FRESNO, Calif. — As part the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California’s strategy to reduce violent crime, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced the following cases involving illegal firearms and gang-related offenses.

A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment on September 6, 2018, against Miguel Rodriguez, 37, of Fresno, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on July 17, 2018, Rodriguez was found to be in possession of a .357 revolver in Reedley. Rodriguez had multiple previous felony convictions, and is prohibited from possessing a firearm. This case is the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Reedley Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McKeon is prosecuting the case. The charges against Rodriguez are only allegations; he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Nicholas Delt, 35, of Fresno, pleaded guilty Monday to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm after incurring a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. According to court documents, police officers attempted to stop Delt while he was driving with an expired registration. Delt failed to stop, drove for approximately half a mile, then got out of the vehicle and ran on foot. When officers caught Delt, they found a loaded handgun with a high capacity magazine in his waistband. Delt has previously been convicted of second degree burglary, a felony, and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, a misdemeanor. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on January 7, 2019. This case is the product of an investigation by the Fresno Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Pearson is prosecuting the case.

Juan Briceno, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by Judge Drozd to five years in prison for distribution of a controlled substance. On June 18, 2018, Briceno pleaded guilty to the charges. Briceno was arrested along with several other defendants as part of a long-term, multi-agency investigation into a Fresno-area street gangs. According to court documents, between February 14, 2017, and December 2, 2017, Briceno sold a confidential informant 141 grams of methamphetamine and 129 grams of cocaine. This case was investigated by the ATF, DEA, HSI, FBI, USMS, Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Multi Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation–Division of Adult Parole, Fresno County Probation, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office. The arrests and search warrants were conducted as part of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanie Alsworth and Kimberly A. Sanchez prosecuted the case.

Cecilio Alaniz Jr., 28, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by Judge Drozd to six years and six months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. On June 25, 2018, Alaniz pleaded guilty to the charge. Alaniz was charged along with several other defendants following a multi-agency enforcement operation focused on illegal firearms trafficking and drug trafficking offenses. Others named in that case are pending trial and are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. According to court documents, between April 1 and November 11, 2015, Alaniz conspired with Jesse Mendoza to distribute methamphetamine. Alaniz provided methamphetamine to Mendoza, and on October 21, 2015, Mendoza sold a pound of methamphetamine to an undercover agent. This case was investigated by the ATF, DEA, HSI, Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Multi Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office. The arrests and search warrants in the case were conducted as part of an investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanie Alsworth and Kimberly A. Sanchez prosecuted the case.

The maximum statutory penalty for being a felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

These cases are 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.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- On September 19, 2018, after a two-day trial before the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge, a jury found James Michael Hood, 54, of Knoxville, Tennessee, guilty of one count of attempted enticement of a minor for unlawful sex.

Sentencing has been set for February 13, 2019.  Hood faces up to life in prison.

According to evidence revealed during the trial, in June 2017, Hood attempted to communicate with the 17-year-old female victim by friending her on Facebook.  The victim blocked him after less than a day of him sending her inappropriate messages. The victim and her mother reported the inappropriate messages to law enforcement, who initiated an undercover operation posing as the young girl.  Hood was provided with a phone number to use if he wanted to text the victim.  Believing he was communicating with the young girl, within two minutes of receiving the number, he began texting her.  Within 48 hours, he was sending her explicit sexual messages.  Hood set up a meeting with the victim; however, instead of being met by the victim, he was met by law enforcement and arrested.

This investigation was conducted by the Knoxville Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, University of Tennessee Police and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States at trial.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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            CONCORD – Kenneth Dunn, 60, of Nashua, pleaded guilty to making false statements to obtain federal employee disability benefits, announced United States Attorney Scott W. Murray.

            The United States Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (“OWCP”) provides workers’ compensation benefits to employees of the federal government, including the United States Postal Service (USPS), who are totally or partially disabled due to injuries sustained during the course of their employment.  While receiving the benefits, a disabled employee is required to report all employment for which he or she received a salary, wage, or payment of any kind in annual reports submitted to the OWCP.  A disabled employee is also required to provide documentation from a medical doctor to demonstrate his or her continued eligibility for the benefits and report any improvements to his or her physical condition. 

             According to documents and statements made in court, Dunn was hired as a Rural Letter Carrier in April 1985.  In November 2010, Dunn began to receive OWCP disability benefits due to employment-related injuries to his neck, back, and arm.  While receiving the disability benefits, Dunn repeatedly reported to the OWCP that was not able to work in any capacity and he was not engaged in any employment activity.

            However, from 2010 through 2017, Dunn conducted thousands of transactions related to the purchase and sale of comic books on the internet, and failed to report the business activity to the OWCP.  In addition, on several occasions from October of 2016 to February of 2018, a Special Agent from the USPS – Office of Inspector General observed Dunn engaged in physical activities inconsistent with his reported symptoms and alleged total disability.  The activities included: entering and exiting his car; clearing substantial amounts of snow off, and from around, his car; driving; walking up and down a flight of 30 stairs; conducting personal and business-related errands for several hours; and lifting and carrying items of various size, shape, and weight.  Dunn was able to perform these tasks without any apparent physical limitation, pain, or discomfort and in conflict with medical documentation from Dunn’s treating physician.

            At a Comicon event in Manchester on September 17 and 18, 2016, Dunn set up a vendor booth and repeatedly bent over to place or pick up large boxes filled with comic books.  He set up and dismantled a comic book display, sold comic books for cash, and stood and sat for long periods without any apparent physical limitation or discomfort.  Dunn repeated the same activities at the Comicon event in Manchester on September 16 and 17, 2017.

            The court documents also reveal that Dunn provided false information about his physical condition to a doctor in February 2017 and March 2018, and false information about his physical condition and work-history to the OWCP in February 2017 and 2018 in order to receive the disability benefits.  Because of this fraudulent conduct, Dunn received disability benefits totaling $87,736 from September of 2016 through July of 2018.

            Dunn will be sentenced on January 3, 2019.

            “Workers’ compensation benefits are an important source of financial support for individuals who cannot work due to their disabilities,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “Unfortunately, some individuals seek to take advantage of the system to obtain money that they don’t deserve.  In order to protect taxpayer money, we will not hesitate to prosecute those who defraud workers’ compensation or other benefit programs.”

            “The federal Workers’ Compensation program was created to help those who are recovering from injuries obtained on-the-job,” stated USPS-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Modafferi.  “When a former Postal Service employee defrauds the Workers' Compensation program, the Special Agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General will work tirelessly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to protect the integrity of this federal benefit program.”

            The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Kinsella.

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BOSTON - Alexis Ayala, 40, and Wilfredo Perez, 38, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to six years in prison and six years of supervised release, and one year in prison and three years of supervised release, respectively, on firearms and drug charges. 

Ayala and Perez previously pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin. Ayala also pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On April 5, 2015, Perez and Ayala distributed 200 doses of heroin, worth $550, to a government witness in Springfield. Ayala, a previously convicted felon, also sold two firearms to a government witness. Specifically, on Dec. 15, 2015, Ayala sold the witness a Walther P22 pistol equipped with a laser sight, which had been reported stolen to the Springfield Police on Sept. 4, 2014; and on Aug. 8, 2016, Ayala sold the witness a Smith and Wesson MP40c .40 caliber pistol.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri; and Holyoke Police Chief James Neiswanger made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

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.

St. Louis, MO – After a two-day trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict for the United States finding Philandias Samuel Calvin guilty of assaulting federal law enforcement officers as they attempted to arrest him pursuant to two valid arrest warrants.

According to evidence at trial, on December 6, 2017, Calvin was present inside the United States Probation Office located in the Thomas F. Eagleton federal courthouse.  Days earlier, two arrest warrants had been issued as a result of Calvin’s continued violations of his federal supervised release.  (Calvin had previously been convicted of at least two separate federal crimes and, as part of his sentence following incarceration, Calvin was placed on federal supervised release.)

As two United States Probation Officers and three Deputy United States Marshals informed Calvin of his arrest warrants, Calvin became verbally combative.  Calvin then punched one Deputy United States Marshal in the face.  Calvin continued to resist arrest as the federal officials attempted to arrest him, injuring two other federal officials.

U. S. Attorney Jeff Jensen applauded the courage, efforts and support of the United States Marshal Service and United States Probation Office that directly resulted in this verdict, “The evidence showed these federal officers and professionals were injured in the course of their duties which included trying to help the Defendant through his court supervision.  I am pleased the jury agreed and vindicated their efforts.”

Calvin, 33, St. Louis, MO, was indicted on January 10, 2018 charging him with one felony count of assaulting a federal official engaged in their duties. 

He faces up to eight years of imprisonment for the conviction, and a potential fine of $250,000.  In determining the actual sentence, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provides recommended sentencing ranges.

Sentencing has been set for December 20, 2018 before the Honorable Catherine D. Perry.       

The case was investigated by the United States Marshal Service with the assistance of the United States Probation Office.

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BOSTON - A Dominican national was indicted today in federal court in Boston in connection with making false statements in an application for a replacement Social Security card and aggravated identity theft.

Francis Yohan Mateo Guerrero, 29, a Dominican national formerly residing in Lawrence, was indicted on one count of making a materially false statement and one count of aggravated identity theft. Mateo Guerrero was previously charged by complaint and arrested on Aug. 22, 2018, and has been in custody since.

According to charging documents, in August 2017, Mateo Guerrero applied for a replacement Social Security card by submitting the name of a U.S. Citizen from Puerto Rico. As proof of identity to support his application, Mateo Guerrero provided a Massachusetts Driver’s License in the name of a U.S. Citizen from Puerto Rico as his own.

The charge of making materially false statements provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sergio Doriante Sanchez Reyna, 25, of Stockton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to four years and three months in prison and ordered to pay $436,091 in restitution for his role in a scheme to defraud the State of California by filing false unemployment insurance claims, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

“Sergio Reyna conspired with others in an unemployment insurance (UI) fraud scheme targeted at the California Employment Development Department (EDD). Reyna facilitated the scheme by receiving EDD documents and obtaining debit cards issued in the names of identity theft victims to fraudulently obtain the UI benefits. We will continue to work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to safeguard the UI system from those who exploit these benefit programs,” said Abel Salinas, Special Agent-in-Charge, Los Angeles Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

“This scheme exploited a fund designed to support people in California in a time of need, stealing money from a vital fund,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the Sacramento Field Office. “The FBI is committed to working with our state and federal partners to uncover fraud committed by government employees who exploit their trusted positions and damage the reputation of their fellow government employees who serve the public.”

According to court documents, between December 12, 2014, and July 14, 2016, Reyna conspired with others to defraud the state of California. Pamela Emanuel, 57, of San Jose, worked as a tax compliance representative for the California Employment Development Department. She allegedly used her position to access the personal identifying information of workers throughout California, and she and her co-conspirators used that information to file fraudulent unemployment claims in the names of the unknowing victims.

The conspirators took several steps to avoid detection. In some instances, they used a Virtual Private Network designed to mask their IP addresses when making online filings. When the defendants filed claims with EDD, they usually provided the name of a fake business as the claimant’s last employer. As a result, the victim’s true employer was not immediately notified that a claim was filed.

Reyna participated in the scheme by receiving and facilitating EDD documents at two Stockton addresses associated or controlled by him and using at least 18 EDD debit cards issued in the names of identity-theft victims to withdraw the fraudulently obtained benefits. In total, the conspirators filed at least 269 false claims seeking over $2.5 million in fraudulent benefits. EDD’s actual overpayment was approximately $887,199.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Employment Development Department, Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Schuller Hitchcock is prosecuting the case.

On August 16, 2018, Brittany Maunakea, 29 of Manteca, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Gregory Lee, 56, of Antioch, has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13, 2018. The charges against Emanuel and Russell White III, 35, of Turlock, are pending; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 Fort Smith, Arkansas – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Austin McMahill, age 30, of Wideman, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 30 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole followed by five years of supervised release on one count each of Production of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography. The Honorable Chief Judge P. K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith. 

According to court records, in September of 2017, the Arkansas State Police received a report that Austin McMahill made and distributed via Facebook a video portraying him and a minor female engaging in a sexually graphic act. During the ensuing investigation, law enforcement applied for and obtained a search warrant allowing for the seizure and analysis of McMahill’s cellular phone.  A subsequent forensic examination of the device revealed numerous videos and photographs of McMahill and the minor female engaged sexual activity. Per the forensic analysis, law enforcement was able to confirm that several images were taken when the minor female was fifteen-years of age. Law enforcement also located approximately 70 images depicting other minors, between 5 and 10 years of age engaging in various sex acts.  At sentencing, the Government presented the Court with evidence that McMahill had sexually abused and taken images of an approximately 5 year old female. 

McMahill was indicted in December 2017 on federal charges and plead guilty in April 2018.

This case was investigated by Arkansas State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Northwest Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce.  Assistant United States Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case for the United States.

POCATELLO – Norman Hyrum Turnbeaugh, 62, of Rockland, Idaho, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis.  Turnbeaugh was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on March 27, 2018.

According to court records, investigators from Power County Sheriff’s Office, Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, Rexburg Police Department, and other cooperating agencies served a search warrant on Turnbeaugh’s home in Rockland on July 11, 2017.  During the search of Turnbeaugh’s garage, investigators found approximately 356 grams of methamphetamine, packaged in eleven small bags.  Turnbeaugh had stashed the methamphetamine in a barrel of chicken feed.  Investigators also found approximately 2.6 pounds of marijuana in Turnbeaugh’s bedroom, as well as guns in the house and garage.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine is punishable by up to 40 years in prison, a $5,000,000 fine, and at least four years of federal supervised release after incarceration.

Turnbeaugh’s sentencing is set for December 4, 2018 before Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

This case was investigated through the combined efforts of the Power County Sheriff’s Office, the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, the Rexburg Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Power County Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP).  The EIP is a collaborative effort among local communities, law enforcement, the State of Idaho, and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho.  The partners combine efforts to fund and support a Special Assistant United States Attorney, or “SAUSA.”  The SAUSA, Bryan Wheat, works with local prosecutors and law enforcement to prosecute serious local crimes in federal court.  The Partnership focuses its efforts on regional drug trafficking, gun and gang violence, internet based crimes against children, and other serious crimes with a federal nexus that affect the southeast Idaho region.

"I'm grateful for the agencies and law enforcement officers who have helped out in this case," said Power County Prosecutor Anson Call.  “Power County has been well served by the teamwork from our Eastern Idaho Partners.  We are excited to continue to be a part of the Partnership's collaborative effort to target serious crime in eastern Idaho, and to make Power County a safer place."

“This case is another great example of the teamwork of the Eastern Idaho Partnership," said U.S. Attorney Bart Davis.  “We are very happy to have such a close relationship with our local partners.  Efforts like this one help make our communities safer.”

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BOSTON – A Worcester man was indicted today by a federal grand jury for lying to firearm dealers in connection with his purchase of seven guns.

Ruben Ramos, 23, was indicted on five counts of knowingly making false statements to federally licensed firearm dealers. Ramos was previously charged by complaint in July 2018. 

According to charging documents, Ramos, who was licensed in Massachusetts to possess a firearm, purchased 16 guns between May 2017 and May 2018. On at least five occasions – during which he purchased seven firearms – Ramos provided a false address to the federally licensed firearm dealer. When agents interviewed Ramos in June 2018 about his purchase of a large number of guns over a short period, Ramos was unable to account for nine of the 16 guns, first claiming that he had sold the missing guns and later claiming that some of the guns had been stolen. 

Ramos faces a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Worcester Police Chief Stephen Sargent made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg A. Friedholm of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case. 

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

FRANKFORT, Ky.— David Robert Dunn, 60, of Beavercreek, Ohio, was sentenced today to 30 years in federal prison, by United States District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, for crossing a state line (Ohio to Kentucky) with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a person who was under 12 years of age.

Earlier this year, Dunn admitted that, in September of 2016, he traveled from Ohio to Scott County, Kentucky, with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor who was less than 12 years old.  Dunn had posted an internet ad, to which an undercover investigator with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office responded.  During the ensuing communications between the investigator and Dunn, Dunn unequivocally indicated that he was intending to have sex with the investigator’s fictitious 13 and 6 year-old daughters.  On September 26, 2016, Dunn was met by the investigator and other law enforcement officers, at a pre-arranged location in Scott County, where he was arrested.            

Under federal law, Dunn must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for five years.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Steven Igyarto, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations; and Andy Beshear, Kentucky Attorney General, jointly made the announcement.

The investigation was conducted by the DHS-HIS and the Cyber Crimes Branch of the Kentucky Office of Attorney General.  The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney David A. Marye.

A Cedar Rapids man who was sentenced to three years of probation on November 10, 2016, for possession of a sawed off shotgun and being an unlawful user of drugs in possession of a firearm, was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison today for violating his probation.

Mario Jerel Harper, age 41, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a probation revocation hearing.  Evidence at the hearing showed that Harper used controlled substances on a number of occasions, failed to tell the truth to his probation officer, and refused to participate in drug testing.

At Harper’s guilty plea in 2016, he admitted he was an unlawful user of marijuana and that he had a sawed-off shotgun that was not registered to him in accordance with federal law. 

Harper was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Harper was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment, and must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.   In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

Harper is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Reinert and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Harper was under supervision by the Northern District of Iowa United States Probation Office in Cedar Rapids. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is CR 16-00040-LRR.

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A Honduran man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to almost five months in federal prison.

Edi Lenin Chirinos-Najera, age 26, a citizen of Honduras illegally present in the United States and residing in Muscatine, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 23, 2018, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.

At the guilty plea, Chirinos-Najera admitted he had previously been deported from the United States in 2014 and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government in 2017.  Chirinos-Najera was found by immigration agents in April 2018 following Chirinos-Najera’s arrest for public intoxication.  That matter remains pending.  While Chirinos-Najera initially denied ever being deported, an analysis of his fingerprints confirmed that he had been deported in 2014.

Chirinos-Najera was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Chirinos-Najera was sentenced to 143 days’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Chirinos-Najera is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-CR-41-LTS.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

A Dubuque man who conspired to distribute heroin and fentanyl was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison.

Andre Carroll, age 51, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 22, 2018 guilty plea to one count of conspiring to distribute fentanyl and heroin near three playgrounds in Dubuque. 

At the guilty plea, Carroll admitted he conspired with others to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and fentanyl in Dubuque between about 2013 and September 2017.  Carrol had been convicted of crack cocaine distribution in federal court in 1997, and admitted to resuming drug dealing very shortly after he was released from federal prison in 2013.  In total, Carroll had previously been convicted of seven prior felony drug offenses.

Carroll was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Carroll was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve an 8-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Carroll is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  

The case file number is 17-CR-01039-LTS.

Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Robert Edgar Farquer, 69, of Sitka, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess, to serve eight years in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release, for possession of child pornography.   

According to court documents, Farquer became the subject of a federal investigation when, in May 2016, FBI agents obtained 46 files containing images of child pornography from an IP address, and again in June 2016, when an additional 169 images were downloaded from another IP address.  The investigation revealed that the IP addresses were associated with Farquer at his residence in Sitka. 

On July 12, 2016, a search warrant was executed at Farquer’s residence, where agents discovered a collection of child pornography materials that spanned decades stored throughout his apartment and filled the back of a small pickup truck.  During an interview, Farquer admitted to downloading child pornography files online, and that he had received child pornography materials as early as 1988 via the mail.  The agents seized hundreds of pieces of electronic media and discovered thousands of images of child pornography in other various media. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide and the Criminal Division’s 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.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

LITTLE ROCK—In arrest operations that stretched across the country for the past week, law enforcement officers have arrested multiple defendants in an effort to disrupt a transnational drug-trafficking organization responsible for distributing hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine in central Arkansas.

Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Justin C. King, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Little Rock Field Office, announced the arrests and the unsealing of a federal indictment charging 31 defendants with 53 counts that include federal drug, firearm, and money laundering offenses. This afternoon, two defendants in California were arraigned on money laundering charges, bringing the total number of people arrested thus far to 23. In operations that began last Thursday, the DEA and its law enforcement partners have arrested four people in California and 19 in central Arkansas. Of the 19 local defendants served with arrest warrants, four were already in state custody and two in federal custody. Eight defendants remain fugitives, four in Arkansas and four in California.

This drug-trafficking organization is alleged to be led by Eric Baldwin, 29, and Nicholas Robinson, Jr., 23, both of Little Rock. The indictment named 23 defendants from the central Arkansas area—where the drugs were distributed—and eight defendants from southern California, which is alleged to be the source of the drugs.

“This criminal organization stretched from Arkansas to California, and was responsible for distributing large quantities of illegal drugs here in our neighborhoods, ”U.S. Attorney Hiland said. “This indictment demonstrates that our federal reach does not stop at the Arkansas border. If you sell illegal drugs in Arkansas, we will prosecute you. If you send illegal drugs to Arkansas, we will prosecute you. Our goal continues to be to ensure criminals pay a consistent, painful cost for hurting our people and poisoning our communities.”

This ongoing investigation was the result of several law enforcement agencies, led by the DEA, attacking the drug-trafficking organization on multiple fronts. During the course of the investigation in 2017 and 2018, the DEA utilized three court-authorized wiretaps to intercept hundreds of drug-trafficking calls. Law enforcement officers, including DEA agents and local police departments, conducted more than a dozen controlled purchases of drugs, resulting in seizures of more than 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, as well as oxydocone and ecstasy pills.

In addition, the DEA worked closely with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service once agents discovered the organization’s primary method for getting drugs into Arkansas— the U.S. mail. Agents intercepted more than 15 packages, which contained 13 kilograms of methamphetamine and four kilograms of marijuana. Additional operations, including the execution of search warrants and state arrests, led to the seizure of another 7.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, 8 kilograms of marijuana, 7 firearms, and more than $25,000 in drug proceeds.

The DEA also conducted an extensive financial investigation which revealed what is alleged to be the organization’s method of payment for the drugs—Wal-Mart to Wal- Mart wire transfers from Arkansas to California. During the investigation, it is alleged that individuals associated with this organization sent more than $250,000 to California for the purchase of controlled substances.

“The wreckage caused by drugs affects everyone,” DEA ASAC King said. “No matter the amounts of drugs they sell, drug dealers breed crime in our neighborhoods and are a danger to our children. The arrests in this multi-jurisdictional investigation demonstrate to the citizens of central Arkansas and across the nation that federal, state, and local law enforcement can come together and accomplish great things. It should also serve as a warning to drug dealers here and beyond—regardless of your innovative tactics, we will arrest you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

The investigation was conducted by the DEA, in conjunction with the United States Postal Inspection Service, and with assistance from multiple agencies, including: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Arkansas State Police, Little Rock Police Department, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, Benton Police Department, Saline County Sheriff’s Office, Conway Police Department, Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office, First Judicial District Drug Task Force, Central Drug Task Force, Arkansas Department of Community Corrections, and the Arkansas National Guard Counter Drug Task Force. The agencies assisting on arrest operations include: the FBI, U.S. Marshal Service, Office of Inspector General-Social Security Administration, North Little Rock Police Department, Jacksonville Police Department, and the Office of the Arkansas Attorney General.

The charges in today’s unsealed indictment include conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, marijuana, and oxycodone; distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, marijuana, and oxycodone; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; felon in possession of a firearm; use of a phone to facilitate a drug-trafficking crime; and conspiracy to commit money laundering offenses.

The maximum penalty for the drug charges is not less than 10 years in prison and up to life imprisonment, and a $10,000,000 fine. The maximum penalty for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime is not less than five years in prison and up to life imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for being a felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for using a phone to facilitate a drug-trafficking crime is not more than four years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for money laundering is not more than 20 years in prison, and a $500,000 fine.

Trial is set for October 22, 2018, before Chief District Judge Brian S. Miller. The case, docketed as Case No. 4:18-cr-00466 BSM, is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Givens. The defendants charged include:

Khambria Allen, 22, Little Rock, AR %

Eric Baldwin, 29, Little Rock, AR $

John Bowman, 34, Bryant, AR

John Christopher Burch, 46, Conway, AR *

Justin Collins, 29, Augusta, AR

Kamie Collins, 31, Augusta, AR

Jason Flowers, 36, Little Rock, AR %

Windell Fountain, 50, Victorville, CA %

Jennifer Gosnell, 27, Conway, AR

Blake Gray, 36, Judsonia, AR

Deketric Harper, 23, Judsonia, AR %

Roderick Isom, 35, Little Rock, AR

Aundre Lamar Jones, 31, Los Angeles, CA ^

Patricia Janae Kennon, 30, Los Angeles, CA %

Chad Lane, 23, Mabelvale, AR *

Robert McIntosh, III, 35, Little Rock, AR

Lewis Miles, 47, Blytheville, AR $

Aaron Lynn Parks, 35, Conway, AR *

Deaundry Peoples, 27, Little Rock, AR *

Ryan Rielly, 28, Benton, AR

Joseph Riggins, Jr., 27, Little Rock, AR

Nicholas D. Robinson, Jr., 23, Little Rock, AR %

Nicholas D. Robinson, Sr., 46, Little Rock, AR

Christopher Sanders, 39, Burbank, CA ^

Francis Andre Scott, 35, Los Angeles, CA %

Lemar Devon Steward, 23, Benton, AR

Autumn Talley, 30, Paramount, CA ^

April Treat, 30, Greenbrier, AR

Lorene Wilhite, 51, Los Angeles, CA^

Ortez Williams, 25, Benton, AR

George Perry Wright, 35, North Hollywood, CA %

$ already in federal custody

* already in state custody

^ arrested in California

% fugitive

An indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available on-line at

http://www.justice.gov/edar Twitter:

@EDARNEWS

SHREVEPORT, La. –United StatesAttorney David C. Joseph announced that a Shreveport felon was sentenced last week to 162 months in prison for possessing two pistols with silencers after being arrested for burglary.

Tarodganey Sumner, 26, of Shreveport, was sentenced September 13, 2018 by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the May 3, 2018 guilty plea, Shreveport police arrested Sumner on September 11, 2017 for burglarizing a home on Burson Drive. Police found a Volquartsen Custom, .22-caliber pistol with an attached Silcenerco Spectre II, .22-caliber silencer on him. Police also searched the car Sumner had been driving that day and found a Benelli Arms S.PA., 9 mm pistol with an attached Silencerco 450SPREY, .45-caliber silencer. The two silencers were reported stolen and not registered to Sumner. He also was convicted on June 20, 2011 of burglary in Caddo Parish, and as a felon, was not allowed to possess firearms.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.   In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany E. Fields is prosecuting the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The corporate officer of the House of Oxford Inc., a New Jersey corporation, Alex Goldman, 43, of Great Neck, New York, was sentenced today to three years in prison, for conspiracy to commit tobacco excise tax fraud, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

In addition, House of Oxford was sentenced to two years of probation where it will be subject to search and required to have financial records monitored. Additionally, House of Oxford and Alex Goldman agreed to the civil forfeiture of approximately $14 million in assets that represented the proceeds of the fraud scheme including cash, various investments, vehicles, artwork and jewelry.

According to court documents, House of Oxford conspired with multiple individuals and other business entities operating in California to provide tens of millions of dollars in untaxed other tobacco products (OTP) to businesses with the knowledge that the OTP would be sold illegally in the state of California. In total, House of Oxford and Goldman, defrauded the State of California out of approximately $14 million in tobacco excise tax revenue.

A large percentage of the proceeds of the excise tax are used to fund California’s early childhood development program, First 5 California. As a result of this case, approximately $14 million in forfeited assets were returned to the State of California through the U.S. Department of Justice’s remission program.

“This case is the result of a highly successful collaborative effort involving federal and state investigators and prosecutors, working side-by-side,” said U.S. Attorney Scott. “The judgment handed down today should serve as a warning to those who consider stealing from the public. We will work hard to recover those funds and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”

“This partnership has helped California recover approximately $14 million,” said California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) Director Nick Maduros. “The CDTFA, in collaboration with law enforcement, is committed to recovering revenue lost to tax evasion and fraud in order to help fund the vital public services on which Californians rely.”

This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the former California State Board of Equalization, now the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Anderson and Rosanne L. Rust prosecuted the case.

St. Louis - Two St. Charles residents were charged in federal court for possessing with the intent to distribute two kilograms of fentanyl today in United States District Court in St. Louis. 

Ruben Lopez, 27, and Jonathen Aguilar, 31, of St. Charles, Missouri, were taken into custody yesterday after federal search warrants revealed one kilogram of fentanyl bound for an apartment in the 2000 block of Avignon Drive in St. Charles and another kilogram of the opioid painkiller at another apartment.  The government has sought detention of both defendants, who are entitled to a probable cause hearing and a detention hearing next week.

According to the statement filed in support of a criminal complaint, federal investigators intercepted a suspicious Priority Mail package addressed to the Avignon address with a return address in La Mirada, California.  The investigators obtained a warrant to open the mail parcel which contained a one-kilogram brick of fentanyl concealed inside clothing. 

The investigators secured the fentanyl, which is too hazardous to be safely handled, and conducted a controlled delivery of the parcel to the Avignon address.  Defendant Lopez brought the package inside the residence and the investigators entered soon thereafter to execute another warrant for the residence.  Inside, they found a Glock 27 .40 caliber handgun and two machines capable of encapsulating drugs.  Another warrant executed yesterday in the 400 block of Molina Way, also in St. Charles, revealed a second quantity of approximately one kilogram of fentanyl and $19,000 in cash.  Two kilograms of fentanyl carry a street value of more than $100,000. 

Lopez and Aguilar are charged with possession with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, a charge carrying a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence.  They are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty.

These charges are a result of a joint investigation between the St. Louis Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the St. Charles County Police Department, the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force, the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the St. Peters Police Department.

“Through our strategic, investigative operations we removed more than 1.5 million potentially lethal doses of poison from hitting the streets of St. Charles County,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. Callahan of the DEA St. Louis Division.  “The DEA’s mission is clear and we will continue to disrupt, dismantle and destroy drug trafficking organizations who impact our communities.” 

Assistant Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service’s St. Louis Field Office J.R. Ball stated, “Criminals who believe they can use the U.S. Mail to transport dangerous illegal narcotics into our communities are mistaken.  The United States Postal Inspection Service is committed to identifying these individuals and bringing them to justice.  Today’s arrests are examples of that commitment.”

St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar added, “I am proud of the collaboration between the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force, St. Peters Police Department, St. Charles County Police Department, DEA and the United States Postal Inspector.  It’s outstanding efforts like these that cut off the supply lines fueling the opiate epidemic that plague our communities.” 

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on September 12, 2018, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging LEONID POLLAK, also known as “Lenny,” 58, of Greenwich, with federal offenses related to an investment fraud scheme.

POLLAK was arrested this morning.  He appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven and was ordered detained.

As alleged in the indictment, POLLAK owned a Norwalk-based company that organized trade shows and expositions throughout the U.S.  In mid-2013, POLLAK induced an acquaintance to invest $290,000 in a new business venture that was supposed to organize similar expositions in the Ukraine.  Instead of using the money to build the new business, POLLAK spent nearly all of it on unrelated business and personal expenses, including POLLAK’s home mortgage loan, groceries and clothing, automobiles, and private school tuition.

The indictment charges POLLAK with six counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count, and two counts of illegal monetary transactions, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count.

U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and U.S. Secret Service, with assistance from the Greenwich Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi M. Perry.