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12 September 2024
New Mexico Resident Indicted for Trafficking Firearms into ConnecticutRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned a six-count indictment charging TIMOTHY GREGORY, 42, formerly of Questa, New Mexico, with firearms trafficking offenses.
Gregory was arrested on July 18, 2024, in Eugene, Oregon, pursuant to a criminal complaint, and the indictment was returned on July 31, 2024. Gregory appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has been detained since his arrest.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, an FBI New Haven Safe Streets Gang Task Force investigation revealed that Gregory had offered to sell and ship firearms to an individual in Connecticut who is prohibited from possessing firearms. In May 2024, Gregory mailed a parcel containing a Glock 42 .380 caliber pistol and three magazines to Connecticut. In June 2024, he mailed a .223 caliber AR15-style rifle and two empty 30-round magazines to Connecticut. Gregory also indicated he had approximately 300 additional firearms, some which were fully automatic, to sell, as well as six hand grenades.
The indictment charges Gregory with two counts of firearms trafficking, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years on each count; two counts of unlawful transfer of firearms to an out-of-state residence, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years on each count; and two counts of mailing nonmailable firearms, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of two years on each count.
U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. A charge is only an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being prosecuted, in part, under the new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress enacted and the President signed in June 2022. The Act is the first federal statute specifically designed to target the unlawful trafficking and straw-purchasing of firearms.
This matter is being investigated by the FBI New Haven Safe Streets Gang Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Task Force includes members from the FBI, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, and the New Haven, Milford, East Haven, West Haven, and Wallingford Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie T. Levick.
Neola Man Sentenced to 292 Months in Federal Prison for Transportation of a Minor and a Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Neola man was sentenced today to a total term of 292 months in federal prison for transporting a minor for the purpose of engaging in sex acts and possessing firearms as a felon.
According to public court documents, Steven Earl Adkins, 56, communicated with a minor on Craigslist. He drove to a truck stop in Nebraska, picked up the minor, and brought the minor to his home. Adkins provided necessities to the minor in exchange for sex acts. During a search warrant at Adkins’s residence, law enforcement located 16 firearms and ammunition. In 2011, Adkins was convicted in Nebraska of the felony offense of strangulation, which prohibits Adkins from possessing firearms.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Adkins will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Adkins will be required to register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the FBI, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Omaha Police Department, and Colorado Springs Police Department.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.
Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.
Mississippi Woman Pleads Guilty to Fraud Relating to Rental Property IncomeRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Mississippi woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Concord to charges arising out of her theft of rental proceeds from her previous employer, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Roslyn Weems, 52, previously of Portsmouth, NH, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Samantha Elliott scheduled sentencing for December 19, 2024.
Weems worked for an individual who resides in Portsmouth. The victim owned a luxury property off the coast of Maine that was listed available for rent via the Internet at websites. In July 2021, Weems coordinated the rental of the property for three weeks, generating approximately $52,000 in rental income. Weems arranged to have the payments diverted to accounts under her exclusive control rather than an account associated with the property’s owner, and then used the payments for her own benefit.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Restitution is mandatory. 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.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Portsmouth Police Department led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau is prosecuting the case.
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Michigan City Man Sentenced to 88 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Demetrius Roberson, 51 years old, of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute cocaine and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Roberson was sentenced to 88 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, between December 2022 and February 2023, Roberson sold cocaine on seven occasions, totaling approximately two ounces. A search warrant executed at Roberson’s house in February 2023, resulted in the recovery of almost 400 grams of cocaine, one pound of marijuana, two handguns, and over $5,000.00.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the LaPorte County Drug Task Force, the Michigan City Police Department, the Indiana State Police Laboratory, and the LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katelan McKenzie Doyle.
Methamphetamine Trafficker Is Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Christopher DeShawn Nelson, 42, of Asheville, was sentenced to 141 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release today for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office, and Chief Michael Lamb of the Asheville Police Department, join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and court proceedings, law enforcement initiated an investigation into Nelson after learning he was trafficking drugs and guns in and around Hillcrest Apartments in Asheville. Beginning in late June 2022, law enforcement utilized a confidential informant (CI) to conduct drug and gun purchases from Nelson. For example, on July 19, 2022, the CI communicated with Nelson about purchasing a 9mm firearm and methamphetamine. The same day, the CI traveled to Hillcrest Apartments where he purchased a firearm and methamphetamine from Nelson in exchange for $1,130. Court records show that from June 28 to August 18, 2022, Nelson sold the CI more than 88 grams of methamphetamine and three firearms.
On August 25, 2023, Nelson pleaded guilty to distributing five grams or more of actual methamphetamine. At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger ordered Nelson to begin serving the federal sentence after the defendant completes the 30-month state sentence he is currently serving for a drug conviction.
The investigation was conducted by the ATF, the DEA, and the Asheville Police Department.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.
Members of A Luzerne County Family Each Sentenced to Serve 10 Years Imprisonment for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Anthony Disabella, age 35, James Disabella, Jr. age 60, and James Disabella, III, age 36, all of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, were each sentenced by United States District Court Judge Julia K. Munley to serve 10 years’ imprisonment for their role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of pure methamphetamine in the Hazleton area between August 2022 and December 2022.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the Disabellas each previously pleaded guilty before Judge Munley to distributing over 50 grams of pure methamphetamine. Throughout the time period of the conspiracy the Disabellas distributed at least 500 grams of pure methamphetamine to other street level distributors and drug addicts.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts prosecuted the case.
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Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Secure Agreement with Johns Hopkins Health System to Provide People with Disabilities Equal Access to Medical CareRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it filed a complaint and proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland resolving allegations that the Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation (Johns Hopkins) violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying people with disabilities equal access to medical care by excluding their necessary support persons.
“Patients with disabilities deserve equal access to healthcare,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Appropriate medical care often requires them to be accompanied by essential support persons. Johns Hopkins’ recommitment to meeting the needs of its patients with disabilities and ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect is a welcome outcome of this agreement.”
“Patients with disabilities may need the assistance of a support person, like a family member or aide, to have equal access to health care, especially during emergencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Policies and training go hand in hand when it comes to ensuring that health care providers and their employees are protecting patient rights and not excluding support persons improperly. Ensuring equal access to medical care is a priority for the Justice Department.”
Some individuals with dementia, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities may require the assistance of a support person (such as a family member, personal assistant, or other individual knowledgeable about them) when accessing medical care. Support persons can help individuals with disabilities to communicate, such as providing their medical history and answering questions, and to understand what is happening, such as medical instructions they are given during their care and discharge. The complaint alleges that Johns Hopkins failed on numerous occasions to follow its own policies for visitors and support persons by not permitting patients with disabilities to be accompanied by their support persons. As a result, these patients were unable to receive equal care.
Under the proposed consent decree, which the court must approve, Johns Hopkins has agreed to pay $150,000 to compensate multiple affected individuals. Johns Hopkins will also update its support person policies to ensure ADA compliance, train its employees on its support person policies and the ADA, and report any future complaints regarding support persons to the Justice Department. The claims resolved by this Consent Decree are allegations and not an admission of liability by Johns Hopkins.
This matter was handled jointly by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section. U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah A. Marquardt and Trial Attorney Stephanie Berger of the Civil Rights Division, who handled the case.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires private hospitals and other health care providers to provide individuals with disabilities full and equal enjoyment of their goods and services. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office’s civil rights work, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/civil-rights. ADA complaints may be filed online at https://www.ada.gov/file-a-complaint/. Anyone in Maryland may also report civil rights violations by emailing USAMD.Civilrightscomplaint@usdoj.gov.
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Man Sentenced to 24 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Jose De Leon Medina, 39 years old, of Mexico, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to illegal reentry of a removed alien and failure to register as a sex offender, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
De Leon Medina was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
According to documents in the case, De Leon Medina, a citizen of Mexico, was convicted of child molesting in 2019 which required him to register as a sex offender. After De Leon Medina completed his sentence of imprisonment for the crime, he was removed from the United States to Mexico. Two months later, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials learned De Leon Medina had illegally reentered the United States and was living in Goshen, Indiana. De Leon Medina had also failed to register as a sex offender.
This case was investigated by U.S, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jerome W. McKeever.
Los Angeles Businessman and His Companies Settle Claims Related to Improper COVID-19 Business-Relief LoansRead the Press Release
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
LOS ANGELES – Yosef Y. Manela, a Los Angeles-based businessman who owns and operates an accounting firm, law firm and consulting company, has paid $802,341 to the United States to resolve allegations that he and his three companies violated the False Claims Act in connection with six loans the businesses received under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Justice Department announced today.Manela and his companies also agreed to repay the lender for all outstanding PPP loans, relieving the Small Business Administration (SBA) of liability to the lender for the federal guaranty of approximately $728,000.
The PPP, an emergency loan program established by Congress in March 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and administered by the SBA, was intended to support small businesses struggling to pay employees and other business expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A borrower applying for a PPP loan was required to make multiple certifications that the borrower was eligible for the requested loan and the borrower would not receive another PPP loan. The borrower was also required to certify that the funds would be used for qualifying expenses, such as payroll, lease payments, utilities and other allowable business expenses. In December 2020, Congress approved funding for a “second draw” of PPP loan funds, which became available to borrowers beginning in January 2021.
The United States alleged that Manela and his companies received a total of six first and second draw PPP loans based on duplicative payroll expenses for multiple businesses and/or on behalf of non-existent employees. According to the United States, Manela and his companies made capital distributions of business profits to Manela’s family members that were falsely characterized as wages in PPP loan applications and forgiveness applications. The United States alleged that these false loan and forgiveness applications resulted in losses to the SBA for processing fees, interest and payment to the lender on a loan guarantee.
“Every taxpayer dollar lost to unscrupulous individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic is money that failed to reach businesses struggling for survival,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “It is important that we uphold the integrity of pandemic-related assistance programs.”
“PPP loans were intended to provide critical relief to small businesses facing difficult economic times due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department is committed to pursuing those who improperly sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the PPP or other pandemic-assistance programs.”
“The favorable settlement in this case is the product of enhanced efforts by federal agencies such as the Small Business Administration working with the Department of Justice, SBA’s Office of Inspector General and other Federal law enforcement agencies, to address fraud on the PPP,” said General Counsel Therese Meers of the SBA.
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Relator LLC, a limited liability corporation formed by California attorneys Anoush Hakimi and Peter Shahriari. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Relator LLC v. Yosef Y. Manela et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-04781-MWF-ASx (CDCA). Relator LLC will receive approximately $80,000 as its share of the total settlement.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, with assistance from the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorney Paul B. La Scala of the Civil Division’s Civil Fraud Section and Justice Department Trial Attorney Allie Pang of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section handled this matter.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international actors committing civil and criminal fraud and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
Lee’s Summit Neurologist Pleads Guilty to False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Lee’s Summit, Mo., neurologist pleaded guilty in federal court today to failing to report cash income from her practice on her federal tax returns.
Maria Donato, 55, waived her right to a grand jury indictment and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to a federal information that charges her with one count of making a false declaration under penalties of perjury.
Donato owned and operated Forest Park Neurology, LLC, where she practiced as a neurologist from 2012 to 2019. Donato’s patients sometimes paid cash for her services from 2015 through 2019, but Donato failed to report the full extent of her cash income on her federal income tax returns. Donato specifically pleaded guilty to failing to report more than $120,000 in cash income in 2017.
By pleading guilty today, Donato admitted that she filed her federal income tax returns, or caused her returns to be filed, knowing they were false. Each return included a written declaration whereby Donato acknowledged the return was being filed under penalties of perjury. Donato also failed to properly report her cash income on her Missouri tax returns during those years.
Under federal statutes, Donato is subject to a sentence of up to three years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Heberle. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Kanawha County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Joseph Daniel Skeens, 35, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to distribution of methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 17, 2023, Skeens sold approximately 2.5 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in exchange for a new Rigid impact wrench that was still in its original packaging.
Skeens admitted to the transaction and further admitted to at least three additional transactions from October 2, 2023, through November 22, 2023, during which he distributed fentanyl and methamphetamine in exchange for money or items of value such as tools and groceries that were shoplifted at his direction. The transaction occurred at or near Skeens’ residence in St. Albans.
These transactions by Skeens also included the sale of 3.46 grams of fentanyl in exchange for $50 on October 2, 2023, the sale of 1.34 grams of methamphetamine in exchange for a Rigid rotary power hammer on November 18, 2023, and approximately 1 grams of methamphetamine in exchange for approximately $100 worth of groceries on November 22, 2023. Each transaction was with a confidential informant.
Skeens is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the St. Albans Police Department and the assistance provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney JC MacCallum is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-200.
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Justice Department Secures Agreement with Parking Management Company to Resolve Claims of National Origin DiscriminationRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it secured a settlement agreement with SP Plus Corporation (SP Plus), a transportation and parking management company headquartered in Chicago. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that SP Plus discriminated against a worker by rejecting a valid document that showed her permission to work and requesting that she provide unnecessary documentation, based on her national origin.
“It is unlawful for employers to reject a valid document showing someone’s permission to work because of where the person was born,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department is committed to protecting workers from national origin discrimination in the hiring process and eliminating unnecessary barriers to employment.”
After conducting an investigation based on a complaint, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) concluded that SP Plus discriminated against a beneficiary of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) based on her national origin. TPS beneficiaries have permission to work in the United States. They can get Employment Authorization Documents that show employers their permission to work. Sometimes, the federal government extends these Employment Authorization Documents past the expiration date on the card. Instructions on how an employer can determine if an Employment Authorization Document has been extended by the federal government direct employers to look at the document’s category code and date of expiration. The department determined that instead of following the federal government’s instructions, SP Plus unlawfully rejected the worker’s valid, extended Employment Authorization Document because she was born in the Bahamas rather than Haiti, the country through which she has TPS. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits employers from considering an employee’s country of birth or other national origin indicator when verifying a person’s permission to work.
Under the terms of the settlement, SP Plus will pay a civil penalty to the United States, and offer reinstatement and pay backpay to the affected worker. The agreement also requires the company to train its personnel on the INA’s anti-discrimination requirements, revise its employment policies and be subject to departmental monitoring. SP Plus cooperated with the division’s investigation.
IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; or retaliation and intimidation.
IER’s website has information about employers’ obligations not to discriminate when hiring workers with TPS and employment rights for workers with TPS. Learn about TPS from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ website. Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Sign up for email updates from IER.
Justice Department Secures Agreement with Johns Hopkins Health System to Provide People with Disabilities Equal Access to Medical CareRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it filed a complaint and proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland resolving allegations that the Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation (Johns Hopkins) violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying people with disabilities equal access to medical care by excluding their necessary support persons.
“Patients with disabilities may need the assistance of a support person, like a family member or aide, to have equal access to health care, especially during emergencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Policies and training go hand in hand when it comes to ensuring that health care providers and their employees are protecting patient rights and not excluding support persons improperly. Ensuring equal access to medical care is a priority for the Justice Department.”
“Patients with disabilities deserve equal access to healthcare,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Appropriate medical care often requires them to be accompanied by essential support persons. Johns Hopkins’ recommitment to meeting the needs of its patients with disabilities and ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect is a welcome outcome of this agreement.”
Some individuals with dementia, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities may require the assistance of a support person (such as a family member, personal assistant or other individual knowledgeable about them) when accessing medical care. Support persons can help individuals with disabilities to communicate, such as providing their medical history and answering questions, and to understand what is happening, such as medical instructions they are given during their care and discharge.
The complaint alleges that Johns Hopkins failed on numerous occasions to follow its own policies on visitors and support persons and did not permit patients with disabilities to be accompanied by their support persons. As a result, these patients were unable to receive equal care. Title III of the ADA requires private hospitals and other health care providers to provide individuals with disabilities with full and equal enjoyment of their goods and services.
Under the proposed consent decree, which the court must approve, Johns Hopkins has agreed to pay $150,000 to compensate multiple affected individuals. Johns Hopkins will also update its support person policies to ensure ADA compliance, train its employees on its support person policies and the ADA and report to the department on any future complaints regarding support persons.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland handled the matter.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) or visit www.ada.gov. If you believe you’ve been discriminated against, you may file a complaint online at www.civilrights.justice.gov/. Anyone in the District of Maryland may also report civil rights violations by emailing USAMD.Civilrightscomplaint@usdoj.gov.
Justice Department Announces More Than $690 Million in Violence Against Women Act FundingRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department announced the awards of over $690 million in grant funding administered by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). This funding will support services and justice responses for victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking across all U.S. states and territories and in many Tribal nations.
The funding was announced as part of the Justice Department’s commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was the first comprehensive federal law focused on preventing and addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.
“Thirty years ago, VAWA transformed our national response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today, officers, prosecutors, judges, families, and society at large understand what should have always been clear: these crimes cannot be cast aside as somehow distinct or private. Instead, we recognize that they are among the most serious crimes that our society faces and that we must continue to improve access to justice, safety, and services for survivors.”
“I was privileged to work on the passage of the original Violence Against Women Act thirty years ago — landmark legislation that transformed how our nation responds to domestic violence and sexual assault,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Our country’s progress to prevent gender-based violence is not finished, but we have come a long way since 1994 thanks to the hard work of survivors, advocates, and members of law enforcement — including the women and men of the Justice Department — who work every day to hold perpetrators accountable and protect survivors. The grants we’re announcing today reaffirm our commitment to building safe communities for all, free from violence and fear.”
“Thanks to the changes in VAWA over the last 30 years, we've explored additional pathways to justice, acknowledging that justice looks different for each survivor,” Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said. “The right to live free from violence is fundamental, and our policies and resources must continue to evolve to protect this right fully. I commend OVW’s efforts to implement VAWA 2022’s expanded resources, including new funding to support and strengthen restorative practice programs addressing gender-based violence as well as to prevent and prosecute cybercrimes such as cyberstalking and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.”
VAWA was first enacted in 1994 as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. It initially focused on providing resources and training to improve the responses and policies of law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts, to support victim services, and to address crimes historically treated as private matters. Recognizing that domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking require a coordinated community response that extends beyond the justice system, Congress subsequently reauthorized VAWA, enhancing its policies and expanding grant funding streams, in 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2022.
Each reauthorization of VAWA has broadened the law and expanded available resources, reflecting an evolving understanding of these crimes and underscoring the need for comprehensive, holistic approaches to improve victims’ access to justice, safety, and supportive services while also improving offender accountability. Over the years, VAWA has supported enhanced comprehensive services for survivors and increased equitable access to funding and legal protections across all communities, particularly those facing additional challenges to attaining the services and support they need.
“The power of VAWA is that it is centered on the lived realities and leadership of survivors. By identifying what works well that can be expanded and enhanced, and identifying gaps and barriers, we can continue to improve VAWA and ensure that we are supporting all survivors, including those from historically marginalized communities and underserved populations who often face multiple barriers to services and safety,” OVW Director Rosie Hidalgo said. “We remain committed to making progress toward ending domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking, and to ensuring that all survivors have multiple pathways to safety, services, healing, and justice.”
Created in 1995 to implement the provisions of VAWA and its subsequent reauthorizations, OVW provides national leadership on domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The office is comprised of dedicated advocates, experts, and survivors, many of whom have extensive experience in the field of domestic and sexual violence. OVW has distributed over $11 billion in funding authorized by VAWA since its enactment. Through its grant programs and partnerships, OVW helps strengthen local responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking and provides funding annually to all 50 states, six territories, and many Tribal nations. By funding essential services for survivors, OVW ensures that communities are better equipped to address these critical issues. Today’s announcement includes funding for numerous grant programs, including new programs launched in FY 2024 as a result of the most recent reauthorization of VAWA in 2022 and appropriations acts.
Funding announced today includes:
- STOP (Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program: Grants totaling over $171 million will be distributed to all 50 states and six U.S. territories to support a coordinated community response among law enforcement, prosecution, courts, victim services organizations, and other community services to address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The STOP program was one of VAWA’s first grant programs and was authorized in the original enactment in 1994.
- Sexual Assault Services Formula Program: Grants totaling over $52 million will be awarded in each state and territory to assist them in supporting rape crisis centers and nonprofit organizations, as well as Tribal programs that assist survivors of sexual assault.
- Transitional Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Program: Grants totaling over $40 million will support programs that provide six to 24 months of transitional housing support for survivors who are homeless or in need of transitional housing and other housing assistance as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking.
- Grants to Improve the Criminal Justice Response (ICJR) Program: Grants totaling over $24 million will assist communities in improving their criminal justice response while seeking safety and autonomy for survivors. ICJR grantees are encouraged to develop, implement, or enhance a coordinated community response to bring together effective partners from the local government, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices and courts, nonprofit organizations, and population-specific organizations to address these crimes. This year for the first time, OVW is also awarding more than $14 million through a related initiative, the Enhancing Investigation and Prosecution of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Initiative, to support effective policing and prosecution strategies by promoting and evaluating effective trauma-informed policing and prosecution responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.
- State and Territory Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions Program: Grants totaling over $19 million will support the critical work of state and territory domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, which includes coordinating victim services and collaborating with federal, state, and local entities.
- Indian Tribal Governments Program: Grants totaling over $45 million will support the development and enhancement of effective strategies by Tribal governments to address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in Tribal communities consistent with Tribal law and custom. Additionally, $7.5 million is awarded under the newly established Grants to Indian Tribal Governments Program: Strengthening Tribal Advocacy Responses Track to support Tribes who have not previously accessed the Tribal Government funding and seek additional support for capacity building.
In addition, funding for new grant programs that were launched this year, made possible by VAWA’s 2022 reauthorization and expansion includes:
- Demonstration Program on Trauma-Informed, Victim-Centered Training for Law Enforcement (Abby Honold Program): Grants totaling $3 million will support the development and evaluation of enhanced, trauma-informed training for law enforcement to improve the response to victims. This new grant program, recently authorized through the 2022 VAWA Reauthorization, was championed by a former college student whose own experience as a survivor of sexual assault led her to want to improve the law enforcement response.
- National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals: New funding totaling $2.8 million will support the establishment of a national resource center to provide information, training, and technical assistance to improve the capacity of individuals, organizations, governmental entities, and communities to prevent, enforce, and prosecute cybercrimes against individuals. This includes addressing technology-facilitated abuse, such as the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, and cyber-stalking, among others.
- Local Law Enforcement Grants for Enforcement of Cybercrimes Program: Grants totaling $5.5 million will be distributed through this new grant program to support communities in preventing, enforcing, and prosecuting cybercrimes against individuals and providing training for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, victim services providers, and judicial personnel to address such crimes.
- Restorative Practices Pilot Sites Program: Grants totaling over $15 million will be provided through this new grant program authorized by the 2022 Reauthorization of VAWA to support, strengthen, and expand existing restorative practice programs that address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking through a trauma-informed and survivor-centered approach. Additionally, OVW will award $8 million to fund research and evaluation of restorative practices in collaboration with the pilot sites. Earlier this year, OVW awarded grants to three entities to serve as national training and technical assistance providers and to work with the pilot sites.
- Healing and Response Teams: For the first time, OVW is providing more than $2 million through its Healing and Response Teams Special Initiative to support the development of practices using a Tribal-based model of care to respond to Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons cases related to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and sex trafficking. This initiative is in response to recommendations made by the Not Invisible Act Commission.
View the LE for Enforcement of Cybercrimes Program Awards here.
View the ICJR Awards here.
View the NRCC Awards here.
View the Restorative Practices Pilot Program Evaluation Award here.
View the Restorative Practices Pilot Sites Program Awards here.
View the State Coalitions Awards here.
View the STOP Awards here.
View the TH Awards here.
View the Abby Honold Awards here.
View the EIP Awards here.
View the HRT Awards here.
View the SASP Awards here.
View the TG START Awards here.
View the Tribal Governments Awards here.
Jury Convicts Pennsylvania Woman of Bank Fraud, Money Laundering, and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
An accountant and adjunct business instructor who laundered over $800,000 of the proceeds of a multi-state business email compromise scheme was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Margo Ann Williams, age 62, from Scranton, Pennsylvania, was convicted of one count of bank fraud, three counts of money laundering, three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. The verdict was returned this morning following about five hours of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that, between December 2022 and July 2023, five victims—a Cedar Rapids church, two businesses, a non-profit, and an individual—had their electronic payments misdirected due to hacked email accounts. The email accounts were hacked while the victims were in the process of making large wire and automatic clearinghouse (“ACH”) transactions to others. The victims received “spoofed” emails that falsely appeared to come from legitimate and trusted sources. The fraudulent emails contained instructions to change the routing information for the wire and ACH transactions. Unbeknownst to the victims, those accounts listed in the new instructions belonged to Williams. After receiving “spoofed” emails, the victims instructed their banks to wire the funds according to the new payment instructions. Williams received the funds into bank accounts she controlled, and then she rapidly transferred the stolen money to other bank accounts that she controlled. Williams eventually transferred stolen funds to two national cryptocurrency exchanges and an individual in Florida.
For example, in June 2023, a Cedar Rapids church was engaged in a $7 million renovation of its campus. The hackers compromised the email account of the project’s architect and caused the church to receive “spoofed” emails in which the email domain of the project’s general contractor was slightly changed. As a result, the church representatives thought they were engaged in email correspondence with the project’s general contractor when, in truth, unknown individuals were impersonating the general contractor’s employees. As a result, the church unwittingly wired over $466,000 to Williams’s shell corporation, “MBCI & Evercorp, LLC.” Other victims in the business email compromise scheme included a hotel manager in Colorado, a large non-profit in Washington state, a self-employed homebuilder in Montana, and a general commercial contractor in Pennsylvania.
During the scheme, Williams repeatedly opened bank accounts at major national banks, including one in the name of her shell corporation. As the banks discovered the fraud and closed the accounts, Williams would continue to open new accounts at other banks in an effort to continue to perpetrate the fraud. Williams claimed at trial that she was doing so at the direction of a famous British actor with whom she had formed a romantic relationship. Williams earned approximately $25,000 from the scheme. Williams made many personal purchases with the stolen money, including an Apple Watch and a Louis Vuitton handbag.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Williams remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Williams faces a possible maximum sentence of 140 years’ imprisonment, a $4.25 million fine, and 5 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and Kyndra A. Lundquist and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-64.
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Jamaican National Admits Illegally Reentering U.S.Read the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JASON CASTON WILLIAMS, also known as Jason Fitzgerald and Terry Barrington Stewart, 50, a citizen of Jamaica, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to illegally reentering the United States after being deported.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Williams was admitted to the U.S. as a Lawful Permanent Resident in October 1982. In June 1991, Williams was convicted in Connecticut state court of robbery in the second degree. He received a sentence of 10 years of imprisonment, execution suspended, and five years of probation for that offense. He subsequently violated his probation and, in March 1997, was sentenced to three years of imprisonment.
In September 1997, Williams was convicted in New York of burglary second degree and criminal possession of a weapon, and received a sentence or 30 months to five years of imprisonment.
In May 2001, after an immigration judge ordered Williams removed, he was deported to Jamaica.
Williams unlawfully returned to the U.S. and, on October 20, 2022, was arrested by Norwalk Police and charged with second-degree assault related to his use of a knife to assault another individual. On October 11, 2023, he was convicted of that charge and sentenced to five years of imprisonment, suspended after two years, and three years of probation.
At sentencing, which is not scheduled, Williams faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years for illegal reentry. He is currently detained.
This matter has been investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shan Patel.
Indictment Charges 7 Individuals for Involvement in Nationwide Jewelry Theft RingRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging seven individuals for their alleged involvement in an organized jewelry theft ring that targeted mall-based stores and kiosks across the country.
The indictment was returned on July 16, 2024, and partially unsealed yesterday.
EDIXON RINCON PUENTES, 44, formerly of Los Angeles, California, was arrested on July 17 in Queens, New York, and HAROLD RAMIREZ CAGUA, also known as “Gordo,” 40, of Miami, Florida, and YESENIA MELENDEZ RINCON, 40, of Kissimmee, Florida, were arrested on July 18. Rincon Puentes and Ramirez Cagua are detained, and Melendez Rincon was released to home confinement with location monitoring. A fourth defendant, JORGE GIOVANNI ESCOBAR GONZALEZ, 40, of Kissimmee, Florida, was previously detained in Florida on preexisting state charges but is now in federal custody. The three remaining defendants are currently being sought by law enforcement and their identities remain under seal.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, from May 2023 through April 2024, Ramirez Cagua, Rincon Puentes, Melendez Rincon, Escobar Gonzalez, and others burglarized jewelry stores and kiosks in malls and then transported the stolen property or the proceeds from it across state lines. The co-conspirators burglarized jewelry establishments at the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, Connecticut, on October 5, 2023; in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, on October 27, 2023; in Henrico, Virginia on November 4, 2023; and in Horseheads, New York, on April 18, 2024. The total losses from these burglaries exceed $1.28 million. Members of the conspiracy cased additional jewelry stores and kiosks in Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Delaware.
The indictment charges Ramirez Cagua, Rincon Puentes, Melendez Rincon, and Escobar Gonzalez each with one count of conspiracy, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI New Haven’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force with the assistance of the Milford (Conn.) Police Department, the Hamilton Township (N.J.) Police Division, the Delaware State Police, the Henrico County (Va.) Police Division, the New York State Police, the New York Police Department, and the Pensacola (Fla.) Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David T. Huang and Conor M. Reardon.
U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the FBI Field Offices in New York, Dallas, Miami, and Tampa for their assistance.
Illinois Man Found Guilty of Selling Fatal Fentanyl PillsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A jury Wednesday evening convicted a man from Belleville, Illinois of a charge related to his sale of fake Percocet pills that killed a man in St. Louis County in 2022.
A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis found Deontae’ Tre’Von Overall, 28, guilty of one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
Evidence and testimony at trial showed that the victim contacted Overall’s cellular phone on Dec. 3, 2022, seeking the prescription pain pill Percocet. The victim bought three pills that mimicked the appearance of Percocet from Overall at Overall’s home in St. Louis. The victim died later that evening from fentanyl intoxication caused by ingesting the fake Percocet.
The death triggered an investigation by the St. Louis County Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Investigators contacted Overall’s cellular phone to arrange additional purchases of counterfeit Percocet, which contained fentanyl. Overall ultimately sold fentanyl to an undercover task force officer on July 19, 2023, and fentanyl and methamphetamine to an officer on July 26. A court-approved search of Overall’s home in Belleville on August 3, 2023, resulted in the seizure of drug paraphernalia and approximately 60 pills resembling those sold to the victim and the undercover officer.
On September 6, the Friday before the trial began, Overall admitted the July 26 sale of drugs to the undercover task force officer and pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly and intentionally distributing one or more controlled substances to another person.
“This case involves a young adult who was lied to by a drug dealer and his life is now tragically over,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, head of Drug Enforcement Administration operations in Eastern Missouri. "DEA finds seven out of 10 of the pills being tested in our labs have a lethal dose of fentanyl. We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it: if a pill did not come from a doctor or a pharmacy, don’t take it. Don’t be a statistic – one pill can kill.”
The distribution of fentanyl resulting in death charge is punishable by 20 years to life in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both prison and a fine. The charge of distribution of a controlled substances is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa Epplin and Jerome McDonald prosecuted the case.
Hazelwood Company Owner Sentenced to Year in Prison for U.S. Corps of Engineers Contract FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Thursday sentenced the owner of a steel company that falsely claimed parts for a Mississippi River lock and dam had passed safety tests to a year and a day in prison.
Theodore J. “Ted” Stegeman, 60, has already paid restitution of $238,059, representing the cost of removing, testing and re-installing cover plates, or flanges, that his company supplied to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractor.
Stegeman’s company, Industrial Steel Fabrication LLC (ISF), was a subcontractor on a project to repair Lock and Dam No. 25 on the Mississippi River near Winfield, in Lincoln County, Missouri. ISF was responsible for fabricating and welding cover plates for all 17 bridge spans. The flanges were supposed to undergo ultrasonic tests to identify any defects in the welded joints.
In October 2019, ISF delivered a flange that had failed an ultrasonic test. To conceal the failed test, Stegeman re-assigned ISF employees who knew about the failed test, his plea agreement says. He then altered the ultrasonic testing report to make it appear as if that flange had passed. Another flange had not been tested and Stegeman told others to falsify a test to make it appear as if the part had passed.
Stegeman pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of wire fraud.
On Thursday, Judge Clark called Stegeman’s conduct dangerous and said evidence suggested that he had knowledge of the risks that his conduct created.
The Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman is prosecuting the case.
Gregg County man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for fentanyl overdose deathRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A Longview man who sold fake prescription pills containing fentanyl has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Don Paul Rickman, 39, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death and was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on September 12, 2024.
According to information presented in court, Rickman admitted to selling the victim what were purported to be prescription pills, after which the victim’ mother found him dead in his bedroom. The pills sold by Rickman were later determined to be laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid commonly used as an analgesic or anesthetic that is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. An autopsy of the victim confirmed the cause of death to be a fentanyl overdose.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a public safety alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. The public safety alert coincides with the launch of DEA’s One Pill Can Kill public awareness campaign to educate the public of the dangers of counterfeit pills and urges all Americans to take only medications prescribed by a medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist. The campaign aims to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge in fake pills that are mass-produced by criminal drug networks in labs, deceptively marketed as legitimate prescription pills, and are killing unsuspecting Americans at an unprecedented rate. For more information, please visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill.
This case was investigated by the DEA; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Longview Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek.
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Four Sentenced for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
WEST VIRGINIA – Four people were sentenced for methamphetamine trafficking in the Northern District of West Virginia.
Terry Lee Mason, Jr., 37, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was sentenced to 324 months for the possession with intent to distribute 50 or more grams of crystal methamphetamine. Robert Joseph Wilson, III, 38, of Hagerstown, Maryland, was sentenced to 300 months for aiding and abetting the distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine. According to court documents, Mason, also known as “TJ,” and Wilson, also known as “Robbie,” worked with others to sell methamphetamine in Berkeley County.
Brenda Sams, 44, of Petersburg, West Virginia, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine. According to court documents and statements made in court, Sams sold methamphetamine in Grant County. Sams has a prior drug conviction in the Northern District of West Virginia, as well as state drug and theft convictions.
Melinda Kay Zirbs, 57, of Elkins, West Virginia, was sentenced to 56 months in federal prison for the possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court documents and statements made in court, Zirbs was under investigation for drug trafficking and officers seized methamphetamine and more than $20,000 in her home.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Kane and Stephen Warner prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government.
The investigations were conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Maryland State Police; the Hagerstown Police Department; the Martinsburg Police Department; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Washington County, Maryland, Narcotics Task Force; the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Frederick County, Maryland, Sheriff’s Department; the Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; and the Mountain Region Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative.
U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided over the Mason and Wilson sentencings.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided over the Sams and Zirbs hearings.
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Fort Pierre Woman Convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Fort Pierre, South Dakota, woman convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on September 9, 2024.
Carla Reed, 62, was sentenced to four years and seven months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Reed was indicted for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance by a federal grand jury in July of 2023. She pleaded guilty on June 12, 2024.
Reed was involved in distributing methamphetamine in the Fort Pierre area. Reed would take trips to Denver, Colorado, to pick up large amounts of methamphetamine and bring it back to Fort Pierre, where she distributed it from her home. On February 18, 2023, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of Reed’s vehicle on a return trip from Denver, seizing 130 grams of pure methamphetamine.
This case was investigated Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Task Force and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Reed was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Former Wisconsin Prison Employee Pleads Guilty to BriberyRead the Press Release
A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty today to smuggling contraband into a state maximum-security prison in exchange for bribes.
According to court documents, William Lee Homan, 47, of Fox Lake, a former facilities repair worker at Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI), received approximately 125 bribe payments totaling approximately $53,579 from July 17, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, from inmates, former inmates, and their associates in exchange for smuggling contraband into WCI.
Homan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad for the Eastern District of Wisconsin made the announcement.
The FBI Milwaukee Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Aaron L. Jennen of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary J. Corey for the Eastern District of Wisconsin are prosecuting the case.
Former Wisconsin Prison Employee Pleads Guilty to BriberyRead the Press Release
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, joins Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, in announcing that on September 12, 2024, William Lee Homan, 47, of Fox Lake, pleaded guilty to smuggling contraband into a state maximum-security prison in exchange for bribes.
According to court documents, Homan, a former facilities repair worker at Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI), received approximately 125 bribe payments totaling approximately $53,579 from July 17, 2022, to September 30, 2023, from inmates, former inmates, and their associates in exchange for smuggling contraband into WCI.
Homan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 12, 2024 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Aaron L. Jennen of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary J. Corey for the Eastern District of Wisconsin are prosecuting the case.
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Former School Counselor Sentenced to Prison for Child Pornography CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Cory Thomas, 33, of Charleston, was sentenced today to four years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for possession of prepubescent child pornography. Thomas must also register as a sex offender.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 7, 2024, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Thomas’ residence in Charleston and seized his cell phone and other electronic devices. An analysis of the electronic devices revealed at least 109 digital files of child sexual abuse material, 75 of which were videos. The videos and image files included child pornography depicting prepubescent minors subjected to sadistic or masochistic conduct and the exploitation of toddlers.
At the time of his arrest, Thomas was employed through a subcontractor as a counselor at a public elementary school and previously worked as a substitute teacher. There was no indication from the investigation that any criminal conduct occurred with students from any of Thomas’ workplaces.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander A. Redmon prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-43.
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Former Osceola Bank Executive Sentenced for $1.5 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Osceola, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for a fraud scheme in which she stole over $1.4 million from the bank where she was employed over a period of more than 20 years.
Stacia Wilson, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to three years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Wilson to pay $1,435,491.05 in victim restitution.
On May 9, 2024, Wilson pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. Wilson admitted that, while she was employed as a vice president of St. Clair County State Bank in Osceola, she defrauded the bank by creating false and fictitious loans utilizing the stolen identity information of bank customers. She deposited the loan proceeds into her personal bank accounts to use for her own benefit.
Wilson’s fraud scheme, which lasted more than 20 years from 2000 until it was discovered in December 2022, resulted in numerous fraudulent loans and a $1,528,321 loss to the bank.
This case was prosecuted by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark. It was investigated by the FBI and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Former Massachusetts State Senator Convicted of COVID and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Former Massachusetts State Senator Dean A. Tran was convicted yesterday following a six-day trial for scheming to defraud the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and collecting income that he failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Tran, 48, of Fitchburg, was convicted of 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV, scheduled sentencing for Dec. 4, 2024. The defendant was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023.
According to evidence presented at trial, Tran served as an elected member of the Massachusetts State Senate, representing Worcester and Middlesex Counties from 2017 to January 2021. After Tran’s State Senate term ended in 2021, Tran fraudulently received pandemic unemployment benefits while simultaneously employed as a paid consultant for a New Hampshire-based retailer of automotive parts (the Automotive Parts Company). While working as a paid consultant for the Automotive Parts Company, Tran fraudulently collected $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits.
In addition, Tran concealed $54,700 in consulting income that he received from the Automotive Parts Company from his 2021 federal income tax return. This was in addition to thousands of dollars in income that Tran concealed from the IRS while collecting rent from tenants who rented his Fitchburg property from 2020 to 2022.
“Dean Tran defrauded the government out of unemployment benefits he had no right to receive. His fraud and calculated deception diverted money away from those who were struggling to get by during a very difficult time,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Our office and our law enforcement partners are committed to holding accountable public officials who lie and steal for personal gain.”
“Former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran stole taxpayer funds intended for those Americans who lost their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The jury’s verdict affirms the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General’s commitment to investigate allegations of fraud involving the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) unemployment insurance (UI) program. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the UI system from those who exploit this critical benefit program,” stated Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region.
“The conviction of Dean Tran demonstrates the IRS’s commitment to the prosecution of all who choose to break the law, even elected officials,” said Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Elected officials are held to a higher standard when they take an oath to serve but to Tran, his oath meant nothing when he chose to steal from the America taxpayers on two separate occasions. Tran stole from a pandemic unemployment program designed to help those most in need. Tran also showed great disdain for the American public when he willfully omitted his taxable income, the most basic of principles all Americans are expected to follow.”
“Former State Senator Dean Tran was convicted of cheating taxpayers by cashing in on a public health crisis by diverting tens of thousands of dollars meant to support those out of work due to the pandemic to himself instead,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The FBI simply won’t stand for opportunists thinking they can defraud the federal government, lie on their taxes, and get away with it. We will continue to aggressively pursue anyone foolish enough to do so.”
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of filing false tax returns provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000. 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.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy, DOL-OIG SAC Mellone, IRS-CI SAC Chavis and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy and Dustin Chao of the Office’s Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit are prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
Former Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Sexual Contact with Inmate and Contraband SmugglingRead the Press Release
DETROIT - Cara Wozniak, a former Corrections Officer at the Milan, Michigan Federal Correctional Institution (FCI Milan), pleaded guilty today to sexual contact with an inmate and smuggling contraband into the prison, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Ison was joined in the announcement by William J. Hannah, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General.
Wozniak, 33, entered pleas of guilty to one count of sexual contact with a ward and one count of providing contraband in prison. Federal law and prison rules prohibit all sexual interaction between staff members and inmates, as well as the introduction or possession of contraband in prison. Contraband is defined as prohibited materials which can reasonably be expected to cause physical injury or adversely affect the security, safety, or good order of the institution.
United States Attorney Ison stated “Corrections Officers are entrusted with the critical responsibility of managing the security of our federal prisons. Ms. Wozniak’s conduct in this case was an abuse of that trust and created a security risk for everyone at the institution. Sexual contact between inmates and Corrections Officers is never acceptable, nor is the smuggling of contraband into prison. My office takes such cases seriously and will prosecute them to the full extent of the law.”
According to the plea agreement, Wozniak began working as a Corrections Officer at FCI Milan in November 2002. The Federal Bureau of Prisons provides comprehensive training for new Corrections Officers, during which is made abundantly clear that any type of sexual interaction between guards and inmates is absolutely prohibited, as is the smuggling of contraband into a prison.
Court documents state that on two occasions in the fall of 2023, Wozniak engaged in sexual intercourse with an inmate (identified as “Inmate-1” in the plea agreement) who was under her custody and control. Wozniak also purchased pouches of loose tobacco for Inmate-1 from a smoke shop in Milan and smuggled them into the prison for him. Inmate-1 requested these items from Wozniak so he could sell the tobacco in prison at a significant profit. Inmate-1 offered to pay Wozniak for the contraband she smuggled into the prison for him. In September 2023, Wozniak purchased a gold necklace which she secretly brought into the prison and gave to Inmate-1. Both the tobacco and the necklace are prohibited items within FCI Milan, and as such are classified as contraband under federal law.
Sentencing is set for February 5, 2025, before United States District Judge Jonathan J.C. Grey. Wozniak faces a statutory maximum term of 15 years imprisonment on the charge of sexual contact with a ward, and six months on the charge of providing contraband in prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Eaton P. Brown. The investigation is being conducted by the Department of Justice-Office of Inspector General.
Former Clermont housing official pleads guilty to federal program theftRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – The former executive director of the Clermont Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to federal program theft.
Timothy Holland, 57, of Williamsburg, Ohio, admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars intended to assist low-income residents of Clermont County, Ohio.
According to court documents, Holland served from 2012 until 2019 as the executive director for CMHA, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recognized public housing authority for Clermont. CMHA received more than $5.9 million in annual federal funds in both 2018 and 2019 to operate and maintain public housing units as well as provide housing assistance to low-income families and individuals.
From at least 2016 until 2019, Holland caused a loss of at least $86,929. For example, in 2018, Holland used the CMHA credit card for purchases for himself totaling more than $9,500 at Amazon, Sirius Radio, LL Bean, Home Depot and elsewhere. The next year, he used the CMHA credit card for more than $25,000 of retail purchases for himself. Holland used the CMHA vehicle for non-business trips to Canada, using the CMHA credit card to pay for gas and hotels. In addition, Holland used CMHA funds to pay contractors for work done on his home and furnish an office ostensibly for CMHA’s nonprofit arm. His fraudulently funded “man cave” included a $900 game table from Amazon, a 65” TV and high-end furnishings, all paid for using CMHA funds.
“The defendant’s selfish and fraudulent actions not only put vital federal programs at risk, but also jeopardized the availability of HUD-assisted housing for those in our most vulnerable communities who rely on housing assistance programs,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Shawn Rice with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG). “HUD OIG will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to vigorously pursue those who seek to profit by abusing HUD-funded programs.”
Holland’s plea agreement includes a recommended sentence of three months to 12 months and one day in prison. As part of his conviction, Holland has agreed to pay nearly $87,000 in restitution to CMHA.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Shawn Rice, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Mid-Atlantic Region; Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Ohio Auditor Keith Faber announced the guilty plea entered before U.S. District Judge Matthew W. McFarland. Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo is representing the United States in this case.
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Former Charleston Physician Pleads Guilty to Federal Opioid CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Dr. Alexander V. Otellin, 57, formerly of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to the unlawful distribution of oxycodone.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 27, 2017, Otellin distributed a quantity of oxycodone to a patient at his psychiatry practice in South Charleston. Otellin admitted that while his specialty was psychiatry, he treated the patient for pain management. Otellin further admitted that this distribution was without a legitimate medical purpose, outside the usual course of medical practice, and without proper authority.
Otellin distributed controlled substances to the patient starting on or about February 6, 2014, until on or about July 15, 2020. During this time period, Otellin knew the patient was receiving opiates from another physician. For the first four years of this time period, Otellin did not review the patient’s medical history for substance abuse or habits or document a review of the database that tracks controlled substance prescriptions. For approximately five months during this time period, Otellin wrote prescriptions for oxycodone and other controlled substances for the patient without conducting evaluations of him.
Otellin was believed to have fled the United States to Russia in order avoid prosecution following his indictment by a federal grand jury on September 22, 2021. Otellin possesses dual citizenship in the U.S. and Russia. The U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia worked with INTERPOL Washington to issue an Interpol Red Notice for Otellin. In September 2023, Otellin entered the country of Armenia and was arrested and detained by Armenian authorities. U.S. Marshals took custody of Otellin in Armenia and transported him back to the United States, arriving in Charleston on April 20, 2024. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Armenian authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Otellin.
Otellin has surrendered his medical license with the West Virginia Board of Medicine. Otellin is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Trial Attorney Charles D. Strauss of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division – Fraud Section and Assistant United States Attorneys Owen Reynolds and Andrew D. Isabell are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-159.
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Florida Man Sentenced for Role in Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Florida man was sentenced yesterday for his for his participation in a money laundering conspiracy.
Robert Hueton Colespring, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Colespring was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000. In May 2024, Colespring pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conducting substantive money laundering transactions.
Beginning in 2016 and continuing until 2022, an investigation into a money laundering organization based primarily in Barranquilla, Colombia was conducted. An undercover agent infiltrated the organization by portraying himself as an international money launderer able to pick up bulk cash throughout the world, launder the proceeds through his United States-based accounts and send the money to Colombia through the Black Market Peso Exchange – a common method of trade-based money laundering used to repatriate the proceeds of drug trafficking to Colombia.
Throughout the course of the investigation, members of the money laundering organization would contact the undercover agent and arrange meetings for him and his purported associates to collect cash for laundering. Individuals, such as Colespring, performed the role of money courier. On two occasions in Florida, Colespring delivered bulk cash which was then deposited into the undercover agent’s bank account in Massachusetts and then subsequently wired to accounts and repatriated back to drug traffickers in Colombia. Over the course of the conspiracy, Colespring was responsible for the laundering of approximately $599,990 in drug proceeds.
Colespring was charged in a 50-count indictment along with 19 other individuals in March 2022. Colespring is the eighth defendant to be sentenced in the case. Four other defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua R. Levy and Stephen Belleau, Acting Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Florida Man Sentenced for Civil Rights Conspiracy Targeting Pregnancy Resource CentersRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – A Florida man was sentenced today to one year and a day in prison for conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate employees of pro-life pregnancy help centers in the free exercise of the right to provide and seek to provide reproductive health services. Caleb Freestone, along with two co-defendants, Amber Smith-Stewart and Annarella Rivera, selected reproductive health facilities that provided and counseled alternatives to abortion and vandalized those facilities with threatening messages.
According to court documents, these defendants engaged in a series of targeted attacks on pregnancy help centers in Florida. The defendants admitted they participated in the attack in the dark of night, and while wearing masks and dark clothing to obscure their identities, spray painted the facilities with threatening messages, including “If abortions aren’t safe than niether [sic] are you,” “YOUR TIME IS UP!!,” “WE’RE COMING for U” and “We are everywhere.” These defendants pleaded guilty on June 14 to a civil rights conspiracy.
“These defendants admitted that they conspired to paint threatening messages on crisis pregnancy centers, based on the defendants’ objection to the services those centers offered,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Violence and threats of violence have no place in our national discourse on reproductive health. The Justice Department is committed to protecting the right to access reproductive health care and prosecuting anyone who interferes with that right.”
“These defendants conspired to threaten and intimidate providers offering reproductive health care,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Federal law protects these providers and those who seek their services. My office will continue its work to protect access to reproductive health care and federally prosecute those interfering with that right.”
Smith-Stewart and Rivera were also each sentenced today to 30 days in prison and 60 days in home detention.
The FBI Tampa Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Miami Police Department.
Trial Attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Derry for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about incidents of violence, threats and obstruction that target a patient or provider of reproductive health services or damage and destruction of reproductive health care facilities, should report that information to the FBI at www.tips.fbi.gov. For more information about clinic violence, and the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act violations, please visit www.justice.gov/crt/national-task-force-violence-against-reproductive-health-care-providers.
Florida Man Sentenced for Civil Rights Conspiracy Targeting Pregnancy Resource CentersRead the Press Release
A Florida man was sentenced today to one year and a day in prison for conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate employees of pro-life pregnancy help centers in the free exercise of the right to provide and seek to provide reproductive health services. Caleb Freestone, along with two co-defendants, Amber Smith-Stewart and Annarella Rivera, selected reproductive health facilities that provided and counseled alternatives to abortion and vandalized those facilities with threatening messages.
According to court documents, these defendants engaged in a series of targeted attacks on pregnancy help centers in Florida. The defendants admitted they participated in the attack in the dark of night, and while wearing masks and dark clothing to obscure their identities, spray painted the facilities with threatening messages, including “If abortions aren’t safe than niether [sic] are you,” “YOUR TIME IS UP!!,” “WE’RE COMING for U” and “We are everywhere.” These defendants pleaded guilty on June 14 to a civil rights conspiracy.
“These defendants admitted that they conspired to paint threatening messages on crisis pregnancy centers, based on the defendants’ objection to the services those centers offered,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Violence and threats of violence have no place in our national discourse on reproductive health. The Justice Department is committed to protecting the right to access reproductive health care and prosecuting anyone who interferes with that right.”
“These defendants conspired to threaten and intimidate providers offering reproductive health care,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Federal law protects these providers and those who seek their services. My office will continue its work to protect access to reproductive health care and federally prosecute those interfering with that right.”
Smith-Stewart and Rivera were also each sentenced today to 30 days in prison and 60 days in home detention.
The FBI Tampa Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Miami Police Department.
Trial Attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Derry for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about incidents of violence, threats and obstruction that target a patient or provider of reproductive health services or damage and destruction of reproductive health care facilities, should report that information to the FBI at www.tips.fbi.gov. For more information about clinic violence, and the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act violations, please visit www.justice.gov/crt/national-task-force-violence-against-reproductive-health-care-providers.
Final defendant convicted on all charges in Operation Ghost BustedRead the Press Release
BRUNSWICK, GA: The final defendant in a massive drug trafficking organization has been convicted on all charges after a two-day jury trial.
Blake K. Screen, 36, of Brunswick, was found guilty on charges of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Methamphetamine and Fentanyl, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Screen faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and a period of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“As the final defendant awaiting adjudication in this conspiracy, Blake Screen’s conviction represents a milestone in this investigation,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “The investigators and prosecutors performed outstanding work in removing this drug trafficking operation from our community and holding the conspirators accountable.”
Screen was on of 76 defendants indicted in USA v. Alvarez et al., dubbed Operation Ghost Busted because of the drug trafficking conspiracy’s ties to the Ghost Face Gangsters and other criminal street gangs. Unsealed in January 2023, the indictment resulted from an investigation that identified a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed large amounts of high-grade methamphetamine, along with fentanyl, heroin, and alprazolam in the greater Glynn County area.
For more than two years, investigators from the FBI Coastal Georgia Violent Gang Task Force, the Glynn County Police Department, the Brunswick Police Department, the Glynn County Sheriff's Office, and the Camden County Sheriff's Office collaborated with multiple federal, state, and local agencies to identify the sprawling drug trafficking network. The conspiracy operated inside and outside Georgia prisons, coordinated by members of the Ghost Face Gangsters working with affiliates of other gangs including the Aryan Brotherhood, Bloods, and Gangster Disciples.
During the trial before U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, jurors learned that Screen conspired by text and Facebook messages with other traffickers in the organization – many of whom were inmates in Georgia state prisons – to transport and sell large quantities of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine and fentanyl. Investigators found more than 65 doses of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, in Screen’s possession when he was taken into custody.
Of the other 75 original defendants in Operation Ghost Busted, 70 have been sentenced to prison terms of as much as life in prison after pleading guilty, and four are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty. One defendant died while awaiting trial. Judge Wood will schedule sentencing for Screen upon completion of a pre-sentence investigation by U.S. Probation Services.
Operation Ghost Busted, the largest drug trafficking prosecution in the history of the Southern District of Georgia, was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
Agencies involved in the investigation include the FBI Coastal Georgia Violent Gang Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; the Georgia Department of Corrections; the Georgia Department of Community Supervision; the Glynn County Police Department; the Brunswick Police Department; the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office; and sheriff’s offices from Pierce, Camden, Wayne, Treutlen, McIntosh, Toombs, Telfair, Dodge, and Ware counties. The case is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer J. Kirkland, L. Alexander Hamner, and Criminal Division Deputy Chief E. Greg Gilluly Jr.
Final Medoc Defendant Sentenced in $4.4 Million Prescription Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
The final defendant in the Medoc kickback conspiracy was sentenced yesterday to 10 months in federal prison for his role in a prescription kickback scheme that cost federal insurance programs more than $4.4 million, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
The first indictment was filed in January 2020. Those sentenced include:
- Kevin Douglas Kuykendall, cofounder of Medoc Health Services, sentenced to 36 months in prison and ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution for conspiracy to solicit and receive illegal kickbacks
- Sabrina Burmester Kuykendall, Kevin’s wife, sentenced to 36 months’ probation and ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution for conspiracy to solicit and receive illegal kickbacks
- Mark David Schneider, cofounder of Medoc Health Services, sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution for conspiracy to solicit and receive illegal kickbacks
- Michael Ray Schneider, sentenced to 14 months in prison and ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution for conspiracy to solicit and receive illegal kickbacks
- Trenton Lynn Moody, sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison and ordered to pay $257,500 in restitution for conspiracy to solicit and receive illegal kickbacks
- Cuong “Michael” Nguyen, founder of Total RX pharmacy, sentenced to 10 months in prison for misprision (concealment) of a felony and paid in restitution in the amount of $591,142
- Moky Chung, sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution for conspiracy to solicit and receive illegal kickbacks
According to court documents, Medoc conspirators knowingly solicited illegal kickbacks from Total RX, a Rowlett pharmacy that was struggling to stay afloat.
In December 2014, Medoc executives Kevin Kuykendall and Mark Schneider approached Total RX owner Cuong Nguyen with a proposal: Nguyen could convert Total RX from an infusion pharmacy into a compounding pharmacy and begin filling prescriptions for Medoc. In return for referring lucrative prescriptions to Total RX, Medoc would receive a 50 percent commission.
The initial agreement only covered prescriptions covered by private insurers and specifically excluded any prescriptions paid by federal insurance programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, and Worker’s Compensation. At the time, Kuykendall and Schneider acknowledged that Medoc could not get paid on prescriptions paid by federal insurance programs. (They later admitted they knew of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), which makes it illegal to receive remuneration in return for the referral of prescriptions funded by federal insurers.)
However, in early 2015, Kevin Kuykendall directed Nguyen to enter into a sham employment agreement with Mark Schneider’s brother, co-defendant Michael Ray Schneider, which would grant him a 45 percent commission on all prescriptions covered by federal health insurance that were referred by Medoc to Total RX.
Though nominally an “employee” of the pharmacy, Michael Schneider would be neither trained nor supervised Total RX. He would not work out of the Total RX offices, would not perform duties at Total RX’s behest, and would rarely communicate with Total RX. In court documents, multiple defendants admitted that the employment agreement between Michael Schneider and Total RX served as a way to “paper up” the payment of illegal kickbacks on prescriptions paid out by federal insurers.
Initially, Nguyen declined to execute the employment agreement, concerned that it specifically tied commission payments to government insurance programs. During a conference call, Kevin Kuykendall, Mark Schneider, and Moky Cheung agreed to designate prescriptions covered by federal health insurance programs as “<PRESCRIBER NAME> T” in order to internally track federal prescriptions for purposes of calculating kickbacks owed to all the conspirators but yet conceal the criminal nature of the scheme.
Defendants Kevin Kuykendall, Mark Schneider, Moky Cheung, and Trenton Moody then created various entities, including “Barolo Partners,” to receive and distribute Mr. Schneider’s purported salary payments. A portion of the money deposited into the Barolo account was eventually dispersed to K&S Biotherapeutics, an entity controlled by the Kuykendalls, and to Radiux Resources, an entity controlled by Moky Chung.
Beginning in August 2015, Medoc entered into a similar scheme with Doctors Specialty Pharmacy (DSP). In return for Medoc referring prescriptions to DSP, the pharmacy paid a hefty commission to the conspirators via Vantage Investment Partners, an entity they created for that purpose. The money was disguised as payment for “marketing services,” but no marketing occurred.
In total for the various schemes, the conspirators submitted claims for $10,448,856.90. and received payment of $5,837,219.70.
In 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas intervened and filed its own complaint in a civil qui tam lawsuit that relator Mark Adams brought in 2017 pursuant to the False Claims Act, captioned United States ex rel. Mark Adams v. Medoc Health Services, L.L.C. et al., Civ. No. 3:17-CV-2977-M (N.D. Tex., Dallas Division). Under the False Claims Act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. As part of the resolution of these civil claims, Kevin and Sabrina Kuykendall paid $4 million, and Trenton Moody paid $600,000 to the United States. In addition, Mark and Michael Schneider stipulated to entry of a $3 million civil judgment; Cuong “Michael” Nguyen to a $2.25 million civil judgment; and Moky Cheung to a $300,000 civil judgment.
FBI, HHS-OIG, Department of Labor, and the Texas Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Donna Max, Doug Brasher, Nick Bunch (fmr), and Matthew Smid (fmr) prosecuted the criminal case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Coffin, Richard Guiltinan, Beverly Chapman, Katie Carr Jacobs, and Clayton Ray Mahaffey (fmr) handled the civil suit.
Federal Jury Finds Lookout in Ellenton Armored Truck Robbery Guilty at TrialRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Jorge Serrano Espinoza (20, Clearwater) guilty of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the robbery. Espinoza’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 12, 2024.
According to evidence presented at trial, on the morning of June 9, 2023, James Battle, Jr., Carlos Keanu Smith, and Jorge Espinoza met for the purposes of robbing an armored truck. They followed the armored truck along its route from Pinellas County to eastern Hillsborough County before eventually reaching a gas station in Ellenton. Toll records from the Florida Department of Transportation show Battle’s vehicle following seconds behind the targeted armored truck that morning. Surveillance video showed the vehicle also following the armored truck to other locations before conducting the robbery at the gas station in Ellenton. As the driver returned to the armored truck, Battle and Smith approached pointing pistols at the victim, forcing him to the ground. Espinoza was the lookout, who warned them when the armored truck driver attempted to reach for his firearm. Espinoza also supplied one of the firearms used in the robbery and surveilled the driver at one of the earlier stops on his route. The defendants stole more than $150,000 from the armored truck.
Battle previously pleaded guilty for his role in the case and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Smith also pleaded guilty; his sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 10, 2024.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael R. Kenneth. The forfeiture is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney James A. Muench.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Enid Woman Sentenced to Serve 30 Months in Federal Prison after Embezzling more than $400,000 from NonprofitsRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY –DEBORAH WILCZEK, 46, of Enid, has been sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison for making, uttering, and possessing a forged security, and willfully filing a false federal income tax return, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On May 16, 2023, a federal grand jury returned a 17-count Superseding Indictment against Wilczek, charging her with devising and carrying out a scheme to defraud the YWCA in Enid (YWCA) and the Cimarron Montessori School (Cimarron). According to the Superseding Indictment, from November 2012 through April 2019, Wilczek served in leadership positions for the YWCA. She also served on Cimarron’s School Board in various capacities from August 2016 to April 2021. The Superseding Indictment alleges Wilczek routinely accessed both the YWCA and Cimarron’s business bank accounts, wrote herself checks, and made several unauthorized bank transfers to pay for her personal expenses, including her personal credit card. She concealed her theft by misclassifying these expenses in each nonprofits’ bookkeeping system. In total, Wilczek embezzled $414,951.35 from the two nonprofits, with $139,308.35 coming from YWCA and $275,643 coming from Cimarron. It is also alleged that Wilczek forged Cimarron board members’ signatures on checks written to herself and her consulting firm.
The Superseding Indictment further alleges Wilczek willfully filed false federal income tax returns for the years 2016 through 2020, where she listed her total income substantially below the income actually received as a result of the fraud described above.
On November 7, 2023, Wilczek pleaded guilty to Counts 10 and 17 of the Superseding Indictment, and admitted she possessed a check with a forged signature written on a bank account belonging to Cimarron and that she filed an income tax return for the 2020 tax year that materially understated her income.
At the sentencing hearing on September 11, 2024, Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced Wilczek to serve 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The court also ordered Wilczek to pay $439,749.80 in restitution, with $139,308.35 going to the YWCA, $221,622.45 going to Cimarron, and $78,819.00 going to the IRS. In announcing the sentence, Judge DeGiusti noted the seriousness of the offense, and the detrimental effect that Wilczek’s conduct has had on the Enid community and the organizations themselves.
This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Stillwater Resident Agency, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Enid Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle London prosecuted the case.
Reference is made to public filings for further information.
El Salvadorian sentenced to federal prison for reentering the United States following three previous removalsRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – An El Salvadorian man has been sentenced to federal prison for immigration violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Robert Daniel Argueta-Lopez, 51, pleaded guilty to being illegally in the United States and was sentenced to 140 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on September 12, 2024.
According to information presented in court, on July 9, 2022, local law enforcement stopped a car being driven by Argueta in Van Zandt County, Texas, and he was arrested on state charges. After being booked into the Van Zandt County Jail, federal law enforcement found Argueta in the Eastern District of Texas and determined that he was without lawful immigration status in the United States. The investigation determined that Argueta was a citizen and national of El Salvador and had previously been deported or removed from the United States on December 13, 2007, April 25, 2012, and on July 30, 2021. Argueta’s first removal followed a state conviction for first-degree murder in Tarrant County, Texas in 1994. His second removal followed a federal conviction for illegal reentry after deportation in the Northern District of Texas in 2008. And his third removal followed a federal conviction for assault on a federal officer in the Southern District of Texas in 2013.
This case was investigated by DHS Immigration Customs Enforcement-Enforcement Removal Operations; Homeland Security Investigations; the Wills Point Police Department; and the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen Hurst.
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El Departamento de Justicia llega a un acuerdo con una compañía de gestión de aparcamiento que resuelve acusaciones de discriminación por motivos de nacionalidad de origenRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anuncio hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo conciliatorio con SP Plus Corporation (SP Plus), una empresa de gestión de transporte y aparcamiento con sede en Chicago, Illinois. El acuerdo resuelve la determinación del departamento de que SP Plus discriminó a una trabajadora al rechazar un documento válido que mostraba su permiso para trabajar y al pedir que proporcionara documentación innecesaria, con base en su nacionalidad de origen.
«Es ilegal que un empleador rechace un documento válido que demuestre el permiso de alguien para trabajar en función del país en el que esa persona nació», afirmó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «El Departamento se compromete a proteger a los trabajadores de la discriminación por motivos de nacionalidad de origen en el proceso de contratación y a eliminar barreras innecesarias para el empleo.»
Después de llevar a cabo una investigación basada en una queja, la Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados (IER, por sus siglas en inglés), de la División de Derechos Civiles, concluyó que SP Plus discriminó a una beneficiaria del Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS) en función de su nacionalidad de origen. Los beneficiarios del TPS tienen permiso para trabajar en los Estados Unidos. Pueden obtener Documentos de Autorización para Trabajar que demuestren a los empleadores su permiso para trabajar. A veces, el gobierno federal prorroga estos Documentos de Autorización para Trabajar más allá de la fecha de vencimiento que figura en la tarjeta. Las instrucciones sobre cómo un empleador puede determinar si un Documento de Autorización para Trabajar ha sido prorrogado por el gobierno federal indican a los empleadores que consulten el código de categoría del documento y la fecha de vencimiento. El Departamento determinó que, en lugar de seguir las instrucciones del gobierno federal, SP Plus rechazó ilegalmente el Documento de Autorización para Trabajar válido y prorrogado de la trabajadora porque nació en las Bahamas en lugar de Haití, el país a través del cual tiene TPS. La ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés) prohíbe que los empleadores consideren el país de nacimiento de un empleado u otro indicador de nacionalidad de origen a la hora de verificar el permiso de trabajo de una persona.
En virtud de los términos del acuerdo, SP Plus pagará sanciones civiles a los Estados Unidos, y le ofrecerá pagos retroactivos a la trabajadora afectada, así como su reincorporación. Por otra parte, el acuerdo también requiere que la compañía capacite a su personal en cuanto a los requisitos antidiscriminatorios de la INA, que revise sus políticas de empleo y que se someta a la supervisión por parte del Departamento. SP Plus cooperó con la investigación de la División.
La IER es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Entre otras cosas, la ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía y nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión, prácticas documentales injustas y represalias e intimidación.
El sitio web de IER tiene información sobre las obligaciones de los empleadores de no discriminar al contratar a trabajadores con TPS y los derechos laborales de trabajadores con TPS. Obtenga más información sobre el TPS en el sitio web de los Servicios de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los EE. UU.. Aprenda más sobre el trabajo de la IER y cómo conseguir ayuda mediante este vídeo corto. Aquellos aspirantes o empleados que creen haber sido discriminados por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido, reclutamiento o verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar (Formulario I-9 e E-Verify) o sujetos a represalias pueden presentar una denuncia. El público también puede llamar a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llamar a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); inscribirse a un seminario en línea gratuito o visualizar una presentación a la carta; enviar un correo electrónico a IER@usdoj.gov;; o visitar los sitios web de la IER en inglés y español. Inscríbase para recibir actualizaciones por correo electrónico desde la IER.
Early Bitcoin Investor Pleads Guilty to Filing Tax Return that Falsely Reported His Cryptocurrency GainsRead the Press Release
An Austin, Texas, man pleaded guilty today to filing a tax return that falsely underreported the capital gains he earned from selling $3.7 million in bitcoin.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2017 and 2019, Frank Richard Ahlgren III filed false tax returns that underreported or did not report the sale of $4 million worth of bitcoin in which he had substantial gains. All taxpayers are required to report any sale proceeds and gains or losses from the sale of cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, on their IRS tax return.
Ahlgren was an early investor in bitcoins. In 2015, Ahlgren purchased approximately 1,366 bitcoins. That year, bitcoins were valued at no more than $500 each. In October 2017, Ahlgren sold approximately 640 bitcoins for approximately $5,807.53 per bitcoin for a total of $3.7 million. Ahlgren had purchased most of the bitcoins he sold in 2017 in 2015. He used the entirety of the proceeds from the sale of bitcoins to purchase a house in Park City, Utah. Ahlgren then filed a false tax return with the IRS for 2017 that substantially inflated the cost basis of the bitcoins, and therefore underreported his capital gain from his bitcoin sale.
In addition, in 2018 and 2019, Ahlgren sold more than $650,000 worth of bitcoins and did not report those sales on either years’ tax returns.
In total, Ahlgren caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $550,000.
Ahlgren will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Texas Office of Attorney General are investigating the case.
Assistant Chief Michael C. Boteler and Trial Attorney Mary Frances Richardson of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney William R. Harris for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Des Moines Man Sentenced to 110 Months in Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm as a FelonRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines man was sentenced today to 110 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon.
According to public court documents, Antonio Dontez Hoffman, Jr., 21, burglarized a deceased woman’s house during her funeral and stole a large number of guns and ammunition. Hoffman’s phone contained messages with his co-conspirator about his desire to sell most of the guns he thought they would find at the house and those he desired to keep for himself. At the time, Hoffman was on state probation following his conviction for possession of a stolen firearm.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Hoffman will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to 134 Months in Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced today to 134 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
According to public court documents, Lawrence Allen Peterson, II, also known as “Toro,” 48, conspired with other individuals to distribute methamphetamine within the Council Bluffs metropolitan area between March and October 2023. In 2005, Peterson was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Peterson will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Colombian Nationals Sentenced to 35 and 30 Years in Prison for Plot to Murder American SoldiersRead the Press Release
MIAMI –Colombian nationals Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 40, and Ciro Alfonso Gutierrez Ballesteros, 31, were sentenced today to 420 and 360 months in prison, respectively, for conspiring and attempting to murder U.S. soldiers by detonating a car bomb outside a military base near the Colombia-Venezuela border.
“Our most urgent mission and highest priority is to hold those accountable who target Americans, to include the brave men and women who serve as members of our uniformed services domestically and around the world,” stated U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “As seen by the prison sentences imposed upon defendants Medina Rodriguez and Gutierrez Ballesteros today, individuals who threaten the safety and security of the United States and our fellow Americans will face the full force of our nation’s criminal justice system.”
“Crime doesn’t stop at our borders and neither does the FBI’s commitment to investigate criminal acts against our military overseas,” stated Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI’s Miami Field Office. “We work closely with our international partners and security services around the globe to conduct complex investigations and acquire evidence from abroad for criminal prosecutions in the United States. This capability is vital to our work. In this case, I especially want to thank the Fiscalía General de la Nación de Colombia, the Colombian National Police, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the DOJ Office of International Affairs, the DOJ Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Embassy Bogotá for their diligence and professionalism throughout this investigation.”
According to court records, Medina Rodriguez and Gutierrez Ballesteros, in concert with members of the 33rd Front, an extremist faction of Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (“FARC”), targeted American troops stationed at the Colombian 30th Army Brigade Base in Cúcuta, Colombia. Medina Rodriguez used his status as a medically discharged Colombian army officer to gain access to the base, where he conducted photographic and video surveillance of the areas where the U.S. soldiers were located.
Approximately ten days before the attack, Medina Rodriguez and Gutierrez Ballesteros delivered a white SUV to their co-conspirators in the 33rd Front, who loaded it with an improvised explosive device.
On June 15, 2021, Medina Rodriguez drove the bomb-laden SUV to the 30th Army Brigade Base, parking it in front of the location where U.S. and Colombian military personnel worked. Gutierrez Ballesteros, riding a motorcycle, escorted Medina Rodriguez. Medina Rodriguez activated the bomb’s timer device and left the area on foot before fleeing on the motorcycle driven by Gutierrez Ballesteros. Three U.S. Army soldiers and forty-four Colombian military personnel were injured in the blast.
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the FBI Legal Attaché in Bogotá, Department of Defense, Fiscalía General de la Nación de Colombia, and Colombian National Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Browne and Abbie D. Waxman of the Southern District of Florida, and Trial Attorney David C. Smith from the Justice Department’s National Security Division represented the United States at sentencing. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy A. Hummel and Andy R. Camacho contributed significantly to the investigation and prosecution of this matter.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá worked with Colombian authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Gutierrez Ballesteros and Medina Rodriguez.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-20054.
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Colombian Nationals Sentenced for Plot to Murder American SoldiersRead the Press Release
Colombian nationals Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 40, and Ciro Alfonso Gutierrez Ballesteros, 31, were sentenced today to 35 and 30 years in prison, respectively, for conspiring and attempting to murder U.S. soldiers by detonating a car bomb outside a military base near the Colombia-Venezuela border.
According to court documents, Medina Rodriguez and Gutierrez Ballesteros, in concert with members of the 33rd Front, an extremist faction of Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FARC), specifically targeted American troops stationed at the Colombian 30th Army Brigade Base in Cúcuta, Colombia. Co-conspirator Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez used his status as a medically discharged Colombian army officer to gain access to the base, where he conducted photographic and video surveillance of the areas where the U.S. soldiers were primarily located.
Approximately 10 days before the attack, Medina Rodriguez and Gutierrez Ballesteros delivered a white SUV to their co-conspirators in the 33rd Front, who loaded it with an improvised explosive device.
On June 15, 2021, Medina Rodriguez drove the bomb-laden SUV to the 30th Army Brigade Base, eventually parking it in front of the location where U.S. and Colombian military personnel worked. Gutierrez Ballesteros, riding a motorcycle, escorted Medina Rodriguez. Once inside, Medina Rodriguez activated the bomb’s timer device and left the area on foot before fleeing on the motorcycle driven by Gutierrez Ballesteros. Three U.S. Army soldiers and 44 Colombian military personnel were injured in the blast.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI National Security Branch made the announcement.
The FBI with assistance from the FBI Legal Attaché in Bogotá, the Fiscalía General de la Nación de Colombia and the National Police investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Browne and Abbie Waxman for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney David C. Smith for the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy A. Hummel and Andy R. Camacho for the Southern District of Florida also contributed significantly to the investigation and prosecution.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá worked with Colombian authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Gutierrez Ballesteros and Medina Rodriguez.
City officials indictedRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – The mayor pro-tem and city manager of Edcouch have both been taken into custody on public corruption charges, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Victor Hugo De La Cruz, 40, and Rene Flores, 60, both of Edcouch, are set to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker at 9 a.m. Sept. 13.
A federal grand jury returned the four-count indictment under seal Sept. 2 which was unsealed upon their arrests.
The indictment alleges that from June to September 2019, De La Cruz, city manager, and Flores, mayor pro-tem, solicited bribe payments from the owner of a Brownsville business that provides marketing services throughout the Rio Grande Valley. The business owner allegedly received two separate $3000 payments for marketing work he was allegedly performing for the city of Edcouch. In return, he made two $1000 kickback payments to Flores, according to the charges.
De la Cruz and Flores are charged with conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and use of a facility in interstate commerce in furtherance of bribery.
If convicted, they both face up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine on the bribery charge and five years for the conspiracy and use of a facility in interstate commerce.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Johnson and K. Alejandra Andrade are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Circles and Silence Program Set to Return for a 5th Consecutive Year in Rhode Island Schools; As Kids Head Back to School, U.S. Attorney’s Office Launches Internet Safety Resource Page for ParentsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI –United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced today that his office is set to launch Circles and Silence programs in Rhode Island schools statewide for a 5th consecutive school year. Additionally, U.S. Attorney Cunha today launched an Internet Safety resource page on the Rhode Island U.S. Attorney’s Office web site, providing families with important information to help protect children while on the internet.
The Circles and Silence program and the Internet Safety resource page, which includes important an important public service announcement from U.S. Attorney Cunha to parents about ways to help protect kids from online threats, are part of several U.S. Attorney’s Office community outreach initiatives related to crime prevention, enforcement, protecting individuals’ civil rights, and assisting victims.
“Whether it’s the risk of opioids and addiction, or the threat posed by online predators, the back-to-school season is the perfect time for parents to make sure that they talk to their kids, understand the threats they face online and in the community, and partner with us in the effort to help keep our children and communities safe,” remarked U.S. Attorney Cunha.
The Circles and Silence Program, an education and outreach model that addresses opioid addition, prevention, and recovery, is built around a five-time Emmy nominated, locally produced U.S. Attorney’s Office documentary film narrated by a diverse group of Rhode Island young adults whose personal true-life stories delve deeply into their distinct journeys of drug dependency and recovery. The film documents their paths from addiction, in some instances to prison, to successful management of addiction, to working daily to lead productive and healthy lifestyles. In addition to sharing their stories, individuals who appear in the film participate in in-person conversation sessions with students.
To date, more than 30,000 Rhode Island students and community members across the state have attended Circles and Silence programs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will kick-off the new school year on September 17, 2024, with a presentation to students at Cranston East High School. Later that same day, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will present a program on elder abuse and elder fraud at the Salvatore Mancini Senior Center in North Providence.
Visit the U.S. Attorney’s web site to learn more about these initiatives and other outreach programs offered by the United States Attorney’s Office. To schedule a Circles and Silence presentation, or any outreach initiative program, contact United States Attorney’s Office Community Engagement & Crime Prevention Coordinator David Neill at (401) 709-5035 or at David.Neill@USDOJ.gov.
Choppa City Members Found Guilty in Brinks Armored Trucks RobberiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – William Brock, 33, Anthony Antwon McNair, 36, and Erin Sheffey, 29, were found guilty by a federal jury today for their involvement in a series of armed robberies of Brinks armored cars in Washington, D.C. that resulted in the loss of approximately $1.2 million. The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The jury convicted all three defendants of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery. The jury also convicted Brock and McNair of interference with interstate commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act Robbery), bank robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth scheduled sentencing for January 15, 2025.
The offenses related to three robberies of Brinks armored trucks occurring on October 6, 2021, December 8, 2021, and March 2, 2022. In those robberies, the defendants used firearms to assault the drivers of Brinks armored cars and steal money. In total, the defendants stole over $1.2 million.
According to court documents and the evidence at trial, the three defendants were members of the Choppa City street crew. Brock, McNair, and Sheffey conspired together and with others to plan and carry out the robberies, brandishing firearms on D.C. city streets while doing so. Each robbery occurred on a Wednesday at approximately 9 a.m. in the morning and two occurred on busy city throughfares, causing a significant risk to the public. Testimony in the case revealed the conspirators used assault rifles, such as the one pictured below and recovered by law enforcement, to carry out their assault.
An AR-15 Weapon Used by The Defendants During the Armed Robberies
Defendant Brock (Right) and Defendant McNair (Left) robbing a Brinks armored car employee weapon with a firearm on December 8, 2021. Both Brock and McNair assaulted the driver by beating him with their pistols even after he turned over the delivery bag.
Defendant Brock planned the robberies for months, learning the routes and timings that the Brinks driver would arrive, in order to ensure the robbery team was in place. When the Brinks driver would exit his armored car vehicle to deliver money to a bank or local business, the robbers would ambush him. In two cases, the defendants assaulted one of the Brink’s drivers, even after he turned over his courier bag, who still carries injures today from being assaulted in the robberies.
Some of the defendants used social media to show off large sums of money they stole during the robberies and photographed themselves making high-end luxury purchases. For example, within two days of the robberies, Defendant Brock purchased vehicles in cash totally over $36,000. In addition, a member of Choppa City who was present during the planning of the armed robberies testified against the defendants.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation WFO Violent Crimes Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Cameron Tepfer and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Schneider. Valuable assistance was provided by AUSAs Josh Gold, Meredith Mayer-Dempsey, and Thomas Strong.
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Child Sex Offender Sentenced to over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography Offense and Violating Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – A Louisville, Kentucky, man was sentenced yesterday to a total of 11 years and 6 months in federal prison. The sentence included 10 years for possession of child pornography and an additional 1 year and 6 months for violating a previous term of federal supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of the Homeland Security Investigations Nashville made the announcement.
According to court documents, William Joseph Popp, 56, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for possessing child pornography after having been previously convicted of possessing child pornography and first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. At the time he committed this offense, Popp was on federal supervised release for a 2014 conviction in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky for possession of child pornography. During his term of supervised release, Popp was found to be in possession of prohibited cellular telephones with internet capabilities that contained searches for and images and videos of child pornography that had been downloaded from the internet. Popp was sentenced to an additional 1 year and 6 months in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by HSI Louisville.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Zimdahl prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
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California Businessman and His Companies Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Improper Paycheck Protection Program LoansRead the Press Release
Yosef Y. Manela, a Los Angeles-based businessman who owns and operates an accounting firm, law firm and consulting company, has paid $802,341.40 to the United States to resolve allegations that he and his three companies violated the False Claims Act in connection with six loans the businesses received under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Manela and his companies also agreed to repay the lender for all outstanding PPP loans, relieving the Small Business Administration (SBA) of liability to the lender for the federal guaranty of approximately $728,000.
The PPP, an emergency loan program established by Congress in March 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and administered by the SBA, was intended to support small businesses struggling to pay employees and other business expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A borrower applying for a PPP loan was required to make multiple certifications that the borrower was eligible for the requested loan and the borrower would not receive another PPP loan. The borrower was also required to certify that the funds would be used for qualifying expenses, such as payroll, lease payments, utilities and other allowable business expenses. In December 2020, Congress approved funding for a “second draw” of PPP loan funds, which became available to borrowers beginning in January 2021.
The United States alleged that Manela and his companies received a total of six first and second draw PPP loans based on duplicative payroll expenses for multiple businesses and/or on behalf of non-existent employees. According to the United States, Manela and his companies made capital distributions of business profits to Manela’s family members that were falsely characterized as wages in PPP loan applications and forgiveness applications. The United States alleged that these false loan and forgiveness applications resulted in losses to the SBA for processing fees, interest and payment to the lender on a loan guarantee.
“PPP loans were intended to provide critical relief to small businesses facing difficult economic times due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department is committed to pursuing those who improperly sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the PPP or other pandemic-assistance programs.”
“Every taxpayer dollar lost to unscrupulous individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic is money that failed to reach businesses struggling for survival,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “It is important that we uphold the integrity of pandemic-related assistance programs.”
“The favorable settlement in this case is the product of enhanced efforts by federal agencies such as the Small Business Administration working with the Department of Justice, SBA’s Office of Inspector General and other Federal law enforcement agencies, to address fraud on the PPP,” said General Counsel Therese Meers of the SBA.
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Relator LLC, a limited liability corporation formed by California attorneys Anoush Hakimi and Peter Shahriari. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Relator LLC v. Yosef Y. Manela et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-04781-MWF-ASx (CDCA). Relator LLC will receive approximately $80,000 as its share of the total settlement.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, with assistance from the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.
Trial Attorney Allie Pang of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul La Scala for the Central District of California handled the matter, with the assistance of Civil Division Investigator Wanda Wesley and Paralegal Heather Beckler for the Central District of California. Sandra Mazzoni, of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General, also provided investigative assistance.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international actors committing civil and criminal fraud and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
SettlementBucks County Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison for Running Ponzi Schemes, Money Laundering, and Stealing over $6 Million in Federal Pandemic Relief FundsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Stanislav Bril, aka “Stan Bril” and “Slava Bril,” age 41, of Jamison, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John M. Younge to 135 months in prison, three years of supervised release, over $14 million in restitution, and a $2,400 special assessment in connection with multiple fraud schemes, including the theft of more than $6 million in federal pandemic relief funds. Judge Younge also ordered that Bril be remanded into custody following the hearing.
On October 30, 2023, Bril pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, five counts of bank fraud, and five counts of money laundering, all arising from his operation of two different Ponzi schemes, his false applications for bank loans, his defrauding of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program, and related conduct.
From October 2011 to August 2014, Bril operated a Ponzi scheme through his company, Mortgage Consultant Group (“MCG”), obtaining over $1 million from investors and using much of these funds for his own benefit and to perpetuate the scheme. In his marketing materials and his sales pitches to investors, Bril falsely claimed that these investments would enable MCG to make loans on real estate and construction projects or enable MCG to make short-term, high interest loans. Bril falsely promised that investors would obtain regular returns, or “interest,” on their capital loan investments in MCG. Rather than use investors’ funds as promised, Bril used the vast majority of the money to pay himself, his family, and his personal expenses – including his gambling losses at casinos – and to perpetuate his scheme by occasionally making “interest” payments to some investors.
From October 2018 to June 2021, Bril fraudulently obtained a $750,000 line of credit from a bank headquartered in Scranton, Pa., for another company he created, The Bril Group, Inc. (“TBG”). In order to secure the line of credit, Bril made false statements about TBG’s business, the number of TBG employees he was hiring, and the intended use of the line of credit. Once he obtained the line of credit, Bril caused those funds to be spent on unauthorized purchases and laundered a significant portion of those funds through various bank accounts.
From April 2020 to March 2021, Bril fraudulently obtained over $6.7 million from the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) and Paycheck Protection Programs (“PPP”) by making false statements about the number of employees of, the wages and payroll taxes paid by, and the intended use of the loan proceeds by several companies that he created. Bril falsely claimed that these companies – TBG, MCG LOAN, and SAB Services LLC – had several hundred employees, when, in reality, none of these companies had more than one employee.
In his PPP and EIDL applications, Bril submitted purportedly historical tax forms with inflated payroll information for nonexistent employees that had never actually been filed. In addition, Bril falsely denied that there were criminal charges pending against him at the time of his applications. In fact, federal charges were already pending against Bril for his perpetration of the Ponzi scheme detailed above. Once he fraudulently obtained these government funds, Bril wired them to other individuals, cryptocurrency platforms, and a title company towards the purchase of a Los Angeles condominium. In addition, Bril spent fraud proceeds on luxury vehicles, a boat, and extravagant vacations. He also laundered a significant portion of those funds through various bank accounts and transactions.
From July 2019 to at least August 2021, Bril revived MCG and used it to perpetrate yet another Ponzi scheme, obtaining millions of dollars in loans from several investors and using these funds for his own benefit – including paying for his own home renovations – and to perpetuate the scheme. Bril initially took short-term loans from investors and repaid investors with high interest rates to lull them into a false sense of security and to obtain larger loans from them. In his sales pitches to investors, Bril falsely claimed that their loans would enable MCG to make loans on real estate and construction projects and/or enable MCG to make short-term, high-interest loans. However, Bril provided investors with few details of these purported projects and declined to identify his purported borrowers. He often encouraged investors to “roll over” their loans into new deals, rather than take their payouts per their agreements with Bril.
When investors asked him whether he had any claims, lawsuits, or legal proceedings filed against him, Bril falsely answered in the negative, despite his knowledge that federal charges were already pending against him for his perpetration of the earlier Ponzi scheme. When Bril began missing the agreed repayments to investors, he provided bogus explanations for his theft of their loans, including that he was waiting for a wire to clear, that he waiting for a check to be mailed from his bank, that he was looking for a new bank, that his new bank was giving him a “hard time,” and that he was suffering from a variety of health emergencies and personal tragedies that were somehow preventing him from making timely paying to the investors. Rather than use investors’ funds as promised, Bril used the funds to pay himself, his family, and his personal expenses – including trading in digital currencies – and to perpetuate his schemes by occasionally making “interest” payments to some investors.
“Stanislav Bril is a rampant and remorseless scammer,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Over the course of a decade, he blithely defrauded everyone from individual investors — many of whom lost their life savings or kids’ college funds — to a community bank, to the U.S. government and the millions of taxpayers who fund it. Meantime, he was shopping for Bentleys and boats. We and our partners are committed to holding con artists like Bril accountable, both to keep them from claiming more victims and to reinforce that crime truly doesn’t pay in the end.”
“While conducting his various schemes, the defendant stole over $6 million. The money was intended to support legitimate businesses suffering losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Philadelphia. “The FBI, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will continue to hold accountable those who exploit government programs for personal gain.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS - Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Vineet Gauri and Matthew T. Newcomer.