John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that STEVEN CIOFFI, 32, of Stamford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to a federal tax offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, CIOFFI owned 50 percent of Nepperhan Restaurants Group, Inc., doing business as ReNapoli Pizza, in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, and Pinocchio Pizza in Pound Ridge, New York.  He also owned 25 percent of Odell Pizza, Inc., doing business as Amore Cucina and Bar in Stamford, Connecticut.  CIOFFI’s business partner owned the other interests in these entities, as well as other pizza restaurants.

CIOFFI and others in the businesses engaged in a practice whereby cash was removed from the cash register and not deposited into the restaurant’s operating bank account.  The businesses’ outside bookkeeper and accountant used the bank records to determine business gross receipts.  When cash was removed from the register and not deposited into the business bank account, the cash would not be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.  CIOFFI also knew that certain employees had their wages paid in cash, and that a certain number of the employees were paid either a portion or the entirety of their wages “off the books.”  By paying various expenses in cash and “off the books,” CIOFFI, his business partner and others facilitated the manipulation of net income reported to the IRS and the underpayment of withholding taxes to the IRS.

As a result of the scheme, the loss to the IRS in income taxes and employment taxes for the 2013 through 2015 tax years was $122,177.59.

CIOFFI pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years, a fine of up to $250,000, and full restitution to the IRS.

A sentencing date is not scheduled.  CIOFFI is released on a $40,000 bond pending sentencing.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.

A superseding indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Queens-based criminal defense attorney John Scarpa, Jr., and Charles Gallman, also known as “T.A.,” with violating the Travel Act by bribing a witness who testified in a double-homicide trial in Suffolk County Supreme Court.  Scarpa was arrested earlier today and will be arraigned this afternoon in federal court in Brooklyn before United States Magistrate Judge Steven L. Tiscione.  Gallman will be arraigned at a later date.     

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Richard A. Brown, District Attorney of Queens County, announced the charges. 

 “As alleged, the defendants bribed a witness to commit perjury in an effort to help Scarpa’s client, who had committed two execution-style murders, escape justice,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “This Office and our law enforcement partners will never tolerate the rigging of a trial and will vigorously prosecute attorneys or anyone else who seeks to undermine the integrity of the judicial process by witness tampering.”   Mr. Donoghue also expressed his grateful appreciation to the Office of the Suffolk County District Attorney for its assistance during the investigation.

“Defense attorneys do all they can to help their clients fight criminal charges, which is everyone’s right by law,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.  “However, Mr. Scarpa allegedly broke the law trying to get his client off the hook for murder charges by bribing a witness.  Everyone accused deserves the best defense, but attorneys cannot use illegal methods to win in court.”  

“We will continue to work with our federal partners to root out corruption in the criminal justice system wherever it is found,” stated Queens District Attorney Brown.  “I will say again that integrity is the foundation of our criminal justice system.  These allegations go to the core of that foundation and are prejudicial to the administration of justice.  The charges today send a strong message to those who would undermine that integrity that they will be held accountable.  I commend the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and my Rackets, Special Victims and District Attorney’s Detective Bureaus for their vigorous pursuit of justice in this matter.”

As alleged in the indictment and detailed in court filings, the charges stem from an investigation conducted by the Queens County District Attorney’s Office.  Court-authorized intercepted communication between Scarpa and Gallman showed how the two men plotted to bribe a witness, Luis Cherry, in a Suffolk County criminal trial against Reginald Ross.  Scarpa represented Ross, who was ultimately convicted of the unrelated murders of two men:  Raymond Hirt, a road crew flagman killed at his jobsite in May 2010 because Ross was upset about traffic, and John Williams, whom he shot to death in October 2010 as Williams was going to work, mistaking Williams for his brother.  Cherry participated in the Williams murder, and had pleaded guilty to that murder as well as another. 

On January 13, 2015, Gallman visited Cherry at Downstate Correctional Facility and spoke to him about testifying at Ross’s trial.  Thereafter, Gallman reported to Scarpa:  “Anything we need, he’s willing.  Whichever way you wanna play it, he’s willing.”  Later in the conversation Scarpa asked, “So this guy is willing to do whatever?”  And Gallman confirmed, “Whatever you need, John.  Whatever you need.”  Gallman added that there was a “bunch of stuff I wrote down that [Cherry] wants.” 

Scarpa called Cherry as a defense witness at trial and led Cherry through perjurious testimony relevant to the Williams murder.  For example, Cherry claimed that he had committed the murder alone after he crawled from the driver’s seat and exited through the passenger side of his vehicle with firearms in both hands despite physical evidence that clearly indicated two gunmen were involved.  When asked on cross-examination about meeting Gallman, Cherry falsely denied that they had talked about the murder case.

The charges in the superseding indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, Scarpa and Gallman face up to five years’ imprisonment on each count.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Lindsay K. Gerdes and Andrey Spektor are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

JOHN SCARPA, JR.
Age: 65
Queens, New York

Charles gallman (also known as “t.a.”)
Age:  56
Queens, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-123 (S-1) (CBA)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced grant awards to Public Safety Partnership member sites as part of $10 million in funding to support state, local and tribal law enforcement departments and agencies and their partners who are fighting violent crime in jurisdictions across the United States.

Toledo is one of the recipients, receiving $492,553.

“This money, nearly half a million dollars, will put our Toledo law enforcement partners in better position to identify and respond to violent crime in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “This money will make Toledo’s residents safer and we look forward to helping the city implement these grant funds.”

The Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance, in partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, is awarding $5 million under the Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative to encourage local jurisdictions to use intelligence, technology and community engagement to identify unlawfully used firearms and to prosecute those who commit violent crimes.

Grant recipients include the PSP cities of Indianapolis, Indiana, $798, 866; Memphis, Tennessee, $714,055; Tulsa, Oklahoma, $800,000 and Baton Rouge, Louisiana,   $634,971.  Other locations include Detroit, Michigan, $800,000; the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Police Department, $452,108, and the City/County of San Francisco, California, $800,000. The jurisdictions will use these awards to hire personnel to utilize the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), to purchase technology required to operate a Crime Gun Intelligence Center and ammunition for ballistic tests of recovered weapons.

The Attorney General also announced awards for BJA’s Technology Innovation for Public Safety (TIPS): Addressing Precipitous Increases in Crime program.

This program supports the Department’s priorities of reducing violent crime and supporting law enforcement officers, including prosecutors. While many jurisdictions are making significant progress implementing justice information sharing solutions to address critical gaps in crime prevention and response activities across organizations and jurisdictions, there remain challenges for the criminal justice system to respond to threats to public safety. This is especially true for efforts addressing significant increases in crime.

Justice information sharing technology refers to any hardware and software, hosted residentially or remotely, that plays a role in the collection, storage, sharing and analysis of criminal justice data. Funding under this program is provided to help state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions use innovative technological solutions to enhance their justice information-sharing capacity.

Grant recipients include the PSP cities of Memphis, Tennessee, $417,224; Toledo, Ohio, $492,553; Flint, Michigan, $499,694 and Houston, Texas, $500,000. Other locations include Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, $317,834; City of Boynton Beach, Florida, $465,860; Clark County Social Service, Nevada, $500,000; New Mexico Second Judicial District Attorney, $500,000; State of Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection; $419,804; Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey, $500,000; and Georgia Bureau of Investigation, $499,339. Additional information on the grant awards can be found at: www.bja.gov   

Attorney General Jeff Sessions made the announcement during today’s National Public Safety Partnership Symposium on Violent Crime in Birmingham, Alabama. The National Public Safety Partnership is a DOJ-wide initiative that enables cities to consult with and receive a coordinated  array of resources from DOJ’s programmatic and law enforcement components: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; United States Attorneys’ Offices; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Office on Violence Against Women; the Office of Justice Programs; the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; and other federal agencies in order to improve local violence reduction strategies.  

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Gerino Barrera-Tapia, 37, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with illegal reentry after deportation. The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth R. Moellering, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on September 12, 2018, a Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Deputy encountered the defendant during a vehicle safety check. United States Border Patrol was contacted to assist in identifying Barrera-Tapia. During questioning, the defendant stated that he was a citizen of Mexico and was illegally present in the United States. He was taken into custody. Subsequent investigation determined that Barrera-Tapia was a native and citizen of Mexico. A records check determined that the defendant was removed from the United States in February 2008. 
 
Barrera-Tapia made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and was detained.

The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb, and U.S. Border Patrol, under the direction of Patrol Agent-in-Charge Steven Oldman.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.  

# # # #

McALLEN – A 30-year-old Mexican man has been ordered to federal prison for two carjackings which occurred in early 2017, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Jorge Luis Almanza-Barcenas pleaded guilty to a six-count second superseding indictment on Sept. 28, 2017.

Today, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered Jorge Luis Almanza-Barcenas to serve a total of 384 months plus one day in prison for the carjackings and related firearms offenses. Following his sentence, he is expected to face deportation proceedings as he is not a U.S. citizen.

Additional information was also presented today including a paraphrased statement form one of the victims in the case which noted her continued fear. Almanza-Barcenas was further ordered to pay $16,348.43 in restitution to the victims.

On March 27, and April 12, 2017, Almanza-Barcenas committed two armed carjackings in McAllen. He approached both female victims, who were sitting in their vehicles, and demanded them to relinquish their vehicles at gunpoint. Almanza-Barcenas pointed a 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol at the victims’ heads and pulled them out of the vehicle, threatening to kill them. Thereafter, Almanza-Barcenas fled, obtaining the vehicle each time.   .

Almanza-Barcenas will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI and McAllen Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) James Sturgis and David Paxton and former AUSA Lynn Wang prosecuted the case.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Grandview, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Frank Vanoy, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 18 years in federal prison without parole. Vanoy was sentenced as an armed career offender due to his prior felony convictions.

On Feb. 3, 2018, Vanoy was convicted at trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Vanoy was in possession of a stolen Glock .45-caliber pistol, loaded and equipped with an extended magazine, on Dec. 4, 2015, when he was arrested for violating his supervised release in an unrelated federal case. Law enforcement officers confronted Vanoy in the front yard of his parents’ residence. Vanoy dropped the firearm and a holster and fled to the front porch, where he immediately surrendered. Officers recovered the firearm and holster, which also contained a spare magazine, in the area where Vanoy had been standing.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Vanoy has a significant criminal history, including prior federal convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and two Virginia state convictions for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and failure to appear in court. According to court documents, every time Vanoy has been on probation or supervised release for a felony case, he has violated his supervision by committing new state and federal felony offenses.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Caine and Ashleigh Ragner. It was investigated by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force, which consists of the FBI, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Johnson County, Kan., Sheriff's Department, and the Independence, Mo., Police Department.
 

            WASHINGTON – Krishna Jannor-John Marsh, 22, formerly of New York, N.Y., was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for an identity theft scam in which he traveled throughout the country to conduct fraudulent bank transactions.

            U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service and Peter R. Rendina, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement.

            Marsh pled guilty in July 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He was sentenced by the Honorable James E. Boasberg. In addition to the prison term, Marsh was ordered to pay $338,100 in restitution to three banks, as well as a forfeiture money judgment of $50,000. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, Marsh conspired with others, including a former bank employee, to obtain access to account holders’ personal identifying information for no legitimate business purpose. He and others then presented counterfeit identification in the names of the account holders and conducted or attempted to conduct fraudulent transactions from their accounts.

            Fictitious accounts were opened at other financial institutions, and the conspirators wired funds and deposited checks from the compromised bank accounts into these fictitious accounts. In his guilty plea, Marsh accepted responsibility for causing $338,100 in losses to three banks. Marsh conducted bank transactions at multiple locations in the District of Columbia, California, Florida and New York.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Ebert and Inspector in Charge Rendina commended the work of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Zia M. Faruqui, who assisted with forfeiture issues, Paralegal Specialist Joshua Fein, and former Paralegal Specialist Kristy Penny. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that an Anchorage woman was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess to serve eight months in federal prison for defrauding the state of Alaska Medicaid Program out of $90,000. 

Mi Ran Yu, 41, of Anchorage, acted as a personal care assistant for her parents, who qualified for Medicaid assistance, between 2012 and 2016.  Yu was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2016 for felony health care fraud charges stemming from a scheme to grossly exaggerate the alleged infirmity of her parents, and to falsely report the number of hours which she was allegedly spending to render assistance to them.  Yu pleaded guilty in January 2017 to 20 counts of committing health care fraud against the Medicaid program.

In addition to the eight-month prison sentence, Judge Burgess ordered Yu to pay $90,000 in restitution to the state of Alaska Medicaid Program.  Yu was also placed on a three-year period of supervised release following service of her custody sentence, and was ordered to pay the federal government a special assessment of $2,000.00 

At sentencing, Judge Burgess noted that cases of fraud against social services programs such as Medicaid are often hard to detect, and that sentences of incarceration in these types of cases are especially warranted as a general deterrence to the public.  As stated by Judge Burgess “people need to understand that there are serious consequences to committing this type of fraud beyond simply paying the money back.”

This case was investigated by the state of Alaska Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Bottini.

Jackson, Miss. – Cheng Lin, 36, and and his father, Guo Guang Lin, 61, both of Meridian, Mississippi, pled guilty today before U.S. District Court Senior Judge David M. Bramlette III to harboring illegal aliens at their restaurant, China Buffet II, in Meridian, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles and U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Rafiq Ahmad. In addition, Lin’s China Buffett of Meridian, Inc. d/b/a/ China Buffet II also pled guilty to harboring illegal aliens and agreed to two years probation and an immigration compliance program, in addition to forfeiture and a $200,000 fine.

The Defendants will be sentenced by Judge Bramlette on January 8, 2019 at 10:00AM.

"Employing and harboring illegal aliens harms American citizens by stealing jobs and puts business owners who follow the law at a competitive disadvantage. This should serve as a warning to all those who attempt to illegally profit and gain a competitive advantage by violating our immigration laws - you will be prosecuted and punished, and your ill-gotten gains will be forfeited. I commend the prosecutors and agents who worked tirelessly for years to bring these criminals to justice," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

In 2004, Defendant Guo Guang Lin was listed as one of the principal officers of China Buffet of Meridian. In 2011, Guo Guang Lin became the principal officer of the company. In 2014, the company was dissolved and reincorporated as Lin’s China Buffet of Meridian d/b/a China Buffet II, with Gui Guang Lin and Cheng Lin listed as some of the incorporators.

From 2012 through January 2017, HSI agents observed a 15-passenger van registered to China Buffet II making multiple trips to a house owned by China Buffet of Meridian Inc. to pick up illegal aliens living at the house and transport them to the restaurant where they worked, and back to the home.

In January 2013, three illegal aliens were encountered by HSI, two of whom were in a 15-passenger van previously parked at a residence owned by China Buffet where the illegal aliens lived while working at China Buffet.

On February 22, 2017, HSI agents executed a search warrant at China Buffet and encountered 9 illegal aliens. None of them were required to complete any paperwork or show any documents or identification when they were hired as employees, nor were they asked about their immigration status.

Guo Guang Lin was identified by multiple illegal aliens as the driver of the passenger van between the home housing the illegal aliens and the business. Guo Guang Lin was also identified by illegal aliens as a cook at the restaurant. When Cheng Lin was interviewed, he admitted that the employees he paid in cash lived at the house owned by China Buffet II, while the hostess was paid via check. A monthly payroll ledger discovered during the search confirmed illegal employee names, dates worked, amounts paid and other information from July 2013 through January 2017. This ledger was separate from the payroll records for legal employees. It was also discovered through the investigation that China Buffet II omitted wages for their illegal employees when sending payroll records to their accountant in New York. The defendants also failed to withhold and pay federal income taxes on these illegal aliens, failed to prepare I-9 Forms, and failed to report wages to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security or the Internal Revenue Service.

In 2007, HSI arrested numerous illegal aliens employed at a restaurant owned by Cheng Lin in New Orleans. Cheng Lin admitted to paying employees in cash, and that employees were provided lodging, transportation and meals at no expenses. Lin was fined $23,250 for I-9 violations.

The defendants agreed to the following forfeiture amounts resulting from seizures by HIS agents during execution of the search warrant on February 22, 2017:

 $437,046 cash seized from safe deposit box number at Citizen’s National Bank;

 $106,000 cash in lieu of house owned by the corporation used to house illegal aliens;

 $86,070 cash seized from Defendant Cheng Lin’s home;

 $68,124.00 cash seized at the China Buffet II Restaurant;

 $34,212.94 held at Citizens National Bank in the name of Lin’s China Buffet of Meridian, Inc

 Insurance payments or proceeds relating to the 2007 Ford E-350 van, VIN x-8040;

The case was investigated and indicted by Assistant United States Attorneys Glenda Haynes and Dave Fulcher. It is currently being prosecuted by United States Attorney Mike Hurst.

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Rico Paris Gillespie, a/k/a “Rico G The Mayor,” 31, of Anchorage, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason, to serve 87 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for his conviction of distribution of methamphetamine. 

According to court documents, on three separate occasions in April and May of 2017, Gillespie sold methamphetamine in Anchorage.  In May 2017, Gillespie’s house and vehicle were searched by law enforcement officers.  During the search, officers found methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl packaged for sale, as well as three digital scales inside Gillespie’s house.  In a vehicle Gillespie was seen driving prior to the search of the house, law enforcement officers found a loaded Taurus 9mm firearm with a round in the chamber underneath the driver’s seat.

Gillespie styled himself as a local hip-hop performer known by the moniker, “Rico G The Mayor.”  Gillespie has posted many videos online where his lyrics and videos depict a glamorous lifestyle funded by drug trafficking and other illegal activities. 

Before imposing a sentence, Judge Gleason commented that she was particularly troubled that Gillespie dealt drugs out of the same home that he shared with young children.  She was also concerned that Gillespie was a “for profit” drug trafficker and did not appear to have an addiction to the drugs he was selling in the community.  At the sentencing hearing, the record was clear that Mr. Gillespie’s last verified employment was in 2014.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Alaska State Troopers (AST), and the Anchorage Police Department (APD) conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Cavanaugh.

BOSTON – The chief financial officer of a Marlborough business was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Worcester in connection with a scheme to commit bank fraud.

John J. Crowley, 62, of Boca Raton, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $60,000. In March 2018, Crowley and co-defendant James R. Faro, of Dover, each pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud. On Sept. 18, 2018, Faro was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $1,121,155 in restitution.

Faro is the former owner and president of Sea Star Seafood Corporation, a company previously headquartered in Marlborough that distributed frozen seafood products. Crowley is the former chief financial officer for Sea Star.

From October 2010 until August 2012, Sea Star maintained an asset-backed loan agreement whereby a bank agreed to loan Sea Star up to $6 million pursuant to a revolving line of credit. Sea Star pledged its assets – most notably its inventory and accounts receivable – as collateral for the loan. 

Between November 2010 and August 2012, Faro and Crowley conspired to intentionally overstate the value of Sea Star’s outstanding accounts receivable that it reported to the bank. By doing so, Faro and Crowley fraudulently increased the level of assets against which Sea Star could borrow from the bank. In August 2012, Sea Star informed the bank that it had discovered a “discrepancy” of over $3 million in its reported, versus actual, assets. Sea Star discontinued its business operations approximately one week later. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg A. Friedholm of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – David Prejean, a former Sergeant in the K-9 Unit of the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office (IPSO), was sentenced Monday to serve 30 months in prison and one year supervised release on his guilty plea to violating the civil rights of a detainee, announced David C. Joseph, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana; John Gore, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and FBI New Orleans Division Special Agent in Charge Eric J. Rommal. Prejean previously admitted, during a guilty plea hearing, that he acted without legal justification on Dec. 6, 2012, when he commanded his K-9 to bite the detainee, and then struck the detainee, resulting in bodily injury.

According to statements made in court and filings made in connection with the guilty plea, Prejean was a K-9 Sergeant on the IMPACT Unit, a specialized unit at IPSO, when he was called to the Iberia Parish Jail on Dec. 6, 2012, to assist with a shakedown. During the course of the shakedown, an inmate turned to look at Prejean after being told not to, at which point Prejean threw the inmate to the ground and then commanded his dog to bite him. Prejean also struck the inmate several times. Despite the fact that the inmate had complied with Prejean’s commands and did not pose a threat to anyone on the rec yard, Prejean allowed the dog to bite the inmate for several seconds before pulling the K9 away. Prejean’s unlawful use of force resulted in injury to the inmate. Following the assault, Prejean wrote false report designed to cover up his unjustified use of force.

“Law enforcement officers face danger in the field every day protecting the rights and safety of those in our communities,” said Joseph. “It is necessary that they follow the laws they are sworn to protect. Our district takes violations of the law seriously and will hold those accountable those who ignore those laws, especially those who tasked with their enforcement.”

 “The United States Constitution protects all individuals, including those who are incarcerated,” said Gore. “The Justice Department will uphold the rule of law and aggressively prosecute any violation of an inmate’s civil rights.”  

 “FBI New Orleans vigorously investigates all credible allegations of civil rights violations, including those who are incarcerated,” Rommal stated. “Violations of one’s civil rights will not be tolerated.”

This case was investigated by the Lafayette Resident Agency of the FBI, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Mudrick of the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Tona Boyd of the Civil Rights Division.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - United States District Court Senior Judge Charles R. Simpson III has sentenced Louisville, Kentucky, man, Dennis A. L. Booker to 65 months in federal prison today, followed by 3 years of supervised release for six counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman. The Court also ordered Booker to pay restitution of $112,000 to the victim of his scheme. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Court sentenced Booker, age 40, for his participation in a fraudulent scheme between October 2015 and June 2017. According to a plea agreement filed in the case, Booker told J.M., the victim, he needed cash to close a real estate transaction, and promised to repay J.M. when the transaction closed. J.M. loaned Booker $43,000, which was never repaid. J.M. demanded repayment, and Booker promised to wire the money, but told J.M. he needed his credit card number to pay fees associated with the transfer of payment. Instead of repaying the victim, Booker used the credit card number to obtain cash advances at Churchill Downs and to pay for personal expenses, resulting in a total loss of approximately $140,000.

Booker was serving supervised release during the time of the fraud for a previous conviction in federal court.

Assistant United States Attorney David Weiser prosecuted the case. The United States Secret Service conducted the investigation.

ALBUQUERQUE – A U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., today found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Dain Justin Adams, 37, of Roswell, N.M., with child pornography offenses.  The Magistrate Judge also remanded Adams into custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.

The FBI arrested Adams on Sept. 19, 2018, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing and distributing child pornography from May 2018 through June 2018, in Chaves County, N.M.  According to the complaint, the investigation leading to Adams’ arrest began in May 2018, when a special agent of the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office who was working in an undercover capacity signed into a peer-to-peer file-sharing network which allegedly was used by individuals who shared child pornography.  The special agent learned that an IP Address subscribed to Adams’ residence in Roswell allegedly was being used to share child pornography.

On June 27, 2018, state law enforcement executed a state search warrant on Adams’ residence.  While executing the search warrant, law enforcement seized multiple devices including a computer, which allegedly contained at least seven videos of suspected child pornography.

The statutory penalty for a conviction on a distribution of child pornography charge is a mandatory minimum of five years and maximum of 20 years of imprisonment.  The statutory penalty for a conviction on a possession of child pornography charge is a maximum of 20 years in prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI, the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa A. Ong and Dustin Segovia of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s 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 information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. 

The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.  There are 86 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

United States Attorney Matthew Schneider is proud to announce the establishment of the Southeast Michigan Regional Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force.  This is an unprecedented step to co-locate so many federal as well as state and local resources to address the unique challenges in the southeast Michigan region. 

This multi-agency Strike Force is composed of personnel from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and approximately 26 state, local and Canadian law enforcement agencies.

The Department of Justice recognized that Southeast Michigan had both a significant opioid problem and a violent gang problem. Analysis of investigations in the Region found that domestic cartel and violent street gangs are responsible for distribution of Mexican-sourced heroin, fentanyl-laced heroin and pure fentanyl here. Additionally, DOJ noticed a significant increase in overdose deaths as well as identified over 140 neighborhood-based gangs operating in the Region. These gangs were and are facilitating the drug trade and using violence to control their territories and prevent cooperation with law enforcement.

In response to this problem, the Southeast Michigan Strike Force will coordinate investigations to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute transnational criminal organizations, violent drug trafficking organizations, firearms trafficking organizations, and their subsidiary organizations, which operate throughout the southeast Michigan region, the United States and the world.  The Strike Force will focus cooperative investigations on dissolving these organizations, their financial infrastructures, and the violence and associated deaths they bring to our communities.

“While all of us have been working individually to fight gangs and drugs, our individual efforts were not as effective as we wanted,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “We know that gangs and cartels work together.  So we’re doing the same thing.  We’re going to step up our efforts.  We are now communicating immediately, sharing intelligence, and planning our attacks against these criminals together.” 

“As a part of the Southeast Michigan OCDETF Strike Force, we are committed to a long-term partnership that allows law enforcement to reduce the illegal drug supply by aggressively targeting criminal organizations operating throughout southeast Michigan,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon. “Drug trafficking and violence go hand-in-hand, which is why federal, state and local law enforcement are making these dangerous drug trafficking organizations a top priority. By working with our partners, we are able to bring these violent individuals to justice and improve the safety of our communities. We are focused on the current opioid epidemic, but this initiative is ready to adapt to any future drug threat facing southeast Michigan“

“The Strike Force model, which has proven effective in other areas of the country, will certainly be highly successful in the fight against criminal organizations that are flooding our communities with dangerous narcotics. The influx of these drugs into our communities feeds other illicit activities including human trafficking, carjackings, homicides and other gang-related violent crime.” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, FBI Detroit. “Combining the resources and capabilities of the agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting these crimes will improve our ability to target, disrupt and ultimately dismantle those organizations distributing drugs and contributing to violence in communities throughout Southeast Michigan.”

 “As criminal organizations become increasingly sophisticated in their activities, the law enforcement community must continue to partner to leverage our unique capabilities and combined resources to combat this ever evolving threat,” said Steve Francis, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit.

“Special Agent in Charge Manny Muriel, IRS - Criminal Investigation, stated, “The IRS-CI will utilize our expertise as financial investigators and leverage our domestic and international partnerships to combat national and transnational money laundering organizations.”  Muriel continued, “Similarly we will continue to work with our law enforcement and private sector partners to repeatedly assess ongoing and emerging money laundering threats.”

Since its inception in October 2017, the members of the Southeast Michigan Regional Strike Force have been responsible for the seizure or over 35 kilograms of fentanyl, 25 kilograms of heroin, 50 kilograms of cocaine, as well as the seizure of 12 weapons and approximately three million dollars in drug proceeds.  The seized fentanyl alone would have exponentially fueled the opioid epidemic in the region and was enough to have killed approximately 15 million people based on the lethal dosage threshold.  In addition, over 100 people have been arrested.  Some of the people arrested by Strike Force members have been sentenced to extensive terms of incarceration related to the delivery of controlled substances which caused the death of those who developed an addiction to opioids. 

The local agencies include Michigan State Police, Michigan National Guard, Canton Township Police Department, Detroit Police Department, Northfield Township Police Department, Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Walled Lake Police Department, Shelby Township Police Department, Southgate Police Department, Livonia Police Department, Livingston County Sheriff’s Department, Milan Police Department, Pittsfield Charter Township Police Department, Plymouth Township Police Department, Brownstown Police Department, Woodhaven Police Department, Allen Park Police Department and the Wayne County Airport Authority.   The Canadian law enforcement agencies include the London Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Windsor Police Service and the Canada Border Services Agency.  Also included are the Michigan State Attorney General’s Office and Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

CHICAGO — A Chicago insurance agent has pleaded guilty to willfully failing to pay federal and state taxes on more than $4.7 million in income earned over a decade.

JOHN OCWIEJA admitted in a plea agreement that he willfully failed to pay income taxes for tax years 2006 to 2016, causing a combined loss to the United States and State of Illinois of more than $1.1 million.  During those years, Ocwieja earned a total income of more than $4.7 million as a licensed insurance agent and financial representative, the plea agreement states.

Ocwieja, 49, of Chicago, pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of willfully failing to file a federal tax return.  U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman set sentencing for Dec. 18, 2018, at 10:00 a.m.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Gabriel L. Grchan, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrianna Kastanek and Patrick King.

According to the plea agreement, Ocwieja earned more than $500,000 in three of the eleven years he failed to pay income taxes, and more than $300,000 in four other years.  Ocwieja acknowledged in the plea agreement that he used the funds for personal matters instead of satisfying his tax liabilities.

The conviction carries a maximum total sentence of three years in federal prison.  The Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

Roberto Paul Mendoza, 28, of Palm Beach County, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks to 240 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, after previously pleading guilty to three counts of distribution of heroin, carfentanyl, and cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, and one count of knowingly possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Adolphus P.  Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) made the announcement.

According to the court record, Mendoza distributed heroin mixed with carfentanyl and cocaine to an undercover police officer on three occasions.  Thereafter, during the execution of a search warrant of Mendoza’s residence and vehicle distribution quantities of heroin and a firearm were discovered and seized by law enforcement.  Further, court records also showed that Mendoza was responsible for distributing carfentanyl, which ultimately caused the death of a 40 year-old man. 

Mrs. Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the DEA and PBSO in this matter.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Nucci.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

ALBUQUERQUE – Felicia Gonzales, 31, of Rio Rancho, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M, to a series of federal charges uncovered by a U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigation into a mail theft scheme.  Gonzales entered her guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement. 

U.S. Postal Inspectors arrested Gonzales on April 23, 2018, on a criminal complaint charging her with theft of mail, bank fraud, and identity theft.  According to the complaint, the investigation revealed that in March 2018 and April 2018, Gonzales used a counterfeit U.S. Postal Service “arrow key” to access community mailboxes in neighborhoods throughout Albuquerque and steal mail.  The investigation also revealed that Gonzales made unauthorized purchases using credit cards that were not delivered to their intended recipients.  When she was arrested, Gonzales was armed with a pistol.

Gonzales subsequently was charged in an eleven-count indictment on May 9, 2018, with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, four counts of possession of stolen mail, two counts of possession of a counterfeit U.S. Postal Service “arrow key,” three counts of bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.  According to the indictment, Gonzales committed the offenses between Feb. 24, 2018 and April 23, 2018, in Bernalillo County, N.M., and elsewhere.  The indictment charged Gonzales with committing the postal theft offenses by stealing mail from mailboxes by using a counterfeit U.S. Postal Service “arrow key.”  The mail stolen included debit and credit cards with personal identifiers of victims, which were used to commit the bank fraud offenses.

During today’s change of plea hearing, Gonzales plead guilty to all eleven counts of the indictment.

Gonzales’ sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, Gonzales faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on the bank fraud charges, ten years on the firearms charge, five years on the postal theft charges, and ten years on arrow key theft charges.  Gonzales also faces a mandatory term of imprisonment of two years on the aggravated identity theft charge, which must be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed on the other charges. 

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On September 25, 2018, Sherry Ann Allen, 49, of Johnson City, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 51 months in federal prison, as a result of her June 2018 plea of guilty to theft by a credit union officer or employee and tax evasion. Upon her release from prison, Allen will be supervised by U.S. Probation for three years.  She was also ordered to pay a total of $1,237,547.04 in restitution.

In November 2017, the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) contacted members of the Greater Eastern Credit Union (credit union) management team after it received information regarding an abnormality in the payment to a vendor.  JCPD provided the details and credit union personnel conducted an internal review of the transaction, which showed that Allen had paid a vendor and purposely and personally processed a transaction in which $10,000 was transferred to an account that she controlled.  During their review, credit union personnel discovered additional transactions Allen processed in which funds were deposited into other accounts she controlled. The credit union personnel informed their Board of Directors that Allen was stealing money from the credit union and she was placed on indefinite suspension. The Board of Directors ordered that an accounting firm conduct a fraud examination.  By this time, the FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation had joined the investigation.    

The investigation revealed that Allen had embezzled $1,195,596 in calendar years 2011 to 2017.  She used some of the stolen money for her personal benefit.  In the beginning, she used the stolen money to pay her credit cards and later purchased an Infiniti and Ford truck for personal use.  Allen and her husband also took a cruise and trips to Tucson, Arizona and Eastern Europe.  Additionally, she purchased a timeshare in Orlando, Florida, a camper, clothes and jewelry.

Allen donated some of the stolen money to charitable causes.  She took her church youth group on several trips, including missions to Ireland, Nicaragua, and Florida.  She paid for Vacation Bible School items.  She gave stolen money to people who needed groceries and purchased two vehicles for members of her church.

Allen did not report the embezzled and misapplied money as income on her joint tax returns in tax years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 2015 and 2016.  In doing so, she and her spouse, prepared and filed, or caused to be prepared and filed false and fraudulent tax returns.

“The U.S. Attorney’s office will continue to prosecute individuals in positions of trust, who steal or misappropriate funds for their own personal use, when the cases are referred to our office,” said J. Douglas Overbey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

“The prosecution of individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes is a vital element of the IRS' enforcement strategy,” said Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge.  “No matter the source of income, all income is taxable, including embezzled funds.  When a bank executive, such as Ms. Allen, misuses their position, it violates the public trust and puts the financial stability of the institution at risk.  IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to using our forensic accounting skills to help unravel complex fraud schemes, to investigate and prosecute individuals who attempt to enrich themselves by fraudulent means, and to help put a stop to this and other types of white collar crime."

"Solid partnerships in law enforcement are key to the success of our mission, said Troy Sowers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Knoxville Field Office.  The Johnson City Police Department and the IRS-Criminal Investigation agents worked tirelessly with us to help bring the accused to justice.  I thank them for their efforts and look forward to working future cases."

Agencies involved in this investigation included the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation and Johnson City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Reeves represented the United States in court proceedings.                                                   

###

Following a one-week jury trial, on September 21, 2018, Joudanorve Lafleur, of Miami, Florida, was convicted of armed bank robbery, and brandishing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of the armed robbery. 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Robert Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.

According to evidence presented at trial, at approximately 9:20 a.m. on April 20, 2018 at a TD Bank in Miami Shores, Lafleur, wearing a black ski mask, black hoodie, and pants, robbed two bank tellers and one bank customer at gunpoint.  After repeatedly demanding “all of the hundreds” from his victims, Lafleur fired a bullet into the ceiling of the bank.  Then, he fled, with more than $2,000. 

The FBI tracked Lafleur to his residence within an hour of the robbery, and after a search of Lafleur’s home, investigators recovered his disguise (mask and hoodie), the stolen money, and the firearm used in the robbery, among other items.  Evidence at trial also showed that Lafleur robbed one of his elderly neighbors, stealing his clothes in the minutes before law enforcement arrived, in an attempt to distance himself from the crime and change his appearance.  The trial evidence included witness testimony, bank surveillance video, DNA expert testimony, and cellular telephone analysis. 

Sentencing is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez on December 5, 2018, at 2:00 p.m.  Lafleur faces up to twenty five years in prison for the bank robbery and a consecutive mandatory minimum term of ten years to life in prison for brandishing and discharging the firearm offense of conviction.

This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings 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.

Mrs. Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI in this matter.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa H. Miller and Jessica K. Obenauf. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.