia residents’ driver’s licenses, fraudulently titled the trucks in the name of those residents, and fraudulently induced Toyota to repurchase the trucks at 150% of their retail value. Toyota issued 350 checks in the names of individual false owners between 2013 and 2015. Pinson forged signatures on all 350 checks and deposited them into his bank account. Pinson then used the money from this fraud scheme to buy more Toyota trucks at wholesale to run through the scheme. He also paid cash bribes to Frank Russo and Stanley Clark. Earlier this week, Clark was sentenced to one year and three months in prison. Pinson further used the criminally-derived money from the fraud scheme to purchase a beach house in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina.

Russo was sentenced to two years in federal prison for wire fraud.  Russo pleaded guilty to the charge in July 2020. Russo was employed as service manager by a Toyota dealership in Kanawha County. Russo admitted that he participated in the fraud scheme by ensuring that vehicles brought to the Toyota dealership qualified for the extended warranty extension program. Russo admitted that he sent false ownership information to Toyota by electronic wire in furtherance of the scheme. Russo admitted that he received bribes or kickbacks from Big Blue Motor Sales for his participation in the scheme.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the West Virginia State Police and the West Virginia Office of the Insurance Commissioner. 

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentences. Assistant United States Attorneys Steve Loew and Andrew Tessman handled the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:19-CR-00250 and 2:19-cr-00222.

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BECKLEY, W.Va. –  United States Attorney Will Thompson and Special Agent in Charge Shawn Morrow, Louisville Field Division for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced today that a federal grand jury returned a 19-count indictment charging 13 individuals in connection with their roles in a conspiracy to traffic over 130 firearms from the Beckley area to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More than 30 of the firearms have been recovered in Philadelphia and have been connected to two homicides, crimes of domestic violence, and other violent crimes.

Charged with conspiracy to travel interstate with the intent to engage in dealing firearms without a license are:

Bisheem Jones, also known as “Bosh,” 36, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Derrick Woodard, also known as “D,” 26, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Shyheem Woodard-Smith, also known as “Peanut” and “Nut,” 22, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Hassan Abdullah, also known as “San,” 27, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Denise Johnson, 24, of Beckley, West Virginia

Shakyrah Ross, 23, of Beckley, West Virginia

Tyana Bly, also known as “Biggie,” 22, of Beckley, West Virginia

Stephanie Cohernour, 32, of Fayetteville, West Virginia

Maurice Johnson, 35, of Mount Hope, West Virginia

Arileah Lacy, also known as “Leah,” 23, of Beckley, West Virginia

Terri Lawhorn, 27, of Oak Hill, West Virginia

Lakeshia Nicole Simon, 22, of Beckley, West Virginia

Donte Webster, 22, of Beckley West Virginia

According to the indictment, from approximately June 2020 to July 2021, Jones, Woodard, Woodard-Smith, and Abdullah recruited individuals to straw purchase firearms on their behalf.  The indictment further alleges that Jones caused the straw purchases to be conducted to obtain firearms for himself, Woodard, Woodard-Smith and Abdullah without there being a record that they were the actual buyers. As part of the conspiracy, Jones, Woodard, Woodard-Smith and Abdullah traveled from Philadelphia to the Beckley area to acquire firearms for the purpose of reselling them for profit in Philadelphia and often accompanied the straw purchasers to various gun stores. Jones, Woodard, Woodard-Smith and Abdullah are also charged with travelling interstate with the intent to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. 

Defendants Bly, Cohernour, Maurice Johnson, Lacy, Lawhorn, Simon and Webster are charged with providing false information during the acquisition of firearms at various gun stores in the Beckley area. The indictment alleges that these defendants made false statements on ATF Form 4473 certifying that they were the buyers of the firearms when they knew they were actually purchasing the firearms for others.

The indictment alleges that during the scheme straw purchasers bought over 130 firearms in or near Beckley and delivered them to others in the conspiracy for transfer to Philadelphia.

The indictment also charges Jones with being a felon in possession of a firearm, alleging that he possessed a Ruger, Model-LC9S, 9-mm pistol on March 11, 2021. Jones is prohibited from possessing a firearm as a result of a 2010 felony conviction for robbery in Pennsylvania.

“The gun trafficking pipeline through which these defendants were supplying crime guns to Philadelphia has been shut down as a result of this investigation,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson.  “We will continue to work with ATF and our state and local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute gun traffickers and straw purchasers that put guns in the wrong hands and fuel violence in our cities.”

“One of the ways we accomplish our mission is by identifying sources of crime guns and those who illegally supply firearms used to commit acts of violence,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Shawn Morrow of the Louisville Division. “Along with our law enforcement partners, we disrupt and dismantle illegal supply networks to keep firearms from being trafficked to places where they are used to harm our communities. Firearms trafficking is not a victimless crime.  It is illegal and it puts firearms into the hands of prohibited persons and criminals who often use them to commit acts of violence. No community is immune to gun violence. What’s happening in one community impacts others, and today highlights how West Virginia law enforcement is working together to protect our communities and our neighbors.” 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation with assistance from the Philadelphia Field Division of the ATF, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, the Oak Hill Police Department, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office, the Beckley Police Department, the Charleston Police Department, the Philadelphia Police Department and the West Virginia Fusion Center.   

Assistant U.S. Attorney Negar M. Kordestani is handling the prosecution.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. 

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:22-cr-00046.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Dunbar man was sentenced to two years of federal probation and ordered to pay over $70,000 in restitution for defrauding a community caretaking non-profit  that serves the West Dunbar, Institute, and Pinewood areas. The non-profit provides those communities with important services such as neighborhood clean-ups, pothole filling and road paving, senior citizen events, landscaping and grass cutting in common areas, the installation and maintenance of approximately 200 streetlights to deter crime and promote safety.

According to court documents, Walter Greenhowe, 73, was President of the non-profit from 2014 through 2018. While serving as President, Greenhowe engaged in a scheme to defraud the non-profit of approximately $130,349.07 by using the organization’s debit card to obtain cash for his personal use at roadside gaming parlors in and around Dunbar, Nitro, St. Albans, Cross Lanes, and South Charleston. These cash withdrawals often occurred late at night or in the early morning hours. Greenhowe admitted these transactions were unauthorized and unapproved by the non-profit.

Greenhowe also admitted that in 2017, during the course of his debit card fraud, he obtained a $25,000 donation check from a chemical company in Institute. Greenhowe did not turn this check over to the non-profit and instead opened a bank account under the non-profit’s name at a different bank than the one regularly used by the non-profit. Greenhowe deposited the donated check into the account and then withdrew the funds in cash over the course of three months.  

Representatives of the non-profit and community members were present at the sentencing hearing today and addressed the Court directly. They expressed their need for restitution so that their organization could be restored to financial solvency as soon as possible to continue serving the citizens of the West Dunbar, Institute, and Pinewood communities.

The Court acknowledged the non-profit’s desire to restore itself to financial solvency and ordered Greenhowe to pay restitution of $70,349.07. Greenhowe previously repaid approximately $85,000 to the non-profit prior to the discovery of his fraud.  

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police, West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations, and the Litigation Financial Analyst with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Kristin F. Scott prosecuted the case. Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Nathan of the U.S. Attorney Office’s Financial Litigation Unit is coordinating restitution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00133.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – James Edward Bennett III, 30, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to a federal gun crime. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 4, 2021, the FBI was conducting a wiretap investigation of a multi-state methamphetamine distribution organization operating in and around Charleston.  Intercepted calls alerted the agents that Bennett and three other men planned to murder a man on the West Side of Charleston.  Surveillance confirmed that Bennett and the others armed themselves and traveled in a rented SUV from Rand toward the West Side.  The Charleston Police Department deployed multiple marked vehicles to the area to establish a highly visible presence.  The driver of the SUV parked at the Kroger fuel station on Washington Street.  Upon seeing the numerous police cruisers, Bennett and the other men abandoned the vehicle and left the area.  The FBI impounded the vehicle and executed a search warrant,  recovering four loaded pistols and a .223 caliber pistol modified to resemble an “AR-style” firearm with a loaded drum magazine from the vehicle.  Bennett admitted the he possessed a 9mm pistol and the .223 caliber pistol with the drum magazine.  Bennett is prohibited from possessing firearms because of his previous felony convictions in Kanawha County Circuit Court which include first degree robbery in 2010, voluntary manslaughter in 2017, and unlawful wounding in 2019. 

Bennett pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on May 23, 2022.

“The quick response of our law enforcement partners prevented a shooting on Charleston’s West Side,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson.  “Public safety is always at risk when felons possess firearms, especially when they have a history of violent crime convictions.  Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the FBI, the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department and MDENT, we will continue to thwart violent crimes in our communities.”

Brian Dangelo Terry, 37, is scheduled to plead guilty to his role in the offense on March 14, 2022.  Treydan Leon Burks, 31, and Douglas Johnathan Wesley, 33 are scheduled for trial on May 3, 2022. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) conducted the investigation.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the plea hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is handling the prosecution.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. 

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:21-cr-00172, 2:21-cr-00171, and 2:21-cr-00211.

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man pleaded guilty today to the distribution of cocaine base, also known as “crack.”

According to court documents, Deandre Antonio Ziegler, 31, who is also known as “Little D,” admitted to distributing cocaine base, also known as “crack,” to an undercover informant on five different occasions in July and August 2020.

Ziegler pleaded guilty to distribution of cocaine base and faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 6, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department Drug Unit and the FBI’s Southern West Virginia Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) West Task Force.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers  presided over the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney L. Cremeans is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00017.

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