PITTSBURGH – A Washington County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating the federal firearms laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

James Roosevelt Leach, age 47, of Washington, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on December 14, 2016, the Pennsylvania State Police performed a traffic stop on a vehicle near the City of Washington, in Washington County. Mr. Leach, the driver and lone occupant, was found in possession of a box of 9mm caliber ammunition; underneath the driver’s seat of Mr. Leach’s vehicle, the state police seized a loaded, stolen 9mm semi-automatic Ruger pistol. Mr. Leach admitted to the state police that he bought the pistol on the street. Federal law prohibits Leach, a felon previously convicted in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, Pennsylvania, of crimes including rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for March 12, 2019, at 10 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Jerome A. Moschetta is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

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 Pennsylvania State Police and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation leading to the plea in this case.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced today that Jacob Waitze, 23, of Southbury, Connecticut, was sentenced today to 24 months’ imprisonment, followed by 3 years’ supervised release.  Waitze previously pleaded guilty to cyberstalking in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2261A(2)(b).

During the 2015-16 school year, Waitze, a former Drexel University student, used a computer and the Internet to engage in a campaign of harassment and intimidation against a Drexel student following a personal dispute with the student.  Waitze impersonated the victim in a variety of Internet forums, suggesting that the victim was either a pedophile who needed help or someone interested in receiving child pornography material.  In doing so, the communications and statements Waitze made typically included the victim’s true name, the victim’s actual e-mail address, photographs of the victim, and/or actual personal details concerning the victim, such as the victim’s status as a Drexel student.  As a result, the victim received multiple unwanted emails, both from persons who were offended by the posts and from persons who wanted to engage the victim in conversations related to child pornography.

“In taking on the victim’s persona online, Waitze used the Internet as a weapon to carry out his personal vendetta,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain.  “By giving others the impression that this victim was interested in child exploitation, Waitze caused the victim a great deal of harm.  Today’s sentence demonstrates that my Office will hold cyberstalkers accountable when they misuse technology in this manner.”

“HSI is hopeful that today’s sentencing provides the victim in this case a sense of relief after the months of abuse and harassment they endured at the hands of Mr. Waitze,” said Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia. “HSI takes these crimes seriously and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable cyberstalkers who cause long-lasting damage to the reputations of their victims for their own selfish gain.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Drexel University Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Schlessinger.

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MAMDOUH ABDEL-SAYED, a former full-time lecturer at the City University of New York’s Medgar Evers College (“Medgar Evers College” or the “College”), was sentenced to six months in prison for selling sham Medgar Evers College certificates that purported to represent the completion of health care courses at the College.  ABDEL-SAYED pled guilty on May 30, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, who imposed today’s sentence.    

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Mamdouh Abdel-Sayed put his greed before the public’s health when he provided fake healthcare program certificates to students – certificates that allowed people with little to no relevant education to work in the healthcare field.  Thankfully Abdel-Sayed’s money-making scheme was discovered and he will serve time in federal prison for his misdeeds.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Indictment, and statements made in court and publicly available documents:

MAMDOUH ABDEL-SAYED was a full-time lecturer in the Biology Department at Medgar Evers College.  From at least 2013 through 2017, without authorization from Medgar Evers College, ABDEL-SAYED purported to teach health care courses at the College on topics such as Electrocardiograms, Phlebotomy, and Sonography, and provided students with sham certificates of completion for the courses, in exchange for which ABDEL-SAYED charged fees of up to $1,000 per certificate, which money he kept for himself.  ABDEL-SAYED attempted to avoid scrutiny from the College’s security guards in conducting the unauthorized courses.    

In addition to charging fees for the unauthorized courses and sham certificates, ABDEL-SAYED encouraged students to use the certificates in obtaining employment in the health care field, including at New York City-area hospitals.  When asked by employment agencies to verify the authenticity of the certificates, ABDEL-SAYED falsely informed the agencies that the certificates were issued by Medgar Evers College.  In fact, ABDEL-SAYED created the sham certificates himself, and provided them to students even if the students did not attend his unauthorized courses, so long as the students paid ABDEL-SAYED for the certificates.  In addition, ABDEL-SAYED distributed copies of purported national certification examinations – which he informed students on a recorded conversation it was “illegal” for them to possess – in order to assist the students in passing licensing examinations supposedly administered by the State for certain medical techniques. 

After ABDEL-SAYED became aware of the investigation, he instructed an undercover law enforcement investigator, who had posed as a student and purchased several unauthorized certificates from him, to provide false information to federal law enforcement agents and to conceal those certificates from the agents.   ABDEL-SAYED has been on administrative leave from the College since his arrest.

*                *                *

In addition to the prison term, ABDEL-SAYED, 69, of Kearny, New Jersey, was sentenced to six months of home confinement, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution and $20,000 forfeiture. 

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the New York State Inspector General’s Office and the U.S. Department of Education - Office of Inspector General. 

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli J. Mark is in charge of the prosecution.

Defendant had two prior deportations to Honduras

BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Honduran national man entered a guilty plea to the felony offense of Reentry of a Removed Alien, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Wilfredo Artiaga-Mejia faces up to two years of incarceration when he is scheduled to be sentenced on February 20, 2019.  Artiaga-Mejia  is also subject to deportation proceedings at the conclusion of any sentence.   Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“My office is serious about prosecuting those who enter the United States illegally,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “And we will continue to do so.” 

On August 29, 2018, Artiaga-Mejia was found in Maxwelton, Greenbrier County, West Virginia by members of ICE after receiving a tip that individuals were in the country illegally and working in the area.  Pursuant to this investigation,  ICE agents approached Artiaga-Mejia and he surrendered to them. Agents immediately confirmed that Artiaga-Mejia was not in the United States legally, and took him into federal custody.

Artiaga-Mejia’s fingerprints matched him to two prior encounters where he was found in the United States illegally and deported from the United States to Honduras.  He was also previously convicted of illegally entering the United States on December 4, 2012 in the Western District of Texas.   Artiaga-Mejia-Chigo illegally reentered the United States prior to his capture in 2018.  Artiaga-Mejia had not obtained permission to legally enter the United States and had not sought legal status or citizenship.  Artiaga-Mejia also admitted to ICE agents that he was a Honduran citizen.

Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is responsible for the prosecution. United States District Judge Irene Berger presided over the hearing.

Follow us on Twitter:SDWVNewsandUSAttyStuart 
 
 
 

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

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jabriel Crews, 35, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 500 grams or more of cocaine, was sentenced to 96 months in prison by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who handled the case, stated that between January 2014 and June 1, 2016, the defendant purchased multi-kilo quantities of cocaine from a source in Houston, Texas. Co-defendant Mark Ramos, an associate of the Houston source-of-supply, would mail the cocaine to addresses in Buffalo provided by Crews. The defendant would then receive those parcels and process and repackage the cocaine for distribution. In exchange, Crews would make payment to his source in Texas using some combination of a courier and U.S. mail parcels mailed to P.O. boxes set up in the Houston, Texas area.

On June 1, 2016, a search warrant was executed at 236 Katherine Street. Law enforcement officers recovered a scale with powder residue, packaging materials including bags and a vacuum sealer, identification cards, and one live bullet.

Mark Ramos was previously convicted and sentenced on federal charges. Charles Gonzalez was charged and convicted in state court.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard.

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WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Dr. Roland F. Chalifoux, Jr., a physician associated with a pain management clinic in McMechen, West Virginia, will pay more than $28,000 in restitution as a part of an agreement, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

The United States filed a pre-trial diversion agreement as a part of a motion to dismiss charges against Chalifoux. Chalifoux, age 59, of St. Clairsville, Ohio, has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $28,606.75, be under supervision by the United States Probation Office, and abide by all conditions set forth in the agreement for 12 months. If at any time, any violations are made, the United States can rescind the agreement and pursue said charges.

Chalifoux has agreed to pay the following:
•    Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - $2,320.62
•    WV Medicaid Fraud Control Unit - $9,860.95
•    The Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley - $11,339.71
•    Blue Cross Blue Shield - $5,085.47

The Motion to Dismiss and the Pre-Trial Diversion Agreement were filed earlier this week.

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal grand jury sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., indicted two men, Kenny Sanchez, 53, a former resident of Carlsbad, N.M., who currently resides in Balch Springs, Tex., and Joseph Hernandez, 41, a resident of Carlsbad, charging them with trafficking methamphetamine in Eddy County, N.M.  The charges against Sanchez and Hernandez, which are contained in separate indictments that were filed in Sept. 2018, are the result of investigation by the DEA and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force into methamphetamine trafficking in Carlsbad.  Sanchez’s indictment was announced this week after he was transferred from Texas to New Mexico to face the charges against him. 

Sanchez is charged in a four-count indictment that was filed on Sept. 19, 2018, and charges him with participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy in April 2018, and with distributing methamphetamine on April 18, 2018, April 27, 2018 and May 9, 2018.  The indictment alleges that Sanchez committed the four offenses in Eddy County.

The Abilene Police Department arrested Sanchez on a federal arrest warrant issued based on the federal indictment in Abilene, Tex., on Sept. 21, 2018.  Sanchez was transferred from Texas to New Mexico on Oct. 26, 2018, and he made his initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., on Oct. 29, 2018.  Sanchez was ordered detained pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.

If convicted, Sanchez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years of imprisonment on the conspiracy charge and one of the distribution charges, and a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life of imprisonment on the two remaining distribution charges. 

Hernandez is charged in a two-count indictment with distributing methamphetamine on March 21 and 22, 2018, in Eddy County.  The PVDTF arrested Hernandez at his residence in Carlsbad on Sept. 25, 2018, and Hernandez made his initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces.  Hernandez was ordered detained pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.

If convicted, Hernandez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison on each of two distribution charges.

Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

These cases were investigated by the DEA and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clara N. Cobos of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

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

COEUR D’ALENE –Amber Annette Hosking, 39, and Jessica Fay Barnes, 32, sisters, from Spokane Valley, Washington, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit federal program theft, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

According to court records, from 2015 to February 2018, both women conspired with an unnamed agent of the North Idaho Housing Coalition to commit federal program theft.  The conspiracy involved the sisters receiving money from the Coalition after an agent for the Coalition submitted false bills for work never performed.  The Coalition’s agent, knowing the bills were false, still paid the sisters from the Coalition’s bank accounts.  The sisters knew the bills submitted to the Coalition were false.  Hosking agreed to forfeit at least $16,500 obtained from the crime, while Barnes agreed to forfeit at least $15,000 obtained from her part in the crime.

Hosking and Barnes’ sentencings are set for January 29, 2019 before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.  Each faces a maximum punishment of up to five years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Davis commended the collaborative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the City of Coeur d’Alene Police Department, the Kootenai County Prosecutors Office and his office staff.  “We are always at our strongest when we work together for the good of the public we serve,” said Davis.

This case was worked collaboratively by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

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OAKLAND – A federal jury convicted David John Telles, Jr. of online enticement of a minor, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in a foreign place, announced United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ryan Spradlin.  The guilty verdict was handed down October 29, 2018, following a jury trial before the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, U.S. District Judge. 

Evidence at trial showed that Telles, then 38 years old, lived in Pleasanton, California, and used the internet to entice and induce a child to engage in sexual activity.  Specifically, Telles used an online messaging application to groom the 14-year-old victim for weeks before he traveled to England with the intent to sexually abuse her in June of 2014.  After arriving in England, Telles took the victim to two different hotels where he sexually abused her over the course of two days.  Police officers from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary in England ultimately apprehended Telles and rescued the child. 

On October 13, 2016, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging defendant with: online enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b); traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b); and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c).

The investigation began when HSI received a request for assistance from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary in the United Kingdom in locating a missing 14-year-old child.  HSI arrested Telles on October 20, 2016, at San Francisco International Airport, following his deportation from the United Kingdom.

Telles is currently being held in the custody of the United States Marshal.  Judge White scheduled Telles’s sentencing hearing for February 26, 2019.  The maximum statutory penalty for the violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) is life imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution. There is also a mandatory minimum 10-year term of imprisonment for the offense.  The maximum statutory penalties for the violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2423(b) and (c) are 30 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution.  However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina McCall and Vanessa Baehr-Jones are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Vanessa Quant, Michelle Alter Eck, Katie Turner, and Noble Hughes.  This prosecution is the result of investigations carried out by HSI and the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.  
 

BOISE – United States Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today that his office’s Financial Litigation Unit collected more than $11.17 million in criminal restitution, fines, and assessments and in civil debts for the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2018.  In some cases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office worked in conjunction with litigating components of the U.S. Department of Justice.  Of the total collected, approximately $1,923,373 were criminal restitution, fines, and/or assessments, and approximately $9,251,990 were civil debts.  In addition, the Asset Forfeiture Unit collected approximately $2,502,374 in proceeds and instruments of crime in criminal and civil forfeiture actions.

“The more than $13.6 million our staff collected for criminal restitution, fines, assessments, civil debts, and asset forfeiture exceeds the U.S. Attorney's Office’s annual operational budget,” said Davis.  “Our collection and asset forfeiture staff of attorneys, paralegals, analysts, and fiscal agents ensure that those who have caused loss to victims pay those victims back and ensure that those who have profited from committing crimes in the District of Idaho are deprived of the proceeds and tools of their crimes.  These same folks also ensure that those who owe the federal government money, as a result of litigation in this District or as a result of longtime debt, make appropriate payments.  This year, all of these dedicated individuals have done outstanding work and served this office, the taxpayers, and this community well,” Davis concluded.

Victims of crime receive funds collected in criminal restitution cases.  In fiscal year 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, through the Financial Litigation Unit, collected over $1.77 million in criminal restitution that was distributed to victims of crime.  Other criminal collections such as fines go into the Crime Victims Fund.  From there, funds are distributed to the Idaho Crime Victims Compensation Program, the Idaho Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance, and similar programs across the country.  Money recovered from the illegal proceeds of criminal activity through forfeiture is returned to victims, used to offset the costs of operating federal prisons, and shared with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to help fight crime.  Other recoveries go back to agency creditors.

During the fiscal year, some notable criminal restitution collections include approximately $508,000 paid by the defendant in a failure to pay taxes case and over $267,000 collected from assets of a defendant in a wire fraud case.  In addition, various homes were sold by defendants to partially or completely satisfy their restitution obligations.  The Treasury Offset Program helped collect over $200,000 toward restitution debt.

Notable recoveries of the proceeds of crime through asset forfeiture include forfeitures of currency, vehicles, and real property seized as proceeds and facilitating property of drug trafficking and fraud.  These included real properties in Caldwell, Nampa, Buhl and Washington State.  Significant forfeitures included the sale of agricultural land in Buhl, Idaho, in United States v Saul, an organic seed fraud case; the sale of a residence in Nampa, Idaho in United States v. Wilfong, a methamphetamine distribution case; and the forfeiture of cash and other property in United States v. Toelle, a North Idaho oxycodone distribution case.  Additionally, the Asset Forfeiture Unit used civil forfeiture to assist two Idaho companies to recover several hundred thousand dollars stolen in email fraud schemes.  In some cases, the United States shared, or will share, seized money and property with local investigating agencies.

As for civil debts and penalties, the Financial Litigation Unit collects civil penalties for violations of regulations involving, among other things, controlled substances, environmental protection, damage to federal property, and procurement fraud.  It also collects civil debts for defaulted loans.

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SAN FRANCISCO – Bradley Howell was sentenced to 46 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, announced United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The sentence was handed down today by the Honorable Susan Illston, United States District Judge.  

Howell, 34, of Louisville, Ky., pleaded guilty to the charges on July 18, 2018.  According to his plea agreement, from about April 2013 through March 2014, Howell and a co-conspirator devised a scheme in which they convinced potential investors the co-conspirators could help them receive millions of dollars’ worth of financial instruments (bank guarantees and standby letters of credit) in exchange for a much smaller down payment. Howell’s co-conspirator was an attorney licensed to practice in California.  Howell and his co-conspirator told the investors that the co-conspirator would serve as an escrow agent in the transactions and that after the investors wired money to an attorney-client trust account, the co-conspirator would notify them when the bank had issued a bank guarantee or standby letter of credit.  Howell admitted he was aware the investors’ money was not being held in escrow and that the co-conspirator did not obtain any of the financial instruments they promised the investors they would help them obtain.  Howell further admitted that he and his co- conspirator used the investors’ money for their own personal expenses.  

In his plea agreement, Howell described several instances in which he and his co- conspirator obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars from would-be investors in California.  For example, in July of 2013, the co-conspirator convinced an investor to wire $100,000 to the attorney trust account, supposedly to secure a $2,000,000 bond; by August of 2013, the co-conspirator convinced another three victims to provide $250,000, ostensibly to obtain a $4,000,000 financial instrument; and in February of 2014, the co-conspirator tricked three more victims into wiring $300,000, supposedly to finance a $20,000,000 project.  In sum, between May 2013 and February 2014, Howell admitted receiving over a $1 million from his co-conspirator pursuant to the scheme.
  
In addition, Howell admitted in his plea agreement that he was engaged in a money laundering scheme in Kentucky.  Specifically, Howell admitted that in 2012, he defrauded a steel company of $500,000, and in 2015, he defrauded a married couple of $100,000.  

On September 17, 2015, federal grand jury in the Northern District of California indicted Howell, charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349, and nine counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.  In addition, on March 8, 2017, a federal grand jury in the Western District of Kentucky indicted Howell, charging him with two counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957.  Based on the consent of both districts, the Kentucky proceedings were transferred to the Northern District of California.  Pursuant to his plea agreement, Howell pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and one of the Kentucky money laundering counts.  

In addition to the prison term, Judge Illston sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release and ordered him to pay $1,591,895 in restitution.  Judge also ordered forfeiture of four parcels of real property, a Lamborghini automobile and a Campagna T Rex motorcycle.  Howell has been in custody since May of 2018, and will begin serving his sentence immediately.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robin Harris and Chinhayi Cadet are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Bridget Kilkenny.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
 

          LOS ANGELES– A federal grand jury this afternoon returned a two-count indictment that charges four Southern California men linked to a white supremacy extremist group with planning and engaging in riots at political rallies across California.

          The four defendants – all of whom are in federal custody, currently being held without bond – are charged with conspiracy for their activities in connection with the white supremacist organization known as the Rise Above Movement, or RAM. “RAM represented itself publicly as a combat-ready, militant group of a new nationalist white supremacy and identity movement,” according to the indictment.

          The four defendants named in the indictment are:

• Robert Rundo, 28, of Huntington Beach, allegedly a founding member of RAM;
• Robert Boman, 25, of Torrance;
• Tyler Laube, 22, of Redondo Beach; and
• Aaron Eason, 38, who resides in the Riverside County community of Anza.

          All four defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy. Rundo, Boman and Eason are additionally charged with one count of rioting

          The four defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment later this month, starting with Rundo on November 9.

          According to the indictment, the four men participated the conspiracy in varying ways, including by engaging in recruitment of RAM members, coordinating and participating in hand-to-hand and other combat training, traveling to political rallies to attack protesters and other persons, and publishing photographs and videos of violent acts to recruit other members for future events.

          The indictment alleges that various members of the conspiracy directly participated in attacks at political rallies in Huntington Beach on March 25, 2017; in Berkeley on April 15, 2017; and in San Bernardino on June 10, 2017. In the months following these events, the defendants allegedly trained for future events and celebrated their assaults, which included online posts with photos of RAM members assaulting people.

          An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

          Both the conspiracy and riots charges in the indictment carry statutory maximum sentences of five years in federal prison.

          This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

          This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David T. Ryan of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section in the National Security Division of the United States Attorney’s Office.

          Today’s indictment follows the filing of an indictment in United States District Court in Charlottesville, Virginia that charges four other California RAM members with violating the riots statute during violent altercations in Charlottesville in August 2017.

          LOS ANGELES– A man who laundered ransom money for a violent kidnapping organization that held hostage two dozen Mexican nationals has been convicted on federal conspiracy charges.

          Luis Francisco Murillo Morfin, 33, of National City, was found guilty Wednesday of conspiracy to commit money laundering. United States District Judge John F. Walter issued the verdict after a two-day bench trial.

          The kidnapping victims were lured by false promises of being smuggled into the United States. In August 2015, members of the Mexico-based conspiracy picked up victims in Northern Mexico, drove them in the trunks of cars through a fake border “checkpoint,” and then took them to a stash house in Tijuana, where they were threatened, beaten and raped. One kidnapping victim testified at trial about being raped, while another testified about being sexually assaulted.

          While the kidnapping victims were held hostage in Tijuana, their captors extorted their relatives in the United States, ordering them to deposit ransom money in U.S. bank accounts and wire ransom money to co-conspirators in Mexico. Extortion victims testified at trial about being threatened that, if they did not pay, their relatives would be beaten, murdered or disemboweled.

          As relatives of the kidnapping victims deposited money, Murillo, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, twice drove from Mexico to the United States and withdrew the ransom payments from his bank account for delivery to his co-conspirators to Mexico.

          The evidence at trial showed that Murillo opened a Wells Fargo bank account in his name on April 30, 2015, and made monthly payments to keep it open, but did not use the account until August 4, 2015 – one day after his co-conspirators kidnapped and held for ransom nine victims.

          The extortion victims deposited $62,000 in ransom money into Murillo’s account from bank branches in Ontario, Santa Maria, Northern California, Idaho and Mississippi. Murillo withdrew all $62,000 within less than 48 hours, lying to a Wells Fargo bank employee about the money’s purpose. Murillo did not use the account again, and Wells Fargo closed it on August 19, 2015. Murillo later admitted to law enforcement that he knew the money constituted the proceeds of criminal activity.

          Judge Walter is scheduled to sentence Murillo on February 4, 2019, at which time he will face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

          Murillo was charged along with four other defendants, all of whom are Mexican nationals believed to be residing in Mexico. The other defendants are: Jesus Antonio Rivera Gaxiola, a.k.a. “The Cook,” Manuel Roman Velazquez, a.k.a. “The Caller,” Alberto Jimenez Bautista, a.k.a. “Jefe,” and Luis Perez Martinez.

          The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

          This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Victoria Degtyareva and Carley Palmer of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Section.

SAN FRANCISCO –  Charles T. Woods was sentenced today to 24 months in prison, and ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 and restitution of $466,707 for willfully filing a false individual income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service, announced United States Attorney Alex G. Tse, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge Tara Sullivan.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Susan Illston, U.S. District Judge.

Woods, 44, of Santa Rosa, Calif., pleaded guilty to the charge on May 25, 2018.  In pleading guilty, Woods admitted he engaged in marijuana distribution in 2012, 2013, and 2014, and that he knowingly and willfully filed federal tax returns for those years that underreported income from his marijuana distribution.  For all three years, Woods consistently reported business gross receipts on his tax returns of under $85,000 per year despite earning hundreds of thousands of dollars more.  To evade bank currency transaction reporting requirements and to conceal his income, Woods deposited more than $1 million into numerous bank accounts under his control in amounts less than $10,000.  In total, Woods failed to report more than $1.1 million in gross receipts from his marijuana distribution business, which resulted in a tax loss of $466,707 to the United States.

Woods was charged by information on April 25, 2018, with two counts of willfully making and subscribing a false tax return to the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of 26 U.S.C § 7206(1).  He pleaded guilty to one count.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Illston also ordered the defendant to serve a year of supervised release following his prison term.  Judge Illston ordered the defendant to surrender on or before January 11, 2019, to begin serving his sentence.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney José A. Olivera and U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, trial attorney Christopher Magnani are prosecuting this case with the assistance of Kathy Tat and Larry Garland.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation.
 

Baltimore, Maryland –Former Philadelphia Police officer Eric Troy Snell, age 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.  Snell admitted that he conspired with former Baltimore Police Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) Detective Jemell Rayam and others to sell heroin and cocaine seized by GTTF members.  Snell pleaded guilty on the fourth day of his trial, which began on October 29, 2018.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

“The community needs to know that when we have evidence of wrongdoing, we will follow that evidence and prosecute you--whether you wear a badge or not,” said Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Prosecuting law enforcement officers is painful, but necessary if we are to restore the public’s trust in our justice system.  No one is above the law.”

“Law enforcement officers are given incredible power to enforce the law and ensure justice. Thwarting abuse of this authority is necessary to protect the rights of our citizens and uphold confidence in law enforcement. Anyone who takes advantage of their position for personal gain or in persistence of criminal misconduct must and will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. 

According to court documents and statements at his plea hearing today, Snell is a former Baltimore Police Department (BPD) Officer, who received his training at the Baltimore Police Academy with Jemell Rayam, a former Detective with the BPD Gun Trace Task Force.  Snell left the BPD in March 2008, and became an officer in the Philadelphia Police Department on September 29, 2014.

Snell admitted that from at least October 2016 through June 26, 2017, he conspired with Rayam and others to sell heroin and cocaine seized by members of the BPD in Maryland.   On October 3, 2016, GTTF Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, Rayam, and other detectives, engaged in a high-speed police chase of G.H.  G.H. threw nine ounces of cocaine out of the window of his vehicle before crashing near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore.  The BPD officers retrieved the cocaine and Jenkins told Rayam to sell most of the cocaine and give Jenkins the proceeds of the sale, which Rayam agreed to do. 

On October 18, 2016, after learning about the cocaine from Rayam, Snell asked Rayam to give him the cocaine that was stolen from G.H. and not submitted as evidence to BPD.  Rayam agreed and on October 20, 2016, traveled to Philadelphia to meet Snell at his residence.  Ryam provided the cocaine to Snell, who made arrangements to meet with Snell’s brother, who would sell the cocaine for Snell and Rayam.  Later that day. Snell, Rayam, and Snell’s brother met and discussed: the sale of the cocaine; the price the cocaine should be sold for; the amount of money that Snell’s brother would pay Snell after the sale of the cocaine; and the amount of money that Snell would pay Rayam after the sale of the cocaine.  On October 23, 2018, Rayam and Snell agreed that Rayam would provide Snell with heroin for Snell to sell and distribute.

Snell admitted that he communicated with Rayam on October 27, 2016, to advised that Snell had received “2K” ($2,000) from the sale of illegal drugs and subsequently deposited $1,000 into Rayam’s bank account.  Snell met Rayam several other times to coordinate the drug trafficking and exchange drugs and cash.  Snell admitted that he paid Rayam on subsequent occasions for drug proceeds, including making a $2,500 deposit into Rayam’s bank account.

Following Rayam’s arrest on June 26, 2017, Snell spoke with Rayam on the recorded phone system in place at the jail where Rayam was detained.  Snell instructed Rayam to “say less” on the recorded jail phones so that law enforcement would not detect their illegal drug trafficking.

On November 14, 2017, Snell was arrested and transported to Baltimore for his initial appearance.  During the transport, Snell admitted that he lied to FBI agents when he told them that the payments he made to Rayam were for the repayment of a gambling debt, when in fact, the payments were for drugs he received from Rayam. 

During a search of Snell’s residence on November 14, 2017, law enforcement recovered a box in which Snell stored items containing cocaine residue, next to a package of razor blades that were used to cut and process narcotics for distribution, as well as .40-caliber and 9 mm handgun ammunition.  From the master bedroom, law enforcement recovered Snell’s Philadelphia Police Department service weapon, a 9 mm handgun, as well as a 40-caliber handgun, and two unregistered short-barrel assault rifles.

Snell admits that the amount of narcotics reasonably foreseeable to him in furtherance of the conspiracy is the equivalent of at least 100 kilograms of marijuana.

Snell faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  United States District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for January 30, 2019, at 2:15 p.m.

Jemell Lamar Rayam, age 38, of Owings Mills, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy including multiple robberies, and overtime fraud, and is awaiting sentencing.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek E. Hines and Leo J. Wise, who prosecuted these Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force cases.

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United States Attorney Trent Shores announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Charles McLoughlin will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 6, 2018, general election.  AUSA McLoughlin has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Northern District of Oklahoma, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

United States Attorney Trent Shores said, “The right to vote is a fundamental freedom.  All voices must be heard and must be counted.  Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate, and I encourage people to come forward to report election fraud or voting rights abuses. In the Northern District of Oklahoma, my office will uphold its responsibility to protect the right to vote so that all citizens are guaranteed a voice within their communities and nationally.

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur.  The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election d

Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them.  For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law.  Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy.

The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy.  We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.  In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 6, 2018, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, United States Attorney Trent Shores stated that AUSA/DEO McLoughlin will be on duty in this District while the polls are open.  AUSA McLoughlin can be reached by the public at the following telephone number: (918) 382-2713.

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day.  The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (918) 664-3300, or the public may call the FBI’s national tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, DC by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to voting.section@usdoj.gov or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.

It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.

Tampa, Florida – Lavonta Hill (27, St. Petersburg) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, on January 25, 2017, at approximately 3:45 a.m., Hill was involved in a shootout in a residential area on 15^th Avenue South, near 16^th Street South, in St. Petersburg. Shortly after the shooting, St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) officers found Hill on the ground in the parking lot of a nearby liquor store, bleeding from his head and one arm. Hill, who at the time was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition, denied knowing where the shooting occurred, who shot him, or why. He was taken to a hospital and treated for gunshot wounds.

Further investigation by SPPD determined that the shooting had occurred in an area on 15^th Street South encompassing several houses, where at least 62 rounds of ammunition had been fired. In the front yard of one of the residences, an officer found a blue recycling container with blood smeared on it. Under the container, the officer found a firearm with blood on it and investigators discovered a trail of blood drops leading from that residence to the liquor store parking lot, ending at the spot where the officers had found Hill. A surveillance video from the grocery store showed a man staggering across the parking lot and crossing the street toward the liquor store at approximately 3:46 a.m., and witnesses described seeing Hill stumble and sway as he approached the liquor store. DNA from the blood on the firearm and recycling bin matched Hill’s DNA and a firearms and ballistics expert determined that two of the cartridge cases from the shooting scene were fired from the firearm linked to Hill.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

PITTSBURGH - A citizen of Romania has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of conspiracy and bank fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The two-count indictment, returned on Nov. 1, named Elvis E. Roman, age 33, of Romania.

According to the indictment, in September and October 2018, Roman participated in a conspiracy and scheme to defraud banks in Western Pennsylvania. As part of the scheme, participants installed ATM skimming devices designed to fraudulently obtain the account information associated with cards inserted into the targeted ATM machines. Using that account information, participants created cloned ATM cards and fraudulently withdrew funds from ATM machines maintained by banks in Washington County.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey R. Bengel is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The United States Secret Service and the Cecil Township, Peters Township, and South Strabane Township Police Departments conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

MADISON, WIS. -- Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Mark W. Lewis, 57, Rice Lake, Wisconsin, was sentenced on October 26 by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 48 months in federal prison for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.  Lewis pleaded guilty to this charge on July 20, 2018.

Lewis was arrested twice while operating a vehicle in the summer of 2016 with quantities of methamphetamine.  During one of these arrests, he possessed a loaded firearm. 

Judge Peterson found that Lewis was responsible for over 98 grams of methamphetamine.  Judge Peterson noted that this was a serious crime and the substantial term of imprisonment is necessary to deter the defendant, to send a message to society, and to protect the public from drug dealers.

The charge against Lewis was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Washburn and Sawyer County Sheriffs’ Departments.  The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Halverson.

A Richland County man affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America was arrested and charged in federal court with production of child pornography after he surreptitiously recorded children changing.

Thomas Close, 39, of Shelby, was charged with sexual exploitation of children and receiving and distributing child pornogrpahy. The investigation is ongoing.

According to an affidavit filed in the case:

Homeland Security Investigations agents received information from the Cyber Crimes Center regarding videos taken of minor boys changing before or after swimming at the YMCA in Sandusky.

A review of several videos revealed they were recorded at the YMCA facility in Sandusky, which sometimes rented its pool to the Boy Scouts, inside teepees used at the Firelands Scout Reservation in Wakeman, as well as inside the bathroom of a home that appeared to have a swimming pool.

Investigators met with Boy Scouts of America officials in Cleveland, whose area includes seven counties. Due to the fact that all of the photos appear to revolve around changing before or after swimming, Boy Scout officials alerted investigators to an incident report from June 2017 documenting an occurrence at the Firelands Scout Reservation they felt could be related. The report was made by a den leader regarding a Boy Scouts of America staff member named Thomas Close, also known as “Aqua Joe,” according to the affidavit.

Close is associated with Boy Scout Troop 406 and has a pool in his back yard.

HSI investigators went to Close’s home on Nov. 1. Upon viewing his bathroom, they realized it is the same bathroom depicted in one of the videos. Close admitted to making the videos and said he created videos between 2011 and the summer of 2018, according to the affidavit.

He also admitted to downloading child pornography and said he had approximately five terabytes of child pornography on his computer, according to the affidavit.

“This case was solved because of good investigative work but also because a parent who was trained to look for signs of suspicious activity raised their concerns to Scout leadership,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “We all have an obligation to be aware of what is taking place around us and let authorities know when there are concerns.”

“This individual is accused of violating his position of trust with the Boy Scouts and as a teacher to exploit and take advantage of young people under his supervision," said Steve Francis, special agent in charge of HSI for Michigan and Ohio. "The exploitation of children is reprehensible, and HSI has highly skilled and dedicated special agents to investigate child exploitation crimes to ensure that we identify and arrest perpetrators while protecting our most vulnerable population, our children."

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

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Shelby Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik.

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

Anyone with knowledge of the man’s unsupervised contact with children should contact HSI at 216-749-9602.