SAN JOSE – A federal jury returned a verdict yesterday against Jyh-Chau “Henry” Horng, finding him guilty of two counts of filing false tax returns and one count of lying to the IRS during a 2010 audit, announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.  Horng’s wife, Meili “Ally” Lin, was also tried with respect to two counts of tax fraud; the jury failed to reach a verdict with respect to one count and acquitted Lin of the second count.  The verdicts were delivered by the jury after a four-week trial before the Honorable Beth Labson Freeman, U.S District Judge.

Horng, 51, owned and operated an international trading business from his Saratoga home.  The evidence at trial showed that Horng filed joint tax returns for 2006 and 2007 that underreported the couple’s income.  In the 2006 tax return, Horng reported the couple’s income was only $232,116.  In the 2007 tax return, Horng reported that the couple suffered a loss in the amount of $212,217.  In addition, while the couple was under audit, Horng told an IRS auditor that the information in their loan applications were lies made up by their loan brokers and that the couple had no foreign bank accounts.  The evidence demonstrated the reported income figures and Horng’s statements to the auditor were demonstrably false.  During the same 2006-2007 period, the defendants purchased millions of dollars of real estate, reported on numerous loan applications annual income of over $1 million, invested over $5 million into a Milpitas shopping center, and spent over $350,000 using credit cards.  

On January 28, 2015, a federal grand jury in San Jose indicted Lin and Horng on two counts of filing false tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1).  Horng was also charged with one count of making false statements to a government agency, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2), and two counts of making false statements to a federally insured institution, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014. Lin also was charged with one count of making false statements to a federally insured institution, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014.  The 18 U.S.C. § 1014 charges were severed prior to trial and will be tried in the future.  The jury convicted Horng of all three charges at issue in the trial.  Lin was acquitted of fraudulently filing the 2007 tax return, and the jury could not reach a verdict with respect to the 2006 tax return.

Horng is free on bail, pending sentencing.  Judge Freeman has not yet scheduled his sentencing hearing.  Horng faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each false tax return and up to an additional five years in prison for lying to the IRS auditor.  In addition to the prison terms, the court also may order Horng to serve an additional period of supervised release and to pay restitution and monetary penalties.  However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Pitman and Trial Attorney Christopher Magnani are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jonathan Deville.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS, Criminal Investigation.
 

Largest increase in AUSA’s in decades, allocates four prosecutors to the Southern District of Indiana to focus on violent crime and civil drug enforcement.

PRESS RELEASE  

INDIANAPOLIS– Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Josh J. Minkler, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana (SDIN), announced that the Department of Justice is taking a dramatic step to increase resources to combat violent crime, enforce our immigration laws, and help roll back the devastating opioid crisis.

In the largest increase in decades, the Department of Justice is allocating 311 new Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA’s) to assist in priority areas. Those allocations are as follows: 190 violent crime prosecutors, 86 civil enforcement prosecutors, and 35 additional immigration prosecutors. Many of the civil enforcement AUSA’s will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force which targets the opioid crisis at every level of the distribution system.

"Under President Trump's strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis—and today we are sending in reinforcements," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is 'the coin of the realm.' When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership. This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades."

Today, the Department announced its allocation of three AUSAs to focus on violent crime and one AUSA to tackle civil opioid enforcement needs in SDIN.

“Two of our top priorities are reducing gun violence and meeting the challenge of the opioid epidemic in this district,” said Minkler. “This needed addition of AUSAs allows our office to address the district’s biggest threats head on and Hoosiers will soon be able to see real positive results. The number of shootings must decrease and Indiana will be the most inhospitable place in the country to push pills. Our neighbors and community deserve nothing less.”

In October 2017, United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced a Strategic Plan designed to shape and strengthen the District’s response to its most significant public safety challenges. This allocation of additional AUSAs will support the office’s firm commitment to collaborate with federal and local law enforcement agencies to prosecute more violent offenders in the district’s most violent geographic areas. In addition, this allocation will support the office’s promise to pursue civil and criminal remedies against those doctors, pharmacies, and medical providers who are furthering the opioid epidemic by illegally diverting pills for their own profit. See United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana Strategic Plan Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 2.11, 3.6.

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Louisville, Ky. – U.S. District Judge Greg N. Stivers sentenced Gary Womack, Age 60, from Woodburn, Simpson County, Kentucky, to 15 months imprisonment for 3 felony violations of the federal Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA). Womack had previously pleaded guilty to the violations on March 8, 2018.

The case resulted from a three-year undercover investigation by the National Park Service, based upon allegations that Womack possessed human remains which originated from Mammoth Cave National Park. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assisted Park Service agents throughout.

The undercover investigation revealed Womack’s dealings in artifacts removed from the graves of Native Americans buried in caves and rock shelters in South Central Kentucky and also burials from as far away as the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Womack dealt in artifacts from the so-called “G.E. Mound” case prosecuted in the Southern District of Indiana in 1992. Artifacts recovered from that case were supposed to have been returned and re-buried at a site in Posey County, Indiana; however, Womack purchased artifacts from the previous prosecution in 2015 in Boonville, Indiana for approximately $2,500, and transported them to Kentucky, where a portion of them were sold to the undercover federal agent. Womack also pled guilty to two additional counts charging him with trafficking in archaeological resources (Native American artifacts) from the Western United States. All artifacts in the case have been recovered and will be repatriated according to law.

In sentencing, Judge Stivers told Womack that he was disturbed that the defendant had chosen to dig the graves of the ancestors of Native Americans for profit and had done so while being fully aware of the laws he had chosen to violate.

A letter from Ben Barnes, Second Chief of the Shawnee Tribe, of Miami, Oklahoma, was made a part of the record and read at the sentencing hearing. The letter states, in part: “The remains that are within the soils of our original homelands contains the hallowed remains of human beings, our ancestors. We would urge the court to send a message to all those what would desecrate a grave, that ARPA violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ream. The investigation was conducted by the National Park Service Law Enforcement Division and the Bowling Green Resident Agency of the FBI.

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DONQUE TYRELL, a/k/a “Polo Rell,” was found guilty yesterday of murder in aid of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, narcotics trafficking conspiracy, distributing narcotics near schools and playgrounds, and firearms offenses in connection with his membership in the “Big Money Bosses” (“BMB”), a violent street gang that operated primarily on White Plains Road from 215th Street to 233rd Street in the Bronx.  TYRELL was convicted of aiding and abetting the murder of 17-year-old Keshon Potterfield on June 22, 2014, at a backyard party in the vicinity of East 232nd Street in the Bronx.  A unanimous jury convicted TYRELL on all counts of the controlling indictment following a six-day trial before United States District Judge Jed S. Rakoff. 

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As proven at trial, Donque Tyrell participated in the murder of a 17-year-old who dared go to a backyard party in a part of the Bronx that Tyrell’s gang, the Big Money Bosses, claimed as its own.  Tyrell then celebrated that murder on Facebook and in YouTube rap videos.  Gang violence threatens the safety and security of all New Yorkers, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prevent this type of violence from happening in our neighborhoods.”

According to court documents and the evidence at trial:

BMB is a subset of the “Young Bosses,” or “YBz” street gang, which operates throughout New York City.  Between 2007 and 2016, members and associates of BMB committed numerous acts of violence against rival gang members in the Bronx – including murders, attempted murders, and armed robberies – and sold crack cocaine and marijuana.   

TYRELL was a member of BMB.  On June 22, 2014, TYRELL and other members of BMB showed up at a birthday party in the backyard of a residence in the vicinity of East 232nd Street in the Bronx, in an area that BMB considered to be part of its territory.  Potterfield was one of the guests at the party, and was perceived to be associated with a rival gang.  After arriving at the party, TYRELL obtained a gun from an associate and passed it to another BMB member who then shot and killed Potterfield.  Potterfield was 17.  TYRELL celebrated Potterfield’s murder in public Facebook postings and in rap music videos posted on YouTube in which he taunted rival gang members and threatened future violence.  

TYRELL was arrested in this case as a result of a multi-year investigation by the New York City Police Department’s Bronx Gang Squad (the “Bronx Gang Squad”), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Violent Gang Unit (“HSI”), the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and the Joint Firearms Task Force of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) into gang violence in the Northern Bronx.  On April 27, 2016, 63 members and associates of BMB were charged with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, narcotics distribution, and firearms charges.  TYRELL was the last defendant outstanding in the case. 

*                      *                     *

In addition to the murder in aid of racketeering conviction, TYRELL, 22, of the Bronx, New York, was convicted of conspiring to commit racketeering as a result of his membership in BMB, conspiring to sell narcotics, selling narcotics within 1000 feet of schools and playgrounds, using firearms in connection with the gang and drug offenses, an attempted assault with a firearm in connection with his BMB membership, and attempting to rob a livery cab driver in the Bronx by hitting him in the head with a firearm.  TYRELL is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.  TYRELL is scheduled to be sentenced on September 14, 2018, before Judge Rakoff. 

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding work of the NYPD’s Bronx Homicide Task Force, the NYPD’s 47th Precinct Detective Squad, the NYPD’s Bronx Gang Squad, HSI, DEA, and ATF.  

This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Drew Skinner, Hagan Scotten, and Allison Nichols tried the case. 

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Christian Mizell, a correction officer employed by the New York City Department of Corrections (“DOC”), pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery conspiracy with other correction officers.  As part of his guilty plea allocution, Mizell admitted that he smuggled contraband to inmates at the Manhattan Detention Center in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash payments.  Today’s plea was held before United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen. 

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James J. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), and Mark G. Peters, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), announced the guilty plea. 

As alleged in the indictment and statements made in court, Mizell conspired with others, through text messages and phone calls, to arrange with co-conspirators to deliver marijuana covertly to Mizell and other correction officers.

When sentenced, Mizell faces up to five years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000. 

The government’s case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Erik Paulsen of the Office’s Public Integrity Section and Nomi Berenson of the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.

The Defendant:

Christian MIzell
Age: 48
Queens, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-60 (PKC)

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Philadelphia lawyer Devon Edward Sanders, 48, of Glenside, was sentenced on June 4 to 84 months in federal prison for downloading and possessing more than 94,000 images and videos of child pornography.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel called the defendant’s collection “massive” and described the images and videos of children being sexually assaulted “dehumanizing, horrendous, and disgusting.” In rejecting the defendant’s request for probation, the court ruled that a significant sentence of incarceration was warranted based on the defendant’s “disturbing” crimes over a 10-year period. The court further ruled that a restitution hearing for the 25 victims seeking mandatory restitution will be held within the next 90 days.

“We agree wholeheartedly with Chief Judge Stengel’s assessment,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “By possessing these horrific images, this defendant victimized innocent children for more than a decade. A significant prison term was not only warranted but necessary.”

In addition to the term of imprisonment, the court imposed a 10-year term of supervised release and ordered that the defendant undergo a sex offender evaluation and treatment after his release from federal prison. 

The case was investigated by Department of Homeland Security and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.

PITTSBURGH, PA. - A resident of Pittsburgh has been sentenced in federal court to four years of probation with eight months of home detention and ordered to pay $16,700.00 in restitution on his conviction of passing and uttering counterfeit money, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Cathy Bisson imposed the sentence on Peter A. Maiolo, Jr., 42, of 6060 Jackson Street, Pittsburgh, PA.

According to information presented to the court, Maiolo passed counterfeit $100 Federal Reserve Notes at Target stores in the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the United States Secret Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Maiolo.

A Cleveland man was indicted for his role in three armed bank robberies.

Aaron Nickerson, 22, was indicted on three counts of armed bank robbery and two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence.

Nickerson was involved with others in the armed robberies of the U.S. Bank on Richmond Road in Warrensville Heights on Jan 18; the Ohio Savings Bank on Richmond Road in Richmond Heights on Feb. 6 and the US Bank on Forest Hills Boulevard in East Cleveland on Feb. 20, according to the indictment.

“This defendant put countless lives at risk when he and his associates used firearms to rob banks,” U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said. “We continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prioritize violent crime and prosecute those who harm our community.”

“This individual engaged in violent bank robberies that threatened the lives of bank customers, employees, and our citizens,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony. “The Cleveland FBI, in partnership with East Cleveland Police Department, Warrensville Heights Police Department, Richmond Heights Police Department and Euclid Police Department, are committed to pursuing and prosecuting those who commit such dangerous acts.”

This case were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the police departments of Warrensville Heights, Euclid, Richmond Heights and East Cleveland, and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Strategies Unit. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Zarzycki.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          ContactBailey Drumm

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                    at (410) 209-4885

Greenbelt, Maryland – United States District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced the former owner of a Prince George’s County liquor store, Shin Ja Lee, age 56, of Highland, Maryland, to twelve months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for bribery,  in a scheme involving alcoholic beverage licenses in Prince George’s County, Maryland.  The defendant also was ordered to forfeit $242,945.43, and to pay an additional fine of $50,000.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly ‎R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to her plea agreement and other court documents, Lee was the owner of Palmer Liquor Store and the resident agent of Multi-Bil, Inc.  Together with David Son, a former Commissioner on the Prince George’s County Board of License Commissioners (“Liquor Board”), and Young Paig, the former owner of Central Avenue Restaurant & Liquor Store in Prince George’s County, Lee paid bribe payments to two then-Maryland State Delegates, William Alberto Campos-Escobar (“Will Campos”) and Michael Vaughn.  The bribes were in exchange for obtaining passage of legislation that permitted certain liquor stores in the County to sell liquor on Sundays (“Sunday Sales Bill”).

Lee participated in bribe payments on five separate occasions in 2015 and 2016.  For example, on April 22, 2015, after the passage of the legislation, Son arranged a lunch between Campos, Paig, and Lee.  A lobbyist and attorney, Matthew Gorman, also attended.  During the lunch, Son told Campos to meet Paig in the men’s bathroom, saying that Paig was “going to hook you up.”  In the men’s bathroom, Paig handed Campos an envelope containing a total of $4,000 cash, which constituted a bribe from Son, Paig, Lee, and Gorman.  Later that same day, Son, Paig, and Lee made a cash bribe payment to Delegate Vaughn.

Lee and Paig subsequently talked to Son about getting beneficial legislation introduced related to the Sunday Sales bill and indicated that they would be willing to pay $50,000 to make that happen.  Son spoke with Delegate Vaughn, who agreed to introduce additional legislation in the 2016 legislative session.  On November 10, 2015, Son arranged for Paig and Lee to meet with Vaughn so they could make a “down payment.”  After the meeting, law enforcement observed Paig and Vaughn get into Vaughn’s car, while Lee and Son waited in the parking lot.  Shortly after Paig got out of the car, Vaughn drove directly to a bank in the same shopping center.  Bank surveillance video shows Vaughn pulling a stack of cash out of his right pocket and handing it to the teller, and then doing the same from his left pocket.  Bank records show that Vaughn deposited a total of $4,000.

Paig pleaded guilty to bribery and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.  Campos pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery and was sentenced to 54 months in prison.  Son pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bribery, and obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 60 months in prison.  Gorman pleaded guilty and also is pending sentencing.  Delegate Vaughn was convicted of bribery and conspiracy at a trial that concluded in March 2018, and is pending sentencing. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the IRS-CI, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Windom, who prosecuted the case.

United States Attorney R. Trent Shores announced today that Tracy Allen Crawford, 32, of Tulsa, pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence before Chief Judge Gregory K. Frizzell.

On February 13, 2017, Crawford and another individual stole $900 from a Burger King located at 3242 E. 11th Street in Tulsa. Crawford pointed a hand gun at one of the employees and demanded she open the safe.  The employee could not open the safe, but directed Crawford to an office that contained cash register drawers.  Crawford and the other individual took the money from the drawers.  Crawford will be sentenced on September 5, 2018.  The parties entered into a plea agreement recommending a sentence of 30 years imprisonment.

“I will not cede one neighborhood or street corner to violent criminals.  My office will partner with the men and women of the Tulsa Police Department and agents with the ATF to reduce violent crime,” said United States Attorney Shores.

This prosecution resulted from an investigation by the Tulsa Police Department Robbery Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Assistant United States Attorney Dennis A. Fries handled the prosecution of this case.

District Judge Claire V. Eagan sentenced Thomas Crawfish Mathews, 35, of Miami, to 10 years in prison followed by 7 years of supervised release for attempted enticement of a minor. Mathews must also pay special assessments in the amount of $5,100. Upon release from confinement, Mathews will be required to register as a sex offender.

On March 6, 2018, Mathews pleaded guilty to one count of attempted enticement of a minor.  On August 31, 2017, the Miami Police Department created a post on the “Whisper” application. “Whisper” is a social media application that can be downloaded on a phone and is commonly used to communicate with other users.  The post identified the user as a minor. Mathews engaged in a lengthy text conversation with a person he believed to be 13 years of age and in the 8^th grade.  During the conversation, Mathews discussed his desires to have sexual relations with the person he believed to be 13.

United States Attorney Shores stated, “This defendant deserves every day of his 120 month sentence because of his reprehensible criminal acts.  Child predators are a scourge upon society.  We will protect children in northeastern Oklahoma from predators like Thomas Mathews.  I commend the collaborative efforts of Homeland Security Investigations and the Miami Police Department to bring this defendant to justice.”

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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

The charges are the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Miami Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey A. Gallant and Shannon B. Cozzoni handled the prosecution of this case.

A Cleveland man was indicted for his role in an armed bank robbery.

Devon Hawkins-Walker, 22, was indicted on one count of armed bank robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence.

Hawkins-Walker was involved with others in the armed robbery of the Citizens Bank on Puritas Avenue in Cleveland on Jan. 31, according to the indictment.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Cleveland Division of Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Zarzycki.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – William E. Young, 54, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 55 months in prison for cyberstalking.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.

According to court documents, Young was arrested in October 1999 for menacing by stalking a female in Delaware County, Ohio. He has continuously harassed and stalked one of his arresting officers since the time of his arrest and conviction.

Young created webpages using the victim’s name in order to make derogatory statements about the victim and his official position.

He mailed letters on numerous occasions to the victim’s wife and family, neighbors, physician, barber, church, church pastor and pastor’s wife, as well as  to Ohio Wesleyan College, Delaware City Hall, the Delaware Chamber of Commerce, the Delaware City Mayor, Delaware City Council members, the Delaware Police Department, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, the Delaware County Jail, the Arapahoe County Prosecutor’s Office and other local community businesses.

A 62-page letter mailed in September 2015 to the victim’s spouse stated: “I’ll force his hand if the powers that be make the mistake of coming after me again. Then I’ll take everyone down who had a hand in what was done to me one by one.”

As part of his effort to harass and intimidate, Young filed multiple state and federal civil lawsuits against the victim and another arresting officer from Young’s 1999 arrest, and the Delaware Police Department, alleging various claims of corruption and fraud.

Young was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2017 and pleaded guilty in January 2018. In April 2018, the defendant filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, which the Court thereafter denied.

“Young engaged in a campaign to harass and intimidate the victims of this case for nearly two decades,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “He sent at least 60 letters and mail on separate occasions, and created four separate websites to further his stalking activity. His deliberate, relentless stalking and the harm to the victims from his crime warrants the sentence he received today.”

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI, and Assistant United States Attorney Jessica H. Kim, who is prosecuting the case.

# # #

CAMDEN, N.J. – The former president and CEO of Concord Chemical Co. Inc. (Concord) today admitted illegally storing hazardous waste, U.S Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Miguel Castillo, 63, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, pleaded guilty before Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to one count of storing hazardous waste at Concord’s Camden, New Jersey, facility in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

RCRA was enacted in 1976 to address a growing nationwide problem with industrial and municipal waste. RCRA was designed to protect human health and the environment by prohibiting the treatment, storage or disposal of any hazardous waste without a permit.

During its operation, Concord manufactured, repackaged and distributed a wide variety of chemical products, including cresylic acid, soaps, waxes, pipe lubricants and emulsions. Some of Concord’s products and the raw materials used to make them were hazardous. Castillo was Concord’s president or CEO from at least 2004 through August 2011.

As president and CEO, Castillo’s responsibilities included making decisions about the disposal of waste at the Camden facility. From at least 2005 through August 2010, Castillo knew that there were containers that stored hazardous waste at the Camden facility and that Concord did not have a permit to store such waste.

In August 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a site visit of the Camden facility and discovered that the facility was devoid of employees, abandoned in a deteriorated condition and filled with drums containing corrosive and ignitable hazardous waste. From October 2010 through March 2011, the EPA removed the hazardous substances from the facility.

The illegal storage of hazardous waste charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense. Castillo’s sentencing is set for Sept. 10, 2018.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the EPA, under the direction Special Agent in Charge Tyler Amon, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen P. O’Leary of the U.S. Attorney's Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Lisa Lewis Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Camden

ALBUQUERQUE – Jason R. Cunningham, 38, of Carlsbad, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

Cunningham was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017, on an indictment charging him with distributing methamphetamine on Sept. 27, 2016, in Eddy County, N.M.  Cunningham entered a guilty plea to the indictment on Dec. 7, 2017, without the benefit of a plea agreement. 

According to a court filing, Cunningham was a well-known narcotics trafficker in the Carlsbad area and a self-admitted street level dealer.  He reportedly played a vital role in furthering drug trafficking operations in Carlsbad by directing others in selling drugs after obtaining large quantities of methamphetamine, which he broke down into smaller amounts for further distribution. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clara N. Cobos and Renee L. Camacho.

The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

GREAT FALLS - The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on June 6, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Brian Morris, MICHELLE ANDRA JOYNER also known as Michelle Dumond, a 46-year-old resident of Dearborn, Montana, was sentenced to a term of:

•Prison: 300 months

•Special Assessment: $100

•Forfeiture: computer, tablet and cell phone

•Supervised Release: 10 years

JOYNER was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to sexual exploitation of children (production of child pornography).  Her common law spouse, Timothy Weaver, was sentenced in federal court on May 29, 2018.  Weaver was imprisoned for 500 months for his role in the crimes.  JOYNER and Weaver sexually exploited a child.  The case stemmed from a Cascade County Sheriff’s Office child sex abuse investigation that began in August 2016.  The Sheriff’s Office searched digital devices and determined that JOYNER and Weaver sexually abused a child for a number of years and took images of the abuse. 

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that JOYNER will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, JOYNER does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson.  This case was a cooperative investigation between the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office and the Homeland Security Investigations.  Both agencies are members of the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.   

This case was initiated under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative which was launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.  Through a network of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, Project Safe Childhood attempts to protect children by investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation.  It is implemented through partnerships including the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.  The ICAC Task Force Program was created to assist state and local law enforcement agencies by enhancing their investigative response to technology facilitated crimes against children. 

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Ashan M. Benedict, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”) and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging members of a Brooklyn drug trafficking organization known as the “Boss Crew” with narcotics and firearms offenses.  Fifteen members of the organization, including TYSHAWN BURGESS, a/k/a “Ty,” a/k/a “Ty Black,” LLOYD GORDON, a/k/a “LG,” LARRY BAYER, a/k/a “L,” KERRY FELIX, a/k/a “Mack,” DEVONTAE NEWTON, a/k/a “D-Block,” a/k/a “Sneeze,” TYRELL SUMPTER, a/k/a “Rell,” a/k/a “Ruger,” MAURICE CURTIS, a/k/a “Mo,” TYQUAN ROBINSON, a/k/a “Blacko,” TYREEK OGARRO, a/k/a “Reek,” DARREN MILLER, a/k/a “Dice,” a/k/a “Darren Thomas,” ERNEST MURPHY, a/k/a “Problem G,” a/k/a “E,” RAMAL CURTIS, a/k/a “Rah,” KELLY ROYSTER, a/k/a “KK,” ROBERT RHODES, a/k/a “Charlie,” and KAEMAR WILSON, a/k/a “K,” are charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and heroin from 2015 to May 2018.  In addition, BURGESS, FELIX, NEWTON, SUMPTER, CURTIS, ROBINSON, and WILSON are also charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of the narcotics conspiracy.  Fourteen defendants were arrested this morning and will be presented before United States Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court this afternoon.  WILSON is in custody on state charges and will be transferred to federal custody.  The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Richard J. Sullivan.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As alleged, these defendants were members of a street gang that terrorized a Brooklyn neighborhood with their drug dealing and violence.  Law enforcement has no more important duty than keeping our citizens safe.  These arrests demonstrate our continued commitment to protecting communities that are victimized by gang and gun violence.

ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan M. Benedict said:  “Burgess and his co-conspirators as alleged in the Indictment ran an organized ring of narcotics dealers associated with acts of violence on the streets of Brooklyn.  ATF remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting the public from violent individuals, groups and gangs looking to do harm to fellow citizens.  I would like to thank the Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the NYPD/ATF Joint Firearms Task Force, the NYPD Gun Violence Suppression Division, and HSI.  I would also like to extend my gratitude to the United States Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting the case.”

NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said:  “In collaboration with our federal partners, we will remain steadfast in our fight against those who traffic in illegal narcotics and the violence so often associated with it.  Today’s charges emphasize the highly efficient working relationship NYPD detectives enjoy with ATF investigators and attorneys at the Southern District.”

As alleged in the Indictment[1] unsealed in Manhattan federal court today:

The defendants were members of a drug trafficking organization (the “Boss Crew DTO”) that distributed significant quantities of narcotics, including crack cocaine and heroin, on a daily basis, in and around the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.  TYSHAWN BURGESS, a/k/a “Ty,” a/k/a “Ty Black,” was the leader of the Boss Crew DTO.  BURGESS supervised other members of the Boss Crew DTO, coordinated the supply of narcotics to other drug dealers within the Boss Crew DTO, and referred drug customers to members of the Boss Crew DTO for sales.  LLOYD GORDON, a/k/a “LG,” and DARREN MILLER, a/k/a “Dice,” a/k/a “Darren Thomas,” supplied wholesale quantities of crack cocaine to members and associates of the Boss Crew DTO for street-level distribution.  LARRY BAYER, a/k/a “L,” and ERNEST MURPHY, a/k/a “Problem G,” a/k/a “E,” maintained narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia at the Boss Crew DTO’s stash location, and packaged the narcotics for street-level distribution.  TYREEK OGARRO, a/k/a “Reek,” RAMAL CURTIS, a/k/a “Rah,” KELLY ROYSTER, a/k/a “KK,” and ROBERT RHODES, a/k/a “Charlie,” purchased and facilitated the purchase of wholesale quantities of narcotics from members of the Boss Crew DTO for distribution.  TYRELL SUMPTER, a/k/a “Rell,” a/k/a “Ruger,” TYQUAN ROBINSON, a/k/a “Blacko,” LARRY BAYER, a/k/a “L,” KERRY FELIX, a/k/a “Mack,” DEVONTAE NEWTON, a/k/a “D-Block,” a/k/a “Sneeze,” and MAURICE CURTIS, a/k/a “Mo,” functioned as street level distributors for the Boss Crew DTO.  

In addition, BURGESS, FELIX, NEWTON, SUMPTER, CURTIS, ROBINSON, and WILSON, possessed and used firearms to protect the Boss Crew DTO’s narcotics trafficking operation.

*                      *                      *

BURGESS, 24, GORDON, 47, BAYER, 25, FELIX, 23, NEWTON, 19, SUMPTER, 23,  CURTIS, 24, ROBINSON, 27, OGARRO, 26, MILLER,50, MURPHY, 28, RAMAL CURTIS,  31, ROYSTER, 39, RHODES, 33, and WILSON, 33, are charged with conspiring to distribute, and possess with the intent to distribute, 280 grams and more of crack cocaine and 100 grams and more of heroin, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.  BURGESS, FELIX, NEWTON, SUMPTER, CURTIS, ROBINSON, and WILSON, are charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a narcotics conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and ATF.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant United States Attorney Karin Portlock is in charge of the prosecution. 

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Gulfport, Miss. – Alejandro Menera Martinez, 36, an illegal alien from Mexico, and Casimiro Cardona Chacon, 23, of Norcross, Georgia, were sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden on drug trafficking charges, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Assistant Special Agent in Charge J. Derryle Smith with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Menera Martinez was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possessing with intent to distribute heroin. He pled guilty to the charge on February 23, 2018. Menera Martinez organized a negotiated deal in which two kilograms of fentanyl were to be sold to undercover agents. He was arrested while delivering the drugs, but after laboratory analysis, it was determined that the drugs were actually heroin, not fentanyl.

Cardona Chacon was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possessing with intent to distribute heroin. He pled guilty to the charge on March 1, 2018. Cardona Chacon was the courier in the deal negotiated by Menera Martinez.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie.

An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Joseph Johnson, Brianna Glee and Tyshon Stevens as members of a gun trafficking conspiracy that used straw gun buyers to purchase more than 40 firearms from dealers in Virginia between April 2017 and May 2018.  Johnson and Stevens were also charged with being felons in possession of a firearm.  According to court filings, multiple firearms that were illegally acquired and distributed by the defendants were recovered by law enforcement officers in the New York area.

Johnson and Glee were arrested today and are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon at the federal courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia.  Stevens is currently in Virginia state custody, and will be presented in federal court in Brooklyn at a later date.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent-in-Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, New York Field Division (ATF), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the indictment.

“The defendants’ alleged illegal trafficking of firearms put deadly weapons in the hands of criminals,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “This Office is working tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to stop the flow of illegal firearms through the Interstate 95 corridor, commonly known as the ‘Iron Pipeline,’ by individuals who traffic in firearms and the straw buyers who enable their business.”  Mr. Donoghue thanked the ATF and the NYPD’s Brooklyn South Gang Squad for their outstanding efforts during this investigation.

“The defendants allegedly took part in a scheme to traffic illegal firearms thus endangering the lives of each and every citizen on the street,” stated ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Benedict.  “ATF remains committed to combating violent crime by aggressively identifying, investigating, and arresting individuals who seek to put dangerous firearms into the hands of individuals that should not possess them.  I would like to thank the personnel from our multiagency cooperative working group at ATF’s New York Field Division Crime Gun Intelligence Center, ATF’s Washington Field Division and our local partners at NYPD’s Brooklyn South Gang Squad. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the United States Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting the case.”

“This case underscores some disturbing truths: Illegal guns proliferate and circulate in higher-crime neighborhoods that still need our help,” stated NYPD Commissioner O’Neill. “In lockstep with our federal partners at the ATF and the Eastern District, the NYPD will continue to perform the incredibly dangerous work of preventing these firearms from getting into criminals’ hands.”

As set forth in the indictment and other filings by the government, the gun-trafficking operation was run by Johnson, who enlisted straw buyers including Glee to purchase multiple firearms.  As part of the scheme, the straw buyers lied on ATF Forms 4473 by falsely certifying that they were not purchasing the firearms on behalf of others.  Johnson then used Facebook to market those firearms to multiple individuals with gang ties in Brooklyn.  In June 2017, Johnson contacted a potential buyer in Brooklyn on Facebook sending images of an array of firearms.  Johnson also relied on Stevens and others to find buyers for the firearms in New York City.  Stevens, using Facebook, communicated with Johnson about his inventory and prices.  Two firearms obtained by Johnson’s straw purchasers were subsequently seized by the NYPD from previously convicted felons in New York.

If convicted, Johnson and Stevens face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.  Glee faces up to five years’ imprisonment on each count.  The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Drew G. Rolle.

The Defendants:

Joseph Johnson
Age: 34
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Brianna Glee
Age: 25
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Tyshon Stevens
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-279 (MKB)