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18 July 2022
Justice Department Secures the Surrender of over 4,000 Beagles from Virginia Breeder of Dogs for ResearchRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – In a consent decree entered on July 15 by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Envigo RMS, a company that breeds and sells animals for research, has agreed to a permanent prohibition on engaging in any activity at its facility in Cumberland, Virginia, that requires an Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license. Envigo RMS has also agreed to relinquish all remaining beagles at the Cumberland facility to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
In May, the United States filed suit against Envigo RMS, alleging that the company was failing to provide humane care and treatment to the thousands of beagles at the company’s Cumberland facility. Specifically, the complaint alleged that Envigo RMS was failing to meet the AWA’s minimum standards for handling, housing, feeding, watering, sanitation and adequate veterinary care, among other requirements. Based on past violations identified during inspections by the Department of Agriculture and evidence of extensive, ongoing AWA violations obtained during a multiday criminal search warrant executed at the Cumberland facility beginning on May 18, the Justice Department moved for a temporary restraining order that the federal court granted on May 21 to ensure the health and welfare of the beagles at the Cumberland facility.
The Justice Department worked with the HSUS to develop a plan to transfer the 4,000 remaining beagles from the Cumberland facility and make those beagles available for adoption. The transfer plan, which was jointly submitted by the Justice Department and Envigo RMS, was approved by the District Court on July 5. Under the transfer plan, the HSUS will coordinate the enormous effort to remove all of the beagles from the Cumberland facility over the course of 60 days.
“This settlement brings to an end the needless suffering caused by Envigo’s blatant violations of animal welfare laws at this facility,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “We will continue to vigorously enforce animal welfare laws to ensure that animals are provided the humane care that they are legally owed and deserve.”
“Due to the efforts of Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, more than 4,000 animals have been rescued from dire circumstances, and we will continue to hold accountable those who are responsible,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh for the Western District of Virginia. “I am grateful to all those who assisted with this case, especially those who are ensuring that these animals receive the care they deserve.”
This settlement is the result of prosecution by Senior Trial Attorney Mary Hollingsworth and Trial Attorney Shampa Panda of ENRD’s Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Giorno for the Western District of Virginia.
Justice Department Secures the Surrender of over 4,000 Beagles from Virginia Breeder of Dogs for ResearchRead the Press Release
In a consent decree entered on July 15 by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Envigo RMS, a company that breeds and sells animals for research, has agreed to a permanent prohibition on engaging in any activity at its facility in Cumberland, Virginia, that requires an Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license. Envigo RMS has also agreed to relinquish all remaining beagles at the Cumberland facility to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
In May, the United States filed suit against Envigo RMS, alleging that the company was failing to provide humane care and treatment to the thousands of beagles at the company’s Cumberland facility. Specifically, the complaint alleged that Envigo RMS was failing to meet the AWA’s minimum standards for handling, housing, feeding, watering, sanitation and adequate veterinary care, among other requirements. Based on past violations identified during inspections by the Department of Agriculture and evidence of extensive, ongoing AWA violations obtained during a multiday criminal search warrant executed at the Cumberland facility beginning on May 18, the Justice Department moved for a temporary restraining order that the federal court granted on May 21 to ensure the health and welfare of the beagles at the Cumberland facility.
The Justice Department worked with the HSUS to develop a plan to transfer the 4,000 remaining beagles from the Cumberland facility and make those beagles available for adoption. The transfer plan, which was jointly submitted by the Justice Department and Envigo RMS, was approved by the District Court on July 5. Under the transfer plan, the HSUS will coordinate the enormous effort to remove all of the beagles from the Cumberland facility over the course of 60 days.
“This settlement brings to an end the needless suffering caused by Envigo’s blatant violations of animal welfare laws at this facility,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “We will continue to vigorously enforce animal welfare laws to ensure that animals are provided the humane care that they are legally owed and deserve.”
“Due to the efforts of Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, more than 4,000 animals have been rescued from dire circumstances, and we will continue to hold accountable those who are responsible,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh for the Western District of Virginia. “I am grateful to all those who assisted with this case, especially those who are ensuring that these animals receive the care they deserve.”
This settlement is the result of prosecution by Senior Trial Attorney Mary Hollingsworth and Trial Attorney Shampa Panda of ENRD’s Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Giorno for the Western District of Virginia.
Justice Department Files Religious Discrimination Suit Against the City of Lansing, MichiganRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it filed a lawsuit against the City of Lansing, Michigan, alleging that Lansing discriminated against former detention officer Sylvia Coleman on the basis of her religion, when it terminated her employment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex and religion.
“Religious discrimination and intolerance have no place in the workplace today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Employees should not have to choose between their religion and their livelihood, particularly when the employer can accommodate their religious beliefs. The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting the religious rights and religious freedom of employees by ensuring that no one faces unlawful discrimination in the workplace.”
According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on July 15, 2022, Coleman informed the City of Lansing that she could not work a shift from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday because of her religious observance of the Sabbath as a Seventh-day Adventist. Yet the City of Lansing failed to take adequate steps to reasonably accommodate her religious observance and instead terminated her employment, following her first scheduled Saturday shift. The complaint also alleges that the City of Lansing failed to show that accommodating Coleman would cause undue hardship on the operation of its business. Through this lawsuit, the United States seeks to have the City of Lansing develop and implement policies that would prevent religious discrimination, seeks monetary damages for Coleman, and seeks other appropriate relief.
The Indianapolis District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigated and attempted to resolve Coleman’s charge of discrimination before referring it to the Department of Justice. More information about the EEOC’s jurisdiction is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov.
This case is being handled by Senior Trial Attorneys Sara Safriet and Robert Galbreath of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section.
Ensuring that local, county and state governments comply with Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the jurisdiction of the Employment Litigation Section is available on its websites at www.justice.gov/crt/ and https://www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section.
Huntington Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Jonathan Lee Sturkey, 37, of Huntington, was sentenced today to one year and six months 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, on December 30, 2021, law enforcement officers observed the driver and passenger of a vehicle at the Third Avenue Speedway smoking marijuana. When Sturkey, the passenger, was asked to step out of the vehicle, he admitted to the officers that he had a firearm. Officers found a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .38-caliber revolver in Sturkey’s left coat pocket.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Sturkey knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his felony conviction for the distribution of a quantity of cocaine base in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on May 23, 2011.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Huntington Police Department.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie S. Taylor 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. 3:22-cr-21.
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Grafton Dentist Sentenced to 54 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay over $1 million in forfeitureRead the Press Release
Richard G. Frohling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on July 15, 2022, Scott Charmoli, formerly a licensed dentist, was sentenced to 54 months’ incarceration for committing healthcare fraud and making false statements related to healthcare matters.
Scott Charmoli was the owner and sole dentist operating Jackson Family Dentistry in Jackson, Wisconsin. In 2015, Charmoli began a years-long scheme to defraud dental insurance companies into paying for unnecessary crown procedures. Charmoli aggressively sold crowns to patients and then intentionally broke their teeth with his drill in order to convince the insurance companies to pay for the crowns. In March 2022, a jury found Charmoli guilty of five counts of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements to the insurance companies.
In announcing sentence, United State District Judge Lynn Adelman called this an unusual case of fraud because Charmoli physically harmed his own patients and “intentionally damaged” their teeth. He explained that Charmoli’s fraudulent conduct led to physical injuries and a loss of trust in the dental profession. He described Charmoli as “persuading,” “badgering,” and “shaming” his victims and said that Charmoli was both “pushy” and “coercive.” Judge Adelman also focused on the fact that Charmoli made his victims feel like “prey” and that he caused them significant pain and discomfort. The judge indicated that a period of incarceration was necessary to reflect the seriousness of this conduct, particularly because there was no “motive other than greed” for Charmoli’s crimes. In announcing the sentence, Judge Adelman said it was important for other professionals in Charmoli’s position to know that this kind of fraudulent conduct would not be tolerated.
Evidence at trial indicated that Charmoli performed far more crowns than most dentists in Wisconsin, ranking in, or above, the 95th percentile of crowns performed each year from 2016 to 2019. The evidence also showed that Charmoli billed over $4.2 million for crown procedures between 2016 and 2019, and that he performed more than 700 crowns each year from 2015 to 2019. In each of 2015 and 2016, Charmoli performed over 1000 crown procedures. Evidence also showed that in addition to submitting x-rays to insurance companies of damage Charmoli himself had caused, Charmoli made false statements to dental insurers when they denied initial claims for crown coverage.
Charmoli benefited significantly from his scheme, amassing significant assets. As part of his sentence, Charmoli already has been ordered to pay $1,043,229.31 in forfeiture. He also will be responsible for reimbursing insurance companies and reimbursing patients who received fraudulent crowns for their out-of-pocket expenses. Judge Adelman will determine the final amount of restitution due and owing to patients and insurance companies related to the offenses of conviction within 90 days. In addition, Charmoli is the subject of several malpractice lawsuits brought by former patients.
“Mr. Charmoli abused a position of trust and lied to his patients and their insurers simply to line his own pockets,” stated United States Attorney Frohling. “Despite already having many advantages in life, Mr. Charmoli simply wanted more, and he was willing to harm his patients physically, emotionally, and financially to fund his lifestyle. I commend the hard work of the FBI agents and the trial team in pursuing justice for the victims in this case.”
“Health care fraud remains a top priority for the FBI due to the negative effects it has on our community,” said SAC Michael E. Hensle. “Not only do health care fraud schemes like this cost the U.S. taxpayers through increased health insurance premiums and greater out-of-pocket expenses, they also cause unnecessary pain and suffering to those who seek the assistance of trusted health care professionals. The FBI will continue to investigate and work with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute those who take advantage of the health care system for their own financial greed. Together, we remain committed to bringing those to justice who personally benefit from their criminal health care fraud schemes.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, which Assistant United States Attorneys Julie F. Stewart and Michael A. Carter prosecuted.
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For further information contact:
Public Information Officer
Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov
(414) 297-1700
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Former Prattsville Town Supervisor Pleads Guilty to FraudRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kory O’Hara, age 45, formerly the Town Supervisor of Prattsville, pled guilty today to wire fraud in connection with a grant extended to Prattsville in the wake of Hurricane Irene.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli; Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); John Pias, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector (DHS-OIG); and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region (HUD-OIG).
In August 2011, Hurricane Irene caused significant damage to the Town of Prattsville, resulting in the issuance of millions of dollars in rehabilitation grants to Prattsville and its residents. As Town Supervisor, O’Hara entered into various grant agreements, including with the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation.
In pleading guilty, O’Hara admitted that between 2013 and 2015, he obtained false invoices from a Prattsville-based modular home business, Moore’s Homes, purporting to reflect construction work performed on O’Hara’s automotive garage, O’Hara’s Service Station, which Moore’s Homes did not perform. O’Hara issued checks to Moore’s Homes reflecting payment on the invoices, but Moore’s Homes returned all of the money.
O’Hara, who was Town Supervisor at the time, then submitted the false invoices and checks to Prattsville and the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation to fraudulently obtain $24,915 in grant proceeds under the New York Main Street Program.
United States Attorney Carla Freedman stated: “The New York Main Street Program was designed to make sure that grant money would be used to rebuild Prattsville in the wake of Hurricane Irene. As Town Supervisor, O’Hara knew the rules, but chose not to follow them. Instead, he took grant money fraudulently. We will continue to hold public officials accountable who, through fraud, put their own interests above those of their constituents.”
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli stated: “Kory O’Hara violated the trust of his community and his duty as Town Supervisor by stealing funds that were meant to help the town recover from Hurricane Irene. Thanks to my partnership with United States Attorney Carla Freedman and federal law enforcement and agencies, O’Hara has now been held accountable for his fraudulent, selfish actions.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Janeen DiGuiseppi stated: “Hurricane Irene had an absolutely devastating impact on the town of Prattsville, New York. While residents struggled to rebuild their lives, Mr. O'Hara was busy fraudulently obtaining the funds meant to assist them. The FBI, together with our federal, state, and local partners, will continue to aggressively investigate those who exploit the programs designed to alleviate the tremendous loss that follows a natural disaster.”
HUD OIG Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi stated: “Prattsville was overwhelmed by Hurricane Irene’s damaging winds and flooding. Mr. O’Hara was entrusted to use federal disaster recovery funds to benefit the residents of Prattsville. Instead, his actions resulted in illicit personal gains and undermined the integrity of American taxpayer-funded relief programs. The HUD OIG will not tolerate this behavior and will continue to work with our partners in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the State Comptroller’s Office, FBI, and Homeland Security to ensure bad actors are held accountable for their misdeeds.”
O’Hara faces up to 20 years in prison; a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 3 years; and a maximum fine of $250,000. He will also be required to pay $24,915 in restitution to the State of New York.
O’Hara’s co-defendant, Stephen Baker, age 71, of Prattsville, previously pled guilty to offering a false instrument for filing, a Class A misdemeanor, in Prattsville Town Court, and the federal charges against him were dismissed.
This case was investigated by the Office of the New York State Comptroller, Division of Investigation; FBI; DHS-OIG; and HUD-OIG, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyrus P.W. Rieck.
Ecuadorian and Mexican Nationals Found Guilty of Trafficking Cocaine in the Eastern Pacific OceanRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Manuel Angel Velez-Acosta (33, Ecuador), Guillermo Cabrera Perez (48, Mexico), Andres Nixon Gonzales-Catagua (48, Ecuador), and Hernan David Gonzales-Quiroz (42, Ecuador) guilty of possessing and conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The defendants each face a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. The sentencing hearings have been scheduled for October 13, 2022. They were indicted on February 4, 2021.
According to testimony presented at trial, on January 26, 2021, a U.S. Navy airplane detected a 25-30 foot open-hull motorboat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, about 400 nautical miles south of Mexico, operating in a location where maritime drug smuggling by similar vessels is common. As the Navy aircrew watched and video-recorded, the defendants, who were the four crewmembers on board that boat, began jettisoning packages of cocaine overboard into the water. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter BERTHOLF was patrolling nearby and launched its helicopter and small boats to investigate. After arriving on scene, the Coast Guard determined the vessel was without nationality, and therefore subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Although the Coast Guard was unable to recover the jettisoned packages, it was able to collect chemical trace detection evidence, which showed the presence of cocaine in the same compartments of the boat where the defendants had done the jettisoning. Cocaine was also found on one of the defendant’s hands.
This case was investigated by the United States Coast Guard and the Panama Express Strike Force, a standing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force comprised of agents and analysts from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force South. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Del Mastro and Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Ruddy.
Cudahy Man Sentenced for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Richard G. Frohling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on July 18, 2022, Gerald E. Belmore, Jr. (age: 55) of Cudahy, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison by Senior District Judge William C. Griesbach.
Belmore, Jr. possessed and distributed numerous digital images and videos of child pornography. His indictment and subsequent conviction were the result of an online undercover investigation involving a popular social media messaging platform.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Griesbach noted the serious nature of the charge, the effect these crimes have on their victims, and the need for just punishment. Following his release from prison, Belmore, Jr. will spend five years on supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sexual offender.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Milwaukee Office and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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For further information contact: Public Information Officer
Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov
(414) 297-1700
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Chicago Man Charged in Federal Court with Carjacking Rideshare DriverRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A federal grand jury has indicted a man on carjacking and firearm charges for allegedly carjacking a rideshare driver’s vehicle at gunpoint in downtown Chicago.
NOAH RANSOM, 18, of Chicago, stole a Lexus RX350 from a Lyft driver on April 9, 2022, according to an indictment and search warrant unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The Lyft driver picked up Ransom and four other men at a downtown Chicago hotel around 4:00 a.m., and shortly thereafter Ransom pointed a gun at the driver and ordered him to stop the car and get out, the search warrant states. The victim complied and Ransom allegedly drove off with the other men in the victim’s car. About 90 minutes later, Illinois State Police identified the vehicle on the South Side of Chicago and ordered it to stop, but the car fled, the search warrant states. After a 25-minute chase, ISP forced the vehicle to a stop in the city’s West Loop neighborhood, arrested Ransom and the others after a foot chase, and discovered a handgun, the search warrant states.
The indictment charges Ransom with carjacking and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The carjacking count is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison. The firearm count carries a minimum prison term of seven years and a maximum of life, which must be served consecutively to the sentence imposed for the underlying carjacking offense.
Ransom was arrested Friday. A detention hearing is set for Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by ISP and the Chicago Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared C. Jodrey.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Chicago Carjacker Sentenced to More than 12 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A man was sentenced today to more than 12 years in federal prison for stealing a vehicle at gunpoint in Chicago and striking a bicyclist while fleeing from police.
On the afternoon of May 27, 2020, ELIAS QUINONES-FIGUEROA forcibly took a Chevrolet Tahoe sport-utility vehicle from a victim who was cleaning the car in the Noble Square neighborhood of Chicago. Quinones-Figueroa brandished a handgun and drove off in the vehicle after the victim complied with demands to give up the car. Nearly three hours later, Quinones-Figueroa was driving the carjacked Tahoe when he noticed a Chicago Police vehicle and drove off in the opposite direction at a high rate of speed. Quinones-Figueroa drove through multiple stop signs and a red light before striking the bicyclist and crashing into a parked car in the city’s West Town neighborhood.
Quinones-Figueroa, 21, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall sentenced Quinones-Figueroa to seven years for the firearm offense, to be followed by five years and seven months for the carjacking, for a total prison sentence of 12 years and seven months. Judge Kendall also ordered Quinones-Figueroa to pay $5,000 in compensation to the injured bicyclist and $1,000 in compensation to the victim of the carjacking.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn D. McCarthy.
Charlotte Man with Lengthy Criminal History Is Sentenced to 15+ Years for Two Attempted Armed Robberies and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Vincent Bernard Leonard, 54, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 188 months in prison and three years of supervised release on charges of attempted armed robbery and illegal firearm possession.
Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on November 25, 2020, at approximately 6:08 p.m., Leonard walked into the Little Caesars restaurant located at 5009 Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte. Wearing a face covering, Leonard approached the restaurant’s 17-year-old cashier and asked about the price of a pizza. He then pulled out a semi-automatic firearm and pointed it at the cashier. Leonard ordered the victim to “open the register up” and to give him all the money. Court documents show that the cashier told Leonard she could not open the register and was able to run to the back of the store where she alerted her manager of the attempted robbery. Leonard fled the scene.
On the same day, approximately an hour later, Leonard attempted to rob a Wendy’s restaurant located at 6500 Albemarle Road, in Charlotte. According to court records, Leonard approached the drive-through window of the restaurant on foot, where a 16-year-old cashier was working, and asked for change. Leonard then pulled out a gun, pointed it at the cashier and asked the victim “Do you see this?” The victim was able to get away and run to another part of the store while Leonard fled the scene.
Ten minutes after the attempted robberies, CMPD officers were able to locate Leonard at a gas station in Charlotte. When law enforcement arrived, they found Leonard seated inside a car and arrested him at the scene. Law enforcement also found Leonard’s firearm inside a bookbag that was near his feet. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that the firearm Leonard used during the attempted robberies had been reported stolen earlier the same year in Lincoln County. At the time of the attempted robberies, Leonard was on post-release supervision for a state conviction where he had served a lengthy prison sentence.
On November 22, 2021, Leonard pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted Hobbs Act robbery and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. At the time of the attempted robberies, Leonard was a convicted felon and was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Leonard has a lengthy criminal history and has been previously convicted of burglary, kidnapping, and multiple counts of robbery, breaking and entering, and larceny. He has twice been sentenced as a habitual felon in North Carolina state court.
Leonard is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI and CMPD for their investigation of this case.
Assistant United States Attorney David Kelly, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
California Pain Specialist Agrees to Settle Alleged Receipt of Kickbacks from Pharmaceutical Companies Purdue Pharma and DepomedRead the Press Release
Dr. Gerald M. Sacks, a pain specialist with an office in Santa Monica, California, has paid $271,259.12 to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act. The allegations concerned prescribing the medications Butrans, Hysingla and OxyContin to Medicare beneficiaries in exchange, at least in part, for receiving paid speaking and consulting work from their manufacturer, Purdue Pharma LP, and the medications Gralise, Lazanda and Nucynta to Medicare beneficiaries in exchange, at least in part, for receiving paid speaking and consulting work from their manufacturer, Depomed Inc.
Prescribing drugs in exchange for receiving paid speaking and consulting work from their manufacturers violates the Anti-Kickback Statute, and renders associated claims to federal health care programs false. Butrans, Hysingla, OxyContin, Lazanda and Nucynta are opioid medications for the treatment of pain. Gralise is a nerve-pain medication.
“Physicians are prohibited from accepting kickbacks designed to influence their decisionmaking,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Granston of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Adherence to this prohibition is especially crucial with regard to dangerous drugs like opioids.”
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The matter was handled by Trial Attorneys Albert P. Mayer and Kristen M. Murphy of the Civil Division.
The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Cheyenne Man Sentenced on Federal Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Nicholas Vassallo announced today that ANTHONY PIERCE UNOCIC, age 52, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced for being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on July 5, 2022, by United States District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson. Unocic was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment with three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.
On October 7, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security intercepted an illegal firearm suppressor being shipped into the United States from China. The shipping label identified Unocic and his address. Law enforcement conducted a controlled delivery of the suppressor to Unocic. The delivery was immediately followed by the execution of a search warrant at Unocic’s residence in Cheyenne, which resulted in the seizure of multiple firearms, ammunition, and the suppressor.
This crime was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Elmore.
Case No. 21-cr-00121-ABJCasper Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Nicholas Vassallo announced today that JAMES WAYNE LUCE, age 29, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced for production of child pornography on July 6, 2022, by Federal District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson. Luce was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment with 12 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.
Luce came to the attention of law enforcement after an acquaintance found his lost cell phone, unlocked it, observed nude pictures of a prepubescent female child, and turned it in to the Casper Police Department. The Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated the incident and was able to locate and identify child victims.
This crime was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation through their participation in the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christyne M. Martens.
Case Number 0:21-cr-00013-ABJ
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Honors Three Northern District of Oklahoma Prosecutors for Exceptional Service in Indian Country during the 69th Annual Attorney General’s AwardsRead the Press Release
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland recently announced the recipients for the 69th Annual Attorney General’s Awards, recognizing Department of Justice employees and partners for extraordinary contributions to the enforcement of our nation’s laws.
This year, 298 Justice Department employees received awards, while 54 non-department individuals were also honored for their work. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shannon Cozzoni, Ryan Roberts, and Edward Snow, of the Northern District of Oklahoma, were recognized for Exceptional Service in Indian Country.
“This year’s awardees have served selflessly to further the Department’s important work upholding the rule of law, keeping our country safe, and protecting civil rights,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “I am proud to recognize these individuals for their professionalism, skill, and leadership, and I am grateful for their service to our Department and our nation.”
“The professionalism and forward-leaning approach exhibited by Shannon, Ryan, and Edward were critical to my office during a time of unprecedented jurisdictional change in Oklahoma that tripled our caseload,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “As part of my leadership team today, their efforts continue to move this office forward in a positive direction. I am thankful for Attorney General Garland’s recognition of their dedicated service to the people of northeastern Oklahoma.”
As Oklahoma’s jurisdictional landscape transformed following the Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt v Oklahoma and subsequent court decisions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office became responsible for federal criminal prosecutions involving Native American defendants and/or victims residing within the Muscogee, Cherokee and Quapaw Nations’ reservations.
In anticipation of the Court’s July 2020 decision, the Indian Country team held law enforcement and in-house trainings regarding Indian Country jurisdiction and discussions regarding the way ahead. Their training efforts intensified following the decision. The team met with district attorneys, judges, and law enforcement to discuss how the Northern District of Oklahoma would be notified of cases and how discovery would be transferred as part of the office’s intake process. The intake process was developed in conjunction with Information Technology staff to track, review, and prioritize the large influx of cases brought forward by law enforcement. Cozzoni, Roberts and Snow further worked with local, federal, state and tribal partners to develop and solidify protocols for arrests, federal and tribal holds, transfer of prisoners, jail contracts, transfer of cases to the federal government and tribes, cross-commissions, and more.
Following the McGirt decision, the Northern District of Oklahoma saw its criminal caseload triple when compared to previous years. From July 9, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020, alone, the office reviewed 560 Indian Country cases, opening 300 for prosecution and referring others to the Muscogee Nation. Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has accepted more than 1,200 Indian Country cases for prosecution.
Army Veteran Is Sentenced to Prison for Receiving Nearly $1 Million in Veteran Benefits for Fraudulent Service-Connected DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. sentenced John Paul Cook, 58, of Marshall, N.C. to ten months in prison, five of which the defendant will serve in home confinement, for defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) by receiving nearly $1 million in veteran benefits based on fraudulent claims of service-connected disabilities, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition, Cook was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution of $930,762.53 to the VA.
Kim Lampkins, Special Agent in Charge of the Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Washington, D.C., of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to court records and today’s sentencing hearing, Cook enlisted in the United States Army (the Army) in November 1985. Six months later Cook sustained an accidental injury while on duty. Following the incident, Cook complained that as a result of the accident and injuries he sustained, a preexisting eye condition had worsened. According to court documents, in 1987, following a medical evaluation, Cook was discharged, placed on the retired list, and began receiving VA disability-based compensation at a rate of 60%. Over the next 30 years, Cook’s disability-based compensation increased, following Cook’s repeated false claims of increased visual impairment and unemployability due to “severe visual deficit.” As Cook previously admitted in court, in 2005, based on his claims of severe visual impairment, the VA declared Cook legally blind and he began receiving disability-based compensation at the maximum rate. Cook also began to receive additional benefits, including Special Monthly Compensation (an extra monetary allowance paid to a qualifying veteran due to the severity of his disability), Specially Adapted Housing (a grant that goes toward paying for adaptations in a new home), and Special Housing Adaptation (a grant that goes toward remodeling an existing home).
According to court records, Cook’s monthly VA disability payments in 1987 were $1,411 per month. With the incremental increases in his disability rating, as well as cost-of-living adjustments and his Special Monthly Compensation, these payments steadily increased over the years. By 2016, the monthly payment had risen to $3,990. In total, from 1987 through 2017, Cook received approximately $978,138 in VA disability payments due to his claimed blindness, to which he was not lawfully entitled.
According to court documents, contrary to Cook’s filed claims with the VA seeking additional disability claims and his complaints of increased visual impairment, Cook repeatedly passed DMV vision screening tests to renew or obtain a driver’s license in North and South Carolina. Furthermore, during the relevant time period, court documents show that Cook purchased and registered over 30 different motor vehicles which Cook routinely drove, including on long-distance trips and to perform errands. Court records further show that, from 2010 to 2016, during a time period that Cook was receiving maximum VA disability benefits for his visual impairment, Cook was actively involved with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), including serving as a Den Leader and a Cubmaster. Among the courses the defendant completed with the BSA were courses qualifying him to be a range officer for BB guns and for archery. He was also certified for land navigation, which involves reading maps and using a compass.
On July 19, 2021, Cook pleaded guilty to theft of public money. He will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the VA-OIG for their investigation of the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.
Arizona Man Sentenced to Prison for Car Theft Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – An Arizona man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a fraud scheme to rent cars from various rental companies. Those rental cars were later sold to unsuspecting victims who believed that Kang had sold them a car.
Brandon Christopher Kang (30) pleaded guilty in February 2022 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, from July 2016 to July 2017, Kang — a Las Vegas resident at the time — conspired with co-defendants Dominique Dashon McGuire, Joshua Rahi Hall, and others to fraudulently rent vehicles from rental companies and private brokers with the intent to steal the vehicles and then sell the vehicles. As part of the scheme, Kang and others used fake identification to rent the vehicles. Next, they created false car titles, bills of sales, and other documents to make the purchase appear legitimate. They would advertise the stolen vehicles online at a fraction of their market values, then transport the vehicles to multiple states, including Nevada, California, and Arizona. Victims were required to pay by cash or cashier’s check for the vehicles. In total, more than $250,000 was stolen from victims.
U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tony Lopez and Jim Fang prosecuted the case.
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Appeals Court Affirms Convictions and Sentences in Organized Crime CaseRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal appeals court has upheld the convictions and sentences of a member and an associate of the Lucchese organized crime family and two Texas brothers on racketeering conspiracy and related offenses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Nicodemo S. Scarfo, 57, of Galloway, New Jersey, a member of the Lucchese organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (LCN), and Salvatore Pelullo, 55, of Philadelphia, an associate of the Lucchese and Philadelphia LCN families, were convicted on July 13, 2014, of all the counts against them. Two other defendants, William Maxwell, 63, of Houston, Texas, and his brother, John Maxwell, 70, of Irving, Texas, were also convicted.
In a consolidated appeal, the defendants challenged almost every aspect of their prosecutions, including the investigation, the charges and evidence against them, the pretrial process, the government’s compliance with its disclosure obligations, the trial, the forfeiture proceedings, and their sentences.
In a precedential, 169-page opinion issued July 15, 2022, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed all the convictions and sentences, except for the forfeiture portion of John Maxwell’s sentence, for which it remanded the matter to the District Court to determine what share of the forfeiture he should pay.
The four defendants were convicted for their respective roles in the takeover and subsequent looting of FirstPlus Financial Group, a publicly held mortgage company based in Dallas, Texas. The defendants used extortionate threats to take control of the company, causing a loss of more than $14 million and leaving more than 1,000 shareholders with investments that had been rendered worthless. Scarfo and Pelullo were each sentenced to 30 years in prison; William Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison; and John Maxwell was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The appellate court decision, written by Circuit Judge Kent A. Jordan and joined by Circuit Judges Thomas L. Ambro and Stephanos Bibas, affirmed the jury’s guilty verdicts on all of the underlying crimes, including participating in a Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization conspiracy, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and firearms offenses. It also affirmed the prison sentences.
The government was represented on appeal by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Norman Gross and Sabrina Comizzoli of the Appeals Division and Bruce P. Keller, Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney.
Albany and Bronx Men Plead Guilty to Fentanyl and Cocaine ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Ramion Burt, age 45, of Albany, and Marion Frampton, age 43, of the Bronx, New York, each pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; New York State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen; and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In pleading guilty, Burt and Frampton admitted to driving from Albany to New York City to pick up fentanyl and cocaine for distribution in February 2021. On the drive back to Albany, they were stopped by the New York State Police heading northbound on Interstate 87 in Catskill, New York, and 31 grams of fentanyl were discovered in a plastic bag in Frampton’s boot. In searching the vehicle, Troopers discovered an additional 53 grams of fentanyl and 496 grams of cocaine in the glove compartment. Burt and Frampton admitted to possessing the fentanyl and cocaine, and intending to distribute them. Burt and Frampton each have a prior federal conviction related to drug trafficking.
At sentencing, Burt and Frampton each face at least 10 years and up to life in prison, as well as a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 8 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by the New York State Police and FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyrus P.W. Rieck.
17 July 2022
INTERPOL Washington Assists the Kyrgyz Republic to Enhance Border SecurityRead the Press Release
INTERPOL Washington—INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB), recently partnered with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism to increase the Kyrgyz Republic’s capacity to share critical information with INTERPOL. Through Project TERMINUS, funded by the Bureau of Counterterrorism, the Kyrgyz Republic implemented technical solutions to establish a Domestic Stolen and Lost Travel Document (SLTD) database (DSD) and automate uploading of Kyrgyz SLTD records to INTERPOL’s global database. This INTERPOL database serves as a searchable repository containing more than 120 million records accessible to law enforcement and border security authorities in all 195 INTERPOL member countries.
The DSD solution enabled the Kyrgyz Republic to quickly and easily establish a robust and feature-rich authoritative national database of SLTD records. The DSD allows the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) Bishkek to easily manage their SLTD records, improving accuracy and timeliness of Kyrgyz Republic SLTD data, and eliminating countless hours of administrative effort. The SLTD Uploader software solution automates the submission and management of the country’s SLTD records to the INTERPOL SLTD searchable database. The data management and automation solution was made possible by computer hardware and custom software developed, provided, and installed by the USNCB’s Border Security Division. This accomplishment is the culmination of more than twelve months of active collaboration between the USNCB, the U.S. State Department, and the Kyrgyz Republic.
The Project TERMINUS technical team made several enhancements to its Domestic SLTD Database (DSD) application to accommodate the unique requirements and incredible volume of the more than 5.7 million SLTD records maintained by the government. Furthermore, within the first days of the deployment, the new Kyrgyz SLTD solutions had created more than 150,000 new SLTD records in INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.
“Project TERMINUS continues to assist INTERPOL member countries to enhance their border security screening capacity. The TERMINUS model has been used on four continents providing advanced border security tools necessary to detect and deter transnational criminals. Our partnership with the Department of State is a key component in closing security gaps between countries and continents. Border security is a collective responsibility among nations, and is only as strong as its weakest link. The USNCB is proud to help strengthen these links through our cooperative efforts,” said USNCB Director Michael A. Hughes.
This project is the latest in a series of successful information sharing and INTERPOL connectivity efforts deployed under the Project TERMINUS initiative, each building on prior lessons learned. In addition to the Kyrgyz Republic, partner nations currently receiving assistance under Project TERMINUS include Indonesia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nigeria, Panama, and Uzbekistan.
Established in 2015, Project TERMINUS is a partnership between the USNCB’s Border Security Division and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism. The mission of Project TERMINUS is to extend INTERPOL's I-24/7 secure, global police-to-police communications network to partner nations worldwide to prevent, detect, and deter foreign terrorist fighter (FTF) travel.
INTERPOL’s SLTD database is a critical tool for combatting terrorism by preventing FTF movements by identifying and interdicting FTFs and other transnational criminals using stolen, lost, or revoked documents such as passports, visas, and identity documents. By ensuring that law enforcement officers have access to INTERPOL’s I-24/7 system, frontline authorities can search, and cross-check traveler data in a matter of seconds and share sensitive or urgent police information with their counterparts around the world in real-time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB), is the designated United States representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General. It serves as the national point of contact and coordination for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
15 July 2022
Utica Man Sentenced to 60 Months for Fentanyl Conspiracy and DistributionRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Kymani Minott, aka “Bizz,” aka “K-Bizz,” age 19, of Utica, New York, was sentenced yesterday to 60 months in prison for conspiring to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and distribution of fentanyl.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara; New York State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen; Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division; John B. Devito, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), New York Field Division; and Utica Police Chief Mark Williams.
As part of his prior guilty plea, Minott admitted that in or around March 2021, he agreed with others to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl to customers in the Utica area. Minott also admitted that on June 17, 2021, he distributed approximately 5 grams of a fentanyl mixture in Utica.
United States District Judge David N. Hurd also imposed a 4-year term of supervised release, which will start after Minott is released from federal prison.
This case was investigated by New York State Police-Special Investigations Unit (NYSP-SIU), the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, Utica Police Department, DEA, and ATF, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie.
U.S. Citizen Extradited from Costa Rica to Face Wire Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
David Butler, a United States citizen, will be arraigned today on an Indictment charging him with Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in a form of investment known as “binary options.” Butler was arrested in April 2022 in Costa Rica and extradited to the United States on July 14, 2022. The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks at the federal courthouse in Central Islip.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and Thomas M. Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI) announced the extradition.
“Using sophisticated computer software, the defendant and his co-conspirators allegedly cheated unsuspecting investors out of more than $5 million” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office is committed to working with our international partners to dismantle fraudulent schemes and bring perpetrators to justice wherever they are.”
Mr. Peace thanked the Costa Rican government for its assistance with the arrest and extradition.
“Butler allegedly swindled investors out of millions by selling false promises and later manipulating the numbers to the investors’ disadvantage. His alleged involvement in this complex fraud scheme has now landed him back in the U.S. to face the consequences of his illicit acts. Butler may have sold predetermined profits that turned out to be a sham, but his criminal arrest and prosecution are as real as it gets,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Fattorusso.
As alleged in court filings, between approximately January 2011 and October 2016, Butler and his co-conspirators operated binary options companies, including SpotFN, Binary FN and Janus Options (Binary Options Companies) from Glen Cove, New York, Costa Rica and Kosovo. The Binary Options Companies promised to pay investors, who were located throughout the United States, a predetermined profit based upon particular outcomes in the markets for securities, currencies and other investments. For example, the Binary Options Companies would offer to pay customers a predetermined profit if a particular security or currency was valued at a particular price on a particular day at a particular time.
To induce investments, Butler and his co-conspirators allegedly told binary options investors, in telephone calls and emails, that the predetermined profits that the Binary Options Companies had promised them in connection with the investors’ purchases of binary options would be based upon the actual prices of securities, currencies and other investments at particular points in time. Unbeknownst to the investors, however, Butler and his co-conspirators used a computer software that allowed the Binary Options Companies to manipulate data associated with the investors’ binary options so that the probability of investors earning a profit would favor the Binary Options Companies. At no time did Butler or any other employee of the Binary Options Companies inform the investors that the binary options that they had purchased from the Binary Options Companies could be manipulated to the investors’ disadvantage. As a result of their deception, Butler and his co-conspirators allegedly stole more than $5 million from binary options investors.
The charges in the Indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Bradley T. King is in charge of the prosecution. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Costa Rica to secure the arrest and extradition of Butler to the United States.
The Defendant:
DAVID BUTLER
Age: 52
San Jose, Costa Rica
Pittsburgh, KansasE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-680 (JS)
Two Kanawha County Men Sentenced to Prison for Roles in Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Michael Antonio Smith, 49, of Charleston, was sentenced to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jason Robert Oxley, 38, of St. Albans, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Oxley was on parole at the time he committed these offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Smith 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, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Smith’s residence and recovered 31.89 grams of methamphetamine and four firearms, including two semi-automatic rifles: a Glock, Model 39, .45-caliber pistol; an Anderson Manufacturing, Model AM-15, multi-caliber rifle; a Norinco, Model MAK-90 Sporter, 7.62 mm caliber rifle; and a Century Arms, Model RAS 47, 7.62 mm caliber pistol. Smith admitted that he possessed the firearms.
Oxley admitted that he obtained methamphetamine and other drugs from two of his co-defendants from March 2020 until June 2021, which he then distributed. Oxley admitted that he sold methamphetamine at his residence to a confidential informant on March 22, 2021 and April 12, 2021. Oxley further admitted that he bought a SWD Cobray, Model M11/9, 9mm pistol from a local gun show on May 21, 2021. Police recovered it the next day after a co-defendant hid it while trying to evade a traffic stop.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Smith knew he was prohibited from possessing firearms because of his convictions for possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine on April 10, 1997, wanton endangerment on March 2, 1998, and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance on May 28, 2009, all in Kanawha County Circuit Court. Oxley knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his convictions for operating a clandestine drug lab in Putnam County Circuit Court on August, 31, 2004, for possession of substances used as precursors to manufacture methamphetamine in Kanawha County Circuit Court on June 26, 2017, and for grand larceny in Kanawha County Circuit Court on September 26, 2017.
These cases are part of a long-term investigation of methamphetamine distribution that resulted in the conviction of 17 individuals for various drug and firearm offenses in three separate indictments. Twelve others pleaded guilty: Ramon David Alston, James Edward Bennett III, Treydan Leon Burks, Jonathan Gregory Bush, Kaitlyn Brooke Combs, Kelly Cordle, Denise Marie Cottrill, Shane Kelly Fulkerson, Brittany Frances Gilbert, Angie Lane Harbour, Scott Edward Hudson, and Brian Dangelo Terry. The remaining three, Timothy Wayne Dodd, Douglas Jonathan Wesley and Leo Antoine Smith, were convicted at trial.
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 and Putnam County Sheriff’s Departments, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentences. Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Hanks and Alex Hamner prosecuted the cases.
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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Turkish Businessman Extradited from Austria to Face Money Laundering and Wire Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
A Turkish businessman was extradited from Austria to face money laundering, wire fraud and obstruction charges.
Sezgin Baran Korkmaz arrived today in Utah in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Korkmaz was indicted in Salt Lake City, Utah, with laundering more than $133 million in illegal proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in Turkey and Luxembourg. According to an April 2021 superseding indictment, the proceeds relate to a scheme orchestrated in Plymouth, Utah, by Jacob Kingston, Isaiah Kingston and Levon Termendzhyan to defraud the U.S. Treasury by filing false claims for more than $1 billion in tax credits allegedly for the production and sale of biodiesel by their company, Washakie Renewable Energy LLC.
Korkmaz and his co-conspirators allegedly used the biofuel fraud proceeds to acquire luxury homes and assets, as well as businesses such as Biofarma, the Turkish airline Borajet, a yacht named the Queen Anne, a hotel in Turkey and a villa and apartment on the Bosporus river in Istanbul. In coordination with authorities in Lebanon, the U.S. Marshals Service took the Queen Anne yacht into custody in July 2021 and sold it earlier this year for $10.11 million pursuant to an October 2021 order of U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, who is presiding over the Korkmaz case. Other assets of Korkmaz-related companies in Turkey and Europe are the subject of forfeiture claims by the United States and Turkey.
According to the superseding indictment, Korkmaz also devised a scheme to defraud Jacob Kingston and Isaiah Kingston in early 2018 by falsely representing he could provide them with protection, through unnamed government officials, from a federal grand jury investigation and civil lawsuits. In exchange, the Kingstons sent him $6 million over several months.
Additionally, Korkmaz allegedly made false statements to federal agents in an attempt to obstruct the pending criminal trial against Kingston and Termendzhyan. Among other misstatements, Korkmaz allegedly lied about $38 million in wire transfers sent to a bank account controlled by Termendzhyan.
“The successful apprehension and extradition of Baran Korkmaz demonstrates the department’s commitment to working with our international partners to pursue, capture and return those who seek to defraud the American people,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Thanks to our law enforcement partners and their counterparts in Austria and Lebanon, we are now able to bring Korkmaz to trial on the pending charges, and have recovered significant forfeiture proceeds.”
“We commend our partners from the Tax Division and the Department of Justice for pursuing Sezgin Baran Korkmaz on behalf of the American taxpayers and ensuring his return to Utah to face justice in U.S. District Court,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah. “We are also thankful for the efforts of our foreign partners in Lebanon and Austria, and in particular, the Austrian Bundeskriminalamt Fugitive Active Search Team, for locating Korkmaz overseas.”
In July 2019 Jacob and Isaiah Kingston both pleaded guilty to federal charges, and in 2020 both men testified at the trial of Levon Termendzhyan in Utah. The federal jury convicted Termendzhyan of all charges. The Kingstons and Termendzhyan all await sentencing.
If convicted, Korkmaz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud and obstruction of an official proceeding. A district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Department of Defense DCIS are investigating the case.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and FBI Legal Attaché in Vienna, Austria played key roles in securing the arrest and successful extradition of Korkmaz. The U.S. Marshals Service assisted by transporting Korkmaz from Austria to Utah. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cy Castle for the District of Utah, Senior Policy Advisor Darrin L. McCullough of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and the U.S. Marshals Service provided significant assistance in the seizure of the Queen Anne yacht and its subsequent sale.
Trial Attorney Richard Rolwing and Senior Litigation Counsel John Sullivan of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Turkish Businessman Extradited from Austria to Face Money Laundering and Wire Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Turkish businessman was extradited from Austria to face money laundering, wire fraud and obstruction charges.
Sezgin Baran Korkmaz arrived today in Utah in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Korkmaz was indicted in Salt Lake City, Utah, with laundering more than $133 million in illegal proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in Turkey and Luxembourg. According to an April 2021 superseding indictment, the proceeds relate to a scheme orchestrated in Plymouth, Utah, by Jacob Kingston, Isaiah Kingston and Levon Termendzhyan to defraud the U.S. Treasury by filing false claims for more than $1 billion in tax credits allegedly for the production and sale of biodiesel by their company, Washakie Renewable Energy LLC.
Korkmaz and his co-conspirators allegedly used the biofuel fraud proceeds to acquire luxury homes and assets, as well as businesses such as Biofarma, the Turkish airline Borajet, a yacht named the Queen Anne, a hotel in Turkey and a villa and apartment on the Bosporus river in Istanbul. In coordination with authorities in Lebanon, the U.S. Marshals Service took the Queen Anne yacht into custody in July 2021 and sold it earlier this year for $10.11 million pursuant to an October 2021 order of U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, who is presiding over the Korkmaz case. Other assets of Korkmaz-related companies in Turkey and Europe are the subject of forfeiture claims by the United States and Turkey.
According to the superseding indictment, Korkmaz also devised a scheme to defraud Jacob Kingston and Isaiah Kingston in early 2018 by falsely representing he could provide them with protection, through unnamed government officials, from a federal grand jury investigation and civil lawsuits. In exchange, the Kingstons sent him $6 million over several months.
Additionally, Korkmaz allegedly made false statements to federal agents in an attempt to obstruct the pending criminal trial against Kingston and Termendzhyan. Among other misstatements, Korkmaz allegedly lied about $38 million in wire transfers sent to a bank account controlled by Termendzhyan.
“The successful apprehension and extradition of Baran Korkmaz demonstrates the department’s commitment to working with our international partners to pursue, capture and return those who seek to defraud the American people,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Thanks to our law enforcement partners and their counterparts in Austria and Lebanon, we are now able to bring Korkmaz to trial on the pending charges, and have recovered significant forfeiture proceeds.”
“We commend our partners from the Tax Division and the Department of Justice for pursuing Sezgin Baran Korkmaz on behalf of the American taxpayers and ensuring his return to Utah to face justice in U.S. District Court,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah. “We are also thankful for the efforts of our foreign partners in Lebanon and Austria, and in particular, the Austrian Bundeskriminalamt Fugitive Active Search Team, for locating Korkmaz overseas.”
In July 2019 Jacob and Isaiah Kingston both pleaded guilty to federal charges, and in 2020 both men testified at the trial of Levon Termendzhyan in Utah. The federal jury convicted Termendzhyan of all charges. The Kingstons and Termendzhyan all await sentencing.
If convicted, Korkmaz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud, and obstruction of an official proceeding. A district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Department of Defense DCIS are investigating the case.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and FBI Legal Attaché in Vienna, Austria played key roles in securing the arrest and successful extradition of Korkmaz. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cy Castle for the District of Utah, Senior Policy Advisor Darrin L. McCullough of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and the U.S. Marshals Service provided significant assistance in the seizure of the Queen Anne yacht and its subsequent sale.
Trial Attorney Richard Rolwing and Senior Litigation Counsel John Sullivan of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tarzana Accountant Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charge for Helping Client Fraudulently Obtain $1.2 Million COVID-Related Business LoanRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley certified public accountant pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for helping a long-time client fraudulently obtain a $1.2 million COVID-19 business loan by knowingly preparing a false corporate tax return on the client’s behalf.
Bernard Turk, 73, of Tarzana, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, Turk is a certified public accountant who runs a tax preparation business in Tarzana. In February 2021, Turk helped a long-time client submit a false application for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of the client’s company, Agency 126, a purported marketing and video production agency based in Irvine.
PPP is a government-backed loan program designed by Congress to help small businesses stay afloat and keep their workforces employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, Turk prepared a false federal corporate income tax return, claiming that Agency 126 paid employees $5,383,401 in wages during the 2019 tax year. Turk provided the false 2019 tax return to his client to submit to a bank to support the PPP loan sought by the client. To hide his involvement, Turk marked the false tax return “self-prepared.”
Turk admitted that both he and his client knew that Agency 126 had no employees, paid no wages, and never filed tax returns with the IRS.
The client electronically submitted the false tax return that Turk prepared to the Small Business Administration and the bank in support of Agency 126’s fraudulent PPP loan application. On the false 2019 tax return submitted to the bank, the client removed the “self-prepared” designation and replaced it with Turk as the preparer.
Relying, in part, on the false tax return, the bank and the SBA approved and funded Agency 126’s PPP loan and wired $1,212,312 to a bank account that the client controlled. For his role in the scheme, Turk was to receive a percentage of the loan proceeds when the bank forgave the loan.
United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled Turk’s sentencing hearing for October 7.
The Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the FBI is investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Waier of the Santa Ana Branch Office is prosecuting this case.
Anyone with general information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Taos woman faces charge of tamperingRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Genevieve McDonald has been charged with tampering with a witness, victim or an informant. McDonald, 60, and an enrolled member of the Taos Pueblo, will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not been scheduled.
According to the complaint, beginning on May 4, McDonald allegedly began calling, texting and messaging a person identified in court records as Jane Doe. Despite repeated warnings from law enforcement, McDonald allegedly continued to send messages of a harassing nature to Jane Doe, including through Facebook Messenger and by posting messages on her own Facebook wall.
A complaint is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, McDonald faces up to 20 years in prison.
The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Taos Pueblo Department of Public Safety. Assistant United States Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting the case.
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Syracuse Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of “Molly”Read the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK –Rory R. Williams, aka “Wildman,” aka “Wild,” aka “Man,” aka “Shawn Carter,” age 45, of Syracuse, New York, pled guilty yesterday to distributing N-Ethylpentylone, also known as “molly,” a Schedule I controlled substance.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Matt Scarpino, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Lieutenant Timothy Pritchard of the Oswego County Drug Task Force, and Chief Joseph Cecile of the Syracuse Police Department.
As part of his guilty plea yesterday, Williams admitted that on November 30, 2021, he distributed approximately 267 grams (approximately 10 ounces) of N-Ethylpentylone, also known as “molly,” to a customer outside his residence in Syracuse, New York, in exchange for $2,500. Williams also admitted to distributing controlled substances on other occasions: on March 10, 2022, Williams gave another individual approximately 770 grams of N,N-dimethylpentylone (dipentylone), to deliver to a customer in Oswego, New York, and on December 21, 2020, the defendant distributed approximately 388 grams of eutylone to a customer outside his residence in Syracuse. Both dipentylone and eutylone are also known as “molly.” Williams further admitted that on March 10, 2022, he possessed at his residence approximately 7 kilograms of dipentylone, which he intended to distribute to others. Williams also admitted that $203,204 in cash found at his residence was drug proceeds and agreed to its forfeiture.
At sentencing, currently scheduled for November 10, 2022, Williams faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 3 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Oswego County Drug Task Force (comprised of Special Agents of HSI, members of the Oswego City Police Department, Fulton Police Department, Oswego County Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Border Patrol), the Drug Enforcement Administration, Syracuse Police Department, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie.
Statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Capture of Rafael Caro-QuinteroRead the Press Release
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today released the following statement on the capture of Rafael Caro-Quintero, one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Caro-Quintero was wanted for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.
“There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement. We are deeply grateful to Mexican authorities for their capture and arrest of Rafael Caro-Quintero. Today’s arrest is the culmination of tireless work by DEA and their Mexican partners to bring Caro-Quintero to justice for his alleged crimes, including the torture and execution of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. We will be seeking his immediate extradition to the United States so he can be tried for these crimes in the very justice system Special Agent Camarena died defending.
“We join in mourning the 14 Mexican servicemembers who gave their lives in service to their country and extend our condolences to the loved ones they left behind.”
Springfield Residents Sentenced for Conspiring to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Two Springfield, Illinois, residents, Brandy Friday, 36, and Brent Garner, 42, both of the 1200 block of South Livingston, were sentenced to five years and ten years respectively in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Friday was sentenced on July 6, 2022, and Garner on July 13, 2022. In addition to the prison sentences, Friday was ordered to serve four years of supervised release and Garner eight years of supervised release.
At the sentencing hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough, the government presented evidence showing that Friday and Garner conspired to distribute methamphetamine and that they also distributed heroin. Friday was held responsible for 11.86 grams of ice methamphetamine, 10,888.4 grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine, and 1,521.13 grams of heroin. Garner was held responsible for 11.86 grams of ice methamphetamine and 21.13 grams of heroin. Among other prior convictions, Garner had previously been convicted of a prior federal drug offense in 2009.
Both Friday and Garner have remained in the custody of U.S. Marshals since they were arrested in February of 2021.
Friday faced statutory penalties of up to 40 years imprisonment, up to a $5,000,000 fine, and up to a life term of supervised release. Due to his prior federal felony, Garner faced statutory penalties of a minimum of ten years up to life imprisonment, up to a $8,000,000 fine, and up to life term of supervised release.
The case investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Office; the West Central Illinois Task Force; the Quincy Police Department; and the Springfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Z. Weir represented the government in the prosecution.
Southern California Men Plead Guilty in Scheme to Manufacture and Sell AR-15-Type ‘Ghost Guns’Read the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Two men have pleaded guilty in a conspiracy that operated an illegal business that built and sold unserialized AR-15-type firearms – commonly referred to as “ghost guns” – capable of accepting high-capacity magazines.
The week before they were scheduled to go on trial, the two defendants each pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of conspiracy to engage in the business of manufacturing and dealing in firearms without a license.
The two defendants who pleaded guilty are Travis Schlotterbeck, 37, of Fountain Valley, and James Bradley Vlha, 29, of Norco. The scheme was based at two Bellflower businesses controlled by Schlotterbeck called Sign Imaging and Live Fire Coatings. Neither the businesses nor the defendants had a federal firearms license to engage in the manufacture or sale of firearms.
According to court documents, Schlotterbeck and Vlha admitted that they took custom orders for AR-15-type firearms – both rifles and pistols – which they then manufactured and sold to undercover operatives with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The defendants obtained the firearm parts, arranged for certain parts – including unfinished lower receivers often called “80% lowers” – to be machined for use in building completed firearms, and assembled and finished the firearms for sale without any serial numbers or manufacturer markings.
As part of the scheme that lasted from 2015 through 2017, Schlotterbeck and Vhla sold six of the ghost guns to ATF undercover agents and a confidential informant in 2015 and 2016, charging from $1,500 to $2,000 for each firearm. Both men were charged in a federal grand jury indictment filed in 2019.
In addition to the conspiracy count, Schlotterbeck also pleaded guilty to one count of selling a firearm to a convicted felon in relation to the sale of an AR-15-type rifle to the informant while being aware that the informant had previously been convicted of a felony offense.
Schlotterbeck and Vlha pleaded guilty before United States District Judge George H. Wu, who scheduled sentencing hearings for both defendants on November 17.
The conspiracy count that both defendants pleaded guilty to carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The charge of selling a firearm to a convicted felon carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The ATF conducted the investigation in this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brian R. Faerstein of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section and Dan G. Boyle of the Asset Forfeiture Section are prosecuting this case.
Second Man Pleads Guilty in Marijuana Grow Burglary That Sparked A Gun BattleRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Joevonne Ralls pleaded guilty today in federal court to attempted possession of marijuana plants with the intent to sell them, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Patrick Gorman, and United States Marshal Service Acting United States Marshal Mark Kolc.
Ralls, 25, a resident of Oakland, entered a plea agreement as part of his guilty plea today that described his attempted theft of marijuana plants from a warehouse grow in Richmond during the late evening of August 1 and early morning hours of August 2, 2017. Ralls admitted in the plea agreement that he and two others broke into a Richmond warehouse containing a large marijuana grow. They cut down 200 marijuana plants and stuffed the plants into trash bags, intending to sell the plants later. As the three carried the bags outside to a waiting vehicle, a car pulled up on the street outside of the warehouse’s gate. Its occupants began shooting at them. Ralls described in his plea agreement that he was shot in the ankle and ran back into the warehouse’s garage. He admitted that one of his associates fired shots from the garage back towards the street. Ralls described in his plea agreement that he then drove away in a black Honda with an associate, and Richmond police officers pursued them. Ralls admitted that he eventually crashed the Honda in Albany after striking a curb at a high speed, and he was arrested at the crash scene. According to the plea agreement, officers opened the Honda’s trunk and found a black trash bag full of stolen marijuana plants.
On May 12, 2022, Vernell Thrower, who was a co-defendant of Ralls in this case, also admitted to participating in the attempted marijuana theft and to firing two shots from the warehouse’s garage during the shootout. Thrower was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison.
Ralls is now scheduled for a sentencing hearing before United States District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco federal court on October 19, 2022. Ralls remains out of custody pending his sentencing hearing.
Ralls pleaded guilty to one count of attempted possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute it in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). He faces maximum statutory penalties of 20 years imprisonment, a life term of supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine. However, any sentence following a conviction is imposed by a court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Daniel Pastor is the Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case with the assistance of Andy Ding and Helen Yee. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the United States Marshals Service, with the assistance of the Oakland Police Department, Richmond Police Department, and the San Francisco Police Department.
Sacramento Couple Indicted for Mail Fraud, Identity Theft, Possession of Stolen Mail, and Possession of Mail Keys or LocksRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment Thursday against Roderick Rigmaiden, 37, and his wife Onjale Nettles, 32, both of Sacramento, charging them with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. Rigmaiden is also charged with possession of stolen mail and possession of mail keys or locks.
According to court documents, Rigmaiden was in possession of stolen mail and mail keys or locks. From the stolen mail, Rigmaiden and Nettles then created fake identification cards showing the faces of Rigmaiden, Nettles, and other conspirators, but bearing the names and information of individuals whose identities had been stolen. Rigmaiden and Nettles used the stolen identities to purchase multiple vehicles from auto dealerships and obtain financing for those purchases. The vehicle purchases were typically accomplished by providing a down payment in the form of cash or an instrument that purported to be a check, cashier’s check, or other monetary instrument, and the remainder of the purchase price was secured by an auto loan. Typically, however, the monetary instrument presented for the down payment turned out to be fraudulent and no payments were ever made towards the auto loans.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot C. Wong is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Rigmaiden and Nettles face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million for each count of mail fraud and a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to any sentence imposed for aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Rigmaiden further faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possession of stolen mail, and a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine for possession of a mail key or lock. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Putnam County Convicted Felon and Registered Sex Offender Indicted for Possessing an ExplosiveRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Paul Bryan McCorkle (54, Interlachen) with possession of an explosive by a convicted felon. If convicted, McCorkle faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies McCorkle that the United States intends to forfeit an improvised explosive device, which is alleged to have been unlawfully possessed.
According to the indictment, on February 22, 2022, McCorkle possessed an explosive (Pyrodex powder), which is a black powder substitute. McCorkle had been twice convicted of failure to register as a sex offender, which is a felony, and was therefore prohibited under federal law from possessing an explosive.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Bureau of Fire Arson and Explosives Investigation, and the Putnam County Fire Rescue Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor. The asset forfeiture will be handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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.
Nine men and woman indicted for illegal firearms possession, drugsRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: Nine defendants are among those facing federal charges including drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms after separate indictments by a grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia, while recent actions in U.S. District Court include guilty pleas and criminal sentences related to illegal gun possession.
The indicted cases are being investigated as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, to reduce violent crime with measures that include targeting convicted felons who illegally carry guns.
“The fight against violent crime continues to be an intense focus of our office and of our law enforcement partners,” said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “A key part of that fight is our effort to remove guns from the hands of those who are prohibited from possessing them – particularly in the case of previously convicted felons.”
In the past four years, more than 760 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction for a previous felony.
Defendants named in federal indictments from the July 2022 term of the U.S. District Court grand jury include:
- Jacob Bragg, 20, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery; Conspiracy to Possess a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence; four counts of Interference with Commerce by Robbery; and four counts of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. The indictment alleges that in October 2021, Bragg participated in the armed robberies of four Chatham County convenience stores.
- Quentin Jashawn Putney, 46, of Wrightsville, Ga., charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 or More Grams of Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
- Corinthia Jenae Dansby, 26, of Augusta, charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute 40 or More Grams of Fentanyl; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;
- Jesu Aurelius Fox, 26, of Savannah, charged with two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
- James Travon Walker, 22, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Stolen Firearm;
- Daquan Dwayne Young, 27, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
- Seth Patrick Anderson, a/k/a “Shane Anderson,” a/k/a “AB,” 37, of Hinesville, Ga., charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
- Ryan Nickolus Smiley, a/k/a “Nick Smiley,” 39, of Springfield, Ga., charged with two counts of Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon;
- Charles Deon Jones, 26, of Newnan, Ga., charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Additional defendants recently have been adjudicated on federal charges that include illegal firearms possession:
- Shawn Green, 28, of Savannah, was sentenced 84 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. During a May 2020 traffic stop, Savannah Police officers found a pistol under the seat of the vehicle Green was driving. Green has multiple prior felony convictions.
- Treyon Antonio Williams, 31, of Savannah, was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Stolen Firearm. Savannah Police officers investigating reports of gunshots in February 2021 arrested Williams on an outstanding felony warrant after finding a pistol in his pocket. Williams, an admitted member of a violent criminal street gang with multiple prior convictions for state felonies, was on probation for a conviction on state assault charges at the time of his arrest. He also faces a pending state charge of armed robbery in South Carolina.
- William McCrae Jr., 43, of Hinesville, Ga., was sentenced to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Stolen Firearm. McRae admitted possessing a .38 caliber revolver that he knew was stolen when he was arrested during a traffic stop in February 2019 by Liberty County Sheriff’s deputies. McCrae has prior felony convictions in state court for armed robbery and firearms possession, and was on state probation at the time of his arrest.
- Shakeem Douse, a/k/a “G Street NBA,” a/k/a “Pothead,” 27, of Savannah, was sentenced to 62 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Douse was one of 29 defendants indicted in December 2020 as part of Operation Deadlier Catch, an investigation targeting a violent Savannah-area drug-trafficking network. At the time of his arrest, Douse was on parole from a conviction in state court for firearms possession and drug trafficking.
- Ricardo DeAngelo Norman, 33, of Augusta, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and fined $1,500 followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by an Unlawful Drug User. Norman was charged in October 2021 as part of Operation Washout, an investigation into a cocaine-trafficking ring in the Burke County area.
- Keyon Quinton Adams, 28, of Augusta, was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. U.S. Marshals serving warrants for Adams’ arrest on Florida charges found him in possession of a pistol when they took him into custody in October 2021 in Martinez. Adams still faces prosecution for the Florida state charges, which include attempted sexual battery and armed false imprisonment.
- Johnathon Emanuel McGahee, 24, of Thomson, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. McGahee crashed his vehicle while fleeing Georgia State Patrol troopers attempting a traffic stop on Jan. 1, 2021, and ran into woods where he was captured. Troopers found drugs and a loaded pistol with a high-capacity magazine in McGahee’s car.
- Jonathan R. White, 25, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah Police officers investigating a vehicle crash arrested White after seeing him remove a pistol from the vehicle and learning that White had a prior felony conviction.
- Elijawan Leysath Rhodes, 29, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Richmond County Sheriff’s Office investigators responding to gunfire at a Wrightsboro Road motel Dec. 31, 2021, arrested Rhodes after a brief chase when they found a pistol in Rhodes’ vehicle.
- Robert Alexander DuBose, 40, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies investigating a vehicle break-in arrested DuBose after finding a pistol in his pants.
- Jonathan McGregor, 46, of Woodbine, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Heroin, and Possession of Firearms by a Convicted Felon. Kingsland Police officers arrested McGregor in November 2020 after finding a loaded pistol, two rifles, drugs and cash in his vehicle during a traffic stop.
- James Hoffman, 37, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah Police officers arrested Hoffman after a foot chase in August 2020 while investigating a report of a man firing a pistol. The officers found a loaded pistol on the ground after tackling Hoffman, who has multiple prior felony convictions for violent crimes.
- Carlos Middleton, 21, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Interference with Commerce by Robbery. Middleton admitted brandishing a firearm Jan. 20, 2022, when he threatened and robbed employees of a Chatham County video game store. The plea subjects Middleton to a statutory sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Agencies investigating these cases include the ATF, the DEA, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Savannah Police Department, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office Assistant U.S. Attorneys, including E. Gregory Gilluly Jr., Jeremiah L. Johnson, Henry W. Syms Jr., and Tania D. Groover, with firearms forfeitures coordinated through the Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office Asset Recovery Unit.
Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense.
For more information from the ATF on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.
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Nigerian Man Extradited for Multimillion Dollar Fraud Scheme in Which He Impersonated Procurement Officials of U.S. State and Local Governments and Educational InstitutionsRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that FATADE IDOWU OLAMILEKAN, a/k/a “Fatade Olamilekan Idowu,” a/k/a “Olamilekan Idowu Fatade,” a/k/a “Idowu Fatade,” a citizen of Nigeria, was extradited and arrived in the United States yesterday evening. OLAMILEKAN was extradited on fraud and aggravated identity theft charges in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain and attempt to obtain millions of dollars of medical equipment, laboratory products, computer equipment and hardware, and other merchandise from suppliers of such merchandise across the United States by impersonating, among other individuals, procurement officials of U.S. state and local governments and educational institutions. OLAMILEKAN will be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James L. Cott. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Fatade Idowu Olamilekan is alleged to have carried out a sprawling criminal scheme to fraudulently obtain medical equipment and other merchandise. Olamilekan allegedly identified U.S. procurement officials, including the Chief Procurement Officer for New York, to then impersonate them and use their credentials to request millions of dollars in equipment shipments from various suppliers without advance payment. Olamileken has now been extradited to the U.S. for his alleged attempt to illegally profiteer from the worldwide pandemic.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll said: “We allege Olamilekan impersonated state procurement officials during the height of the pandemic and stole critically-needed medical equipment that was in high demand and short supply. Fraud can have immediate and direct impacts on people, and we remain determined to bring those who commit it to justice.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court[1]:
From at least in or about 2018 through at least on or about September 14, 2020, OLAMILEKAN engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain and attempt to obtain millions of dollars of medical equipment, laboratory products, computer equipment and hardware, and other merchandise from suppliers of such merchandise across the United States by impersonating, among other individuals, procurement officials of U.S. state and local governments and educational institutions. In particular, during the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, OLAMILEKAN impersonated the Chief Procurement Officer of New York State in an effort to fraudulently obtain medical equipment, including defibrillators. OLAMILEKAN engaged in the following conduct to carry out his criminal scheme:
First, OLAMILEKAN engaged in extensive research to identify specific procurement officials of U.S. state and local governments and educational institutions to impersonate and U.S. suppliers of medical, laboratory, and computer equipment to target as part of the scheme. This research included obtaining information about the current suppliers to the state and local governments and educational institutions OLAMILEKAN sought to impersonate and targeting those suppliers in order to avoid arousing suspicion. For example, OLAMILEKAN appears to have specifically targeted a medical supplier that was already providing medical equipment to New York State in or to avoid suspicion when OLAMILEKAN, who was impersonating the Chief Procurement Officer of New York State, contacted the supplier to obtain medical equipment.
Second, after OLAMILEKAN identified procurement officials to impersonate, he used aliases and a Lithuanian web hosting company to register email accounts with domains that had slight variations from the legitimate email accounts used by procurement officials in order to “spoof” or impersonate those officials’ email accounts (the “spoofed emailed accounts”). The spoofed email accounts used by OLAMILEKAN usually had the same username as the procurement official’s email account but added an extra letter or common domain name to the domain of the email account. These spoofed email accounts were therefore specifically designed to trick suppliers to impersonated procurement officials into thinking the spoofed email accounts were authentic. In total, OLAMILEKAN registered and used spoofed email accounts impersonating at least (i) eight different procurement officials of state and local governments in California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Vermont; and (ii) three procurement officials of educational institutions located in Georgia and New York.
Third, OLAMILEKAN used the spoofed email accounts to send emails impersonating the procurement official and seeking quotes for medical, laboratory, and computer equipment from targeted suppliers. These emails typically indicated that the payment terms would be “net 30 days,” which is a standard term of trade credit for government and educational entities that only requires payment for the goods within 30 days of delivery. OLAMILEKAN therefore impersonated the identities of procurement officials of government entities and educational institutions in order to exploit this industry standard and fraudulently obtain equipment without providing any advance payment information or deposit prior to delivery of the equipment.
Finally, once OLAMILEKAN received a response from a targeted supplier, he provided the supplier with a purchase order containing the forged signature of the impersonated procurement official and an address for a warehouse located in the United States for delivery and storage of the equipment purchased. Once the purchased items shipped to the warehouse provided by OLAMILEKAN, he typically had the warehouse re-ship the items to another warehouse and, ultimately, from the United States to locations in Australia, the United Kingdom, and/or Nigeria. OLAMILEKAN also coordinated with the warehouses receiving the shipments from the targeted suppliers using the stolen identity of at least one U.S. resident, thereby further concealing his own identity and avoiding detection of his criminal activity. Because payment was not due to the suppliers until 30 days after delivery of the equipment, OLAMILEKAN was able to take possession of the equipment prior to detection of the fraud, which typically occurred after payment was not received by the supplier within the 30-day period.
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OLAMILEKAN, 40, of Lagos, Nigeria, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 27 years in prison, one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison, and 12 counts of aggravated theft, which carry a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison to be run consecutively to any other sentence imposed.
The maximum and minimum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the FBI. Mr. Williams also thanked Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Justice, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (“EFCC”), the Central Authority Unit of Nigeria’s Ministry of Justice, and the Attorney General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for their assistance in the investigation. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition from Nigeria.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Sagar K. Ravi is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment constitutes only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.
New Jersey Men Sentenced in Mail Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Patrick Barkers-Woode, age 30, of Pine Hill, New Jersey, was sentenced on July 13, 2022, by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson to 111 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.
On November 22, 2019, both Barkers-Woode and co-defendant Nana Mensah were convicted on 15 counts of mail fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft. Mensah is awaiting sentencing.
Judge Wilson also sentenced co-defendant Jason Moskovitz to 39 months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years’ supervised release. On November 14, 2019, Moskovitz pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Barkers-Woode and Moskovitz were both ordered to pay restitution to Sprint, Inc. in the amount of $357,565.92 and Moskovitz was ordered to forfeit $576,929 and 107 electronic devices.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the defendants were involved in an international scheme in which co-conspirators would steal victims’ identity in order to open Sprint Cell phone accounts. As part of opening the new accounts, the co-conspirators would order new cell phones and have them delivered to vacant homes where they would be picked up by other co-conspirators and eventually resold. At trial, the Government presented evidence that the conspiracy involved over 270 packages, containing over 830 cell phones, valued at over $595,000. Further, the conspiracy took advantage of over 240 identity theft victims.
The case was prosecuted by Homeland Security Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Delaware State Police, and the Derry Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott R. Ford and Christian T. Haugsby are prosecuting the case.
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Naugatuck Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Heroin and CrackRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANTONIO SMALL, also known as “Tone” and “Bert,” 30, formerly of Naugatuck, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 300 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin and crack cocaine in Bridgeport.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in the summer of 2017, members of the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and Bridgeport Police Department began investigating individuals who were distributing narcotics in and around Bridgeport. The investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of narcotics, physical and video surveillance, and the execution of multiple search and seizure warrants. The investigation revealed that Antonio Small, Louie McDowell, Christian Rodriguez, Evan Sheffield, Anthony Small and others were distributing large quantities of heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine in the Bridgeport area.
Small was the leader of an organization that was based on the west side of Bridgeport. Small and his associates used a residence on Poplar Street in Bridgeport to store, process and package narcotics, and his group was involved in violence. Intercepted calls revealed that Small kept a firearm at the residence, and that he possessed it while looking to retaliate against someone he believed had wronged him. On October 31, 2018, a close associate of Small was shot and killed in the vicinity of the Poplar Street residence. A female who was close by was also killed during the incident.
In addition, one of Small’s co-conspirators, while in possession of drugs that he intended to distribute, engaged police in a car chase and struck and killed another motorist and maimed two pedestrians.
Small’s criminal history includes convictions for drug, firearm, evidence tampering, and other offenses, and he was on state probation while engaged in the conduct that resulted in his federal prosecution.
Small has been detained since his arrest on November 6, 2018. On January 24, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with the intent to distribute, more than one kilogram of heroin and a quantity of cocaine base (“crack”).
McDowell, Rodriguez, Sheffield and Anthony Small also pleaded guilty. McDowell, Rodriguez and Sheffield have been sentenced, and Anthony Small awaits sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and the Bridgeport Police Department, as well as the DEA, Connecticut State Police, and the Stratford, Norwalk, Seymour and Trumbull Police Departments.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck and Patrick J. Doherty through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Mount Airy Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs, Obstruction of Justice and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that RAYDELL SCOTT, age 45, of Mount Airy, Louisiana, pled guilty on June 14, 2022 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine, obstruction of justice, and felon in possession of a firearm.
Specifically, on July 13, 2022, SCOTT pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, a quantity of heroin, a quantity of fentanyl and a quantity of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846, one count of obstruction of justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1512(c)(1), and one count of felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
According to court documents, SCOTT conspired with others to distribute cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Louisiana. On April 12, 2019, SCOTT attempted to destroy a quantity of heroin, although the heroin was later seized by law enforcement. Additionally, on May 30, 2019, SCOTT possessed a Ruger P89 9 mm caliber firearm.
On the drug count, SCOTT faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years imprisonment up to 40 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000,000, at least 4 years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. On the obstruction of justice count, SCOTT faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. Finally, on the felon in possession count, SCOTT faces a maximum sentence of 10 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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 works 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.
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”). OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan L. Shih is in charge of the prosecution.
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Montrose Man Sentenced to Prison for Drug Trafficking and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Denver – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces Omar Briceno-Quijano, age 31, of Montrose, Colorado, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the plea agreement, between January 1, 2019, and December 18, 2019, Briceno-Quijano was mainly located in Mexico and was involved in sending illegal narcotics from Mexico to the western slope of Colorado, to include Montrose, Colorado. Once the narcotics were in the United States and Colorado, the defendant would receive telephone calls from drug customers. Once the defendant had the drug order, he would contact a drug courier, who would deliver the narcotics to the customer. One way the defendant received drug proceeds was through electronic wire transfers of funds from Colorado to Mexico.
Judge Christine M. Arguello sentenced Briceno-Quijano on July 14, 2022. In addition to 14 years in prison, he will serve a term of five years of supervised release.
“This defendant was a ring-leader in a major drug trafficking operation, impacting a small community in Colorado,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “This was a lengthy prosecution that involved 13 defendants. This significant sentence demonstrates our commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to keep offenders from dealing drugs on our streets.”
“IRS:CI special agents are uniquely trained to trace financial transactions and use this expertise to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations,” said Andy Tsui, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office. “Omar Briceno-Quijano’s sentence reflects the seriousness of his crimes and IRS:CI’s commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to stop the flow of drugs into and drug proceeds out of the United States.”
“This sentencing proves that DEA and our law enforcement partners are aggressively committed to disrupting the flow of dangerous drugs into our communities by stopping it at the source, whether here or abroad,” said Brian Besser, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Denver Field Office. “I applaud our Agents and Task Force officers who were able to stay the course on an extensive investigation and successful prosecution, as well as the U.S. Marshals who ultimately apprehended Briceno-Quijano in Mexico.”
IRS-CI, DEA Rocky Mountain Division-Montrose Post of Duty, the Montrose Police Department, the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office, and the Seventh Judicial District Drug Task Force, and the United States Marshals Service investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander Duncan and Zachary Phillips handled the prosecution.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Case number: 19-cr-00535
Monmouth County Man Convicted of Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man was convicted of narcotics and firearms offenses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Marnell Johnson, 46, of Long Branch, New Jersey, was convicted on July 14, 2022, following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court. Johnson was convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
On four occasions in early 2020, Johnson, a previously convicted felon, sold heroin to a confidential source. On April 8, 2020, the special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a federal search warrant of Johnson’s apartment and recovered heroin and packaging paraphernalia. The DEA also recovered a loaded .380 caliber semi-automatic firearm from the drawer of the same table on which Johnson’s heroin and packaging material were found.
Johnson faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the count of possession with intent to distribute; 10 years in prison on the felon in possession count; and a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of life on the count charging possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which must run consecutive to the sentences imposed on the other counts. Johnson also faces a potential maximum fine of $1.5 million.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark; the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Lori Linskey; the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer; the Long Branch Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Domingos A. Saldida; the Lakewood Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Gregory Howard Meyer; the Neptune Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Larry B. Fisher; and the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Shaun Golden, with the investigation leading to the guilty verdict.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Matthews of the Criminal Division and J. Brendan Day, Attorney-in-Charge of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Trenton office.
Modesto Man Sentenced to over 8 Years in Prison for Illegally Cultivating Marijuana in the Stanislaus National ForestRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Jose Garcia-Zamora, 30, of Modesto, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to eight years and four months in prison for illegally cultivating marijuana in the Stanislaus National Forest and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that offense, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, in July 2019, law enforcement agents found a large marijuana grow that contained over 2,600 marijuana plants. At the grow site, agents encountered Garcia-Zamora. He had been tending to the marijuana and was carrying a loaded pistol. On April 1, 2022, Garcia-Zamora pleaded guilty to the charges.
This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio prosecuted the case.
Mexican National Indicted for Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that LUIS ENRIQUE GUTIERREZ-SAUSEDO, a/k/a “Armando Luis Gutierrez”, a/k/a “Luis Gutierrez”, a/k/a “Enrique Sausedo”, and a/k/a “Luis E. Sausedo”, age 41, was charged in a one-count indictment for illegal reentry of a removed alien in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a).
According to the indictment, LUIS ENRIQUE GUTIERREZ-SAUSEDO (“GUTIERREZ-SAUSEDO”), reentered the United States after he was previously deported on July 25, 2013. If convicted, GUTIERREZ-SAUSEDO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of up to two years, a maximum fine of up to $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of up to one year, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency in investigating this matter. Assistant U. S. Attorney Carter K. D. Guice, Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.
Mexican Man Sentenced to 18 Months’ Imprisonment for Unlawfully Possessing A Firearm and Illegally Re-Entering the United StatesRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Efrain Cabrera-Cabrera, age 35, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson to 18 months’ imprisonment for possessing a firearm as an illegal alien and illegal re-entry into the United States as a previously deported alien.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Cabrera-Cabrera, a citizen of Mexico, previously admitted that in June 2021, he possessed a loaded AR-15 rifle in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. He also admitted that he had entered the United States after previously being removed from the country in 2010. It is expected that Cabrera-Cabrera will be removed to Mexico after the completion of his sentence.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli prosecuted the case.
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Metropolitan Transition Center Detainee Pleads Guilty to Federal Racketeering Conspiracy Charges Relating to a Smuggling SchemeRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Christopher Mann, age 39, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to racketeering conspiracy in relation to a scheme to smuggle contraband into the Metropolitan Transition Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Secretary Robert Green of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
According to his guilty plea, from June 2020 to November 2020, while Mann was a detainee at the Metropolitan Transition Center, he and other employees, detainees, and associates of MTC conspired to participate in a pattern of racketeering activity, including drug distribution and bribery. Additionally, while Mann was a detainee, he engaged in a romantic relationship with a correctional officer (Co-conspirator 1).
Specifically, Mann, and at least three other conspirators, including outside facilitator, Cania Jefferson, age 35, and two correctional officers (Co-conspirator 1 and Co-conspirator 2) worked together to smuggle contraband into MTC in exchange for bribe payments. At Mann’s direction, Co-conspirator 1 sent $1,000 bribe payments to Co-conspirator 2 on multiple occasions. In exchange for these bribe payments, Co-conspirator 2 smuggled contraband into MTC and delivered it to Mann. For example, in July 2020, after receiving a bribe payment from Mann, Co-conspirator 2 smuggled two cell phones, suboxone, and K2 into MTC but was apprehended by law enforcement on their way to MTC.
As stated in his guilty plea, in September 2020, law enforcement intercepted a series of phone calls in which Co-conspirator 1 and Mann devised a scheme to spray liquid K2 onto a piece of paper, and to smuggle the paper into MTC through the United States mail service. At Mann’s direction, Co-conspirator 1 sent the piece of paper to another detainee. The mailing was seized by jail administrators, tested by a chemist, and found to have been soaked in synthetic marijuana.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Mann faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for racketeering conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for October 21, 2022, at 2 p.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and DPSCS for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter J. Martinez and Aaron S.J. Zelinsky who are prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Justice Department Launch Investigation of Maryland Department of State Police Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964Read the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today that the Justice Department has opened a civil pattern or practice investigation into the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The investigation will assess whether MDSP has engaged in racially discriminatory hiring and promotion practices.
“This office strives to protect the civil rights of all Marylanders, including the rights of our sworn law enforcement officers,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “This investigation also furthers our mission to restore trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve by ensuring fair employment practices by police departments.”
“Discrimination has no place in any workplace, and especially in law enforcement agencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our investigation will determine whether the Maryland Department of State Police has created racially discriminatory barriers for Black people seeking job opportunities and promotions and, if so, identify the reforms necessary to ensure equal employment opportunities. All communities deserve law enforcement agencies that are built upon principles of fairness and equity.”
The employment discrimination investigation will be conducted pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion. Under Title VII, the Justice Department has the authority to initiate investigations against state and local government employers where it has reason to believe that a “pattern or practice” of employment discrimination exists. The department has not reached any conclusions regarding the allegations in this matter. The Governor and Maryland State Police Superintendent have been informed and pledged cooperation with the investigation.
This matter is being investigated jointly by attorneys from the Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the Employment Litigation Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Justice Department at 1-800-556-1950 (option 9), or via email at MDSPInvestigation@usdoj.gov.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report civil rights violations and to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/civil-rights.# # #
Maryland Man Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — Terrell Armstead, 31, formerly of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced today to 23 years in prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion and a related firearms offense.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Armstead was found guilty in March 2020, following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion. In a related case, he pleaded guilty in September 2019 to conspiracy to resell firearms illegally, and to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The Honorable Amit P. Mehta sentenced Armstead to 23 years in prison on the sex trafficking charge, and sentenced him to a concurrent 10-year prison term on the firearms charges. Following his prison term, Armstead will be placed on 20 years of supervised release. Armstead was also ordered to pay $28,644 in victim restitution.
A second defendant, Anthony Gray, pleaded guilty in January 2022 to one count of transportation of minors, related to his activities with Armstead. Gray, 39 of Cheverly, Maryland, was sentenced on July 13, 2022, to 10 years in prison for his role in the crimes. He was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release following his prison term and ordered to pay $15,000 in victim restitution.
According to evidence presented at trial, from March 2015 until September 2019, in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and elsewhere, Armstead trafficked several young women for commercial sex, including one who was only 16 years old. He was found guilty of a charge involving an adult woman. He used social media to lure this victim across the country based on false promises of fantastic success and financial comfort and security. Instead, after three months of being forced to work in Armstead’s commercial sex enterprise for his profit, she left the Washington, D.C. area with nothing.
Armstead operated his enterprise by recruiting young women as commercial sex workers, then advertising them in online forums (like Backpage.com), having them work in strip clubs to meet “customers,” and coercing them to engage in commercial sex on “the blade,” the track in downtown Washington, D.C. Armstead promoted himself on social media, purporting to live a life of luxury with the money he took from the women in his commercial sex enterprise. He controlled and manipulated the victims, including by threats of force; brandishing various weapons, including large automatic weapons; taking and controlling all the proceeds from their commercial sex work; limiting their contact with friends and family, such as smashing a cellphone; and by controlling their access to transportation and even their own identification documents.
During the course of the investigation into Armstead’s activities, law enforcement determined that Gray joined Armstead in bringing victims to hotels in Alexandria, Virginia and Lusby, Maryland in March 2015, for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex. On one of these occasions, Gray took pictures of two of the victims and then posted these pictures as advertisements online, offering them for commercial sex. Gray determined who the clients could be and the prices that could be charged.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves, Special Agent in Charge Jacobs, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI and MPD. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Justice Department, including Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, the Witness Security Section of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit, and former Paralegal Specialist Kenny Nguyen.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Larson and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenya Davis, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Hutson of the Justice Department Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
Man Who Posed as Girls’ Soccer Recruiter Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
A man who apparently posed as a college soccer recruiter pleaded guilty this week to receiving child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham.
Michael Ansley Twing, 43, was charged via criminal complaint on May 18. He pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging receipt of child pornography before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cureton on Wednesday.
According to court documents, Mr. Twing – already a registered sex offender – acquired sexually explicit images of minor girls on his laptop. The files were downloaded via eMule, a file-sharing program similar to BitTorrent.
At a detention hearing, prosecutors introduced evidence showing that Mr. Twing had been posing as a recruiter for a local university under the name “Michael Krogen.” (There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the university, which is cooperating fully with the investigation.)
In his bedroom, agents recovered a note on university letterhead in which Mr. Twing, writing under his alias, claimed to be a recruiter. They also found a roster of high school soccer players and identified at least one text in which Mr. Twing asked a coach for contact info for a student.
Twing now faces up to 40 years in federal prison. His sentencing has been set for Oct. 21 before U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor in Fort Worth.
Mr. Twing is a 6’2” white male, approximately 195 pounds, with dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and glasses.
If you are aware of a minor who may have had inappropriate contact with Mr. Twing, also known as “Michael Krogen” and “Christopher Michael Crogen,” at a soccer tournament or elsewhere, please contact Crimestoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477) or www.469TIPS.com.
The U.S. Secret Service’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Hurst Special Investigations Unit, the Fort Worth Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) and Sex Offender Investigations Units, the Grand Prairie Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is prosecuting the case.
Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Shooting Rampage on I-95 in North CarolinaRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A South Carolina man was sentenced today to 240 months in prison for a shooting rampage targeting moving vehicles on I-95 in North Carolina. Charges included possessing an unregistered short-barrel shotgun, transporting an unregistered firearm across state lines, and transporting a prohibited weapon without a license. Franklin Joseph Dangerfield, 35, pled guilty to all three charges.
“This defendant created terror on a major interstate by his reckless and criminal behavior of shooting at innocent people simply driving their car,” commented U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “I am grateful for the cooperation of many law enforcement agencies in bringing this crime spree to an end. We will vigorously prosecute those who use gun violence to inflict trauma and fear in our community.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, on September 5, 2020, Dangerfield drove from his home in Goose Creek, South Carolina, north along I-95 into North Carolina in a black pickup truck. As Dangerfield entered Robeson County, still driving north on I-95, he began shooting from his vehicle into other moving vehicles. Dangerfield fired at least three separate shots at a moving vehicle, striking the driver’s side window. No occupants were injured at this point.
Dangerfield continued travelling north through Nash County, where he began firing again at multiple moving vehicles along I-95. Dangerfield shot at ten (10) separate occupied vehicles while in Nash County, causing damage to nine (9) of them. During this spree, Dangerfield shot an elderly female victim in her shoulder. She was airlifted to Vidant Trauma Center in Greenville, North Carolina. Another victim in a separate vehicle sustained damage from glass fragments that entered their eyes, face, back and feet. This victim was taken to Vidant North Hospital in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
Deputies with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office, the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office pursued Dangerfield in his pickup truck in a high-speed chase along I-95. During the chase, Dangerfield exceeded speeds of 110 miles per hour and drove in the middle of both lanes, forcing multiple vehicles off the road. The pursuit ended after 37 miles, when Dangerfield attempted to take an exit in Emporia, Virginia at a high rate of speed, and collided with an embankment before striking a guardrail and flipping over. Virginia State Police officers then secured Dangerfield into custody. At the time, Dangerfield was unresponsive. Law enforcement transported Dangerfield to Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center to treat his injuries. Bloodwork confirmed Dangerfield’s blood alcohol content was 0.265.
Inside Dangerfield’s truck, law enforcement recovered a Savage Arms Springfield 67H 12-gauge shotgun with a 13-inch barrel, eight (8) 12-gauge shotgun shells, and nine (9) spent 12-gauge shotgun shells.
On September 9, 2020, Special Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrested Dangerfield on a criminal complaint. On September 23, 2020, a federal grand jury charged Dangerfield in a three-count Indictment, charging him with Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, Transport of an Unregistered Firearm, and Transport of a Prohibited Weapon without a License.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Nash County Sheriff’s Office, Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, and Robeson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-439-M.
Local Paving Company Owner Charged with Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The owner of a local paving company was charged today and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a seven-year scheme to underreport income on his tax returns.
Robert Brainard, 52, of Weymouth, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of tax evasion. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court.
According to the charging document, Brainard, the former owner of Got Pavement Needs, Inc., underreported income on his personal tax returns for tax years 2014 through 2021, resulting in an income tax loss of more than $593,993. In addition, to hide his control of the business, Brainard allegedly transferred ownership of his company in a straw sale, while maintaining control over the company’s operations and income.
The charge of tax evasion provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.